Get the Most from your Adjuvant

Apr 20, 2022


Sprayer Nozzle

Get the most from your adjuvant.

A tractor is a necessity on the farm, but without fuel it's useless. The same principal applies to herbicide and adjuvants. Until a herbicide's active ingredient meets its intended target, it doesn't really have much benefit. That's why adjuvants are an essential tank-mix partner for effective weed control. Here are three actions you can take to ensure your weed control program gets the job done.

1. Know your water. 
Water conditioners are one class of adjuvants that can make a big impact on herbicide efficacy. Minerals in water can tie up a product’s active ingredient in the spray tank, making it less effective on weeds. In addition, water conditioners help keep herbicides active on the leaf surface, where free cations from the soil and the plant bind up herbicide active ingredients. Depending on the composition of your water, there are wide use rates for water conditioners that can impact the effectiveness of weed control and the price per acre of the application.

 

2. Think like a weed.
Weeds come in all shapes and sizes and have different biological characteristics and life cycles. That’s why you need to identify the most problematic weeds in your field and then think about what it will take to knock those weeds out. For example, some weeds have leaf hairs or a waxy cuticle that make it more difficult for a herbicide to penetrate. In that case, crop oil added to the tank can help get the active ingredient into the plant for better weed control. Crop oils are another class of adjuvant that are formulated to increase herbicide penetration and reduce surface tension.
 
3. Get to the target.
I’ve seen a lot of people get the first two steps right, only to mess up when it comes to the actual application. As mentioned, the ultimate goal is to get as much herbicide active ingredient as possible to the target location, whether that’s a weed or the soil. If you don’t hit that target, then you won’t get effective weed control, no matter what you’ve got in the tank. Data from WinField United’s patented Spray Analysis System has shown that up to 54% of spray volume can be lost before it even reaches its intended target.* But drift reduction adjuvants, including InterLock® adjuvant, actually optimize droplet size for more precise deposition and coverage to help ensure that more active ingredient reaches its target.

 
Adjuvants are essential for achieving optimum weed control. But not all adjuvants work the same, so it’s important to work with your trusted agronomic advisor to choose the right products for your specific needs. For more information about how adjuvants can help you battle weeds more effectively, please contact your local Premier agronomist.
 


Ryan Wolf

Winfield United
 

 

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Gearing up for spring is not only about the equipment, but also the additional staff needed to provide the products and services our members rely on to help feed the world. Each year we try to fill about 100 full and part time positions at our eleven agronomy locations. These positions can last from six weeks up to eight months. Most seasonal positions involve delivering product to our members or directly to fields to keep our custom application machines running smoothly. If you or someone you know is interested in seasonal or year-round employment, please contact Shayla at our Mt Horeb office or stop by one of the agronomy locations. The hours can be flexible and available up to seven days a week. If agronomy work isn’t for you, ask about openings at any of our other locations including retail associates, plant operations, truck drivers, administrative professionals and more. Premier is always looking to add quality people to our team.

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I know many of you have plans in place for a spring burndown herbicide application. If not, here are a few reasons for you to get in contact with your Premier agronomist to do so. Spring burndown applications typically target winter annuals and perennial grasses that overwinter and resume growing as soon as temperatures warm in the spring.  As they get going in the field they immediately begin stealing water and nutrients from the soil, and can create planting challenges. With the onset of resistant weeds like waterhemp, and standby challenges like giant ragweed, it is a best practice recommendation to add a strong residual herbicide to your preplant spring burndown application.  Doing so helps keep populations down and gets ahead of your first early post application. Here are some tips for establishing clean fields that give your crop a strong start.

 

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