How can you get the most out of glyphosate?

Whether applying glyphosate pre-harvest to reduce crop moisture and reduce contamination of grassweeds or applying post-harvest to eliminate grassweeds prior to drilling the next crop, growers should consider applying Inferno with their glyphosate applications. Inferno improves coverage, reducing the number of spray droplets less than 100 microns, reducing spray drift by up to 75%. The activity of glyphosate is reduced by hard water so the ability of Inferno to soften hard water by effective and rapid sequestration of calcium and magnesium ions makes it a desirable tank mix partner for glyphosate.

In addition to its drift retardant and water conditioning properties, Inferno is readily compatible with all glyphosate formulations, is a pH buffer and contains an effective anti-foam agent to increase efficiency during sprayer filling.

An independent trial conducted by Eurofins in 2018, demonstrated the benefit on blackgrass control from applying Inferno with Glyphosate. 28 days after the application was made, 62.5% control was recorded where glyphosate had been applied alone. Blackgrass control was significantly increased to 73.75% when Inferno at 0.5% (0.5L per 100L spray volume) was applied with the glyphosate. However, blackgrass control was further increased when Inferno was used at 1% (1L per 100L spray volume) with a statistically significant result recorded at 80% control. This is a combination of reduced drift leading to better coverage, as well as the effect of the humectants in the formulation controlling the drying rate enabling increased absorption into the blackgrass.

Further trials have investigated the effect of Inferno on spray drift at different boom heights. Independent trials by Silsoe Spray Applications Unit using a Teejet 11003 flat fan nozzle at 3.0 bar pressure have shown a 60% reduction in spray drift two metres downwind when Inferno is applied at 1% with glyphosate at 50cm boom height, compared to glyphosate alone. This further increased to a 70% reduction in spray drift at three metres downwind.

Reducing spray drift not only protects the environment, but also means the boom height can be raised, the water volume can be reduced and the speed of application can be increased, all increasing the efficiency of the glyphosate application. The trials with Silsoe Spray Applications Unit also studied drift at 70cm boom height and the results are shown below. The graph shows that spray drift was greater at 70cm compared to 50cm when glyphosate was applied alone. However, Glyphosate + Inferno 1% at 70cm height reduced spray drift to below that seen at 50cm boom height with glyphosate alone.

Growers should consider applying Inferno when making glyphosate applications to reduce spray drift, increase glyphosate activity through water softening and improve sprayer filling efficiency.