OSR

Brome control in OSR

If you’ve read our recent blog on how to control brome in cereals, you’ll know that what was once a weed confined to headlands and field margins is rapidly becoming more problematic throughout entire fields of cereals. Unfortunately, the same pattern of brome infestations is also being seen in crops of oilseed rape, not least because more growers have favoured min- and no-till establishment systems in recent years which means brome seeds which have migrated to the centre of fields are no longer being buried by the faithful plough.
Autumn blog
25 July, 2024
4min read
OSR

To control brome (of which there are five main species – see below) growers must correctly identify which species are present and tackle them accordingly.

Propaquizafop versus ALS resistant brome         

Whilst the range of herbicides effective against brome are somewhat limited in oilseed rape, an obvious choice is available in the form of FALCON® (100g/l propaquizafop): more commonly used to control volunteer cereals in broad-leaved crops, recent trails have also shown that FALCON provides excellent protection against four species of brome. In fact, FALCON has been proven to deliver a 92-98% reduction in target populations of ALS resistant barren, great, meadow and rye brome.

FALCON also partners well with cycloxidim to control different brome species as they emerge throughout the autumn: an application of FALCON® will provide good control of volunteer cereals at the beginning of the season, with a subsequent treatment of cycloxydim offering good activity against later emerging grassweeds.

 

The five main brome species commonly found as weeds in UK arable crops are:

1. Barren or sterile brome (Bromus sterilis)

Very common throughout England and Wales, more scattered in Scotland. Very common in field margins and hedgerows as well as within arable fields.

2. Soft brome (Bromus hordeaceus)

Very common throughout the UK. Most commonly found in grassland, field margins, waste ground and roadside verges, but also occurs in arable fields.

3. Great brome (Bromus diandrus)

Mainly found in East Anglia, but scattered throughout the rest of England.

4. Meadow brome (Bromus commutatus) taxonomically is now considered to be a variety of smooth brome (B. racemosus).

Mainly found in grassland situations, especially old pastures, but also occurs in arable fields.

5. Rye brome (Bromus secalinus)

Mainly found in scattered locations in the southern half of England. Largely confined to arable fields, field margins and waste ground.

(Source: Identification of Brome grasses, Dr Stephen Moss, Rothamsted Research.)

 

FALCON® (100g/l propaquizafop) is a foliar acting selective herbicide with systemic activity on a wide range of grass weeds and volunteer cereals. Its broad-spectrum activity is complemented by a built-in adjuvant. The speed of kill delivered by FALCON is faster when target weeds are actively growing under warm conditions with adequate moisture. FALCON can be used in potatoes, sugar beet, oilseed rape and a wide range of other broad-leaved crops.

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