BELKAR™ - a new herbicide for the control of a wide range of broadleaf weeds in winter oilseed rape applied post-emergence in autumn

Autumn-applied pre-emergence herbicides are currently the primary options for weed control used in winter oilseed rape. A characteristic of the new product BELKARTM herbicide is that it will be applied post-emergence in autumn. BELKAR combines both active ingredients ArylexTM Active and Picloram and therefore contains two non-ALS mode of actions. While Picloram has been widely used in oilseed rape in recent years, Arylex is a new auxinic herbicide for the post-emergence weed control of important broad-leaved weeds. Arylex is the first member of the ‘Arylpicolinate’ structural class, a new class within the HRAC Group O. The ISO common name of Arylex is ‘halauxifen-methyl’ (DOW AGROSCIENCES, 2013). BELKAR is the first herbicide in Europe containing this active for the use in winter oilseed rape. With a maximum use rate of 0.5 L/ha, the product will deliver 4.8 g ae/ha of Arylex and 24 g ae/ha of Picloram. BELKAR can be applied as a sequential application from crop stage of BBCH 12-14 at rates of 0.25 L/ha or a single application with 0.5 L/ha from crop stage BBCH 16. BELKAR provides control of a wide range of key weeds, including most important ones such as Capsella bursa-pastoris, Centaurea cyanus, Galium aparine, Papaver rhoeas, Geranium spp., Thlaspi arvense, Matricaria spp. and Descurainia sophia. With BELKAR, a post-emergence herbicide application in autumn offers a viable option for effective weed control in oilseed rape. As a new concept, the tank mix combination BELKAR with the active ingredient Aminopyralid will even more expand the weed spectrum and will provide an alternative to preemergence herbicide applications in winter oilseed rape.