Words supplied by Nufarm.
Two key agricultural herbicides from Nufarm have been upgraded to higher concentrations of active ingredient this season.
High strength formulations of Kamba and Archer have all recently been approved for use in New Zealand, and they have been re-named and re-labelled accordingly.
Jeff Hurst, Nufarm’s territory manager for Mid Canterbury, says the new formulations are welcome news for farmers and growers, because they mean more efficient transport, storage, handling and application, with less packaging.
The amount of dicamba in Kamba has increased by half from 500g per litre to 750g per litre, and it is now called Kamba 750.
Archer is now more than twice as concentrated, with 750g per litre clopyralid versus 300g, and is now called Archer 750.
“We’ve been working on these changes for over a year, and it’s good to have them finalised,” Jeff Hurst says.
“There are a lot of efficiencies to be gained here for our end users, as well as anyone else whose work involves storing, transporting, mixing and applying these two products.”
Jeff says one of the most important differences between the new formulations and the old ones is the recommended application rates.
He advises farmers and growers to read the new labels carefully to make sure Kamba 750 and Archer 750 are used correctly, and to consult with their Ruralco account manager when planning applications.
“We obviously don’t want people to use the new formulations at the old rates. There’s a big difference, for example, between the old Archer at 300g per litre of clopyralid, and the new Archer 750 at 750g per litre of clopyralid.
“Following the label is always important with any crop protection product, but it’s vital when new formulations of existing products come onto the market, especially for products like these which have been widely used for some years.”
Kamba 750 is registered for weed control in cereals and pasture. In 2018, it was also approved for broadleaf weed control in pure swards of plantain, once the crop has reached the two to four true leaf stage.
Jeff says this relatively early application window for Kamba 750 on plantain is an important benefit, because farmers and contractors can hit weeds when they’re still small and highly susceptible to herbicide treatment.
“Farmers sowing plantain cultivars like Ecotain for environmental reasons want the best possible establishment to get their money’s worth out of the crop, and where necessary, eliminating broadleaf weed control in early establishment is good practice for keeping plant populations high.”
Kamba 750 is best suited to pure plantain paddocks since it is damaging to clovers, but it has a relatively short plant-back period for clovers. If farmers want to sow ryegrass and plantain, and add clover later, Jeff says they need to wait only a month after spraying Kamba 750 before sowing clover seed.
Both Kamba 750 and Archer 750 are part of Nufarm’s range of companion herbicides for the new Crucial glyphosate to help control broadleaf weeds when spraying out paddocks prior to sowing crops or pasture.
Archer 750 is a broadleaf herbicide used to control Californian thistle, yarrow, volunteer potatoes and other thistles and weeds in a range of crops including fodder brassicas, fodder and sugar beet, cereals and maize.
Mixed with Crucial glyphosate, it can be used to help prepare paddocks for conservation tillage, controlling clovers, narrow leaved plantain, thistles and yarrow.
It is also labelled for use in radiata pine forestry plantings, orchards and shelter and ornamental plantings.
For more information and advice on the new high strength formulations of Kamba 750 and Archer 750, contact your Ruralco account manager or the Ruralco team today.
®Archer and Kamba are registered trademarks of Nufarm Australia Limited.