Desiccation: guidelines for preventing weeds in crops

Desiccation is a very common practice in large crops. This is an important procedure to prevent the growth of weeds, which harm the development of plantations, mainly because they compete and take up space from other plants. When carried out at the right time, in addition to controlling unwanted weeds, desiccation provides greater efficiency in the use of insecticides, for example, as they reduce the populations of pests that live among weeds. 

“These herbs compete with crops, so the producer must not fail to desiccate at the correct time and must take into account the importance of using quality products with high performance. To give you an idea, one square meter of horseweed in the middle of a soybean plantation can reduce productivity by up to 14%, which represents an immense loss to the farmer”, explains Rafael Liu Stellato, Manager of Adjuvant Products at Rizobacter, a company leader in agricultural microbiology and with strong presence in the application technology market. 

According to the expert, the producer must take into consideration Integrated Weed Management, in which desiccation plays an important role in this context, whose function is to eliminate weeds, both in the pre-planting period and throughout the development of the plants. plantations. According to him, the producer must look for quality oil, which allows the herbicides to express maximum performance. “Along with the herbicide, it is important to use a good premium oil, which will ensure a more efficient application, through a better emulsion of the mixture, better control of droplet evaporation, less drift, providing greater coverage and penetration of the pesticide into the plants that must be eliminated. This makes the procedure more agile and makes desiccation more effective,” he explains. 

In addition to the oil, in some cases, the producer may also use an adjuvant solution. “Some herbicides require greater coverage over the weed plant. In this case, some adjuvants have the ability to reduce the surface tension of the liquid, increasing the spread of the drops, which in turn increases the coverage of the application, that is, when mixed with the premium oil and the herbicide, they have the role of spreading the product on the leaves of the weeds, enhancing the effect of the application and improving the performance of the herbicide”, says Stellato. “There are adjuvants that have other functions, such as cleaning the spray tank, preventing foam formation, correcting water hardness, among others. Therefore, it is important for producers to look for the correct product, specific to each situation”, he adds. 

Rizobacter has a line of premium oils: Rizospray Extremo and Rizospray Integrum, in addition to Silwet AG and Rizospray Siliconado, super spreading adjuvants for agricultural applications that demand maximum use and efficiency. It is recommended for the use of fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers and phytoregulators. Both can be used in all cultures.