Korvetto was only launched to the New Zealand market 12 months ago, but sales took off as farmers latched onto its unique package of benefits.
 

Developed by Corteva Agriscience, and launched locally ahead of any other market in the world, the new herbicide is the

most flexible post emergent for brassicas, with a three month plantback for clover and six months for fodder beet.
 

NZ marketing manager Glen Surgenor says the company has invested in further trials and product research during the

past 12 months to enhance an already impressive data package.
 

“We’ve done some more compatibility work with pre-emergence herbicides, including trifluralin, Ombre and Magister CS plus Monarch, applying Korvetto five weeks after crop emergence with no increase in crop phytotoxicity.
 

“So that’s a good message for growers who use pre-emergence herbicide and get some weed escapes, because they can have confidence coming back in with Korvetto knowing crop safety or yield will not be compromised.”
 

It has also been successfully tested for compatibility with the Cleancrop Brassica System.
 

The Corteva Agriscience technical team has evaluated Korvetto applications for crop safety from cotyledon to eight leaf stage, too.
 

“It’s not unusual to have a split strike in forage brassicas, so farmers can end up with seedlings of quite different sizes and

maturity in the same paddock – again, we wanted to reinforce those expectations of crop safety with more data.”
 

Another key message for resellers this spring also has to do with expectations, but this one is more about realism, Surgenor says.
 

“Korvetto is a very, very good product, but it’s not a silver bullet! Timing is still critical. For weeds like shepherd’s purse, remind your clients their best results will come from applying it up to the four leaf rosette stage.
 

“After that, they will get suppression, but the outcome probably won’t be what they’re hoping for.”
 

All the feedback from the market is that uptake of the new herbicide will continue to expand this season, and further promotion is planned for end users to keep Korvetto’s unique selling points front of mind, he says.
 

“The whole story around flexibility with plantbacks and subsequent land use and crop rotations has really helped drive interest
in this brand.
 

“Growers and contractors appreciate having more choice in managing herbicide residues, and Korvetto is quite different in this regard from other post emergence products available in the market.”
 

They also appreciate the weed spectrum – as well as controlling key forage brassica weeds like fathen, nightshades and Californian thistles, at 1 litre per ha it provides best-in-class control of shepherd's purse and fumitory, he adds 
 

“Another important benefit is that it is registered for aerial application which means customers are not solely reliant on ground-spray. That’s good to know when conditions are such that site access is an issue.”
 

The formulation features an inbuilt methylated seed oil (MSO) adjuvant, so there’s no need for farmers to add a surfactant to the mix, and it’s a low odour NeoEC formulation ensuring it’s nice to handle and use.
 

Grazing withhold is 14 days; applications are rainfast in one hour; Korvetto is also compatible with commonly used grassweed herbicides and insecticides.
 

For more detail contact your local Corteva Agriscience territory sales manager.