07/06/07 Choosing Select Max

Choosing Select Max. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Having the ability to control grasses can sometimes get a bit out of hand. Valent has just made it a little easier to get that control back. Joe Short, Product Marketing Manager for Valent says the company is building on a tradition of great products. SHORT: For years Valent has had Select 2EC herbicide which clethodim is the active ingredient and people are very familiar with Select 2EC and have had great success with it over the years and at Valent we're always continuing to strive for new, innovative solutions for growers out there and really (how) Select Max came about was looking at a way to increase grass control performance for growers. Select Max has just received some new registrations to make it easier for producers. SHORT: Increases speed, increase the control and then also bring a lot of flexibility to growers and Select Max due to the formulation brings a lot of flexibility especially from a timing standpoint and from an adjuvant choice. Short says that a lot of producers currently have to deal with some crop burn due to issues with a crop oil concentrate. SHORT: Crop oil concentrate is obviously a very good adjuvant as far as getting into the plant helping get the herbicide and control the grasses; annual and perennial. But it also has a side effect of kind of burning and dinging up some of the crops  especially some of the more sensitive crops like dried peas or dried beans and succulent beans, asparagus and hops. And with Select Max the formulation allows the flexibility to be able to use a non-ionic surfactant which is much more friendly to the crops we're talking about and whereas all the other post-grass herbicides do not allow you that flexibility. And of course it's important to follow the label for usage. SHORT: With the new crops that we've gotten registered the use rate ranges anywhere from 9 to 16 ounces on Select Max and that's really dependant on if you're trying to control annual grasses or perennial grasses. The key thing I always tell everybody is to make to take a look at the label with the crop that you are working on and with the grasses you're trying to control and get a guidance from that perspective. Select Max is labeled for more crops than any other clethodim-based product currently on the market. This is a great benefit for those farmers who are looking for one grass product for multiple crops. For more information on Select Max or any of their products visit valent.com or talk to your local dealer. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.