Field Insights

Corn Growers Have an Enhanced Post-Emergence Tool for Managing Tough Weeds

An effective two-pass program with Acuron GT herbicide post-emergence can help keep corn clean throughout the season, reduce the weed seed bank for next year’s crop and, ultimately, help growers maximize yield potential.

Acuron® GT, a herbicide for post-emergence use in glyphosate-tolerant corn, will be readily available in 2022, giving yield-driven growers who rely on post-emergence weed control an enhanced management option.

“It’s simple,” says Mark Kitt, corn herbicide technical product lead at Syngenta. “Weeds steal sunlight, moisture and nutrients from the growing corn crop, so the better you can control those weeds, the less yield-robbing weed competition you have. Acuron GT raises the bar for post-emergence-plus-residual weed control in glyphosate-tolerant corn, resulting in higher potential yield and increased revenue for growers.”

Acuron GT combines the proven performance of Halex® GT herbicide with the unique active ingredient bicyclopyrone, which helps Acuron GT deliver enhanced post-emergence control of yield-robbing weeds and longer-lasting residual activity. That combination of four active ingredients and three sites of action helps growers manage difficult weeds longer into the season, which protects their yield potential.

Across 16 head-to-head field trials, the higher-level control and longer-lasting residual of Acuron GT delivered more bushels per acre than any other post-emergence-plus-residual corn herbicide.1

Field trials also showed that Acuron GT averaged greater than 90% post-emergence control on all weed categories, including small- and large-seeded broadleaves, such as giant ragweed, morning glory and cocklebur, and highly competitive pigweed species, including Palmer amaranth and waterhemp.2

“Compared with Halex GT, field trials show Acuron GT provides an 8% increase in residual control of annual grass and small-seeded broadleaf weeds and a 14% increase in residual control of Palmer amaranth when evaluated 42 to 56 days after treatment,”2 says Scott Cully, a Syngenta R&D scientist in Illinois. “The fact that Acuron GT may help growers achieve almost 90% control of weeds 6 to 8 weeks after post-emergence application is a true testament to the residual power of bicyclopyrone, the additional active ingredient in Acuron GT.”3

For optimum yield protection, Syngenta recommends using Acuron GT early post-emergence, before weeds reach 4 inches in height, in a planned two-pass program following a preemergence application of Lumax® EZLexar® EZBicep II Magnum®Bicep Lite II Magnum® or Dual II Magnum® herbicides.

1Syngenta and external trials (HBI007A-2020US): CO, IN, KS, MI, NE, SD, TX, VA, WI, MO-1, MO-2, OH-1, OH-2, AR-2, IL-2, MN-2; 2020.
2Syngenta Vero Beach Research Center, FL; 2020.
3Syngenta and external trials: IL, TX; 2019.

December 2021 | BY MICHAEL SANTOS / PHOTOGRAPHY FROM SYNGENTA