Corn growers have access to a new one-pass, full-season weed control tool, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently approved Corvus herbicide from Bayer CropScience.

Corvus combines the power of two active ingredients to provide excellent control over more than 50 broadleaf weeds and grasses from burndown through early postemergence.

A half-inch of rain can re-activate Corvus, even after a dry period. This unique WeatherShield feature makes Corvus less sensitive to random and sporadic spring precipitation, enabling it to control weeds up to 2 inches in early-season corn.

“In our 2008 trials, we saw Corvus was very competitive during the rainy season,” says Brent Philbrook, Bayer CropScience new products development manager. “When we measured it against other products, Corvus kept fields clean through crop canopy closure.”

Whether growers have a wet or hot-and-dry season, Corvus will take down weed competition when applied to corn through the V2 stage, says Jeff Springsteen, Bayer CropScience product manager for selective corn and soybean products.

“Corvus provides long-lasting residual control by translocating through the roots and shoots of weeds,” he adds.

Corvus controls tough weeds and grasses, such as Palmer amaranth, waterhemp, woolly cupgrass and yellow foxtail, which are increasingly found to show resistance to glyphosate and triazine-based products. With its rapid burndown of weeds, the one-pass herbicide is perfect for any tillage program, including no-till and minimum-till.

Corvus offers two modes of action: One, to inhibit the production of HPPD enzymes in plants, and the other, to prevent certain amino acids from blocking plant growth and development.

To be most effective, growers should apply the herbicide at a rate of 5.6 fluid ounces per acre to all soils, except for coarse soils with less than 2.0 percent organic matter, which should use 3.3 fluid ounces per acre, Springsteen adds.

For the 2009 growing season, Corvus will be available with limited supply in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

For more information about Corvus, growers can log on to www.BayerCropScienceUS.com, contact their local Bayer CropScience sales representative or call (866) 992-2937.