Agriculture

Corn

Corn (maize) is a major export crop for countries across North and South America. Given its versatile uses globally in food and animal feed, corn plays a pivotal role in global food security as well as in making a significant contribution to alternative fuel sources in many countries worldwide.

Weeds are very competitive with corn in the early stages of growth. They pose a major threat in the fields that are not preirrigated or where soil is difficult to dry down. Weeds can host destructive insects, and also significantly reduce silage feed quality, raise grain moisture content, and provide a seed source to infest subsequent crops. Protecting corn from weeds, pests and diseases is thus essential to avoiding heavy losses in yields and quality of grain.

The use of broad spectrum herbicides and in conjunction with corn varieties – bred using genetic modification to be herbicide-tolerant (HT) – offer the most effective means of weed control. The only broad spectrum herbicides that can be used with HT corn today are Glufosinate-ammonium and Glyphosate. Until recently, only Glyphosate-tolerant corn was available. Insufficient rotation of the herbicidal modes of action in the past has resulted in many weeds in vital corn growing regions no longer responding to Glyphosate treatment. As such, farmers are increasingly aware of the need to rotate their use of Glyphosate with Glufosinate-ammonium to mitigate weed resistance.

Did you know?

In 2012, the EU corn imports were the second-highest on record after drought parched crops. The imports from the US to the EU were estimated at around 11 million tonnes.¹
Horseweed is an extremely competitive weed in corn fields. It can absorb much more nutrients like boron, copper, magnesium, zinc and calcium than corn leaves.²

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Fighting Weed Resistance

Overreliance on a single herbicide can cause the development of resistant weeds jeopardizing yields.

Benefits For The Crop

Glufosinate-ammonium has enabled the healthy production of more than 100 crops.

Benefits In The Field

Glufosinate-ammonium’s unique chemistry enables a substantial increase in yields and offers significant agricultural advantages.

Sustainability

Glufosinate-ammonium preserves the balance between the needs of the environment, economy and society.

¹Whitney McFerron, European Corn Imports Seen Expanding to Second-Highest on Record, 4 December 2012.
²PennState Extension. Common Ragweed.

Related topics

Basics

Glufosinate-ammonium is one of the most widely-applied broad-spectrum herbicides, controlling weeds in a huge variety of crops worldwide.

Safety

The use of a plant protection product is only authorized if the resulting exposure of the consumer to residues is shown to be less than a toxicological limit which always includes a safety factor of at least 100.

Benefits

For more than 30 years, Glufosinate-ammonium has become one of the key herbicides in global agriculture. For farmers, the product offers a unique, simple and effective weed control in a variety of crops, while preserving a balance between the needs of the environment, economy and society.