Posted: June 30, 2009

Monsanto and Bayer CropScience have signed a cross-licensing agreement on herbicide tolerance traits in canola.

The agreement is on a non-exclusive basis for commercialization within each company's respective branded canola seed businesses, says a Monsanto news release. Under the terms of this global agreement, Monsanto will grant Bayer CropScience access to Monsanto's Genuity Roundup Ready canola trait and Bayer CropScience will grant Monsanto access to its LibertyLink tolerance trait for use in canola.

"With this new agreement, Canadian farmers will benefit from greater access to new traits and new technologies that will help ensure canola remains competitive in the global marketplace," says Neil Arbuckle, Monsanto's canola business development lead.

The agreement also includes specified rights to access, on a non-exclusive basis, future herbicide tolerance traits and other agronomic traits that may be introduced by either party for use in canola.

Click here to view the news release on the Monsanto site.

Click here to view the news release on the Bayer site.

Posted: June 30, 2009

BASF Canada announced it has received an amended registration for the use of its Headline fungicide product on flax. With this registration, growers can now apply Headline to protect their flax crop against Pasmo (Septoria linicol).

Early infection of Pasmo can reduce the yield and quality of flax substantially and the disease has become widespread the past few years, particularly in Manitoba, says BASF's news release. Most of the yield loss occurs because infected plants ripen too quickly, seeds do not fill normally, or heavy boll-drop by wind and rain occurs.

BASF recommends that for optimal disease control, Headline should be applied preventatively to flax at 0.3 L/ha (120 ml/ac) at 8-10 days after first flower, with a minimum of 100 L/ha water for ground application or 50L/ha water for aerial application.

The company says this registration was achieved due to a cooperative effort between the Manitoba Minor Use Coordinators, the Manitoba Flax Growers Association, the Flax Council of Canada and BASF Canada.

More information is available on the BASF website, www.agsolutions.ca.

Posted: June 30, 2009

There's no doubt the practice of tank mixing to meet spraying needs has grown in popularity. However it has also grown in complexity.

As a result, applicators today need to take more care than ever in understanding the compatibility of the products they're mixing.

Ed Thiessen, technical crop manager with Syngenta, has observed the trends from a front-row seat, dealing directly with growers and applicators across the prairies and taking their questions.

"There are two problems that I see that have become more prevalent in recent years, not just under the specific conditions we have this spring but even under perfect conditions," says Thiessen. "One is people ending up with spraying issues like residue in the tanks, plugged screens and plugged nozzles. The second one is when, based on what you put in the tank, you end up antagonizing one or more of the products and reducing its activity."

Both types of problems are the result of mixing products that aren't compatible. Labels are relatively complete for tank mixing, but a couple of key elements aren't captured on the label that may be contributing to more issues.

The first is greater use of micronutrients. While claims of micronutrient manufacturers are driving growing awareness and interest in these products, herbicide labels are not required by the Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) to include compatibility information for micronutrients.

"Growers are learning there are benefits of using these micronutrient products in many cases," says Thiessen. "But when it comes to tank mixing, it is tougher to know what you're dealing with. Also there's a proliferation of these products out there and the formulations change a lot more frequently than herbicide formulations. So even if we wanted to test them all, it would be difficult to keep up."

Thiessen advises talking to manufacturers directly. "If it's a micronutrient mixer that you're looking to add to a herbicide mix, don't just phone the herbicide manufacturer. Ask the micronutrient company too what their thoughts are. Applicators tend to come to us and want to know what we think. And they won't always think to go to the source of the micronutrients. You should ask both companies."

Doing that is particularly critical considering that when applicators mix products that aren't on the label, they're the ones liable if it doesn't work out.

With more new herbicide products coming onto the market, another factor that's starting to affect growers is the lag period between when a new product gets registered and when it is registered as a tank mix with other products. "The new product is often registered before the data on mixing is approved by PMRA. Then it's not until the next year we can print our label with that information on it."

Thiessen recommends that applicators talk to the manufacturers and find out what their experience is with the product. "We'll certainly help them as much as we legally can, based on what we know technically on these mixes. Certainly it doesn't hurt to make that five minute phone call. It might save a wreck."