Weed Management in the Roundup Ready Xtend^® Crop System

The Roundup Ready^® Xtend Crop System is a weed management tool designed to maximize weed control and yield potential using Roundup Ready 2 Xtend^® soybeans (tolerant to dicamba and glyphosate) and/or XtendFlex^® soybeans (tolerant to dicamba, glyphosate, and glufosinate) along with herbicides designed for use with these traited soybean products. Together, the system allows for improved early-season weed control, and overall control of tough-to-manage weeds including glyphosate-resistant biotypes.

System Herbicides and VaporGrip^® Technology

The Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System includes herbicides that contain dicamba. Dicamba can be used as a burndown and as a pre- or post-emergence residual herbicide because it is rapidly absorbed by plant leaves, stems, and roots. Dicamba, when applied early at the high recommended rate, offers short term residual for broadleaf weeds. Residual soil activity may vary depending on the weed, rainfall, and soil types. Weeds managed by dicamba include glyphosate-resistant weeds, such as Canada fleabane, giant ragweed, waterhemp, and kochia, and other broadleaves such as velvetleaf, wild buckwheat, lamb’s quarters, common ragweed, corn spurry, cow cockle, Eastern black nightshade, lady’s thumb, pigweed (redroot, Russian, smooth), and green smartweed. VaporGrip^® Technology helps prevent dicamba anions (Dc-) from combining with free hydrogen ions (H+), which helps prevent the formation of volatile dicamba acid.

Roundup Xtend^® herbicide with VaporGrip^® Technology* (Group 4 and 9) is a glyphosate and dicamba pre-mix formulation with low volatility properties. Roundup Xtend^® 2 herbicide with VaporGrip^® Technology is a more concentrated formulation delivering the same level of control as Roundup Xtend herbicide with VaporGrip Technology (Table 1).

*Roundup Xtend herbicide with VaporGrip Technology is being replaced in the marketplace with Roundup Xtend 2 herbicide with VaporGrip Technology. It is used in this document for rate comparisons.

XtendiMax^® herbicide with VaporGrip^® Technology (Group 4) is a dicamba straight-good herbicide with low volatility properties designed to be tank-mixed with the glyphosate-only herbicides Roundup WeatherMAX^® herbicide (Group 9) or Roundup Transorb^® HC herbicide (Group 9). Used alone, XtendiMax herbicide with VaporGrip Technology mainly manages broadleaf weeds. Grass control occurs when tank-mixed with the glyphosate-only products. XtendiMax^® 2 herbicide with VaporGrip^® Technology is a more concentrated formulation delivering the same level of broadleaf control as XtendiMax herbicide with VaporGrip Technology (Table 2).

These herbicide products can be applied pre-plant, at planting, preemergence to the crop, and postemergence up to and including the early flowering stage (R1) of Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans and XtendFlex soybeans. As a recommendation, the FIRST spring herbicide pass in the crop system should include dicamba to help maximize residual weed control and efficacy on glyphosate-resistant weeds. For best results, including short-term residual control, early applications (pre-plant to early post-V2 soybean) of the high label rate are recommended (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The application window for Roundup Xtend 2 herbicide with VaporGrip Technology, XtendiMax herbicide with VaporGrip Technology, and XtendiMax 2 herbicide with VaporGrip Technology in Roundup Ready 2 Xtend and XtendFlex soybeans in Canada.

Application Rates

Roundup Xtend herbicide with VaporGrip Technology and Roundup Xtend 2 herbicide with VaporGrip Technology

• High Rate
  Roundup Xtend herbicide with VaporGrip Technology: 2 L/acre (5 L/ha) Roundup Xtend 2 herbicide with VaporGrip Technology: 1.5 L/acre (3.77 L/ha) This rate, which can be used only once per season, can be used pre-plant, pre-emergence, or in-crop early post-emergence to manage emerged weeds, and can provide up to 14 days of residual broadleaf control.
• Low Rate
  Roundup Xtend herbicide with VaporGrip Technology: 1 L/acre (1.5 L/ha) Roundup Xtend 2 herbicide with VaporGrip Technology: 0.75 L/acre (1.9 L/ha) This rate is most effective when applied post emergence to weeds and provides only some suppression of later flushes. It can be applied once or twice in a season on its own or as a follow-up to a high-rate treatment applied earlier. A third application can be applied only if glyphosate-resistant weeds are present.

XtendiMax herbicide with VaporGrip Technology and XtendiMax 2 herbicide with VaporGrip Technology

• High Rate
  XtendiMax herbicide with VaporGrip Technology: 0.7 L/acre (1.71 L/ha) XtendiMax 2 herbicide with VaporGrip Technology: 0.5 L/acre (1.23 L/ha) This rate, which can be used only once per season, can be used pre-plant, pre-emergence, or in-crop early post-emergence to manage emerged weeds, and can provide up to 14 days of residual broadleaf control.
• Low Rate
  XtendiMax herbicide with VaporGrip Technology: 1 L/acre (1.5 L/ha) XtendiMax 2 herbicide with VaporGrip Technology: 0.26 L/acre (0.64 L/ha) This rate is most effective when applied post emergence to weeds and provides only some suppression of later flushes. It can be applied once or twice in a season on its own or as a follow-up to a high-rate treatment applied earlier. A third application can be applied only if glyphosate-resistant weeds are present.

Application Requirements, Labels, and Additional Information

The individual product labels, which must be followed, define the procedures, environmental conditions, and proper equipment for application to help ensure on-target applications and reduce the potential for drift. Herbicide labels and information on Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans and XtendFlex soybeans can be found at https://www.cropscience.bayer.ca/Products.

For more information on application requirements in soybean, please visit: https://traits.bayer.ca/en/soybeans/roundup-ready-xtend-crop-system/application-requirements.

Legal Statements

Bayer is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship^® (ETS). Bayer products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Bayer’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. These products have been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from these products can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for these products. Excellence Through Stewardship^® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship.

ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Performance may vary from location to location and from year to year, as local growing, soil and weather conditions may vary. Growers should evaluate data from multiple locations and years whenever possible and should consider the impacts of these conditions on the grower’s fields.

It is a violation of federal law to use any pesticide product other than in accordance with its labeling. NOT ALL formulations of dicamba or glyphosate are approved for in-crop use with products with Roundup Ready 2 Xtend^® soybeans. NOT ALL formulations of dicamba, glyphosate or glufosinate are approved for in-crop use with products with XtendFlex^® Technology. ONLY USE FORMULATIONS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY LABELED AND APPROVED FOR SUCH USES. Contact the Pest Management Regulatory Agency with any questions about the approval status of dicamba herbicide products for in-crop use with Roundup Ready 2 Xtend^® soybeans or products with XtendFlex^® Technology.

Products with XtendFlex^® Technology contains genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, glufosinate and dicamba. Roundup Ready 2 Xtend^® soybeans contains genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate and dicamba. Glyphosate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Dicamba will kill crops that are not tolerant to dicamba. Glufosinate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glufosinate. Contact your Bayer retailer, refer to the Bayer Technology Use Guide, or call the technical support line at 1-888-283-6847 for recommended Roundup Ready^® Xtend Crop System weed control programs.

Tank mixtures: The applicable labeling for each product must be in the possession of the user at the time of application. Follow applicable use instructions, including application rates, precautions and restrictions of each product used in the tank mixture. Bayer has not tested all tank mix product formulations for compatibility or performance other than specifically listed by brand name. Always predetermine the compatibility of tank mixtures by mixing small proportional quantities in advance. Bayer, Bayer Cross, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend^®, Roundup Ready 2 Yield^®, Roundup Ready^®, Roundup Transorb^®, Roundup WeatherMAX^®, Roundup Xtend^®, VaporGrip^®, XtendFlex^®, and XtendiMax^® are registered trademarks of Bayer Group. Used under license. LibertyLink^® and the Water Droplet Design™ are trademarks of BASF. Used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada. ©2023 Bayer Group. All rights reserved. 1319_47797