Bayer launches new beet herbicide

By Martin Rickatson

20/02/2011

Bayer CropScience has announced the launch of its 'next generation' sugar beet herbicide, Betanal maxxPro. It contains the same active substances as predecessor Betanal Expert – desmedipham, phenmedipham and ethofumesate – but in a newly optimised ratio, and introduces the company’s innovative Double-A technology.

"This combines advanced formulation and activation technologies to add faster, more powerful and broader spectrum weed control to the proven crop safety and flexibility of Betanal Exper," claims product manager Neil Thompson.

"With the new Double-A concept, the OD (oil dispersion) formulation optimises spreading and coverage of weed leaves and accelerates uptake. The activation technology, based on a micro-rate of lenacil, significantly enhances herbicidal performance of the active substances. Together these effects deliver much faster knockdown of weeds than is seen with a standard EC formulation.”

With 28 weed species on the label, Betanal maxxPro provides the basis for complete weed management solutions, he suggests.

 “Compared with Betanal Expert it enhances control of more difficult weeds such as annual mercury, knotgrass, common orache and polygonums.

“Where locally problematic weeds need to be taken into account there is a comprehensive list of supported tank mix options; due to the advanced formulation most of these do not require addition of adjuvant oil.”

Broom’s Barn’s Mike May says Betanal maxxPro will be the new foundation of the Flexible Strategy for weed control in sugar beet. Initially the research centre developed this approach using Betanal Expert to widen the spraying window to the early true leaves stage of weeds and bring greater flexibility to spray timings.