Producing high-quality hay is a year-round endeavor. To help maintain hay yield and quality, producers need to stay on top of weeds before the growing season and long after the baler is parked. A summer application of Rezilon® herbicide from Bayer is the most effective strategy for managing winter weed species and maintaining high-quality, high-production perennial hayfields.
Controlling weeds before emergence is a more effective management strategy than spraying after germination. Rezilon is an easy-to-use preemergence herbicide that’s effective in controlling warm- and cool-season annual weed species in hayfields and other hay production sites. Rezilon is not intended for control of already emerged weeds, but it can help control weeds — especially grassy weeds — within the grass hayfield, which is a quality few other pre-emergent and postemergent herbicides can achieve. By targeting broadleaf and annual grass weeds in established hayfields, Rezilon promotes increased fertilizer and water utilization by desirable forage for higher-quality hay.
With a long residual, Rezilon offers a wide application window. The herbicide can sit on the surface for weeks, with no degradation from sunlight, while waiting on rainfall for activation. The active ingredient in Rezilon, indaziflam, is a root inhibitor and works to prevent seedling germination in the top 0.5 to 1 inch of the soil. Overall, the herbicide controls more than 60 broadleaf and annual grass weeds, including species that have demonstrated herbicide resistance such as ryegrass. Other particularly challenging weeds controlled by Rezilon herbicide are sandbur, crabgrass, goosegrass, and annual foxtail.
The optimal application period for Rezilon is after the final cut of the season between August and September. This can be a drier time of the year, and Bayer experts caution that producers should ensure that fields treated with Rezilon receive an incorporating rainfall before they take that late-season harvest. Harvesting the hay will pull the product out of the field along with the forage and prevent Rezilon from reaching the soil surface, inhibiting the residual control ability of the herbicide. There are no grazing restrictions following Rezilon applications.
When applied according to label directions, growers could see higher quality in their first harvest — a result from the control of annual weed species present in the field.
Hay producers looking to stop weeds should consider an application of Rezilon herbicide. Now is the perfect time to get ahead of cool-season weeds to support high-quality hay production next season. Visit Rezilon.com to learn more about Rezilon herbicide or see your local Bayer product dealer.
Legals:
ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Not all products are registered in all states and may be subject to use restrictions. The distribution, sale, or use of an unregistered pesticide is a violation of federal and/or state law and is strictly prohibited. Check with your local dealer or representative for the product registration status in your state. Bayer Environmental Science, a Division of Bayer CropScience LP, 5000 CentreGreen Way, Suite 400, Cary NC 27513. For additional product information, call toll-free 1-800-331-2867. www.environmentalscience.bayer.us. Not all products are registered in all states. Bayer, the Bayer Cross and Rezilon® are registered trademarks of Bayer Group. ©2022 Bayer CropScience LP.