ALERT: Prepare for Late Spring Infestations of Weeds, Insects and Fungus

CL #64, June 2014

Weeds are costly without control

They compete with crops for water, fertilizer, light and they reduce yield and quality. They increase labor and equipment costs and are a natural home for insect and disease.

Most weeds are wild plants.  Summer annual weeds grow every spring or summer from seed; they produce seed, mature, and die in one growing season. Seed from most summer annual weeds germinate mainly during a two-month period in May and June. Then the seed lies dormant until the next spring. Volunteer small grain or corn growing in un-wanted fields can also be considered a weed.  Growers use many techniques for controlling volunteer weeds, including using another herbicide in a GMA mixture that kills volunteer weeds and is compatible with glyphosate.

• Controlling those weeds is a challenge. HOOK & Micro-Ro-Pac Liquid Fertilizer assist in getting the spray to those weeds above the plant as well as those hiding under the canopy.
• Using HOOK and Mic-Ro-Pac in those tank sprays not only gives the pesticide the advantage of reduced drift and more complete leaf wetting and sticking and as an leaf activator and canopy penetrator, but the plant stays healthier which translates to increased crop yields and increased profits.

Insects cost the loss of crops and profits

You know which insects are coming to your area.  Year after year, those insects are relentless.

Insect activity has been quiet lately primarily due to the wet, cold weather this spring, but that is about to change.  While the Midwest recent weather has kept the bugs dormant for a while, it’s likely to give them a boost in the long run.  Most areas finally have rain….lots of it.  This makes for slow planting and meanwhile the insects are developing.

All of the moisture we have had is just right for insect population development. They love water and the things that water brings: plenty of wild plants and healthy crops that can serve as insect hosts.  Heavy infestations can severely damage or destroy young crops.

• Controlling insects in fields is also a challenge. HOOK and Micro-Ro-Pac Liquid Fertilizer assist in getting the spray to the plant to control the insects on top of leaf surfaces as well as those insects hiding under the canopy.
• Using HOOK and Mic-Ro-Pac in those tank sprays not only gives the insecticide the advantage of reduced drift and more complete leaf wetting and sticking and as an leaf activator and canopy penetrator to control those pests longer.  This means maximizing your pest control by keeping crops healthy for the summer, which also translates to increased crop yields and increased profits.

Fungal growth in crops reduces yields

Fungus grows in warm, wet fields.  Their spores attach to the healthy plant parts.  Some over-winter and many develop and are airborne.  As crops begin to grow those fungal spores attack young, healthy growing crops.

• Symptoms of fungal diseases are correlated to relatively high moisture. Monitor disease potential, especially after the use overhead watering at night which leaves the leaf surface a prime target for fungal attack, which ultimately leads to reduced crop yields and less profitability.
• If you have used crop rotation to help break the disease cycle, thinking that many diseases are host specific, this may not be the complete answer. Fungal diseases continue to be a problem in these fields as well.  It is important to continuously observe growing plants for symptoms of fungal growth.
• Many crops, such as wheat, are replanted with disease-free seed.  Still, some plants can be overwhelmed by fungal spores. Controlling those fungal diseases by spraying from aircraft is the best alternative if ground rig spraying cannot be used.

Using HOOK and Mic-Ro-Pac Liquid Fertilizer in those tank sprays gives the pesticide the advantage of reduced drift and more complete leaf wetting and sticking and as a leaf activator and canopy penetrator. HOOK assists in getting the spray to the whole plant, not just the top leaf surface.  Mic-Ro-Pac keeps plants healthy longer.

Adding HOOK and Mic-Ro-Pac Liquid Fertilizer in your fungicide sprays adjuvants maximizes your pest control to help keep crops disease-free and healthy which translates to increased crop yields and increased profits.

APAg EXTRA 

Why HOOK is an effective Drift Control adjuvant in addition to Hook’s other

adjuvant properties.

 Drift can be classified broadly into two categories — Droplet Particle Drift and Vapor Drift.

—The more common problem is Droplet Particle Drift, which occurs when small droplets are blown off-target by the prevailing wind.

—Vapor Drift damage to non-target susceptible vegetation is a less common problem, but can have devastating effects on areas remote from the application site. Vapor drift is when a small amount of vapor is formed during any spraying application and usually disperses into harmless concentrations. A concentration of vapors sufficient to cause serious damage to non-target plants is most likely to occur when winds are calm. The surprising conclusion is that light winds also warrant special precautions. The classic example of vapor drift is herbicide damage to plants not adjacent to the application area. Vapor drift has been known to affect areas as remote as several miles from the target. Hence, the source and cause of damage to areas affected by vapor drift can be difficult to resolve and vapor drift is suspected when all other logical explanations have failed. Although serious problems due to vapor drift are somewhat rare, the cause of vapor drift is associated with a common atmospheric condition known as a temperature inversion, where surface air is cooler than air immediately above.

HOOK is the choice for Droplet Particle Drift and Vapor Drift. Using HOOK eliminates spray drift by keeping spray particles in the larger and more even droplet form, minimizing non-target spray.

HOOK is more than a drift control: HOOK is the complete Adjuvant.

Typical Drift Control products are polymer acrylamides and gums. They do not have other functional properties built into those products.   HOOK has proven Drift Control with the advantages of additional features like leaf wetting, sticking, activator, and HOOK penetrates the canopy to target those low-lying weeds plus wet the underside of the leaf.

Read and follow all pesticide and adjuvant label regulations and use HOOK as your Drift Control Product for proven results.

Crop #64 Prepare for Late Spring Infestations 

     Vol. 8 #4