AgroPages-Dow AgroSciences launching new soy burndown herbicide Elevore-Agricultural news

Related News

With the 2016 growing season nearing the halfway mark, many growers are scouting soybean fields to find unwelcome marestail plants competing with their crops. While marestail is not new to Midwest growers, herbicide-resistant marestail continues to spread, making it increasingly difficult to control with glyphosate alone.

Pending registration, Elevore herbicide will provide thorough control of many glyphosate- and ALS-resistant weeds, including marestail up to 8 inches tall, chickweed and henbit. It is expected to control and suppress costly and high-anxiety weeds when applied as part of a grower's burndown program before planting.

Elevore contains Arylex active (Halauxifen-methyl) a new Group 4 growth regulator herbicide developed by Dow AgroSciences. Arylex works systemically to control weeds from the inside out to provide thorough control of labeled weeds.

"Because Elevore contains Arylex active, it provides systemic control and does a great job of virtually eliminating the chance for regrowth of targeted plants," says Jeff Ellis, Ph.D., field scientist, Dow AgroSciences. "Symptoms on targeted plants are shown as typical auxin responses followed by necrosis and death. This type of plant death gives growers peace of mind their fields will be cleaner at planting."

In field trials conducted by Dow AgroSciences, Elevore tank-mixed with 2,4-D delivered 97 percent control of glyphosate-resistant marestail when applied in a pre-plant burndown program.

"We targeted glyphosate-resistant marestail between five and eight inches in field trials and have seen superior control of this weed species," Ellis says. "Elevore provided excellent activity on marestail across a wide range of geographies and at various heights, including 8-inch-tall marestail."

Left uncontrolled, marestail can grow quickly and rapidly consume a soybean field. According to Michigan State University, an estimated 83 percent of soybean yield is lost from 105 marestail plants per 10 square feet. It is critical to control marestail early, before soybean plants begin to emerge, for maximum yield potential at the end of the season, Ellis says.

Once registered, it is anticipated that Elevore will be labeled for application with commonly used residual and burndown tank-mix partners, including glyphosate and 2,4-D, up to 14 days before planting soybeans in the Midwest. With a low use rate, Elevore will have an excellent fit in reduced- and no-till production systems. Registration for Elevore is expected in 2017.