Flufenacet an interesting mix partner for Viper™ Compact and GF-1546 against grass weeds in autumn

ViperTM Compact herbicide consists of the three active ingredients penoxsulam (15 g/L), florasulam (3.75 g/L) and diflufenican (100 g/L). It is a broad-spectrum herbicide used to control loose silky-bent (Apera spica venti), mono- and dicotyledonous weeds in winter wheat, winter barley, winter rye and winter triticale in the autumn. Penoxsulam and florasulam belong to the HRAC group B (ALS inhibitor), diflufenican to the HRAC group F1. Many loose silky-bent populations have a high risk of developing resistance to herbicides in the HRAC group B. For an effective resistance management, it is necessary to use herbicides from low resistance risk groups as mixing partner. A common mixing partner is the active substance flufenacet from the HRAC group K3. In 2015, mixtures of ViperTM Compact (0.5 - 0.75 L/ha) with flufenacet (125-240 g/ha) were tested in field trials. While ViperTM Compact is able to control sensitive grass populations, the addition of flufenacet was able to successfully control less sensitive Apera spica-venti (APESV) biotypes. Furthermore, with the increased flufenacet application rate of 240 g/ha + ViperTM Compact, blackgrass was also controlled successfully. Overall the mixture was selective in the tested cultures. The tank mix of ViperTM Compact + flufenacet thus offers a high effectiveness against grasses and weeds, while at the same time reducing the risk of resistance development.