MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Cotton producers will have a new layby option this season with the recent EPA registration of Valor herbicide for layby applications. Valor will provide contact and residual control of a number of weeds in cotton, according to Valent USA Corp.

Valent representatives say Valor’s target weeds will include pigweed, teaweed, Palmer amaranth, lambsquarters, marestail, eclipta and morningglory and the product will help growers keep fields clean from layby in mid-season to harvest.

“Valor even controls glyphosate-, triazine- and ALS-resistant weeds that other herbicides do not,” said John Pawlak, product development manager. “Because Valor has a different mode of action than other commonly used cotton herbicides, it is a great resistance management tool. It offers reliable control of pigweeds, lambsquarters and marestail, which are increasing problems in cotton.”

Containing the active ingredient flumioxazin, Valor speeds up the burndown activity of postemergence herbicides and provides up to six weeks of residual action to keep cotton fields clean. It has a favorable environmental profile due to its low volatility and solubility, which is a great improvement over other layby herbicides with residual, the company says.

It has few rotation restrictions, so growers can apply Valor and plant peanuts or soybeans immediately after application or cotton, corn, rice, sugarcane, wheat and tobacco 30 days after application if the applied rate of Valor is 2 ounces per acre or less. The preplant interval for cotton in no-till and strip-till systems has been reduced with this new registration from 30 to 21 days.

For postemergence weed control, Valor can be applied through a hooded or shielded sprayer, as well as post directed at layby at 1 to 2 ounces per acre when tank mixed with glyphosate or 2 ounces per acre when tank mixed with MSMA. The 2-ounce rate provides residual control of a broad spectrum of weeds, according to Valent officials.

Valor tank mixes may be applied by a hooded or shielded sprayer after cotton has reached at least 6 inches in height. A layby application may be made once cotton has a minimum of 4 inches of bark and has reached 18 inches in height. Growers should direct the spray to the bottom 2 inches of bark or avoid contact with the stalk when possible, the label says.

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