Zidua for Morningglory Control in Field Corn (Prostko)

At the last few grower meetings that I attended this winter, I was asked a few questions about the effectiveness of Zidua (pyroxasulfone) for annual morningglory control in field corn.  Most, if not all, of my data with this herbicide is on annual grass and Palmer amaranth control.  Thus, I must rely on my colleagues around the country to see what they have observed.  Figure 1 is a summary of the morningglory control ratings for Zidua as published by different land-grant universities.  It is obvious from these ratings that Zidua is not considered to be an outstanding herbicide for the control of morningglory.  

With that said, I still think that Zidua can be an effective component of a field corn weed control program in Georgia (Figure 2). Growers who are interested in using Zidua in field corn should do so for the following reasons:

a) Zidua is a new herbicide. Its always fun to try something new and sometimes herbicides perform slightly differently on individual farms.  
b) For those concerned about atrazine and PPO resistance, Zidua offers an alternative mode of action.  Zidua is a very-long chain fatty acid inhibitor similar to Dual Magnum or Warrant.
c) Zidua provides good to excellent residual control of pigweed and most annual grasses. Zidua may be slightly more effective than Dual or Warrant on Texas panicum (buffalograss) but is less effective than Prowl or Sonalan.
d) Zidua is a low use rate product (1.5 oz/A).

More information about the use of Zidua in field corn can be obtained on page 140 of the 2014 UGA Commercial Pest Management Handbook.  

Figure 1.  Annual morningglory control ratings for Zidua.

Figure 2.  Weed control in field corn with Zidua (2013).

Reflex Labeled for Georgia Watermelon, Squash, and Pumpkin (Culpepper)

These new herbicidal tools are a result of cooperative efforts involving The University of Georgia, Syngenta, IR-4, The Georgia Department of Agriculture, The Georgia Agricultural Commission for Vegetables, and Industry.  It is critical that agent’s help growers understand that their specific production practices may alter weed and crop responses to recommended herbicides. 

Important Points to Remember:

1.  Growers must have a label in hand when using Reflex in these crops.  These labels are written by Culpepper and Syngenta so if there is any confusion let me know.

2.  Agents MUST NOT give growers any indemnified label.  Growers must follow the steps below to obtain their own label.  The process of growers obtaining labels is actually the method being used to indemnify the use of Reflex in these crops.  If an agent was to provide a grower the label, it may make the agent or even UGA liable if issues were to occur. 

3.  Growers must evaluate these programs on limited acres until gaining experience.  Keep in mind these labels are developed from 10 to 15 studies conducted primarily by my research here in Georgia; most other pesticide labels are developed from over 200 replicated trials conducted by dozens of scientists across the country.

  

4.  I have created a watermelon circular, similar in format to the cotton circular.  The circular should be up on our website at www.gaweed.com by March 12, 2014.  If you would like laminated copies for your growers, e-mail me the number of copies that you would need and a shipping address.

5.  Support Syngenta and use Reflex; no generic company has shown any desire to support such challenging label development!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obtaining the label:

1.  Go to www.farmassist.com

2.  Select products along top bar.

3.  Select indemnified labels (4^th one down).

4.  Login (first time users create login and password).

5.  For state, select Georgia and for product, select Reflex in this scenario (play around and see

our other labels) and then submit.

7.  Select the Reflex label and crop of interest and submit.

8.  Accept waiver; this is the process making the label an indemnified label.

9.  Print label and have present during application.

Brake F2 Labeled for Georgia Cotton (Culpepper)

The Section 18 Emergency Use Exemption for Brake F2 in cotton has been approved by the EPA and GDA.  Thus, the product is labeled for use during 2014.  

Important Things to Remember:

1.  Apply preemergence behind the press wheel at 16 oz/A; do not apply over cotton.  It is also labeled preplant but Valor and/or diuron are better options.

2.  Brake F2 is a mixture of fluridone and fomesafen; the fluridone will require at least 0.6” of rainfall or irrigation for activation.  Both active ingredients are effective on pigweed.

3.  Suggest rotating only to cotton or peanut in 2015.  If the crop is lost, must replant back to cotton.

4.  The product is quite pricey.

5. A Brake F2 system should provide control similar to that achieved with current recommended programs; although, less injury from Brake F2 may be noted when compared to alternative preemergence herbicide options.

6.  Slides that I used this winter should be up on our UGA Weed Science web site by March 10, 2014 (www.gaweed.com).

7.  Brake F2 Label was attached to the original e-mail that was sent to you.