Following its registration for use as an aquatic surfactant in 2020, Nemo Surfactant has expanded its label to now include use in fallow situations, non-crop areas, commercial and industrial areas, rights-of-way, and firebreaks.
“The new registrations follow more than two years of successful use of Nemo as an aquatic surfactant partner following a ten-year development program,” says Warren Braybon, general manager at Crop Culture.
“The new registrations are a result of an extensive field trial program we have conducted over many years with various diquat and glyphosate formulations on a wide range of weed species in multiple regions.”
Nemo Surfactant is based on the active ingredient cocamidopropyl betaine and is the only surfactant registered in the Australian crop protection market with this active ingredient.
“In fact, we believe our registration in Australia is a world first as well, with no other country having this active ingredient registered as stand-alone surfactant for use in crop protection,” Mr Braybon said.
With Nemo’s perfect pairing with glyphosate and diquat for aquatic weed control, Mr Braybon said it was logical that Nemo would be the ideal partner where these two herbicides were used in other situations such as broadacre fallow weed control.
Recent results from trial work have demonstrated that both standard glyphosate formulations (450 g/L) and high-end products such as Roundup Ultra Max (570 g/L) performed better with the addition of Nemo Surfactant for the control of annual ryegrass and capeweed when compared to the industry standard wetter applied at equivalent rates of glyphosate.
Applications of 790 mL/ha of Roundup Ultra Max plus 300 mL/ha of Nemo had the highest level of annual ryegrass and capeweed control. In addition, wherever a high-end glyphosate such as Roundup Ultra Max was applied with Nemo, faster brownout and longer control periods resulted when compared to treatments containing standard glyphosate (450 g/L) with the standard wetter.
“In situations where glyphosate prices are high, which is currently the case, it would be more cost effective for growers to add Nemo Surfactant to the spray mix to boost efficacy, rather than increasing the rate of glyphosate,” Mr Braybon said.
Nemo is an amphoteric surfactant which means it can alter its charge from cationic (+) to anionic (-) depending on the pH (high or low) of the solution it is used in. At the optimum pH levels associated with glyphosate performance, which is below 7, Nemo is cationic.
“Cationic surfactants have several benefits. They reduce the surface tension of the spray mixture and improve their tenacity and ability to stick due to their cationic properties. In addition, they enhance the uptake of pesticide due to the adjuvant influence on the permeability of surface and sub-surface cell structures,” Mr Braybon said.
“Adding Nemo will improve herbicide absorption by ensuring even and thorough coverage of plant foliage, resulting in improved efficacy. Nemo also allows the spray solution to evenly wet the most hairy, waxy, or difficult to wet weed foliage.”
Mr Braybon said resellers should be excited about what the expanded Nemo label can bring to their business. This effective and highly differentiated surfactant offers a unique opportunity for resellers to sell a technical benefit to their growers in what is often a commodity dominated market. Nemo also provides an opportunity to boost their bottom line.
