Cereal growers in Western Canada looking for control of Group 2-resistant weeds including kochia, chickweed and cleavers, have a new weed resistance management tool at their disposal.

Optica Trio is a Group 4 herbicide combining three active ingredients in one package to control broadleaf weeds in wheat (spring, durum and winter), barley and oats.

“Optica Trio is a significant step forward for cereal growers faced with managing the more than 19 weed species that have been identified as resistant to Group 2 herbicides,” said Brodie Blair, product manager for UAP Canada, distributor of Optica Trio.

“Equally, if not more importantly from the grower’s perspective, Optica Trio offers this in one package with no additional mixing required. It’s not a co-pack.”

Optica Trio combines MCPA, dichloroprop-P and mecoprop-P in one product for control of stinkweed, wild mustard, lamb’s-quarters, volunteer canola, redroot pigweed, common chickweed, kochia, common ragweed, wild buckwheat and cleavers. It also provides suppression of lady’s-thumb and Canada thistle.

“Several of the weeds Optica Trio controls are recognized as economically significant to cereal production,” said Blair.

“What’s more, multiple resistance to both Group 1 and Group 2 chemistries is also known to be on the increase, so having effective alternatives such as Optica Trio are increasingly important.”

For effective control of weeds in wheat (spring and durum), oats and barley, Optica Trio should be applied at the two- to five-leaf stage of the crop.

In the case of winter wheat, the product should be applied in the spring, before the crop is more than 30 centimetres high. Winter annual weeds should be sprayed as soon as new growth starts.

Optica Trio should be applied at a rate of 0.5 to one litre per acre depending on the broadleaf weeds present, using 20-80 litres per acre of water.

Optica Trio is also approved for tank-mixing with Ladder 240 EC or Horizon 240 EC for control of broadleaf weeds, wild oats and green and yellow foxtail in spring wheat. It’s also approved for tank-mixing with Everest Solupak 70 DF for control of broadleaf weeds, wild oats and green foxtail.

Optica Trio will be available for the 2011 growing season through independent retailers.

— Lyndsey Smith is editor of Grainews and writes this week from Crop Production Week in Saskatoon.

The post Three-active herbicide aimed against Group 2 resistance appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Three student teams accepted the challenge of creating food products using pulse-based ingredients during the second annual Mission ImPULSEible food product development competition, organized by Pulse Canada and sponsored by Bissma Pacific. On July 13, regional winners from Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario met in Saskatoon for their final mission – to present and market their innovative food products containing pulses to a panel of judges.

First place was awarded to Dylan MacKay from the University of Manitoba for his “Pea-rogy,” a variation of the traditional perogy made with a chickpea and wheat flour dough and infused with mashed chickpea and potato filling. The higher fibre levels generated by the addition of chickpeas help to boost satiety, manage blood sugar levels and aid digestion. The Pea-rogy also contains more protein than the classic perogy.

Sharon Booy and Amy Symington from Toronto’s George Brown College were first runners- up with their “Pea Tart,” a savoury vegetarian and gluten-free gourmet tart with a chickpea flour crust, velvety white bean and white cheddar purée and topped with sautéed mushrooms, French green lentils and green peas.

Second runner-up was Douglas Wong from the University of Alberta with “YoPulse,” a pea protein-based, drinkable yogurt with no sugar added. With prebiotics and probiotics, YoPulse also contains seven per cent protein, nearly twice the amount of other yogurt drinks on the market

“These new innovations demonstrate the potential for pulses to be incorporated into a broad range of foods that will ultimately lead to a more diverse consumer base for Canadian pulses,” says Peter Watts, director of market innovation for Pulse Canada.

Judges for this year’s competition were Martin Chidwick, VP of Bissma Pacific, Bryan Kosteroski, value chain specialist at Agriculture Council of Saskatchewan, Michael Nickerson, SAF Research Chair in Protein Quality and Utilization at the University of Saskatchewan, and Vicky Dutton, partner of Western Grain Trade Ltd. The student teams were awarded $2,500, $1,000 and $500 from Bissma Pacific for first, second and third place.

———

-PETER WATTS

“Thesenewinnovationsdemonstratethepotential forpulsestobeincorporatedintoabroadrange offoodsthatwillultimatelyleadtoamore diverseconsumerbaseforCanadianpulses.”

The post New Pulse Products Created In Mission ImPULSEible – for Aug. 19, 2010 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.