Power-up weed control in winter rye and barley

Winter barley and rye both need to be drilled relatively early in the autumn in order for them to produce well-established tillers ahead of colder winter conditions. This makes the use of stale seedbeds less relevant, therefore requiring them to be selectively sown only on land with a minimal grass weed burden. In addition, growers must be prepared to apply a pre-emergence herbicide treatment as soon after drilling as possible, with a subsequent post-emergence application also needed to maintain weed control deeper into the season.

The small seed size of rye, and therefore its shallower drilling depth, adds to the level of accuracy required, with care needed to ensure pre- and post-emergence herbicide treatments don’t detrimentally affect the germinating seed and young seedlings.

The crop protection conundrum is further complicated for barley and rye thanks to a limited choice of approved herbicides: compared to wheat – for which multiple active ingredients are available – for barley and rye there are just a handful of approved herbicides. Thankfully ADAMA has developed a strong range of options for both crops, with products such as TOWER, ANTHEM and HURRICANE offering a wide breadth of label approvals and the introduction of CHROME offering an alternative chlortoluron based product for 2024 .

Winter barley herbicides

CHROME (Chlorotoluron 280 g/l + Diflufenican 40 g/l + Flufenacet 80 g/l  is a new and unique blend of complementary actives in an easy-to-use formulation. It offers broad spectrum weed control for autumn cereals and flexibility of timing with early post-emergence applications typically working as well as traditional pre-emergence timings. 

TOWER (250 g/l chlorotoluron, 40 g/l diflufenican & 300 g/l pendimethalin): with three proven and complementary modes of action and two application timings (pre- or early post-emergence), Tower offers a simple solution for the control of Annual Meadow Grass and difficult broadleaved weeds in winter barley – either as a standalone product or as part of a programmed approach. The inclusion of chlorotoluron (unique to ADAMA) gives good residual activity in a range of soils and weather conditions and helps to mitigate the risk of resistance.

ANTHEM (400 g/l pendimethalin) is ADAMA’s SC formulation which delivers higher efficacy on grass weeds compared to CS formulations of the same active ingredient. This user-friendly product is easy to pour and rinse and can be used up until BBCH 30 to provide a broad spectrum of weed control.

HURRICANE (500 g/l diflufenican) delivers proven broadleaf weed control and can improve the efficacy of some grass weed herbicides. It also boasts excellent residual activity which provides enhanced weed control even in dry conditions where germination is protracted.

TOPSAIL (800 g/l prosulfocarb) is a useful addition to winter barley programmes. Used as a pre-emergence treatment it offers good control of annual grass weeds and annual broad-leaved weeds.

Winter rye herbicides

CHROME (Chlorotoluron 280 g/l + Diflufenican 40 g/l + Flufenacet 80 g/l  is also approved in winter rye.  Its recommended to utilise the good performance at early post-emergence stage and position CHROME at GS10-13 of the crop.

TOWER (250 g/l chlorotoluron, 40 g/l diflufenican and 300 g/l pendimethalin) is particularly useful for controlling grassweeds in rye, with its preferred timing for application being at the early post-emergence stage (GS10-11).

HURRICANE (500 g/l diflufenican) can be used with Tower to add extra protection, up to a suggested maximum diflufenican rate of 100 gai/ha.

TOPIK (240 g/l clodinafop-propargyl & 60 g/l cloquintocet-mexyl) plus oil can also be used after Tower to provide additional control of wild oats from BBCH13-14.

ANTHEM (400 g/l pendimethalin) is approved for use in rye. However, because of the vulnerability of young rye seedlings and the selectivity of shallow germinating seeds, Anthem isn’t always compatible with rapidly emerging crops. It shouldn’t therefore be used on lighter sands, stony or gravelly soils as any sudden heavy rainfall events will wash the active into the crop’s rootzone where it could cause significant damage to the developing plant.

SPINNAKER (800 g/l prosulfocarb) is a useful addition at early post-emergence timing (BBCH 10-11) but can only be used in rye under an EAMU (EAMU 20191754) up to 3.0 l/ha, but with a recommended maximum dose of 2.0 l/ha for reasons of crop safety.

For more information about ADAMA’s range of barley and rye-safe herbicides, please go to www.adama.com/uk or click on the product links above.