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Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine

Effect of herbicide-fungicide tankmixes on winter wheat injury and yield 2012-2015

Principal Investigator

Peter Sikkema

Research Institution

University of Guelph

Project Start

March 2012

Project End

February 2015

Objectives

  • Identify herbicide-fungicide tankmixes that cause visible injury to winter wheat.
  • Determine the impact of herbicide-fungicide tank mixtures on winter wheat yield and moisture content.
  • Develop recommendations regarding safe herbicide-fungicide tank mixtures for Ontario winter wheat growers.

Impact

  • The validation that there is an adequate margin of crop safety in wheat to the POST application of three new herbicides – Refine M, Trophy and Peak + Pardner – allows farmers to have more options for weed management.
  • The validation that it is safe to apply a herbicide (Refine M, Trophy and Peak + Pardner) with a fungicide (Twinline, Stratego, Quilt and Acapela) for weed and disease control in one-pass will allow farmers to use an integrated option that will provide control of weeds and diseases and improve crop production efficiency.

Scientific Summary

Disclaimer: The information presented here does not constitute a recommendation by the researcher or Grain Farmers of Ontario. Always read and follow the pesticide label before use. Always ensure that you have the most current label.

Weed control and disease management are two management considerations in winter wheat production. For weed management, growers often use postemergence (POST) application herbicides for the control of grass and broadleaf weeds in winter wheat. For disease management, growers often use single or multiple POST applications of fungicides such as Twinline, Stratego, Quilt and Acapela. Although application timing of these POST herbicides and fungicides often coincides, currently, no combination of herbicide and fungicide are labelled for use in winter wheat grown in Ontario. Co-application of POST herbicides with fungicides would allow growers to reduce the number of passes through the field, reduce fuel and labor costs, wear and tear on machinery, soil compaction, as well as mechanical damage to the crop. There are no published data on the effect of co-application of Puma Advance, Peak + Pardner and Trophy with Twinline, Stratego, Quilt and Acapela on winter wheat under Ontario environmental conditions. In addition, information on compatibility of these herbicides with fungicides is very important to winter wheat growers as incompatibility in the tank can result in significant crop and equipment damage as well as reduction in weed and disease control. More research is needed to identify herbicides and fungicides tankmixes that provide consistent control of problem weeds and diseases while providing adequate margin of crop safety in winter wheat.

The objective of this research was to determine if the addition of Twinline, Stratego, Quilt and Acapela to Puma Advance, Peak + Pardner and Trophy results in an increase injury and a decrease in winter wheat height and yield. Three new herbicides (Refine M, Trophy and Peak + Pardner) were evaluated in combination with four fungicides (Twinline, Stratego, Quilt and Acapela) at six field studies at the Ridgetown Campus of University of Guelph, Ridgetown, Ontario in 2012, 2013 and 2014 (two trials each year). A non-treated control was included for comparison. Estimates of crop injury were evaluated on a scale of 0 to 100% at 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks after treatment (WAT). At 7 days after treatment, there was minimal visible crop injury of 1.7, 0.25 and 0.5% with Refine M, Trophy and Peak + Pardner, respectively. Similarly, the fungicides, Twinline, Stratego, Quilt and Acapela caused 0.0, 0.3, 0.3 and 0.5% visible crop injury, respectively. The level of wheat injury with the herbicide/fungicide combinations did not increase appreciably. The injury observed decreased was transient with no visible crop injury at 28 and 56 days after application. The herbicide, fungicide and herbicide/fungicide combinations did not have an appreciable effect on winter wheat height, maturity (as indicated by moisture content at harvest) or yield in these studies. Based on these results, herbicides and fungicides at the rates evaluated can be tankmixed if co-application of herbicides and a fungicide is desired. The combination of herbicides and fungicides could provide winter wheat growers with an integrated option that will provide control of weeds and diseases and improve crop production efficiency.