Responses of Winter Wheat to Herbicide-Fungicide Tankmixes

Soltani Nader,Peter H Sikkema,Christy Shropshire

doi:10.4236/as.2015.611129

Abstract

Tankmixing herbicides with fungicides could improve production efficiency and reduce application costs. A total of six field trials were conducted from 2012 to 2014 in Ontario to study the tolerance of winter wheat to herbicide (fenoxaprop-p-ethyl/mefenpyr, prosulfuron + bromoxynil and fluroxypyr + MCPA ester) plus fungicide tankmixes (pyraclostrobin/metconazole, tri-floxystrobin/propiconazole, azoxystrobin/propiconazole and picoxystrobin) applied alone and as a tankmix. At 1 WAT, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl/mefenpyr applied alone or in tankmix with tri-floxystrobin/propiconazole or azoxystrobin/propiconazole fungicides caused minimal visible injury (up to 1.3%) in winter wheat but caused no significant injury when applied as a tankmix with pyraclostrobin/metconazole or picoxystrobin fungicides. There was no effect on visible injury in winter wheat with other herbicide and fungicide tankmixes. Fenoxaprop-p-ethyl/mefenpyr applied alone with no fungicide reduced winter wheat height 3% but had no adverse effect on height when tankmixed with fungicides evaluated. Prosulfuron + bromoxynil or fluroxypyr + MCPA ester herbicides applied alone with no fungicide or tankmixed with pyraclostrobin/metconazole, tri-floxystrobin/propiconazole, azoxystrobin/propiconazole and picoxystrobin fungicides had no adverse effect on winter wheat height. There was no adverse effect of herbicide plus fungicide treatments on winter wheat yield. Co-application of fenoxaprop-p-ethyl/mefenpyr, prosulfuron + bromoxynil and fluroxypyr + MCPA ester herbicides with pyraclostrobin/metconazole, tri-floxystrobin/pro- piconazole, azoxystrobin/propiconazole and picoxystrobin fungicides could provide winter wheat growers with a single-pass treatment for the control of weeds and diseases.

Highlights

Winter wheat (Triticum aestevum L.) is a major cereal crops in Canada grown on over 700,000 hectares [1]
There was slightly higher visible injury with fenoxaprop-p-ethyl/mefenpyr compared to prosulfuron + bromoxynil or fluroxypyr + MCPA ester herbicides when applied alone in winter wheat 2 weeks after treatment (WAT) (Table 1)
There was no visible injury in winter wheat when pyraclostrobin/metconazole, trifloxystrobin/propiconazole, azoxystrobin/propiconazole and picoxystrobin fungicides were applied alone 1 or 2 WAT (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Winter wheat (Triticum aestevum L.) is a major cereal crops in Canada grown on over 700,000 hectares [1]. Winter wheat production is popular among growers as it can be grown in various soil types and is an ideal crop to include in the crop rotation as it helps to improve soil structure and breaks weed and disease life cycles [3]. Weed control and disease management are among the most important management considerations in winter wheat production. Growers often use postemergence (POST) application of fenoxapropp-ethyl/mefenpyr, prosulfuron + bromoxynil and fluroxypyr + MCPA ester herbicides to control problem weeds in winter wheat [4]. Optimum application timing of these POST herbicides and fungicides often coincides, currently, no combination of herbicides and fungicides is labeled for use in winter wheat grown in Ontario. Co-application of POST herbicides with fungicides can allow growers to reduce the number of passes through the field and reduce fuel and labor costs, wear and tear on machinery, soil compaction, as well as mechanical damage to the crop [5]-[7]

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