‘Mix and rotate’ has become a grain industry mantra to help achieve maximum efficacy as well as maintain effective use of crop protection products and there’s another important tool for broadleaf weed control programs that will do just that this season.
Infinity Ultra* from Bayer comprises a complementary co-formulation of Groups 27 and 12 (formerly Groups H and F) herbicides, pyrasulfotole and diflufenican, and is expected to be registered in time for post-emergent applications in cereal crops to help control a range of key broadleaf weeds.
Extensive trials have shown Infinity Ultra is highly competitive compared with some existing standards and its versatility as a tank-mix partner, together with low application rates, will allow growers to target hard-to-control weeds in wheat, barley, oats and triticale, as well as on fallows.
Large-scale grower trials complemented an ongoing program of replicated small-plot trials with the new herbicide across all grain growing regions last year and reinforced its excellent capacity to perform a valuable role in cropping areas around the country.
East of Ballidu in the central wheatbelt of Western Australia, mixed farmer Ross Lane hosted an Infinity Ultra trial, mainly targeting wild radish over 28 hectares of a 130-ha wheat crop on the family’s ‘Mallee Vale’ property.
Wheat comprises 50 per cent of the Lane’s cropping program and Mr Lane said wild radish was an ongoing issue for the family.
“We fight it with every tool that we can, including chemical rotation and mechanically. We have to throw everything at it to contain it.”
He said the tightness of their cropping rotation had been a challenge, although they were able to expand this with livestock and adding pasture seeds to the program.
“All these things help, but we also want to put every new chemical we can lay our hands on into the system to get more mileage out of older chemistry.
“If we can bring another chemical or combination of chemicals into the mix, then we are going to do it because it will help prolong the effectiveness of those chemicals we already have in the system.”
This mindset triggered the interest in Infinity Ultra and coordinating a trial on the property.
Mr Lane said the new herbicide offered the advantage of a dual mode of action, including Group 27 (H) chemistry, which was not generally used widely as a stand-alone herbicide, plus the benefit of some residual control.
In the large-scale trial in their wheat, Infinity Ultra was applied with Hasten at 1 per cent v/v and 80 L/ha of water.
“It went on under ideal conditions. The crop was actively growing and so were the weeds – they were doing real well,” Mr Lane said.
A tarp was used in the trial to create an untreated area for comparison and the Lanes were impressed with the weed control provided by Infinity Ultra.
“There were plenty of broadleaf weeds where the tarp was and we couldn’t find one in the rest of the paddock, so we were pretty happy with the result,” Mr Lane said.
Infinity Ultra also did not pose any handling issues or adverse effects for the crop.
“The crop was soft when it went on and it was soft on the crop, so we will use it with confidence,” he said.
“If we can spread our chemical groups further, it’s a big plus for our weed control longevity. It gets the thumbs up.”
*An application for the registration of Infinity Ultra has been made. At the time of publication, Infinity Ultra is not a registered product.
