During the 1940s and 1950s, chemical control with herbicides was introduced. It offered a new level of efficient weed control, streamlined production, and increased yields.
Yet in the 1950s already, resistance to herbicides first appeared. During the past 15 years, weed resistance to herbicides targeting specific metabolic processes (called “modes of action”) in the weeds has become widespread, posing a significant challenge for growers.

New chemistry comes to the rescue

New hope took the form of innovative new chemistry. “Pyrasulfotole represents a new mode of action for broadleaf weed control,” says Clair Heinbuch, Huskie™ Herbicide Product Manager, Bayer CropScience. “It controls the toughest broadleaf weeds, including herbicide-resistant kochia, russian thistle (Salsola kali) and prickly lettuce.”
“We continuously screen different chemical compounds for herbicidal activity. With a success ratio of 1 in 140,000 molecules screened, it’s a numbers game” explains Mary Paulsgrove, Product Development Manager, Bayer CropScience. “What sets us apart is how we screen for weed-control chemistry,” says Paulsgrove. “Gene expression profiling allows us to identify, on a molecular level, known modes of action versus unknown modes of action. We look for herbicidal compounds with novel modes of action because weeds are patient and persistent.”

Pyrasulfotole provides cutting edge solution

Pyrasulfotole was recently introduced to the U.S. in Huskie™ herbicide for use in winter and spring wheat, barley and triticale. Discovered in Bayer CropScience labs in Frankfurt, Germany, pyrasulfotole works post-emergence in a three-step process. In this way, Huskie provides broad-spectrum control of 50 weeds. It offers growers a simple, flexible tool for wheat and barley production. Huskie is registered for use in the United States, and registration of other pyrasulfatole-based products is expected soon in Canada and Australia. The new herbicide is applied to weeds from emergence to up to 3-4 inches in height. Whatever your dominant weed species, that’s what you should target following the label recommendations.

Flexibility even broadens appeal

Huskie offers tremendous tank-mix flexibility. A proprietary Bayer CropScience safener to the herbicide improves its flexibility with other pesticides and makes it one of the most effective partners from a crop-safety standpoint. The safener accelerates the metabolism of the herbicide in wheat, but not in susceptible weed species. The safener technology has demonstrated exceptional crop safety on all tested varieties of wheat, Durum and barley during field testing in hundreds of locations throughout North America.

Huskie provides supplemental weed control for a few weeks following application. By holding back additional weed flushes, it lets the wheat fully use the available water and nutrients for a stronger stand and optimum yield potential. Moreover, naturally occurring soil microbes break down Huskie quickly so the field can be rotated to a new crop – such as sugar beets, soybeans or canola – in just four to nine months. The goddess Ceres would be pleased.