A recent Weed Technology journal article shows a new preemergence corn herbicide can be effective as part of an integrated weed management approach to thwart waterhemp
Posted on June 5, 2024
WESTMINSTER, Colorado – 5 June 2024 – Diflufenican, a new mode of action herbicide for preemergence use in corn, demonstrates effectiveness as an integrated weed management strategy for multiple-herbicide resistant (MHR) waterhemp (Amaranthus tuberculatus) control. That’s the conclusion from a recently published research article in the journal Weed Technology, a journal of the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA).
Diflufenican is a WSSA Group 12 selective contact and residual herbicide that European farmers have used for weed management in cereals and lentils for several years. In February 2024, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) registered diflufenican in Canada and the USA. Developed by Bayer Crop Science for North America under the tradename Convintro, diflufenican’s approval is still pending for use in corn and soybean from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“No other herbicide from WSSA Group 12 has ever been marketed for weed management in corn and soybean in North America,” says Nader Soltani, Ph.D., an adjunct professor at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and corresponding author of the study. “Since waterhemp has evolved resistance to several herbicide Groups (2, 4, 5, 9, 14, 15, and 27), and is considered among the most problematic weed species to manage, this new herbicide could prove critical as part of an integrated weed management waterhemp control strategy here in Canada and also in the USA.”
