New corn herbicide ready for 2024

DECATUR, Ill. — A new corn herbicide product for residual control was highlighted at this year’s Farm Progress Show.

Storen received registration approval this past July and will be available for use in 2024.

“Weeds continue to evolve and are outsmarting the most effective herbicide programs used today,” said Shawn Hock, Syngenta Crop Protection corn herbicide product lead.

“In fact, we surveyed preemergence corn herbicide users and 40% of those surveyed said Palmer amaranth and water hemp were difficult to control with their program. That is why we invest in new innovations to help growers meet emerging weed challenges, and we are excited to announce Storen corn herbicide to help restore confidence in their weed control.

“It provides a more consistent level of control, as well, and that’s really important, because farmers expect when they invest in a herbicide that it works every time, not just some of the time.

“We found in development in a dry year it was still working, in a wet year still working, under heavy populations it’s still working as long as you use the full labeled rate and applied it before the weeds came up.”

Storen features the active ingredients bicyclopyrone and mesotrione, Group 27 herbicides, and S-metolachlor and pyroxasulfone, Group 15 herbicides, for residual control.

Application Timing

“You can apply it 28 days preplant all the way to V8 leaf stage corn. That’s really important because farmers are getting larger, they’re planting corn and soybeans at the same time, maybe with two or three planters, and then they want to come back and spray herbicide across both crops,” Hock noted.

“The corn may be up, it may not be up, and we want to encourage them with this herbicide to get the application on before the weeds are up.

“There’s also an area where you have corn yield loss due to weed competition and that irreversible growth alteration on corn when they sense weeds next to them. There’s a real yield benefit. We found a 4- to 5-bushel yield advantage with Storen compared to other leading herbicides because it’s safe and it’s effective.”

Resistant Weeds

Battling herbicide-resistant weeds begins with an integrated weed management approach that include starting with a quality corn hybrid, starting weed-free with tillage or a burndown, and residual herbicide control.

“That’s where Storen comes in, because it has very consistent residual control and it has two modes of action, and then we encourage growers to use overlapping residuals. So, start with the preplant application of Storen and then come back 21, 28 days later with a second pass and that keeps the weeds from emerging. If there are already escapes, you can utilize another control method,” Hock said.

It’s also important to start with a full rate application of residual.

“A full rate matters tremendously. We don’t show or talk about it enough, but a difference between a half rate, two-thirds rate, full rate can be the difference between 80% control 90% control and 100% control. You can do that in a split-shot or apply the full amount of herbicide at once. Either way, you want to use the full rate to get the full level of control,” Hock said.

“The other piece is around application timing. It’s almost too much if you can see the weeds with these herbicides that are designed for residual — if you miss your window, you better put an additional mode of action that’s designed for contact control in there.

“So, really understanding what your herbicide was designed for is really important for the success that you’re going to have with it.

“Not every residual is made the same. That’s why we have the four active ingredients that we have in Storen. They’re all active on the weeds that we worry about.”