Herbicide Changes for 2001

A number of generic Roundup type products containing glyphosate are available. Such products offer equivalent weed control at possibly a lower price. Generic formulations require the addition of a surfactant.

The new Touchdown formulation contains glyphosate as opposed to sulfosate which was nearly identical to glyphosate. According to the manufacturers literature, the glyphosate in Touchdown is “improved”. Apparently, the “improved” glyphosate is translocated faster than the traditional glyphosate.

Boa is a generic paraquat formulation that Griffin is marketing. The Boa formulation is identical, in terms of use rate, to Gramoxone Extra formulation that was available in 2000.

Surflan Availability

The Surflan supply will be very limited over next one to two years. In newly planted and non-bearing situations Prowl would be an alternative to Surflan. They are similar products and provide similar control of the same species. However, Prowl works best if rainfall activates it within 7 days of application. Surflan tends to perform better than Prowl when rainfall does not occur with in 7 days of application. In established orchards Solicam would be a good alternative for tank mixing with simazine or Karmex in the event you have been using a tank mix of Surflan with simazine.