By Lisa Kopochinski
With the goal of “cleaning the slate” by killing early weeds that have germinated before the crop, spring burn-off helps to ensure plants have what is needed to thrive by not having to compete for resources.
Designed to provide effective weed control with minimal disruption to existing plants, pre-emergent herbicides have proven to be a valuable tool for Canadian farmers. By creating a chemical barrier in the soil, they stop weeds before emerging.
Global agricultural sciences company FMC Corporation is dedicated to helping growers produce food, feed and fibre. The company’s innovative crop protection solutions include biologicals, crop nutrition, digital and precision agriculture.
FMC Corporation brings this commitment home through an ongoing commitment to western Canadian agriculture, combining science-driven innovation with strong field support and practical economics that growers can trust.
“This enables growers, crop advisors, and turf and pest management to address challenges economically while protecting the environment,” says Bryan O’Hara, FMC product manager for PrecisionPac Application Innovation and burn-off herbicides.
In early January, FMC Canada introduced seven new crop protection solutions that include five powerful herbicides, an advanced-formulation of fungicide seed treatment, and a next-generation inoculant for soybeans.
Leading this launch is Avireo, a pre-seed/pre-emergent herbicide that combines Group 27 and Group 14 actives. It delivers a fast and reliable burn-off and sets a new benchmark for broad-spectrum control of tough broadleaf weeds – including Group 2, 4 and 9 herbicide-resistant kochia, Group 2 and 4 herbicide-resistant cleaver, volunteer canola and more.
Gowan Canada recently registered Garrison® Liquid EC Herbicide, a multiple mode of action premix to help growers combat resistant wild oats, downy brome and other challenging annual grasses and broadleaf weeds in canola and select pulse crops.
Gowan products manager Dale Ziprick says the major benefit of pre-emergent herbicide is early-season weed control to reduce competition from day one.
“Herbicides such as Edge MicroActiv, Avadex MicroActiv and Garrison prevent wild oats from emerging alongside your crop, eliminating the critical early-season competition for moisture, nutrients and sunlight when crops are most vulnerable. This early protection sets the foundation for maximum yield potential.”
By incorporating pre-emergent products into their rotation, farmers are using different modes of action before weeds emerge, reducing the selection pressure that leads to herbicide resistance. This proactive approach helps preserve the effectiveness of in-crop herbicides for future seasons.
“They provide weeks of residual soil activity, controlling multiple flushes of weeds throughout the critical establishment period,” Ziprick explains. “This extended protection reduces the need for multiple in-crop applications and provides flexibility in timing post-emergent treatments.”
Key Advantages
There are numerous key advantages that pre-emergent herbicides provide, including minimal disruption to existing plants; long-term effectiveness; prevention of herbicide resistance; and the reduction of initial weed competition. In addition, they can be used in various planting situations – from agricultural fields to residential gardens.
“Use of pre-emergent herbicides in a layering program means fewer weeds at harvest, resulting in cleaner fields, reduced dockage, lower grain moisture content and more efficient combining operations. Clean fields also reduce weed seed return to the soil bank,” says Ziprick.
O’Hara adds, “Some of the big benefits of using pre-emergent herbicides is reducing that competition for moisture, nutrients and light during critical early-growth stages of the crop. You’re helping protect your yield potential and getting a more uniform crop emergence. This reduces the pressure that the crop herbicides have to deal with later in the season.”
He says Avireo will be the first pre-seed pre-emergent herbicide in Western Canada to combine both Group 27 and Group 14 actives.
“Typically, Group 27s have been used in crops with bromoxynil. By pairing a Group 27 and a Group 14 earlier in the season at the pre-seed or pre-emergent timing, we are going to get better control while those weeds are small, actively growing, and in combination with glyphosate.”
When it comes to application guidelines and what farmers should know, he says it is quite flexible as far as timing is concerned.
“We can go either pre-seed or two to three days after planting. Growers can then plant cereals immediately right after this. We do have re-cropping for pulses in canola after nine months, with most crops within a year.”
O’Hara adds that growers’ flexibility is within their chemical systems, but he prefers to see it applied to actively young growing seeds.
“Performance is better if you can do it with warm moist conditions. By using Group 27 and 14, we can now open up applications for Group 2s in-crop to give a broader spectrum of broad control. The Group 2s are going to deliver a lot of excellent control on perennial weeds, and a lot on your harder-to-control weeds. So, Avireo should give us an opportunity for growers to continue their herbicide options as far as a full systemic treatment.”
New Products
FMC Canada is launching seven new crop products this year, which is its most significant portfolio refresh to date.
“We have three new spring herbicide products,” says O’Hara. “They are going to have varying fits between different soil zones. We have Focus NXT that delivers burn-off, plus extended residual control of both broadleaf and grassy weeds. It is well suited for spring weed growers in the black zone trying to manage broadleaf resistance.”
The company is launching Express FT herbicide, which will provide fast-acting weed control with multiple modes of action to support resistance management in cereal crops.
“Within our PrecisionPac platform, we are also launching C-18-878 PRO, so it is a customizable pre-seed solution with exceptional burndown and residual control of a very broad spectrum of broadleaf weeds.”
In addition, FMC Canada is launching Barricade III this year, which features a higher load of fluroxpyr to deliver enhanced in-crop control of tough weeds such as kochia, while having some of the best crop safety in the industry.
And if this isn’t enough, it will also be launching Optimize FXC DS, a next-generation soybean inoculant that can combine two strains of rhizobia with its proven LCO technology to support early nodulation and crop establishment.
“We are also entering into the fungicide seed treatment market with our launch of Avoda Pro,” he adds. “This is an excellent product designed to help protect cereal crops against tough seed and soil-borne diseases. It is just part of our commitment to practical science-based solutions that can combine proven chemistry with agronomic support that growers can trust.”
Perhaps Ziprick sums things up best when he says that investing in pre-emergent herbicides provides a better return on investment than relying solely on post-emergent rescue treatments.
“Prevention is more economical than cure, especially when factoring in yield protection and reduced need for multiple in-crop passes. Unlike post-emergent herbicides that require specific weather conditions and weed staging, pre-emergent products can be applied in the fall or before seeding in the spring, thus avoiding unpredictable weather conditions that could allow weeds to advance and compete with the crop before it can get established.”