Raker® Extra is a new dimension of corn protection

Author: Volodymyr Maksymovych,

technical support manager, "Herbicides for field crops" direction, Syngenta company

Agricultural producers of Ukraine are always waiting for new products among herbicides used on field crops, especially from Syngenta, which is an innovative company among other originators — manufacturers of herbicides for Ukrainian agriculture.

And here we have good news for you: in 2024, the Syngenta company presents a real novelty on the market of herbicides for the protection of corn - the drug Raker Extra, MD (nicosulfuron 30 g/l + tolpiralate 30 g/l). It is a broad-spectrum post-emergence herbicide that is able to effectively control annual and perennial, grass and dicot weeds in a wide application window (2-8 leaves of the crop) and does not affect most major crops in the rotation, including vegetables. In terms of its characteristics and effectiveness, it somewhat resembles the well-known Elumis® herbicide, but at the same time it has significant differences from it. The purpose of this article is to understand in detail what the novelty is and what are the main differences between Raker® Extra and existing, including competitive, herbicides.

First of all, let's take a closer look at the new active ingredient topillarate. This compound belongs to the group of pyrazolones, which, in addition to it, also includes topromesone. Pyrazolones, as well as triketones, as well as some other groups belong to a large class of HPPD inhibitors, in simple words - photosynthesis inhibitors. However, pyrazolones, in particular tolpilarate, unlike triketones, have much less soil action and almost no effect in crop rotation, which often scares most farmers, although I have always emphasized in all publications and seminars and trainings that, in the case of correct crop rotation planning, the after-effect of the herbicide is not a minus, but rather a plus. However, let's return to tolpiralate: as we have already found out, it has no soil activity and almost no after-effect (except for sugar beets), but unlike other, mainly anti-two-leaf active substances, it has a sufficiently high efficiency against a whole range of annual cereal storms yaniv (mouse (species), common plantain, millet (species)). Therefore, tolpiralate has a so-called cross-spectrum of effectiveness and works against grass and dicot weeds at the same time.

Nicosulfuron is a typical ALS inhibitor, which, together with tolpiralate, creates a synergism that improves and extends the spectrum of the drug's action.

Of course, the active substances alone cannot fight weeds effectively enough, the formulation, i.e. the recipe of the herbicide, is also important. Raker® Extra has a perfect formulation called "oil dispersion", which, in addition to the specified active substances, contains a surfactant based on rapeseed oil. Thanks to this formulation, the coverage of harmful plants, especially cereals, is increased, so Raker® Extra Herbicide has an improved effectiveness compared to competitors against major cereal weeds, which it controls even in the overgrown form (until the end of tillering in annual cereals) and also provides excellent control most annual and perennial dicots. Perennial grass weeds, such as pigweed, creeping wheatgrass, and common gorse, are also easily controlled with this herbicide. So, from all of the above, we can determine the main advantages of Raker® Extra:

A new systemic post-emergence herbicide against annual and perennial grass and dicot weeds
A new active ingredient on the Ukrainian market is tolpiralate (patented until 2031)
Improved efficacy against ragweed and annual grasses (mouse (species), chicken millet, millet (species))
High control of all types of sunflower blight (traditional, IMI, SU, A.I.R.)
Wide window of application - 2-8 leaves of culture
Perfect formulation - oil dispersion (does not require the addition of surfactants)
It has no consequences in crop rotation

Looking at these main advantages, a logical question arises, what is the difference between Raker® Extra and Elumis®. If we carefully review the table. 1, we will see that these drugs are similar in many properties. The main difference between them is that Raker® Extra has no soil effect on subsequent waves of weeds, and its aftereffect is observed only on sugar beets. That is, the Syngenta company, taking into account the long-term experience of successful sales of Elumis®, as well as the wishes of agricultural producers, is bringing a new herbicide to the market in the same segment.

Since we touched on the issue of the aftereffect, please pay attention to the table. 2, which states that 9 months after the application of Raker® Extra (this is next year) you can sow: all cereals, corn, sunflower, canola, all major legumes (soy, peas, alfalfa, beans, peanuts), most vegetable crops (cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumber), as well as rice and sorghum. As you can see, there is practically no aftereffect on most agricultural crops in crop rotation. There are only, as already noted, for sugar beets, however, taking into account the fact that they are sown after corn extremely rarely, but it still happens, this feature must be taken into account.

Regarding Raker® Extra application rates, the recommended range is 1.0-1.33 L/ha, where 1.0 L/ha should be applied when weeds are at the cotyledon stage - 2nd pair of true leaves in dicots and up to end of tillering in annual cereals. The culture phase in this case should be 2-4 leaves.1.33 L/ha is when we have overgrown grass and dicotyledonous (more than 4-6 leaf) weeds and the crop phase is 5-8 leaves. For perennial grasses and dicotyledonous weeds, regardless of the phase of crop development (2–8 leaves), it is recommended to apply the maximum rate of herbicide — 1.33 l/ha. Photos 1-4 demonstrate the effectiveness of Raker® Extra against major problem weeds. For example, in photo 4, note the number and growth of perennial dicotyledonous weeds, particularly grasses, in the control plot compared to the Raker® Extra treatment. Photos 5 and 6 show the characteristic symptoms of the effect of tolpiralate on thistle and birch — a complete stop of their growth is observed already 14 days after treatment.

Raker® Extra's control of all types of sunflower carrion compared to competitors deserves special attention. While there is almost no difference in control of IMI wilt, control of SU and especially A.I.R.™ sunflower wilt is significantly different, as these two wilts are resistant to ALS inhibitors and partly to the hormonal compounds that are part of competing drugs. Meanwhile, Raker® Extra, as well as Elumis®, have excellent results against these types of carrion.