This tip was provided by:
Calvin Trostle, Extension Agronomy, Lubbock, 806-746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu
Statewide
An Important Component of Weed Control that Doesn’t Involve Chemicals, Equipment, or even Weeds. II. Your Custom Applicator
Clear Communication is Important
In the last Sorghum Tip I discussed ensuring that your employees are clear on what needs to be done, that you cross-check with them on application practices, and even provide the means for your permanent employees to obtain their own pesticide applicator license and the training that goes with it.
Here are some key tips for working with your custom applicator:
Be clear with any commercial applicator you hire and ensure they understand what is needed and they are following label guidelines. Confirm the rate of chemical you need applied. Are their additives needed like AMS or crop oil? If so, make sure. I especially encourage farmers hiring custom application work to know what the label calls for as a minimum of carrier volume, whether by air or ground rig. Expect—require—that your applicator use the minimum labeled rate for water per acre. This is important for coverage; make sure you get what you are paying for.
Some labels unfortunately state a too-low carrier volume rate. Here are two examples that reflect different reasons why carrier volume is too low and should be increased:
- Dupont’s Prevathon, which better enables sorghum growers to attack worms in the whorl is labeled in Texas for 2 gallons per acre for aerial application. Even Dupont staff in Texas disagree with this. It needs to be at least 3 gallons per acre, and probably more for optimal coverage. Unfortunately, since this is the labeled rate your custom applicator may balk without you paying more if you want 5 gallons per acre. This is a dilemma, but if you are serious about achieving good insect control then carrier volume must be considered. A poor application may require a second application.
- Transform for sugarcane aphid. If this insecticide becomes labeled again for use, Texas A&M AgriLife entomologists are in wide agreement that coverage is critical. The labeled rate for aerial application for Transform is 3 gallons per acre, but our entomologist agree this is a situation with SCA that you need to apply 5 gallons by air (or 15 or more gallons/acre by ground vs.; 5-10 gpa is labeled). So this is somewhat different situation than above in that SCA presents a special situation. Also, there is wide agreement among AgriLife entomologists that different additives are merited (DowAgro agrees), but this information is not on the label, so you would need to relay this to your applicator to ensure they can follow best recommended practices.
Ready On-line Access to Chemical Labels for Agricultural Production
Herbicides, insecticides, seed treatments, fungicides, etc. All in one place. Chemical Data Management Systems maintains current full and Section labels at http://www.cdms.net (click on Label Database, then type in the name of the chemical in the search box). For additional use of this website, including instructions on how to search for chemicals by active ingredient (often a generic), consult the AgriLife Extension guide for using CDMS’ website at http://lubbock.tamu.edu/files/2015/05/2015-Texas-Grain-Sorghum-Weed-Control-Guide-A.pdf
