Value in sponsoring herbicide stewardship program
FMC Agricultural Solutions, now the world’s fifth largest crop protection chemical company, has recently signed up as a silver sponsor of the WeedSmart herbicide stewardship program.
Dugald North, FMC development manager (crops) said the company’s acquisition of part of the DuPont Crop Protection division late last year has brought to the company a world-class discovery and development team and facilities, a pipeline of 15 synthetic active ingredients currently in development, including insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, and an extensive library of 1.8 million synthetic compounds.
Dugald North, FMC Agricultural Solutions development manager (crops) said the company has signed up as a silver sponsor of the WeedSmart herbicide stewardship program to support the ‘WeedSmart Big 6’ strategy for sustainable herbicide use.
“FMC is keenly aware of the impact herbicide resistance has on farming businesses and is fully supportive of the ‘WeedSmart Big 6’ strategy for sustainable herbicide use,” said Mr North. “We see WeedSmart as an important component of promoting herbicide use that prolongs the efficacy of our new herbicide molecules when they are released on the market.”
“The WeedSmart Big 6 combines best practice herbicide use with cultural strategies to keep weed numbers low, maintaining an environment where herbicides can perform most effectively,” he said. “Herbicide resistance is a central concern for our business and FMC is committed to prolonging the effective life of new chemistries, even if this means foregoing sales in the short term.”
Prior to the release of their new herbicide molecules, FMC has contracted the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI) to conduct multi-generational resistance testing, which Mr North said will provide a scientific basis for the formulation of an effective stewardship program for individual products.
In welcoming FMC Agricultural Solutions as a silver sponsor, Lisa Mayer, AHRI centre manager and WeedSmart project leader said the promotion of sustainable herbicide use and cultural practices that drive down weed seed banks is key to securing the weed control productivity gains made by the current generation of Australian farmers.
“WeedSmart is an industry-led initiative that brings together knowledge and experience from Australian research partners, commercial entities, Government, advisers and growers to ensure Australian farmers have access to leading-edge weed management technologies and practices,” she said. “With the financial and in-kind support from sponsors secured for a further three years, WeedSmart is geared up to continue providing rural industries with insights into effective integrated weed control programs.”
Ms Mayer said gaining the support of FMC Agricultural Solutions was testament to the perceived effectiveness of the WeedSmart program in promoting practical tactics growers could implement to maintain their profitability.
“WeedSmart has become an effective conduit of information between growers within and between regions, and between growers, advisors and researchers,” she said. “We have used as many platforms as possible to raise awareness, not only of the extent of herbicide resistance but also to highlight successful management strategies that growers can implement immediately.”
“There have been many instances where growers have returned from a WeedSmart Week event or field day, or read about another grower’s success and immediately adopted practices such as harvest weed seed control, patch management, optical spray technologies or greater crop competition.”
The ‘Big 6’ WeedSmart tactics known to drive down weed numbers and drastically reduce the impact of herbicide resistance on Australian farms are: 1. Rotate crops and pastures, 2. Mix and rotate herbicide modes of action, 3. Increase crop competition, 4. Use the double-knock, 5. Stop weed seed set and 6. Implement harvest weed seed control.
FMC have joined forces with existing platinum sponsor GRDC, gold sponsors CRDC, Nufarm, Sinochem, Syngenta, Monsanto and Bayer, silver sponsors Pioneer Seeds, BASF and Dow AgroSciences and bronze sponsors Queensland Government, ICAN, Delta Agribusiness, The University of Adelaide, CropLife, Rural Directions and AGRIvision to spread the WeedSmart Big 6 message amongst growers and advisors to tackle herbicide resistance in Australia.