Features Fungicides Seed & Chemical
Red lentil growers can look forward to new harvest aid

June 16, 2016 - Lentil growers realize that under most growing conditions, long-season lentil varieties seldom mature naturally. Lentils can mature unevenly, which can result in shatter losses as some pods become over-dry while others are still green. To help dry down the crop quickly and evenly, a grower has two options: they can desiccate with a harvest aid, or swath.

Harvest aids provide a number of benefits to lentil growers to help speed up harvest and dry down weeds. This makes early and efficient harvesting possible, and helps to make the harvest season more manageable.

Red lentil growers now have the option to use Heat LQ as a harvest aid, because BASF supports the use of the herbicide for pre-harvest applications on red lentils. Heat LQ is a Group 14 herbicide that is available in a convenient liquid formulation to help growers uniformly dry down crops. When tank-mixed with glyphosate, Heat LQ also manages tough weeds for the following season.

Calvin Watson, a grower from Avonlea, Saskatchewan, uses Heat LQ to dry down his lentils. "We've used glyphosate in the past to desiccate our lentils, but we've started using Heat LQ. It burns down the crop faster and brings it in so we can get out there and harvest faster. When we top it with glyphosate, Heat LQ also burns down the weeds better, so we can combine more easily," he said.

"Heat LQ when applied pre-harvest can help growers manage the workload during the busy harvest season by speeding up their harvest and controlling weeds to ensure a quality crop," said Danielle Eastman, Brand Manager, Western Herbicides and Clearfield at BASF Canada.

Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) are established in most key markets. BASF is still in the process of establishing a MRL within the European Union. Until the MRL for that market is established, growers should check with grain handlers before using Heat LQ for pre-harvest applications on red lentils.

When using Heat LQ for pre-harvest applications, BASF recommends that growers follow the product label rates and timing recommendations in order to maximize their herbicide use. Heat LQ is supported for pre-harvest use on red lentil varieties only, and is not recommended on green lentils.

For more information on Heat LQ on red lentils, visit agsolutions.ca.

June 16, 2016  By BASF