Bayer launches pre-emergent herbicide Adengo in Brazil

A factor that can dramatically affect agricultural productivity is the issue of weed infestation. According to Embrapa, the losses generated by competition from weeds range between 13% and 15% of grain production on average. To help corn producers control weeds, Bayer launched Adengo^®, a pre-emergent herbicide that has two active principles with different mechanisms of action, isoxaflutole and thiencarbazone, guaranteeing broad spectrum of control and acting on both broad leaves and narrow sheets, as explained by Adolpho Lemos (Manager of Bayer's Selective Herbicide Portfolio for Latin America).

″Horseweed, caruru, chicken foot grass, mattress and milk grass (Euphorbia heterophylla), and other weeds compete for water and nutrients, negatively affecting the productive potential of corn crops, in addition to harming the entire productivity system of farmers. They can also cause damage to harvests, when branches intertwining with corn plants, preventing the harvester from operating correctly,″ Lemos said.

A producer from São Luiz Gonzaga (RS), Otávio Caino, said that the solution helped him control major weeds, even the most resistant ones. ″Adengo^® is a great tool for making our crops cleaner, having a more peaceful harvest and then ensuring better planting conditions for crops,″ he said.

The product, tested in more than 522 properties in the summer and 2021/22 off-season in all production regions in Brazil, totaling more than 773,000 hectares, achieved significant productivity gains. Even during a year with a drier climate and less productive potential, the average obtained with the management of Adengo^®, added to a post-emergence herbicide, was 2.8 bags per hectare (sc/ha) more compared to the traditional model (post-emergence application only).

Lemos also noted that in summer and in the off-season, the best results obtained by Adengo^® were observed in areas with greater weed infestations and in crops with high productive potential and planted in the hottest and wettest periods, in which the productivity gain was more than 15 sc/ha compared to the conventional model.

According to Lemos, there was a reduction of more than 85% in weed emergence in the test areas treated with Adengo^®. Another feature unique to Adengo^®, called the ″Recharge Effect,″ guarantees even more convenience to producers. ″Even during a drought situation, like the one that affected the development of corn last year, or during a summer season, the product can remain in the soil without being degraded and, when humidity returns, its herbicide effect will be reactivated,″ Lemos stressed.

The new solution has a stable formulation and can be applied with or without straw, always during the pre-emergence of corn, to ensure effectiveness in controlling the seed banks of weed, boost corn productivity and make the area cleaner for later cultures. Adengo^® also helps producers, such as Rafael Moreno from Santo Ângelo (RS), produce more with sustainability. ″The product has a more prolonged residual effect on an area, so I did not have to make other applications afterwards and I was able to harvest it clean,″ he said.

Technology in the field

Another factor that helped producers increase productivity, aiding in decision-making, was the adoption of digital tools, such as the Climate FieldView™ platform from Bayer. Of the 113 producers who applied Adengo^® in their summer crops, 55% used the tool for various purposes, 14% for planting, 28% for spraying and 36% for harvesting.

″The technology arrived to add even more value to production, helping producers make decisions based on information and the history of their own plots. Therefore, we constantly invest in the development of technologies, which help offer agronomic solutions customized to the needs of our customers,″ Lemos said in conclusion.