New technology and new technique by Dr. Jason Weirich

Proper stewardship of the new technology is a must—not only from a weed-resistance management or environmental perspective, but from a neighborly perspective. 

Xtend or Enlist will be tools that allow you to use a mode of action that hasn’t been used in soybeans or cotton in the past. And, it will show you if you have any off-target movement within a few hours or days. These new formulations are labeled for over-the-top or preplant applications to Xtend soybeans, but it’s not the same old dicamba formulations from the past—Banvel, Clarity, Detonate. Monsanto’s XtendiMax with VaporGrip, and BASF’s Engenia are two formulations that have considerably reduced the volatility of dicamba. 

These traits will provide you with new flexibility to control weeds, especially some of the difficult-to-manage herbicide-resistant weeds that have become prevalent in the MFA trade territory. 

But using the technology won’t be as simple as mixing herbicides in the past. This new trait will come with some new procedures as well. You will now be required to visit a website listed on the label to find out what products can go in the tank. Each manufacture or retailer has submitted a list of proposed tank mixes. These have been sent to an approved lab. This lab looks at several characteristics of the tank mix volatility, driftable fines, and compatibility to name a few.

Ken Carmack, adjuvant specialist for MFA, has been working with the top adjuvant manufacturers to develop MFA’s Crop Advantage lineup. This lineup is second-to-none. Rest assured when you see the approved Crop Advantage adjuvants on the list, they have been tested by our experienced field team. 

Drilling down in the specific requirements of this list, you will see that nothing is supposed to go in the tank unless it is listed on these websites. Some of the questions that I have received over the past few weeks are about the use of foliar nutritional products that may have gone in the tank in the past. Again, you want to make an application with any of the new cropping systems, Enlist of Xtend, you will need to follow the label and look at the website seven days before application. I would look at this as a living document. I believe the companies will add and remove different herbicides at any given time, albeit hopefully adding more than removing. You must check within seven days before application. 

I write this not to scare you from using these great tools, but to inform you about application requirements.

I am sure you will have plenty of opportunities to learn about this system, during the winter grower meetings that you attend. Please reach out to your local MFA for more information on MorSoy RXT soybeans and approved herbicides.

If you would like to hear about a specific topic or agronomy issue, please send me an email at crops@mfa-inc.com.