30th January 2007

Forge – the quality SU herbicide from Interfarm

Interfarm UK Ltd is marketing the broad-leaved weed herbicide, Forge, in the UK this season. Based on the active ingredient metsulfuron-methyl and from a well-known European manufacturing source, Forge is a contact and residual acting, post-emergence herbicide offering excellent control of a wide range of broad-leaved weeds.

“Manufactured in the EU, Forge is the genuine high-tech easy-washout modern formulation. There have been some instances in Europe recently where SU’s offered for sale have been discovered to contain poor quality active ingredient, the wrong active ingredient or a reduced level of active ingredient, so the manufacturing source is critical. With Forge there are no worries about its provenance, content or quality as it has been formulated to the highest specification,” explains Dr. David Stormonth, Technical Manager, Interfarm (UK) Ltd.

“Applied from the 1st February onwards, Forge is designed to be the backbone of many spring-applied herbicide programmes in cereals, controlling many important weeds such as charlock, chickweed, docks, common hempnettle, mayweed, redshank and shepherd’s purse up to 15 cms across or high, cranesbill, red deadnettle, speedwells, fools’ parsley, small nettle, poppy and volunteer rape up to 6 expanded true leaves and fat-hen, forget-me-knot and knotgrass up to 2 expanded leaves. As a modern high-tech formulation, Forge has tank washout qualities as good as any modern metsulfuron product. It also has a number of useful tank mixes in wheat and barley, including HBN’s, fluroxypyr, clodinafop, fenoxaprop-p, many fungicides, growth regulators and trace elements, adding to its flexibility,” points out Dr. Stormonth.

“Forge is recommended on all varieties of winter wheat, spring wheat, winter barley, spring barley, winter oats, spring oats and triticale. It is also recommended on linseed and on green cover on land temporarily out of production, additional opportunities that that not all other competitor SU’s can offer,” concludes David.

Forge contains 200 g/kg metsulfuron-methyl formulated as a soluble granule. It is approved for use in winter wheat, spring wheat, winter barley, spring barley, oats, triticale, linseed and set-aside. It is recommended at a dose rate of 30 gms/ha, with one application per crop. It can be applied from the 1st February onwards. In wheat and oats it can be applied from two leaves to flag leaf emerged and in barley and triticale from three leaves to flag leaf emerged. In linseed it is applied from the first pair of true leaves unfolded up to 30 cms high or before flower buds visible. In setaside it can be used from 15th April to 31st July. Forge is subject to LERAP B. It is packed in a 60 g pack, treating 2 hectares.

For further comment and information, please contact Dr. David Stormonth, Technical Manager, Interfarm (UK) Ltd. on 01354 741414 or 07818 0365062 (mobile).