Omex Agriculture, Gowan renewed tank mix agreement

Omex Agriculture and Gowan Comerçio have renewed their mutual agreement to tank-mix and apply liquid suspension fertilisers with the grass-weed herbicide Avadex® Excel 15G (tri-allate).

Andy Eccles, agronomist from Omex Agriculture, explains that many farmers are looking for a simple and accurate way to apply Avadex. “The tank mix offers an ideal opportunity to save time and money by having crop fertiliser and Avadex requirements applied in one pass. A large number of fields in the UK are in PK deficit, with national surveys showing crop removal significantly exceeding replacement rates. Indications are that most farmers will be addressing the deficit this autumn”. 

Omex suspension fertilisers are made to order and are precision applied using unique self-propelled suspension sprayers. Combining important nutrients with a herbicide tackles two jobs in one pass, improving timeliness and saving time and money at a busy time of year.

"With black-grass infesting over 1 million hectares and herbicide resistance escalating, growers are looking for chemistry that can add to their weed control programme. The active ingredient, tri-allate, marketed as Avadex Excel 15G, has been around for 50 years and is seeing a revival of interest, as it is a uniquely different chemical with a complex mode of action and no problem of resistance. We have seen huge interest in applying Avadex granules this year and applying it with Omex suspension fertiliser is a great opportunity for growers to get the black-grass job started,” explains Dr. Dominic Lamb, UK and Ireland Business Manager for Gowan.

The technique of applying a tailor made Omex suspension fertiliser together with an effective residual black-grass herbicide in Avadex granules pre-emergence of the crop was originally developed in Norfolk and has now extended through most eastern counties via Omex’s fleet of 35 subcontract application machines.

Results suggest that this technique delivers a better technical solution because the even distribution of granules within the solution ensures an even coverage of the soil and the granules being delivered in moisture. It also means that the herbicide can be applied equally accurately at 24 or 36 metres at speeds of up to 18kph (compared to the 12m and less than 8kph with many solid spreaders).

Dominic Lamb says that Avadex granules are here to stay for the long term and will be marketed alongside other tri-allate formulations being development. “Finding cost-effective and convenient ways of applying this residual granular herbicide will be important in the continuing fight against black-grass.”