Abstract
Reduced efficacy of several herbicides on some important broadleaf weeds might be due to the extended use of the specific active ingredients. In our study, field experiments were carried out in Greece in 2014 and 2015 to study the efficacy of the herbicide Lancelot 450 WG (aminopyralid 300 g ai/kg + florasulam 150 g ai/kg) compared to other herbicides against broadleaf weeds in maize. Effects on crop yield and quality parameters (nitrogen, protein, and oil content) were also evaluated. Our results showed that the ready mixture of aminopyralid + florasulam at the recommended dose of 33 g/ha resulted in a very good control of Xanthium strumarium, Amaranthus retroflexus, Cirsium arvense, and Solanum nigrum even at 28 DAT, providing a long-term effect. Efficacy of the specific mixture was also very efficient against the invasive weed species Physalis angulata L. Moreover, there were not any significant differences between the two doses of Lancelot 450 WG (33 and 66 g/ha) and Callisto 10 SC at double the recommended dose (1500 mL/ha) regarding yield of maize, with untreated plots and treated with Callisto 10 SC at the recommended dose (750 mL/ha) showing significantly lower yields. It has to be noted that even double the recommended dose of Lancelot 450 WG (66 g/ha) was highly selective to the crop, without any adverse effects on yield and quality parameters. Conclusively, Lancelot 450 WG could be proposed as a very efficient herbicide for the control of the major broadleaf weeds and alien, invasive species in maize crop.
Highlights
Weeds are one of the most important reducing factors for crop yield reduction
The results showed that Lancelot 450 WG at the recommended dose of 33 g/ha resulted to a satisfactory control of X. strumarium, A. retroflexus, C. arvense, and S.nigrum (Table 4)
There was a significantly higher residual activity of Lancelot 450 WG compared to Callisto 10 SC and this was obvious at 28 DAT, whereas efficacy against X. strumarium was 95 and 85% for the higher doses of Lancelot 450 WG and Callisto 10 SC, respectively (Table 5)
Summary
Weeds are one of the most important reducing factors for crop yield reduction. Potential crop losses due to weeds are estimated to be 32%. Broadleaf weeds can be a serious problem for spring crops. Weeds such as Solanum nigrum, Amaranthus spp., Xanthium strumarium, Abutilon theophrasti, and others can often cause significant yield loss in several major crops, especially when found in high density and emerge very early during the crop life cycle. Continuous use of the same herbicides may result in the loss of their efficacy against some weeds [6,7]. There are many complaints by the farmers regarding the reduced efficacy of several ALS-inhibiting herbicides and especially sulfonylureas
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