There is exciting news for cereal growers this spring as Sumir, a highly active ALS inhibitor herbicide, has received authorisation for joint application with a much wider range of products.
This authorisation increases the range of products with which Sumir can be used in joint application to include Boudha, Broadway Star, Dakota, Ergon, Hamlet, Hiatus, LAYA, Nautius, Savvy Premium or Spitfire, or with one of the products previously authorised on the Sumir label.
Manufactured by off-patent manufacturers Life Scientific, Sumir is a reverse engineered formulation of Boxer. It controls annual broad-leaved weeds in cereals such as cleavers, chickweed, mayweed and volunteer oilseed rape and is also used extensively for controlling volunteer beans in cereal crops.
Sumir contains florasulam, an ALS inhibitor herbicide (Herbicide Resistance Action Committee Mode of Action Group 2), a group which also includes the sulfonyl urea’s.
Sumir is the only ALS inhibitor herbicide to offer all of these products for use in joint application.
“ALS herbicides have been used as the main stay in cereal crops due to their efficacy and the broad spectrum of weeds controlled, even at larger growth stages, which will prove vital this spring as many crops haven’t received any previous herbicide applications due to the weather, so they offer a really useful option,” says Ruth Stanley, country manager for Life Scientific UK & Ireland.
She points out ALS products are only used in small doses due to their high levels of activity with stringent regulatory requirements on their use, especially when used in mixture or sequence with another ALS inhibitor herbicide in a joint application.
“Any joint applications must be approved by CRD and products, not active ingredients, must be specifically named on the label. Any joint application must comply with all directions for use or restrictions for each product label, and users must ensure that the products are authorised for use on the crop.”
Mrs Stanley adds that correct application is key to success. “Use the correct dosage, take care not to overlap or clean out spray equipment in the crop and overdose and always wash out with an approved tank cleaner after application.
“This recent authorisation reflects our approach in offering high quality off-patent crop protection products to market with the goal of providing customers with better options to meet their plant protection needs,” she says.
Sumir is commercially available through distribution partners, ProCam and Hutchinsons. For more information on Sumir, please visit see the Life Scientific website https://lifescientific.com/products/
