A TRIAL conducted at Liebe Group's North Miling main trial site has investigated the efficacy of Spraytec's pesticide additives in comparison to an industry recommended adjuvant across two applications - post-emergent herbicide and post-emergent fungicide.
The additives included Fulltec Max, TOPZinc Max, CUBO, CUBO IR and Absortec, with the results so far on display at Liebe's Spring Field Day last Thursday.
While it is well-known that spray adjuvants improve the performance of agricultural chemical applications, with more than 400 adjuvants registered in Australia that incorporate more than 30 different active ingredients, the space has become saturated and confusing to growers.
Spraytec technical sales representative Robert Pattison said as a result, growers were seeking alternative options to streamline the operational efficiency, ease their costs and ultimately improve their productivity.
"Making use of products that feature low use rates, offer a complete blend of adjuvant characteristics, and allow use year-round are just a few notable points to explore that would bring convenience to producers," Mr Pattison said.
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"This trial aims to showcase Spraytec's product range when compared against the industry's staple adjuvant, Hasten.
"Assessing differences across two application timings - post-emergent herbicide and post-emergent fungicide - will provide producers with multiple options to consider within their own operations."
The key performance indicators investigated in the trial included weed and disease control, overall yield and simplicity of use.
At the trial site, weed presence was not consistent across plots which led to no significant differences between treatments.
The disease burden was also not high, so it was unlikely to see a significant difference across fungicide trials.
Lastly, the Dalwallinu area was not known to have profound disease issues, although that does vary according to year and rainfall.
"This trial showcases the durability of Fulltec and Fulltec Max for use during in-crop spray applications and these two products are also suited to summer spraying applications," Mr Pattison said.
"All products are 100 per cent crop safe and don't contribute to any increased phytotoxicity.
"Equivalent pest control to the industry's staple adjuvant Hasten is a positive when considering cost, volume and ease of use."
Yield results will be collected and collated post-harvest, however Spraytec does expect an increase in yield where its products were used, due to the inclusion of chelated nutrients and phosphites within the composition.
