Farmers discover peace of mind with corn weed control option

This year corn growers across the Midwest and western Plains say their weed control program kept down weeds, but more importantly, kept corn safe throughout the season.

Balance® Flexx pre-emergence herbicide from Bayer CropScience provided the same outstanding weed control growers expected from its predecessors, but also protected the crop from injury with its Crop Safety Innovation (CSI™) Safener technology.

Mason City, Iowa, corn producer Eric Arthur says he chose the herbicide because it brought benefits to his corn he didn’t receive with older chemistry.

"Even with a half rate of Balance Pro on our lighter soils, we could see the corn stunt a little bit,” Arthur says. “Now, because of the safener that’s in Balance Flexx, we were able to use the full 6-ounce rate and got excellent weed control. Plus, there was no crop injury whatsoever.”

The company’s exclusive CSI Safener works with the corn plant systemically, through soil and foliar uptake, to increase the rate of metabolic activity. As such, the safener serves as a catalyst to boost the production of metabolic enzymes in corn plants, but not weeds, making the weeds susceptible to herbicide activity.

Balance Flexx controls a broad spectrum of grass and broadleaf weeds, including those resistant to ALS, triazine and glyphosate modes of action. It also is flexible enough to fit any tillage program and provides excellent burndown and residual control.

"I can’t tolerate any weeds. I like to see my fields spotless,” says Cedar Bluffs, Neb., corn and soybean producer Brian Kucera. "Balance Flexx gives you a good window when you go with a two-pass program. It holds weeds down and gives you time to get in there and spray your second pass.”

Because Balance Flexx helps corn get off to a healthy start, it also can help boost yields, says Jeff Springsteen, Bayer CropScience marketing manager for selective corn and soybean herbicides.

According to a 2008 field trial conducted by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, early-season corn injury from Balance Pro plus atrazine resulted in a “16 percent reduction in corn yield compared to Balance Flexx plus atrazine.”

The herbicide is safe enough to use alone or in a tankmix with glyphosate and can be applied on any soil type from pre-plant to early postemergence (V2).

"Since they were introduced to the market 30 years ago, safeners generally have made herbicides safer on corn, but less effective on weeds, as corn is part of the grass family,” Springsteen says. “Our proprietary CSI Safener knows the difference between two and works hard to protect corn while herbicide properties go to work on the weeds.”

For more information about Balance Flexx with CSI Safener, growers can log on to www.BayerCropScience.us, contact their local Bayer CropScience representative or call 1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937).