Defec™

Overview

Defec is a herbicide from Agritas, built on the ALS inhibitor (triazolopyrimidine) chemistry. It is used against broadleaf weeds in wheat and maize, rice. Registered use on maize, wheat. Agritas supplies it through the Haryali Markaz network, where the staff know which pests and diseases are moving in your district this week and can tell you whether this is the right product for what you are actually seeing in the field.

Composition

Fluroxypyr Meptyl + MCPA Isooctyl + Florasulam 50% SC

Type

Herbicide

Chemical group

Synthetic auxin + Synthetic auxin (phenoxy) + ALS inhibitor (triazolopyrimidine)

Pack size

325 ml

Controls

Recommended crops

Mode of action

Defec™ is a selective post-emergent herbicide. It works through inhibition of acetolactate synthase (ALS) in plants. ALS is found in the chloroplast where it catalyze branch chained amino acid biosynthesis. Inhibition of ALS results in inhibition of plant cell division, decreased plant growth, and ultimately, plant death. It induces auxin-type responses in susceptible annual and perennial broadleaf weeds (auxin being a type of plant growth hormone). Once absorbed into the plant, it accumulates in growing tissues to higher concentrations than the native auxin does, and degrades more slowly.

Dose & application

Defec™ is a selective post emergence herbicide for controlling annual and perennial broadleaf weeds in wheat, ensures higher yield consequently.

Why it pays

Weeds take water, nitrogen and light before the crop gets any of it, and they take it in the first six weeks when the crop is deciding how much it will yield. One timely herbicide usually costs less than the two hand weedings it replaces, and it arrives on the day the weeds are small enough to die.

Field tips

Spray weeds, not soil — unless the label says pre-emergence, in which case spray moist, settled soil and do not disturb it afterwards. Working the ground after a pre-emergence spray breaks the layer and the weeds come straight through.

Clean the tank before and after. Herbicide left in a sprayer will damage the next crop it touches, and the damage shows up days later when nobody connects it to the tank.

Check what you are sowing next. Some herbicides stay active in the soil long enough to hurt the following crop.

Safety

Use a sprayer kept only for herbicides — traces left in a shared tank will damage the next crop you spray. Do not spray in wind, because drift onto a neighbouring broadleaf crop such as cotton causes serious damage. Note the label's restriction on what you may plant next in that field.