It is expensive to plant mealies. Therefore farmers who want to make a profit, know how important it is to give every mealie grain the best possible opportunity to germinate, root and then develop to its full potential.

However, weeds are the enemy of the young maize, an ever present threat ready to invade the soil and gobble up the young plant’s moisture and nourishment. The best time to beat weeds is to act prematurely, before they have had opportunity to germinate.

Unluckily it is a hard fact that everything does not always run to perfection on the farm – if it did, the well-known expression “’n boer maak ‘n plan” would never have been coined. Factors that the farmer cannot control, such as the weather, equipment breakdowns, and a planting season which is running out, can run amuck with the best intended spraying program.

That is the time when a farmer should know that he/she can depend on a stalwart in the Dow AgroSciences stable, SureStart^TM, which not only offers broad spectrum effectivity, but can also be sprayed over a stretched period.

SureStart^TM is effective for the control of early season grasses and broadleaf weeds. It can be used in most crop rotation systems because of the short waiting period before the planting of successive crops.

SureStart^TM can be mixed in the tank with a glyphosate substance for once only application.

It beats tough weeds hands down

SureStart^TM has three different actions and is effective against even difficult-to-control weeds such as porslein (portulaca) and devil’s thorn (duwweltjie).

It happens nowadays that certain weeds survive in spite of glyphosate sprayings. Research showed that SureStart^TM can fill this gap and be just what is required to give a maize crop the best possible start.

The weed killer can be sprayed on its own or in a mixture with Mamba^TM DMA 480 SL. The following application rates are recommended:

Application volumes

% clay                       Litre/hectare

11 – 20                      1,5 – 2,0

21 – 30                      2,1 – 2,5

31 – 40                      2,6 – 3,0

*SureStart^TM contains Acetochlor, Clopyralid, Flumetsulam en Furilazole (safeguarding agent). Regno L10385 Act 36 of 1947.

Give your maize the best chance. Contact Dow AgroSciences on 021-860-3620 or 012-683-5700, or visit www.dowagro.co.za for more information. Phone beforehand to enquire for which mealie cultivars the product has been approved.