Specticle® Herbicide setting new standards in weed control

Envu (formerly the Environmental Science business unit of Bayer) is pleased to announce the introduction of a 250 mL pack size for Specticle® Herbicide.

Specticle is an innovative, labour saving, weed management tool for ornamental production nurseries and Envu is pleased to announce the launch of its 250 mL pack size. James Royal, National Sales & Marketing Manager (Turf & Ornamental) at Envu said “We have responded to the needs of the ornamental nursery market, in particular small to medium sized nursery customers. This 250 mL pack size will cover 6,600m² or make up 333 L of spray solution for bare ground application and will be available to purchase in September 2022”.

“Weed control in ornamental production nurseries is becoming increasingly problematic due to the occurrence of difficult to control weeds, such as fleabane, as well as weed resistance to common herbicides and the high labour cost associated with frequent herbicide applications and hand weeding. Therefore, new weed control methods are required to allow the development of sustainable weed management programs that help break the cycle of difficult to control weeds across all areas of the nursery”, said Jyri Kaapro, Senior Market Development Specialist at Envu.

Specticle is an innovative herbicide that sets a new standard for pre-emergent weed control in bare ground areas of ornamental plant production nurseries. It is labelled for use in maintaining bare ground in outdoor ornamental nursery production areas (e.g., underneath and around potted plants and benches,) in access areas like driveways, walkways and around infrastructure such as buildings and fence lines. Download the Specticle label here: https://www.au.envu.com/turf-and-ornamental-management/products/specticle

Mr Kaapro said “When applied prior to weed seed germination, Specticle prevents establishment of a range of grass and broadleaf weeds for up to 8 months and can greatly assist nursery managers reduce labour and lower costs associated with weed control in the nursery. It offers significant advantages compared to current industry practice which requires multiple applications of knockdown herbicides or shorter lived pre-emergent herbicides.

Specticle can be tank mixed with common post-emergent ‘knockdown’ herbicides such to control weeds that are pre-existing in the target areas for treatment at the time of application.

Specticle has been trialled in nursery situations in Australia with excellent long-term weed control received in a number of different settings, validating the strong value that Specticle can provide for ornamental nursery managers.

Mark Handy, Research Development Manager at Greenstock Nurseries said “We use a knockdown every 2 to 3 weeks to cover the property. We sprayed Specticle in late June. We applied Slasher® for knockdown and 1 week later sprayed Specticle. We reviewed in September and the site was completely clean of weeds. We had another review in January and again the Specticle plots were completely clean of weeds. Having a product that lasts even longer will benefit us so much. It will also save time to do one application of Specticle mixed with other knockdown products, saving time for me, by allowing me to spray in one application”, he said.

Beau Hartshorn, Nursery Operations Manager at Plants Direct Queensland said “We have natural bushland and farmland neighbouring the nursery, so seed can come onto the site from wind, rain and run-off. At the present time, fleabane is the problem. General herbicides have not been knocking that. Probably once or twice a month we would go through and spray with general herbicides such as glyphosate. It is pretty well a full-time job, 4 days per week, making herbicide application via knapsacks or tractor. Specticle will help us cut down on labour, cut down on costs, so it is a great investment!”

For further information, contact Jyri Kaapro on 0409 942 513.