Syngenta Canada registers PARLAY® PGR

Syngenta Canada recently announced the registration of PARLAY® Plant Growth Regulator(PGR), a new technology to assist growers of turf-type perennial ryegrass seed in Canada.

"PARLAY is an important advance in perennial ryegrass seed production, improving harvested yields and allowing Canadian growers to be more competitive," said Wayne Bennett, Business Development Lead at Syngenta.

BrettYoung, a Winnipeg-based seed company with a long history in the forage and turf seed industry, is the exclusive distributor for the new product. Harley Bell, Senior Product Manager at BrettYoung, welcomes the announcement, citing the benefits for growers. "PARLAY will have a significant and positive impact on the economic returns for growers who produce turf-type perennial ryegrass seed on their farms," he said. "It will improve the harvestability of what can be a difficult crop to harvest."

Perennial ryegrass is an early-harvested crop that is very tolerant of excess moisture, increases organic matter in the soil and serves as an important rotational crop. It is well known, however, that early lodging in perennial ryegrass reduces seed yields.

Research by the Manitoba Forage Seed Association and in the United States has demonstrated that the application of plant growth regulators that include trinexapac-ethyl reduces lodging and can increase perennial ryegrass seed yields. PARLAY uses this chemistry to improve harvest efficiency by strengthening the stocks of the plants, reducing stock height and limiting lodging, which allows for faster swathing and drying of the crop.

"The registration of PARLAY is an important development for Canadian growers," Bell notes, adding that growers in the United States have had access to plant growth regulators for a number of years. "Having access to this technology is essential to the productivity and competitiveness of Canadian perennial ryegrass growers."