Alite 27-A New Group 27 (HPPD Inhibitor) Herbicide for Soybeans
In a Mar. 31, 2020 news release, BASF announced the EPA registration of Alite 27 herbicide for use in select counties in select states. Alite 27 herbicide contains isoxaflutole, and is the first and only Group 27 (HPPD inhibitor) herbicide available for use on soybeans, specifically those with the GT27 trait technology. It is usually stacked with the LibertyLink trait in soybean varieties sold as LL GT27. Alite 27 is registered for use as a preplant (surface applied or preplant incorporated) and preemergence herbicide, and is the only isoxaflutole formulation that is legal to use on LL GT27 soybean varieties.
Before producers get too excited about this news, it is noted that only small quantities of this herbicide will be available as a demonstration product in 2020; BASF plans a full commercial launch of the product in 2021. It is also noted that its use is only approved in two counties in Arkansas (Hempstead, Lafayette), four in Mississippi (Adams, Franklin, Montgomery, Wilkinson), and five in Tennessee (Dyer, Lake, Lauderdale, Obion, Weakley). The Arkansas and Mississippi counties have very low soybean acres, while the listed Tennessee counties have major soybean acreage. Alite 27 herbicide’s availability to all soybean growers in the Midsouth will depend on EPA’s approval beyond those counties currently listed on the label. BASF is working with EPA to obtain those additional approvals so that this new herbicide will be available to all soybean producers who need help in battling herbicide-resistant weeds.
According to the Alite 27 label, this new herbicide controls the following troublesome Midsouth weeds (among others) when applied preplant or preemergence: Grasses–barnyardgrass, crabgrass, seedling Johnsongrass, fall and Texas panicum, and broadleaf signalgrass: Broadleafs–Palmer amaranth, marestail, prostate, red root, and smooth pigweed, sicklepod, prickly sida (teaweed), and Pennsylvania smartweed.
The use of and/or proper use rate for Alite 27 is governed by several factors, including:
• Soil texture category: coarse (sand, loamy sand, and sandy loam), medium (loam, silt loam, silt, sandy clay loam), and fine (silty clay loam, clay loam, sandy clay, silty clay, and clay);
• Soil organic matter content: should be greater than 1.5%;
• Soil pH and organic matter content of coarse-textured soils; and
• Water table depth coupled with soil texture and organic matter content.
There are several restrictions for use of Alite 27 herbicide, including:
• Maximum yearly application is 3 fl. oz/acre.
• Do not make more than two applications of Alite 27 herbicide per growing season.
• Apply with ground equipment only; i.e., aerial application is not permitted.
• Do not apply Alite 27 herbicide through any type of irrigation system.
• Do not use flood or furrow irrigation to activate or incorporate this herbicide.
• Do not use on non-GT27 soybeans or serious injury will occur.
• Do not apply on coarse-textured soils with <1.5% organic matter or a soil pH >7.5.
• Do not harvest within 70 days of application.
• Check label for crop rotation restrictions: e.g. corn, 0 months interval; wheat, 4 months interval; nonisoxaflutole- resistant soybeans, 6 months interval; cotton and rice, 10 months interval. Thus, corn can immediately follow a failed GT27 soybean stand that received an Alite 27 herbicide application, but non-GT27 soybean, rice, and cotton cannot.
In the above News Release from BASF, it is stated that “Alite 27 herbicide will offer unique benefits for the grower as part of the LibertyLink GT27 soybean system.” One of those benefits is “Recharge: Alite 27 herbicide provides outstanding residual control of early-season grasses and broadleaf weeds and can reactivate and take down weeds, even after they have emerged. When insufficient rainfall occurs, many residual herbicides are not fully activated and weeds can break through. By having this unique characteristic, Alite 27 herbicide is reactivated when as little as ½ inch of rainfall occurs” even after a 2-week dry period. In essence, this means that if there is enough soil moisture for weed seed to germinate, then those germinating weeds would be adversely affected by the herbicide even in the absence of rain or irrigation. The active ingredient in Alite 27 can be taken up by the roots of young weeds that may be emerging or have already emerged, then translocated through the weed to effectively control it. This is an important trait of this herbicide when an activating water event does not occur after its application, yet there is sufficient soil moisture for weeds to germinate and grow. Of course, an activating rain or irrigation is preferred soon after application to achieve best results.
An additional strength of this new herbicide with a new mode of action (for soybean weed control) is its availability as a new tank-mix partner to enhance both weed control and herbicide resistance management. In fact, it is recommended that this herbicide be tank-mixed with approved herbicide partners that contain active ingredients such as metribuzin (Group 5), PPO inhibitors (Group 14) such as fomesafen (Flexstar, Reflex), flumioxazin (Panther SC), and sulfentrazone (Spartan), and/or acetamides (Group 15) such as alachlor (Micro-Tech), acetochlor (Warrant), dimethenamid-p (Outlook), metolachlor (Dual Magnum), and pyroxasulfone (Zidua). Such tank mixes will result in application of herbicides with more than one mode of action, which is a key to herbicide resistance management.
The following seed companies have LL GT27 soybean varieties listed on their websites. They are Syngenta (Northrup King), Dyna-Gro, Credenz (Bayer), Croplan, and USG. There will likely be more LL GT27 varieties from more companies by 2021 when a full rollout of this herbicide occurs. Click here to access the current label for Alite 27 herbicide.
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Apr. 2020, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net