Difficult weeds, volunteer cotton set to be in the eye of Monsoon

_{Trials with Monsoon herbicide against a range of broadleaf weeds, including this volunteer cotton site on the Darling Downs in Queensland, have clearly demonstrated its effectiveness, in this case applied at 1 litre per hectare in a tank mix with 1.6 litres/ha of Wipe-Out^® Pro, as well as Hasten at 1 per cent.}

NORTHERN croppers have a lot to think about when applying broadleaf herbicides on winter and summer fallows – of course, their effectiveness on weeds, particularly from some traditional options; plantback intervals; one-pass applications with brews containing grass herbicides and any related antagonism; their volatility and application restrictions in sensitive cropping areas; and, weather conditions after spraying. 

Fortunately, the recent registration of a dual mode of action broadleaf herbicide, including for the popular optical spot spraying of winter and summer fallow weeds, is set to simplify the decision-making for growers and they can take advantage of it leading into summer cropping programs this season. 

Monsoon^®, developed by ADAMA Australia, is a unique co-formulation of two proven active ingredients, bromoxynil (Group 6) and fluroxypyr (Group 4), that has demonstrated excellent control of a wide range of difficult broadleaf weeds, vines and woody weeds. 

It also can be combined with a range of compatible tank-mix partners, with minimal impact on the efficacy of grass herbicides and without the volatility concerns or re-cropping limitations of some alternative options. 

Market Development Manager with ADAMA Australia in Southern Queensland, Jim O’Connor, said trials with Monsoon in Northern New South Wales and the Darling Downs region in Queensland had shown strong activity on volunteer cotton, fleabane and saltbush, and he expected it would become another important tool in weed control programs with optical spot sprayers. 

He said Monsoon would be particularly useful to cotton growers due to its excellent activity on GM cotton volunteers and a range of hard-to-control weeds. Monsoon can be successfully tank mixed with grass control partners such as glyphosate, glufosinate and Group 1 chemistry for robust control of susceptible summer grass weeds at early growth stages. 

“There can be some antagonism when using Group 4 chemistry with grass control herbicides, however it is reduced when using fluroxypyr in combination with bromoxynil, especially at lower use rates,” Jim said. 

There is also reduced carryover risk associated with these active ingredients, with the re-cropping periods following Monsoon application set at seven days through to 28 days according to application rate and rotation crop type. 

“It has a nice rate range with optical spot sprayers up to 4 litres per hectare, so growers can go with a high dose if needed or use a lower rate to further reduce the re-cropping interval,” Jim said. 

“Growers will be able to spray in front of upcoming plantings of major summer crops including cotton, sorghum and mung beans.