Key fungicide dropped from Atlantis tank-mix list

Bayer CropScience has dropped a key fungicide from its approved list of Atlantis tank-mix partners, in a bid to maximise efficacy against blackgrass for this spring.

Last year's message about simplifying tank mixes have been heeded, says the firm. But this spring it has gone further by removing Folicur (tebuconazole) from its tank-mix guidelines for Atlantis (mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron).

"Our core guideline of using Atlantis + biopower alone to maximise efficacy against increasingly difficult blackgrass remains," advises Simon Gage, commercial technical manager.

"Atlantis is a contact spray - sticking to the leaves and entering the blackgrass quickly. There is a risk that additives - wetters, adjuvants, stickers and so on - contained in other products can interact negatively," he explains.

Mr Gage says the company understands the pressures that growers face - the lack of suitable spray windows, cost and workload. "But for the cost of one additional pass, growers risked reduced efficacy, surviving blackgrass and reduced yield."

This complements the company's advice to prioritise size of blackgrass rather than waiting until later in the spring for more traditional "ideal" growing conditions, when blackgrass could be well into tillering or beyond.

"Grassweed control is often an autumn job that didn't get done, so it should be prioritised above all spring jobs. There'll be plenty more opportunities to tackle septoria and broad-leaved weeds, but you only get one shot at blackgrass," he says.