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Using pyridate in vegetables requires a critical balance to be struck between
crop selectivity and weed control efficacy, both affected by many factors.
Programs need to be constantly adapted to the current situation in the field
and weather conditions. High standards of technical skills are required to
achieve major successes with pyridate in a very diverse group of vegetables.
This in-house technical excellence allows Belchim to collaborate very
closely and gain the trust of the distribution channel and farmers. In this
way Belchim can grasp all opportunities for pyridate in vegetables, providing
tailor-made innovative solutions to the market. Hence, being very close to
the market is essential to implement this approach successfully.
In the past, vegetable growers enjoyed a high degree of flexibility in weed
control programs in terms of tank mix partners, dose rates, weed stage, crop
stage, timing of application, spraying techniques, number of applications.
Nowadays with a severely reduced herbicide portfolio in many crops,
all these factors are playing a crucial role for successful weed control.
Seasonal weather conditions, EU legislation, local regulatory restrictions
and food chain requirements are all factors affecting herbicide programs.
The loss of many commonly used herbicides (ioxynil, linuron, glufosinate,
diquat, chlorpropham, chloridazon, bromoxynil) and the lack of new
active ingredient introductions in the vegetable herbicide market has
severely reduced farmers’ flexibility in their weed control programs. Several
other European registered active ingredients (bentazon, S-metolachlor,
prosulfocarb) cannot be used by farmers due to local regulatory restrictions
or food chain requirements. Some other active ingredients may face severe
restrictions in the future in Europe. All these elements push growers to
change their approach and acceptance of new herbicide programs and
encourage them to look constantly for new tailor-made programs.
A recent example is the loss of bromoxynil in Europe. Until 2021, bromoxynil
was used as standard in all allium crops for post-emergence broad-leaf
weed control. The withdrawal of this active ingredient in Europe has a
huge impact on many allium growers. Pyridate will provide a solution for
all allium growers. After several years of testing and fine-tuning ideas in
many trials across Europe, Belchim Crop Protection was able to introduce
Changing the approach to provide “new” tailor-made
herbicide solutions based on technical excellence
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