Offering benefits beyond the control of weed beet

Despite not being in a high-pressure weed beet situation, he has found benefits in other areas and has been impressed with the system.

“2024 marked our first year with the CONVISO^® SMART system. “We grew 50ha of SMART RIXTA KWS, which accounted for about half of our sugar beet area,” says Ed.

The system’s promise of effective weed control with just one application, as opposed to the three sprays typically needed for conventional systems, was particularly appealing.

“The prospect of fewer sprays was attractive to us, as we believed it would simplify management and logistics,” Ed adds.

“We farm a block of beet 25 miles away from our base. With the SMART RIXTA crop only needing a single spray, it made sense for us to reduce our sprayers busy workload for this block,” he says. The CONVISO^® ONE had a registered application window from the 4 true leaf stage (BBCH 14) up to and including the 8 true leaf stage (BBCH 18) of sugar beet.

For 2025 this has been expanded to applications from expanded cotyledons (BBCH 10) up to and including the 8 true leaf stage (BBCH 18) of sugar beet.

The old registered application window contrasts with conventional systems that usually target weeds when they’re most vulnerable.

The crop did not receive any pre-em applications prior to the CONVISO^® ONE.

“It was very unnerving seeing how forward the weeds were getting, but I trusted my agronomist’s experience with CONVISO^® SMART beet and sure enough, the CONVISO^® ONE herbicide did its job effectively.

We did not need to add any additional herbicides, so we were very happy with the overall weed control,” Ed recalls.

While the system comes at a higher cost than Ed’s traditional methods, he believes the savings from reduced workload are difficult to quantify.

“In terms of logistics, the system works really well for us. It simplifies weed control, with application timing being more flexible than with conventional herbicides.

“When we’re busy or under pressure, we don’t need to worry so much about timings being comprised. We have peace of mind knowing that the crop’s safety is ensured, and that’s something you can’t put a price on.”

Following a successful 2024 season, the CONVISO^® SMART system will be used on the farm again this year.

“The system has eased workloads, streamlined agronomy, and proved gentler on the crop.

“We’ll plant SMART VESNICA KWS in the blocks farther from the farm, while continuing with our conventional ANNATINA KWS at the base farm, which has delivered positive results for the past two years,” says Ed.