Roundup Ready® Xtend Crop System lets you get ahead of weeds, and stay ahead
Apr 22, 2021
Change can be hard. It's human nature to put up some resistance when familiar things change. But it's also helpful to pause and make sure that adherence to the old way is not coming with an unanticipated cost.
So it is with soybean traits and systems at Bayer. The new Roundup Ready® Xtend Crop System changes up how soybeans can be grown. But, says Andrew Chisholm, it's not a difficult change and it brings with it gains that farmers have long wanted in terms of residual weed control and expanded herbicide options.
"Growers are generally very happy with Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans and that's a great thing," says Chisholm, Trait and Trait Launch Manager with Bayer. "But I think they'd be even happier with the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System and the additional benefits it can bring to their business."
The system is made up of two components: Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® soybeans plus two enhanced chemistry options.
New varieties. The first of these components, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans, builds on the technology that made Roundup Ready 2 Yield so attractive by adding a trait that makes these varieties tolerant to dicamba. "It's the next generation trait for us," Chisholm says. "And it's an important one because it provides benefits beyond what you get with Roundup Ready 2 Yield, including the ability to apply dicamba for short-term residual activity against weeds."
"In fact, research trials showed a 2.4 bu./ac. increase1 due to the reduced early weed competition from the residual activity of dicamba." Chisholm says.
New chemistry options. The second component of the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System is enhanced herbicide options. Growers can choose between a glyphosate-dicamba premix called Roundup Xtend® with VaporGrip® Technology, and a dicamba-only product called XtendiMax® with VaporGrip Technology, which can be tank mixed with a Roundup-branded product.
"With the Roundup Ready Xtend system, we're offering a complete crop system that's different than what we've had before, but also a bit the same," Chisholm says. "Growers keep the yield potential they like and are familiar with, but now they can spray dicamba (Group 4) and Roundup WeatherMAX® (Group 9) for complete weed control. It's good resistance management and good weed management all in one."
More effective resistant weed management
Weed management strategies aimed at reducing the incidence of resistance, as well as controlling already resistant weed biotypes, are becoming more important to farmers as weed resistance concerns rise across the country.
For example, in western growing regions, glyphosate-resistant kochia is rapidly becoming a serious threat. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada weed surveys first identified the problem in 2011 and, at that time, it was estimated that about five per cent of kochia populations were resistant to glyphosate. A mere five years later, that went up to 50 per cent.
In Ontario, glyphosate-resistant Canada fleabane is a major problem for many soybean growers. It's been found in at least 30 counties across the province and can cause yield losses exceeding 50 per cent in soybeans and corn. "We're also seeing increases in waterhemp, which has been shown to be resistant to four different herbicide groups," says Chisholm.
"Ultimately, it's all about yield potential for soybean growers," he says. "And the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System delivers on that by combining the powerful performance of Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans with the option of two enhanced chemistries. This one-two punch gives your crop a head-start against tough weeds and helps you stay there, setting you up for maximum yield potential."
1 Source: Bayer Market Development research trials, 2008 – 2014 (n=39), average of 2.4 bu./ac. advantage over 2-pass glyphosate-only treatment.