Q&A with the Expert: Herbicides
Q&A with Kyle Miller
Kyle Miller, a technical specialist at BASF with 32 years of experience, gives us a closer look at the newest addition to the Finale herbicide lineup. Learn how Finale® XL T&O herbicide can help landscapers control weeds faster and more efficiently with lower use rates.
July 2021
1. What is Finale® XL T&O herbicide and how is it different from Finale herbicide?
Finale XL T&O herbicide our newest Finale formulation. It has a much higher active ingredient load, which means use rates are lower. This formulation has a red pigment, so it’s very easy to see in the spray tank. Users of the product can very accurately determine how much material is in their sprayer. It’s really easy for them to measure out, see and apply this product, and it’s very fast. Under ideal conditions, it works within six to eight hours, so they can see that they’ve begun to control a targeted weed — the effect they’re wanting to get from the product.
2. Is Finale XL T&O herbicide an option for landscapers who have previously used glyphosate or Roundup® brand products?
This is a non-selective herbicide just like glyphosate or Roundup brand products, and it controls most of the weeds that they control. It’s very effective on grasses, broadleaves, sedges and small brush, and it’s more efficacious on broadleaf weeds than glyphosate or Roundup brand products. When we use Roundup brand products or glyphosate during cool times of the year, they’re very slow to work. With Finale XL T&O herbicide, it’s still faster. A user can see the targeted weed is being controlled.
3. What are some of the advantages of using Finale XL T&O herbicide for non-selective weed control?
This is a contact herbicide; it has pinpoint accuracy. With glyphosate or Roundup products, we treat an area and the plant moves that herbicide throughout, [then] a larger area is controlled than what’s desired. If you’re treating a certain spot, now the spot’s larger. That’s one of the big advantages of using Finale XL T&O herbicide — we have that pinpoint accuracy and it only controls where we spray.
4. Can landscapers tank mix Finale XL T&O herbicide with a residual herbicide to provide extended control?
In order to control the target weed and get residual control or long-term control, we can add a herbicide like Pendulum® AquaCap herbicide, Tower® herbicide or another pre-emergent to the mix, to not only control what the user sees, but also provide extended control with that residual herbicide; that’s another effective way to get three or four months of control on the targeted weeds.
5. What are some key attributes that landscapers should know about Finale XL T&O herbicide?
[It has] very fast control of weeds and pinpoint accuracy — where you put it is what it controls and it doesn’t migrate in the plant.
Always read and follow label directions.
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