Extra power for your weed control programme now available

New to farms this spring, Sorrento is a unique activator adjuvant designed to help you get the most out of your weed control programme. Approved for use in a wide variety of crops including winter and spring cereals, forage maize, oilseed rape, sugar beet and potatoes, Sorrento improves the coverage and performance of post-emergence herbicides, delivering the active ingredients right where they are needed inside the leaf tissue. Applied from the first sight of weeds in autumn and spring-sown crops, Sorrento drives optimum contact, activity and uptake for faster and more effective weed control.

How do post-emergence herbicides work?

Whilst spraying weeds with herbicide may seem like a fairly straightforward task, good post-emergence weed control depends on well-timed sprays, small weeds and good applications conditions. First and foremost, a good dose of post-emergence herbicide must come into contact with the surface area of the weed. Next, the herbicide must be retained on the leaf with sufficient time for it to penetrate and be absorbed. Finally, the herbicide must reach a living cellular site within the leaf where the product can disrupt a vital process or structure. If any one of these steps are hindered, the herbicide is likely to lose the battle, weeds will spread and crop yield will be compromised.

Why can herbicide performance be improved?

Treating weeds post-emergence can cause a particular set of challenges that limit herbicide performance, where even the best herbicide formulation will need assistance to reach its target inside leaf tissue.

The problem? Cheap and readily available, water is the most commonly used carrier for herbicides. But it’s not a perfect solution. Making up as much as 95% of the tank mix, water has a high surface tension, causing beading, bounce and barely-there coverage on waxy or hairy leaves (Figs 1&2). Whilst some herbicides may contain an in-can adjuvant system, this will not alleviate poor coverage or retention due to the fact that herbicides are recommended at a specific rate per hectare and therefore do not take into account the total volume of water being used.

The herbicide that is retained on the leaf must then penetrate the cuticle of the leaf and the living tissue inside – no easy task. The leaf cuticle is the biggest barrier to herbicide entry and therefore effective weed control. The ability of a herbicide to enter the cuticle is determined by its chemical properties. Herbicides with moderate to high water solubility need a suitable adjuvant to penetrate the cuticle in order for weed control to be effective. For this reason, many of the most commonly used post-emergence herbicides will benefit from the inclusion of Sorrento e.g. sulfonylureas, pinoxaden, imazamox, pyroxsulam. (Download our training guide below for more information on specific herbicides and their water solubility).

How Sorrento can help

Based on branched alkoxylated alcohol, Sorrento is ideal for use when tackling a wide range of common and troublesome weeds, especially those with tough, waxy leaves like Fat-Hen, those with ‘hairy’ leaves like brome and speedwells, and established hard to control weeds.

Sorrento delivers excellent spreading of spray droplets leading to improved coverage across the leaf; exceptional binding of droplets to the leaf (perfect for grass-weeds); and provides excellent cuticle penetration leading to fast uptake into weeds. Sorrento is perfectly suited to help post-emergence herbicides overcome challenging application conditions leading to faster and higher overall weed control.

Fast results, great results

In extensive replicated field trials, with a range of herbicides, Sorrento has enhanced herbicide performance in 51 out of 52 comparisons. In 33% of comparisons, the weed control benefit with Sorrento was statistically significant. In nearly all situations, Sorrento increased the speed of kill. As herbicide resistance builds, getting the most out of the toolbox will become more important over time. Introducing Sorrento can help limit seed return, keeping weeds at bay flush after flush and lessening the workload for herbicides.

Sorrento is perfect for those tasked with ‘spring cleaning’ in winter cereals this season, those plagued by hard-to-control grass and broad-leaf weeds and growers looking to implement a robust weed control strategy. Sorrento is the best adjuvant partner for post-emergence herbicides to help hit the goal and gain control. 

Advantages of Sorrento

• Stronger solvency power helps tank mix components to dissolve rapidly in cold water.
• Superior penetrating power helps post-emergence herbicides with moderate to high water solubility penetrate leaf cuticles, even in cold conditions – the biggest barrier to effective weed control.
• Low dose, low door and excellent compatibility with other plant protection products in the tank mix.