Caption: A generic herbicide (left) versus Acuron® herbicide followed by Halex® GT herbicide (right).

You’ve probably heard the phrase “a penny saved is a penny earned.” There may be some truth there, but when it comes to herbicides, it’s bad advice.

Simply put, spending less on herbicides doesn’t mean more money in your pocket at the end of the season. Weeds are some of the most resilient plants on Earth; they adapt quickly. The best way to protect your fields and maximize profit potential is using effective herbicides with multiple sites of action.

There are many problems you can run into if you skimp on your herbicides. The worst consequence is resistance. We want to kill the weeds, not simply injure them. At first glance it may appear that injuring the weeds is taking care of the problem. But if an injured weed recovers from a herbicide application, it may do so with a tolerance to that herbicide. That’s why it’s so important to use effective herbicides selected according to the driver weeds in your fields.

Another concern is using inexpensive herbicides without effective residual control. This can cause you to run the risk of having to reapply it more quickly than planned. In that case, you’re spending more money on those 2 applications than if you had just spent a little more to begin with on a single herbicide with effective residual control.

To minimize your risks, one herbicide option for corn we recommend is Acuron^®. Our research proves that compared to the competition, only Acuron gives you 5 to 15* more bushels per acre by controlling the tough weeds other herbicides miss. That means even if you’re spending a little more on a quality, effective herbicide, you’re receiving that investment back in yield at the end of the season. Acuron also has 3 effective sites of action, plus the unique active ingredient bicyclopyrone. Acuron can be followed up with a post-emergence herbicide such as Halex^® GT, which would put 4 total sites of action in your field.

From a weed management and resistance management perspective, you can’t start any better.

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*When applied preemergence and at full label rates. Yield advantage range based on 2016 Syngenta and University trials comparing Acuron to Corvus®, Resicore®, SureStart® II and Verdict®. For more information on Acuron versus an individual product, ask your Syngenta representative.