HERBICIDES AS FERTILIZER ADDITIVES

Summary. Granulated compound fertilizers were tested as solid carriers for a variety of herbicides known to be active when applied as liquids.
Pasture and cereal experiments with 2,4-D and MCPA as fertilizer additives indicated considerable loss of herbicidal activity in comparison with spray formulations.
Residual herbicides such as TCA, propham and diuron retained their activity when added to fertilizer for application to root crops. The most effective of the herbicides used as fertilizer additives were TCA and propham, both of which gave good control of Avena fatua in sugar beet, and a mixture of chlorpropham and diuron gave promising results as a general weed control treatment in carrots.
It is concluded that the addition of these or similar herbicides to fertilizer granules may have advantages over conventional spray formulations for those crops which require broadcast pre-sowing applications of herbicides and fertilizer. For such crops the use of a granular fertilizer as the carrier instead of inert material could also have advantages over conventional granular herbicides, particularly by reducing transport and application costs.