NUFARM has announced the registration of Sentry herbicide in imidazolinone (imi) tolerant oats.

This new registration is the culmination of three years of research and development between three Australian companies: Nufarm, InterGrain and Grains Innovation Australia (GIA).

It enables InterGrain to release the Kingbale oat variety in early 2021. Kingbale is the world’s first imi tolerant oat variety which was bred by Dr Michael Materne from GIA.

Sentry is an imidazolinone herbicide from Nufarm which contains imazapic and imazapyr and is registered for use pre-sowing (IBS) on a range of problem grass and broadleaf weeds including barley grass, brome grass and wild oats.

Sentry can be used in Kingbale crops intended for forage, oaten hay or seed production (but not for grain production this season as further studies are being conducted).

When used in accordance with label instructions, Sentry Herbicide is safe on the crop and suitable for use in export oaten hay crops as no detectable residues are expected in either oaten hay or forage.

Nufarm has developed an industry Stewardship Program that will be released shortly and available on the web site below.  This registration will become part of the broader Nufarm imiCrops® program.

Hay variety

Kingbale is a single gene imi tolerant oaten hay variety which is available from InterGrain.

It is a mid-maturing variety with improved tolerance to soil residual imidazolinone herbicides, so is an ideal variety for use with Sentry Herbicide pre-emergent (IBS) or where there are carryover imi soil residue concerns from previous crops.

Kingbale is a tall variety with good early vigour and has a similar disease and agronomic profile to Wintaroo.

It has resistance to Cereal Cyst Nematode (CCN) but is likely susceptible to rust so will require proactive management with registered fungicides such as Nufarm Tazer Xpert.

Sources: Nufarm, https://nufarm.com/au, InterGrain, www.intergrain.com, GIA, https://grainsinnovation.com/

See earlier Grain Central story ‘Kingbale oats offers new herbicide option for hay producers’.