Interfarm UK introduced Polecat herbicide against wild-oats

With reports of spring-germinating wild-oats showing up in wheat in UK, growers are being advised to plan which fields would need an herbicide application later on this spring, according to Stewart Woodhead, Technical Manager, Interfarm UK Ltd.

A new formulation of the popular foliar-acting herbicide fenoxaprop-p, Polecat(fenoxaprop-p-ethyl+mefenpyr-diethyl) is recognised as being a very effective post-emergence grass-weed herbicide, particularly on wild-oats,” explains Stewart.

Polecat is a foliar-acting herbicide for the control of wild-oats, rough-stalked meadow-grass and canary grass in winter and spring wheat. It is applied post-emergence for the control of emerged weeds from the 2 fully expanded leaf stage of the weed up to GS 30 for rough-stalked meadow-grass and awned canary grass and up to GS 39 for wild-oats. In terms of crop stage, it can be applied post-emergence up to and including flag leaf ligule just visible (GS39). One application can be made per crop, with a Maximum Individual Dose of 1.2 l/ha. It is packed in a 5 litre pack.

“Polecat is a new product for us, containing 69 g/l of fenoxaprop-p as an oil in water emulsion. It is recommended at a dose rate of 0.8 l/ha plus an appropriate adjuvant for wild-oats up to Growth Stage 23, or 1 l/ha plus adjuvant for wild-oats up to Growth Stage 30 or 1.2 l/ha plus adjuvant for weeds up to GS 39. The dose rate is varied according to weed size,” he advises. As well as wild-oats, Polecat has good activity on rough-meadow-grass and awned canary grass from two leaves up to Growth Stage 30 of the weed. It can also be mixed with many broad-leaved weed herbicides to tidy up on weed control. Polecat has excellent crop safety and no LERAP.

“To avoid the build-up of resistance, do not apply products containing an ACCase inhibitor herbicide more than twice to any crop. In addition, do not use this product in mixture or sequence with any other product containing fenoxaprop-P-ethyl.” adds Stewart.