Finalise weed control, boost maize health

After a frosty start to some maize crops last month, optimising plant health now by taking care of any remaining weeds and promoting root health to access moisture and nutrition, will ensure maize potential can be fulfilled as we move into more optimum temperatures and sunny conditions.

Successful maize establishment requires weed free crops, with deep and expansive roots to access moisture and nutrients from depth. Being a crop with a weak root system, any competition from weeds in the first 6 weeks post emergence of the crop, can have a massive impact on performance and final yield. Once maize reaches 6 true leaves, grain sites are filled, which produce a significant proportion of the crop’s yield. It is therefore essential that weed competition is minimised, and the rooting ability of the maize crop is optimised. This will enable it to harness as much light energy as possible, and access the moisture and nutrients required, without compromise from competitive weeds that would normally establish at this time.

Tackle weeds effectively with Sorrento

As maize plants increase in size, the delivery of post-emergence herbicides to target weeds becomes more tricky. Weeds can become shaded and herbicide intercepted by the crop, leading to poor coverage and a significant reduction in the control of target weeds – also now larger and more difficult to control by this stage. Weed control can also be particularly challenging with spring germinating weeds such as fat-hen and sowthistle that have hairy/waxy leaves which prevent the herbicide:leaf contact required for good coverage across the leaf (due to poor spreading) and penetration through the leaf cuticle. With the resulting poor coverage and uptake into weeds, a significant reduction in weed control can be a real threat to the crop. New adjuvant Sorrento is perfectly suited to help post-emergence herbicides overcome the challenging application conditions in maize, leading to faster uptake and higher overall weed control. 

Sorrento demonstrates excellent spreading properties which will help to ensure good coverage on more established weeds and those that are particularly waxy/hairy such as fat-hen and thistles. Sorrento also helps fast penetration into weeds, resulting in faster and more effective weed control. One of the most noticeable benefits of Sorrento is the speed at which it works, with significant improvements in speed of kill seen in trials even by the first assessment. The addition of Sorrento to post-emergence herbicides can lead to significant improvements in weed control and yield. Trials have shown significant improvements against a number of key weed species and up to a 5 t/ha yield benefit. For more information, visit: Hit your goal, gain control of weeds in maize.

Optimise plant health with Bridgeway/Zonda

Biostimulant Bridgeway/Zonda at 4-6TL is the perfect solution to crops such as maize which struggle to put their roots down. Stimulating root and shoot growth, Bridgeway and Zonda create bigger root systems which are better able to access the moisture and nutrients required for healthy crop establishment and prevent abiotic stress impacting performance. Containing all amino acids required by maize crops to build structure and biomass, Bridgeway and Zonda also contain crucial signalling peptides (chains of amino acids) which play a vital role in signalling growth and development, as well as the signalling of stress response pathways to help mitigate the effects of abiotic stress situations impacting maize health. With the hot conditions and drying of soils from the drought set to continue, Bridgeway/Zonda could help improve maize fitness and optimise resilience to the challenging growing conditions ahead. Research and trials in maize  and other crops, have shown that Bridgeway/Zonda not only improves root architecture, it also improve metabolic efficiency by increasing photosynthesis. With maize being particularly efficient at harnessing light energy, any further improvements in use efficiency offers further potential to maximise yield potential.

A single application of Bridgeway or Zonda at the 4-6 true leaf stage has shown a yield increase in grain maize of over 10% in both years of trials.