And if they don’t use T-Max, the launch of Milestone is a tailor-made chance to take their brassica herbicide programme up a notch.

Corteva Agriscience has been evaluating the new product as a replacement for T-Max in New Zealand conditions for the past three to four years, and originally applied for registration in December 2018. Milestone was ultimately approved mid-November 2019.

Although this would have been too late for traditional timing of post-emergence broadleaf herbicides in forage brassicas, major spring sowing delays, particularly in the lower South Island, created an opening for some resellers and farmers to test the new chemistry on 2019/20 crops.

Glen Surgenor, marketing manager for Corteva Agriscience, says the company got product into the market as quickly as possible once regulatory approval was confirmed. “We were ready to go as soon as we got the nod, as we had hoped to launch earlier in the year. “While no-one wants to be sowing winter brassicas three to five weeks late, we hope Milestone will help farmers get the best out of their crops in what has been a really challenging environment for establishment.”

Milestone contains two active ingredients – aminopyralid at 60 grams per litre and clopyralid at 276 grams per litre. Both are well-recognised and widely used, and there is no other formulation of this type registered for use in forage brassicas in NZ. In fact, the label is a world-first – the formulation is sold overseas, but in no other country is it used for forage brassicas.

“For farmers, the biggest benefit compared with T-Max is crop safety,” Surgenor explains. “This was a key focus for our R&D team. “In developing this new formulation, we’ve been able to safen the product, which is fantastic. T-Max has a strong following, and works well, but it’s been known to cup crops and cause a growth check which can look pretty severe in the early stages of establishment. “Crops will grow through this, however, we didn’t want any potential users to get put off. “Milestone has some very significant advantages in that respect, and we’re confident this will be a key selling point for end users and our distribution partners.”

Milestone’s control of thistles is much better than T-Max, and its labelled weed spectrum includes wireweed and plantain. “It’s a double strength formulation as well, so recommended rates are half that of T-Max, with some nice handling, mixing and storage benefits for everyone in the supply chain.”

Having the choice of three different postemergence herbicides from Corteva Agriscience gives retailers the opportunity to fine tune their forage brassica recommendations in line with farmers’ individual crop protection needs, he says. So where does Milestone fit in this context?

In general terms, anyone who has been using T-Max up until now can make a straight upgrade to Milestone, and they are expected to do so quite readily.

Korvetto is well-suited to clients who want more room to manoeuvre in their rotation planning, because it is the most flexible postemergence herbicide for brassicas, with a three month plant back for clover and six month plant back for fodder beet.

And Radiate has a narrower weed spectrum, but continues to fill a useful role as a low-cost herbicide option when customers need to get rid of fathen in their brassica crops. “We pretty much have a solution for every need, which is great for both our customers, and their customers too.”

For more detail contact your local Corteva Agriscience territory sales manager.