Corn growers now can control broadleaf weeds and tough grasses with one product: Laudis postemergence corn herbicide. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved Laudis for use in all corn crops, including: field corn, sweet corn, popcorn and inbreds used in seed production.

Laudis is a systemic herbicide that eliminates tough broadleaf weeds such as pigweeds, tall and common waterhemp, giant and common ragweed, common lambsquarters, velvetleaf, sunflower, nightshade and cocklebur.

“We also have seen Laudis outperform other postemergence herbicides, when it comes to control of stubborn grass weeds,” says Jeff Springsteen, Bayer CropScience corn herbicides marketing manager.

“In field trials last summer, we observed that other herbicides did not completely eliminate the grasses; at best, they simply suppressed many of them,” Springsteen adds. He notes that Laudis has a proven, effective defense against grasses, including: giant and yellow foxtail, woolly cupgrass, barnyardgrass, shattercane, large crabgrass, broadleaf signalgrass and seedling johnsongrass.

The flexibility of Laudis enables it to work in any traditional herbicide program. Laudis is an excellent tank-mix partner with Liberty herbicide, for application on LibertyLink hybrids.

Plus, studies show adding Laudis to every tank of glyphosate applied to Roundup Ready corn provides extended control to canopy on both broadleaves and grasses, including those with proven resistance. Laudis also enhances control in other postemergence programs.

In addition, Laudis helps corn growers break herbicide resistance problems, such as glyphosate resistance, because it introduces a unique chemistry and new mode-of-action into corn growers' fields.

Once applied, Laudis provides continued control, as it stays active in the soil during the growing season, until the crop canopy forms. However, the herbicide does not limit growers' ability to rotate to soybeans the following season.

Laudis provides growers with more freedom, because it has no hybrid restrictions or interactions with any insecticides, fungicides or seed treatments.

Brent Philbrook, Bayer CropScience product development manager, notes that Laudis is just one of six new products Bayer CropScience anticipates introducing in the next three years.

Laudis can be applied in corn from crop emergence up to the V-7 growth stage. To avoid any negative impact on crop yield potential from weed competition, Philbrook recommends that growers apply the herbicide at 3 fluid ounces per acre, before weeds reach or exceed 4 inches in height.

For more information about Laudis, corn growers can log onto a virtual plot tour at www.LaudisInAction.com. Once there, they can see Laudis at work in pictures from an actual plot trial, taken with time-lapse photography. Growers also can find out more about the key product features and benefits.

For additional information, specific to approval and use in their specific states, growers are encouraged to contact their local Bayer CropScience representative or to call (866) 992-2937.