Fomesafen
Trade Names: Reflex
Registration status: This herbicide is not registered for use in tender fruit orchards.
When to suspect injury: Injury may occur from drift from neighbouring fields under windy conditions. If you notice symptoms of leaf spotting or necrotic plants look carefully at neighbouring fields, and at weeds in the treated area.
Herbicide Information: Knowing how the herbicide works will help to determine the likelihood of injury from either direct application or drift. Consider how the herbicide works in plants, behaves in soils and what symptoms are common in other plants.
Chemical Family: Diphenyl ether
Site of Action/ Group: Inhibitors of acetolactate synthase (ALS) and also called acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) / WSSA Group 2
General Symptoms in Plants
- Leaves become spotted and chlorotic
- Within 1- 3 days leaves become desiccated and necrotic
- Sub lethal rates may cause bronzing
- Bleached spots on leaves can be an indication of droplet drift
Symptoms in Fruit Trees
- As above, leaves will show spotting from spray drift, and if rates are high enough, the leaves will desiccate and die
Uptake and Translocation
- Taken up through foliage
- Not readily translocated
Persistence
- Persistence depends on weather and soil conditions (more persistent under dry conditions)
- Half-life in field: 100 days
If you suspect herbicide injury, laboratory analyses of herbicide levels in plant tissue are necessary to confirm the presence of herbicides, although symptoms may be helpful in diagnosing which herbicides caused the problem.
Both damaged and healthy plant tissues should be analyzed, because comparison levels are not readily available for many herbicides. Contact your lab for instructions on which plant parts should be sampled, how to handle and ship the sample, and what costs are involved to ensure an accurate and timely diagnosis.
Photos by Jeff Cook, Taylor County, GA Cooperative Extension (http://www.wolfpackweeds.com/herbinjury/index.php)
