What is one of the keys to effective weed control? Choosing the right herbicide, of course. Ideally, this means using the best product for each weed you plan to treat in the field. While it may be tempting to choose a cheaper option (such as a generic product), it may not be the best choice for maximizing weed control efficacy.
Choosing the right herbicide
Choosing the right herbicide is all about finding the best product for your operation. Bayer offers a broad portfolio of corn herbicide solutions, so you can easily find effective herbicides to manage problem weeds in your fields.
To find the right product for your operation, start by asking yourself these three questions.
What are the weed species I want to control?
Identifying the problem weeds in your field is the first step in finding the right herbicide for your operation. Choose an herbicide with active ingredients that are effective against these specific problem weeds.
What are the characteristics of the soil in the field?
Soil type, pH and organic matter content are all important characteristics when selecting an herbicide to minimize crop injury and contamination of subsequent crops.
Glyphosate
What is my ultimate goal?
Select herbicides based on what you want to accomplish, whether it's weed prevention or elimination, or both.
Not all herbicides are created equal.
Why herbicides are used in agriculture?
Weeds are a major problem in production agriculture. They compete with crops for important nutrients and water in the soil, reduce the quality of harvested crops, and can compromise food safety.
Weed control and herbicide use are not unique to conventional farming operations. Organic producers in the United States are allowed to use herbicides made from natural sources. Commercially sold organic herbicides are very expensive and often unaffordable for conventional farming operations.
Conventional farms often use plows to cultivate the land and manage weeds. This is a labor-intensive process that leaves valuable topsoil exposed, so some producers have sought new ways to control weeds in the field.
The introduction of no-till agriculture allows producers to forego the plow in order to retain nutrients and moisture in the soil. In no-till situations, farmers must use herbicides to control weeds in their fields. Their only other option was to hand weed thousands of acres. Advances in chemical and seed technology have allowed farmers to treat their fields with low levels of non-toxic herbicides and continue to produce large quantities of safe and healthy food.
Overall, "brand name herbicides and generics differ in 4 key ways.
Different surfactant packaging
While generics and brand-name products may contain the same active ingredient, they do not need to have the same surfactant packaging. This difference can affect how well the herbicide adheres to the leaf surface and can affect the performance of the herbicide.
Atrazine
Different molecular arrangements
The physical form of the active ingredient may also vary from one common product to another and from one branded product to another. Isomers or different molecular structures of ingredients may exist between products. Some arrangements will be better suited to the binding site on the plant than others, which can affect efficacy.
Different application rates
Application rates may also differ between brand name and generic herbicides. Depending on the formulation, you may need to add more of the generic product to get the same rate of active ingredient as the brand name product provides.
Different acid equivalents
Generic products may also have lower acid equivalents than brand-name products. Acid equivalent (AE) is a measure of herbicide efficacy. Products with a lower AE require a higher use rate to achieve the same amount of acid equivalent per acre.
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