Crop Inputs
By Pat Lynch, Consulting Agronomist
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’
Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control contains some new products for corn this year. Axiom, from Bayer, is a formulated
mix of flufenacet and a low rate of metribuzin which provides control of a weed spectrum similar to Dual or Frontier
plus metribuzin. According to Bayer, flufenacet provides excellent annual grass control, including fall panicum.
Converge, a new active last year from Aventis, is a co-pack of isoxaflutole and atrazine. This new chemistry is a broad spectrum broadleaf and annual grass herbicide that also works on proso millet.
Summit, from Syngenta, is a premix formulation of primisulfuron-methyl and dicamba featuring outstanding crop safety. Primisulfuron is related to the actives in Elim and Accent but has a different weed spectrum. Summit is effective on quackgrass and broadleaf weeds. Liberty Prime, also from Syngenta (registration pending), is a co-pack of Liberty and Primextra II Magnum. Liberty Prime features quick burndown and excellent residual control on Liberty Link hybrids.
Accent One-Pass is a new offering from DuPont. It comes in a 3-chambered jug, which contains the actives from Accent and PEAKPLUS. DuPont will market it as a new product, which controls quackgrass, annual grasses and broadleaves and offers exceptional product safety.
This year’s edition will contain tank mixes. This was a result of groups such as the OCPA urging they be included.
Hybrids: no new traits available. There is experimental work on hybrids with genes to kill rootworm and cutworm, but nothing commercially available. Last year, any plants with these genes had to be destroyed before harvest. There are a number of new hybrids available. Currently there are about 30 hybrids with the Liberty Link gene.
Fungicides and Insecticides: nothing new commercially for 2001.
Tillage: probably the most exciting work is a co-operative program looking at trans-til. While not a new system, this is a major new project, including Monsanto, Yetter, some of the Ontario equipment dealers and OMAFRA. Corn Specialist Greg Stewart was responsible for some of the plots. Hopefully this project will continue this spring.
Nutrient Management Plans will probably
affect more acres of corn than any other new thing in 2001. They will change the way we grow crops 
and way manure is managed. They will offer
some tremendous opportunities for those who wish to take advantage of them.
Other: I have asked a number of peers working in the corn industry, and all said that for 2001 ‘many things old are new again’, including the following recommendations on fertilizer use:
1) When using a starter fertilizer make sure you have at least 25 lbs/ac actual nitrogen. Of all the ingredients in a starter, nitrogen is the most important unless you have broadcast nitrogen ahead of time.
2) Make the fertilizer fit the field. This means soil test and use what is an appropriate for each field. (Now there’s a novel new idea.)
3) Utilize the nutrients from manure wisely.
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