Stop weeds in their tracks with SureStart®

At the end of the day, all any maize farmer wants are healthy plants and a good harvest. Achieving this involves a number of things, one of which is clean fields.

Weeds in the field can mean that your crop must compete for water, sunlight, and space to grow. This is where Corteva’s SureStart^® comes in to save the day.

Fredie Ndindana, Technical Sales Representative for Corteva Agriscience ™, proudly believes in Corteva’s products.

What is Surestart^®

Fredie Ndindana, Technical Sales Representative for Corteva Agriscience™, explains that SureStart^® is a systemic suspension emulsion herbicide for the pre- and early post-emergence control of annual broad leaf weeds as well as grasses.

“The good thing about SureStart^® is that it consists of three active ingredients: Acetochlor which is a Group 15 herbicide; Flumetsulam, a Group 2 herbicide; and Clopyralid, a Group 4 herbicide,” says Fredie.

The flexibility that SureStart^® provides means that it can be applied before planting up to V8 stage of maize development.

SureStart^® gives long residual control, lasting up to six weeks, and is tank-mix compatible with Glyphosate.

Arno Botha from Hoëveldrif Chemikalieë has been using SureStart^® for the last three years.

Hoëveldrif Chemikalieë

Arno Botha Crop Advisor for Hoëveldrif Chemikalieë in Mpumalanga has been using SureStart^® for the past three years.

“I like to use SureStart^® on maize fields with weeds that have tolerance and resistance to Glyphosate and other chemicals. The product works very effectively on pigweed (misbredie), khaki bush, narrow-leaved iceplant (varkslaai), cocklebur (kankerroos), wandelende jood and thorn apple (olieboom/stinkblaar),” explains Arno.

He adds that the three active ingredients in one solution work very well and make life easy because you only have to apply one herbicide.

Arno and his team have been in partnership with Corteva for the last four years, and he says that since using SureStart^® they have seen a decline in the weeds that are usually more problematic, especially those that germinate at a late stage. We have saved our farmers money by keeping their fields clean. I recommend Surestart to the customers who have problems with broadleaf weeds in the field. This is a product you can use with confidence.”

While Arno was sceptical in the beginning, he says that he truly saw what SureStart^® can do when he advised one of his clients to use the product.

“I had a customer close to Ogies. He came to see me from another agency. He had khaki bush as well as varkslaai and kankerroos. We sprayed the product at the beginning of the season, and we had good results for six weeks. Any persisting problems were sorted out with a follow up with a Roundup application. My customer’s fields were clean, and he was happy,” says Arno.

Arno added that you can get between 30% to 40% damage if you do not have a clean field. In these competitive times that makes all the difference.

Jeanré Rudman, Technical Sales Representative of Corteva Agriscience™, says SureStart^® can help you achieve the best yields.

How to use Surestart^®

Jeanré Rudman, Technical Sales Representative of Corteva Agriscience™, explains that SureStart^® is a versatile product, and that the dosage depends on the clay percentage of the soil.

“It is very important to use the right products for resistance management. Because SureStart^® is compatible with Glyphosate there is a good synergism between the products. It is very important to make sure that you apply the product at the right time, especially with grasses and difficult broadleaf weeds. I farmers rely on Glyphosate alone, we struggle with resistant weeds,” she says.

Jan Wijma, Crop Advisor for Hoëveld Plaag- en Onkruidbeheer with Johan Harmse, Farm Manager for Rockdale Industrial.

Rockdale Industrial

Johan Harmse has been the Farm Manager for Rockdale Industrial for eleven years. They plant maize and soya beans.

“The maize is a good cash crop with good emergence in the area. We use maize in our feedlot for the pigs as well as for silage. A small amount of the soya beans is used for the pigs and the rest we sell,” explains Johan.

He was introduced to SureStart^® by Jan Wijma, Crop Advisor for Hoëveld Plaag- en Onkruidbeheer about three years ago.

Johan says that they could see the difference in their fields after starting with SureStart^®, especially in the decline of kankerroos. “Since we began using SureStart^®, our fields have been cleaner, and when you do the math, you notice the effect on the yield and profitability.”

Jan has been in the crop production industry for more than forty years and says input costs are one of the biggest challenges with crops. According to him, the area has had a problem with misbredie and herbicide resistant weeds in recent times.

“We have a wide weed spectrum in the Highveld, and SureStart^® works well because it has actives that are not available in other chemicals at the moment. The combinations that SureStart^® use work very well for our farmers,” Jan says.

To get full crop protection for your farm, contact Corteva today and ask about SureStart^®. You can visit their website at www.corteva.co.za or call Fredie on (+27) 82-612-6599.