Visitors arriving at the BASF field research facility near Beaver Crossing, Neb., were sitting in their cars early morning recently — waiting for rain and lightning to pass. Turns out there was little of both and more than 100 people got a full morning of in-depth information they can put to use for 2017.

Take weed control problems in season; Jared Roskamp and Chad Asmus, field technical folks from BASF, note that controlling weeds means hitting them with more than one site of action product, but also added that sometimes weeds are hard to control for other reasons. Says Roskamp:

BASF researchers are working with a high-yield corn trial to determine the best practices to get top yields and returns.

“A hard to control weed isn’t always resistant,” he points out. “A little herbicide 101: less than 1% of the material you apply gets to the part of the plant that controls the plant when you spray. That means you have to hit the target plant, get to the leaf and there has to be absorption.”

It’s that last part that can be a challenge if you wait too long to spray. Weeds can develop a waxy cuticle and young weeds have little of that wax build up. As weeds get taller and they are in hot weather, the cuticle thickens and material can’t pass through to kill the plant. “Material has a hard time penetrating the weed,” Roskamp points out. “Lack of control has less to do with site of action at this particular point.”

Key message there is to hit weeds earlier when they’re smaller and easier to control.

And while a little lesson in herbicide use and weed growth is important, Roskamp and Asmus also shared the importance of a coordinated weed control program which for corn, and even soybeans, is a two-pass program.

One way applicators may increase flexibility with new-tech herbicides is through the use of injection systems. Equipment dealers from three major brands were on hand to discuss the tech and how it works.

“With a two-pass program in corn, you can layer in a blanket of production,” Roskamp says. “With a one-pass program you’re more at the mercy of nature.”

New tech, soybeans and improved control

That talk about a two-pass program in corn translates even better to soybeans where use of glyphosate has become problematic. The best management approach is to use a preemerge followed by a solid post program using multiple sites of action. A new tool for that action —- when labeled and approved by the U.S. EPA for use in dicamba-tolerant cropping systems — will be Engenia™ herbicide, which is a new formulation of dicamba designed to be 70% less volatile than its predecessor.

An example two-pass program for soybeans could include a first pass of Zidua® PRO herbicide followed by a second pass of Outlook® herbicide, Engenia herbicide and glyphosate. Zidua PRO herbicide is a new option from BASF that delivers broad-spectrum control of weeds with a lasting residual component.

Attendees at the Beaver Crossing, Neb., event got to test their knowledge of sprayer cleanout steps. Each team had to put their steps in the right order.

Use of the newest tools will require management refinements to maximize control, and meet label requirements for drift management. During the Beaver Crossing event Greg Kruger, University of Nebraska-North Platte, talked about new products and his wind tunnel work in managing use. “You have to understand that the EPA is taking a very thorough approach with these new products,” Kruger says. “For this dicamba product, and others, they are being much more prescriptive than in the past.”

He explains with many new dicamba products, final labels will direct applicators on specific use requirements, like those regarding wind speed, wind direction, protective buffers or boom height.

And finally, droplet size is key too. Farmers applying the new dicamba formulation, for example, will have to use an extremely coarse to ultra-coarse droplet size nozzle, specifically the TTI nozzle from TeeJet®.

Do you know how to clean out a sprayer?

During the field day, each station had challenges and a test. One that got a lot of action was the sprayer station where the challenge was to put — in order — the effective steps for cleaning out a sprayer. According to organizers, over three days, no team got all the steps right. For your information, here’s a refresher to use when cleaning out your sprayer and meeting the triple-rinse standard.

1. Drain the sprayer and boom.

Starting out empty is important. Make sure the sprayer is drained and booms are clear.

2. Flush the tank, hoses, boom and nozzles with clean water.

If the boom ends can be opened, do that and flush the boom as well. This will be your first rinse.

3. Inspect and clean all strainers, screens and filters.

Make sure to clear debris, and residues in these areas that seem to catch everything.

4. Use a detergent-based sprayer cleaner (this is recommended for use of dicamba in your sprayer to make sure it’s cleared properly), and follow the cleaner manufacturer instructions.

Be sure to wash all parts of the tank, start agitation in the sprayer and recirculate the spraying solution for at least 15 minutes. This is a soap step.

5. Flush hoses, spray lines and nozzles with the cleaning solution for at least 1 minute.

Remove nozzles, screens and strainers and clean separately in the cleaning solution after completing the flush procedure — which is the second rinse. Dispose of that rinsate in compliance with local, state and federal guidelines.

6. Drain pump, filter and lines — to clear them of that second rinsing.

7. Rinse the complete system with clean water and dispose of that rinsate in compliance with local, state and federal guidelines. This is the third rinse.

Establishing proper procedures for you or employees to keep sprayers cleaned out will help prevent issues with contamination, potential crop damage and it’ll keep your sprayer running longer. Sounds basic, but it’s valuable information as more new-tech crop protection tools come on line with specific requirements to avoid field issues.

Going for high-yield corn

Sometimes field day biologists and researchers get to try new things. And that’s the case with the Beaver Crossing facility, John Frihauf, field biologist, and Eric Schultz, who is involved with the BASF professional development program are involved in a high-yield corn trial. There are six treatments in the program with a focus on comparing a grower’s conventional nutrient and fungicide practices versus a few of the top BASF treatments of both Limus® nitrogen management treated urea, with Xanthion® In-furrow fungicide, Priaxor® fungicide and Headline AMP® fungicide.

The trials had a range of treatments. For example, the control had a plant population of 32,000 with no nitrogen added. At the other end of the spectrum, a different treatment had a population of 38,000 with nitrogen applied at a 2/3 rate up front with urea and Limus nitrogen management. That was followed by the next third of nitrogen, also urea with Limus nitrogen management, MicroEssentials® SZ™ and Aspire®. In this plot, Xanthion In-furrow fungicide was placed in furrow. This was followed by Priaxor fungicide at about V8, a micronutrient product, and at tassel Headline AMP fungicide along with a micronutrient.

Yield results will be gathered for each of the plots to compare not only the effectiveness of the treatments but also the return on investment for the programs. It’s this work that BASF researchers can use to best match programs with farmer needs in the future.

Engenia herbicide is not registered and not available for sale. The educational material provided is for informational purposes only and is not intended to promote the sale of the product. Any sale of this product after registration is obtained shall be solely on the basis of the EPA approved product label, and any claims regarding product safety and efficacy shall be addressed solely by the label.

Always read and follow label directions.

Engenia is a trademark of BASF. Headline, Headline AMP, Limus, Outlook,
Priaxor, Xanthion and Zidua are registered trademarks of BASF. TeeJet is a registered trademark of TeeJet Technologies. SZ is a trademark of The Mosaic Company. MicroEssentials and Aspire are registered trademarks of The Mosaic Company.

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