Weed control in cereals: promoting co-creation of IWM solutions with farmers

About

Date

29 Juni, 2018

About

Date

29 June, 2018

HerbInnov at Marne-La-Vallée on May 31: Bayer France platform for exchanges on IWM and finding the customized solution to control weeds in each field.

Capital Propreté Parcelles

Learn more about the French platform

Gabriel Carn,
Cereal Herbicides Marketing
Manager, BCS France

“Weed control is becoming more and more complex. With the evolution of the regulatory environment and strong emergence of resistant weeds, farmers are looking for new sustainable IWM strategies to preserve their field production assets.”

On May 31 more than 220 farmers, advisors and distributors, as well as a group of Bayer customers from the Middle East met for the 15th HerbInnov in Marne-la-Vallée. The objectives were to focus on issues related to weed control and the solutions available to sustain the profitability of farms. The morning provided an opportunity for exchanges between experts and farmers, the afternoon for a visit to the multi-year field trials platform.

Weed resistance

“Herbicide resistance continues to grow. In view of the loss of herbicide registrations, the activation of methods combining agronomy and chemistry is more essential than ever. Especially since no new mode of action has been discovered in the last 30 years and none is expected in the near future. In weed management every action, however little, counts to control the seed bank.

Each new weed spot in the field has to be controlled with the objective of minimizing the seed bank from the beginning. Resistance can only be seen when it is already too late and interventions, whatever they are, do not allow a return to a satisfactory situation. Farmers should be aware that their agronomic practices influence the evolution of resistance to these weeds.”

Spring crops in rotation

Pascal Boulin,
Technical Manager
Sugar Beet and Oilseed Crops,
BCS France

“Rotation is the main agronomic lever to manage resistance. The introduction of a spring crop (rapeseed, maize, sugar beet) into the rotation, in prevention or in a declared resistance situation offers a more easily controllable possibility of breaking the cycle of autumn weeds and introducing managed floral diversity. Spring crops also provide access to new herbicide modes of action and allow the use of complementary agronomic actions, such as hoeing, ridging, or plowing.”

Preserving water quality

Céline Ballesteros,
Environmental Engineer,
Sustainable Agriculture, BCS France

“Herbicides are given special attention by regulatory authorities and society. Our Sustainable Agriculture team is working to improve knowledge of the risks of herbicides and the transfer of active substances to the aquatic environment. These risks can be minimized through soil management, cultural practices and field development planning. This is part of the support we provide for farmers.”

Exchanges and experience sharing

To set up these strategies, farmers and specialists were able to interact on various leverages to control weed development during their visit to the platform. On the 4-hectare trial platform where wheat, maize, potatoes and beetroot are sown, farmers assessed in real-life conditions the potential for combining agronomic and chemical techniques to sustainably manage weeds and preserve yields.

Crédit photos : Didier DEPOORTER

“This 15th HerbInnov highlighted the multiple solutions to be combined and the need to exchange and co-build solutions in order to find a suitable strategy for each field,”
Gabriel Carn said in conclusion.

And for 2019…

There will be not one but five trial platforms set up in the main production areas of France. "These regional platforms will allow us to stick as closely as possible to local issues," says Guillaume Chancrin, Bayer Technical Manager. For example in the north where sugar beets will be incorporated into the rotation and in the East where it will be necessary to take into account the difficulty of integrating spring crops.”