Equipment manufacturers and makers of crop-protection and fertilizer products shared their latest news with No-Till Farmer during the recent 2011 InfoExpo, held during the Ag Media Summit in New Orleans.

What follows is a summary of what No-Till Farmer editors learned at this annual show:

• Michelin announced wider availability of its SprayBib tire technology for self-propelled sprayers that includes very high-flexion (VF) technology. SprayBib tires will be an option this year for sprayer OEMs and the aftermarket.

Michelin also plans to introduce new “Cerexbib” technology for combine tires to the North American market in 2012, says Michelin marketing segment manager Michael Vandel. Cerexbib is a hybrid of improved-flexion (IF) and VF technology that may allow up to 86% higher loads with the same tire pressure.

• Raven Precision will expand its OmniRow variable-rate seeding system to include a third level for multi-row use, says Chris Diedrich, marketing sales coordinator. Using a kit to be available later this year, growers can pair the inside and outside rows together, pair four or two rows together, or go with two rows across the whole planter, he says.

The system is being expanded at that level for some Case IH and White planters, along with Deere and Kinze planters.

• Trimble Navigation discussed its new CenterPoint RTX precision guidance system allowing growers who already have FmX or CFX displays to obtain 1½-inch accuracy via satellite. Subscriptions for this service should be available.

“For farmers that don’t have access to good cell coverage to get VRS or CORS, or if they’re not near an RTK network, this is a perfect product because they don’t have to rely on anyone else’s infrastructure,” says marketing coordinator Courtney Gaudet.

• Unverferth Manufacturing Co. exhibited its new steerable-hitch option for its Premier line of Top Air TA1200, 1600 and 2400 sprayers. The hitch allows the sprayer’s wheels to follow in the tractor’s wheel tracks, which means less compaction and crop damage.

“This would be a good addition for farms that use controlled traffic,” says Jerry Ecklund of Unverferth.

• Case IH will be introducing new equipment at the Farm Progress show later this month, including some minimum-tillage equipment and fertilizer toolbars, says Travis Maier.
• BASF, FMC and Valent are all expecting registrations within the next year for herbicides containing the new active ingredient pyroxasulfone. All three manufacturers say it will be a strong herbicide in no-till systems.

BASF’s Xidua will be strong on small-seeded broadleaf weeds like Palmer amaranth, waterhemp and pigweed, plus grasses like fall panicum and large crabgrass.

For use in both no-till corn and soybeans, Dan Westberg, technical market manager, says it will have uses in fall, pre-plant, pre-emergence and post-emergence applications.

“This is a residual herbicide with a low use rate of 1 to 3 ounces per acre,” Westberg says. “It’s a good tankmix partner with a burndown like Kixor.”

FMC is combining the new chemistry with the active ingredient found in Cadet, which the company launched this past season. Called Anthem, the premix contains both residual and contact protection for broad-spectrum control in both corn and soybeans. It also offers a wide application window from pre-plant to early post.

Anthem ATZ will contain atrazine, and will be limited to corn acres. FMC officials say Anthem has a high degree of crop safety in corn.

Fierce herbicide from Valent combines pyroxasulfone with the active ingredient in Valor, and is being targeted as a no-till corn herbicide and pre-emergence herbicide in soybeans.

Some of the weeds Fierce controls include Palmer amaranth, waterhemp, common lambsquarters, velvetleaf, dandelion, marestail, annual nightshade, pigweed and annual grasses.

• DuPont expects registration in 2012 for a new strobilurin fungicide called Aproach that will be available for soybeans, corn and small grains. Wayne Schumacher, business manager for DuPont, says it will be the among the first fungicide for soybeans that will offer control of white mold.

“It’s also the first fungicide that truly has both preventive and curative properties, so even if you’re a couple days late in making an application, you get curative protection,” Schumacher says.

As a corn fungicide, field trials have shown that Aproach, tankmixed with a herbicide and applied at V5 or V6, provides yield increases of 5 to 7 bushels per acre.

Schumacher sees using Aproach in small grains as a valuable tool for southern Corn Belt wheat growers — Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky — in controlling powdery mildew at tillering.

DuPont is also expecting registration yet in 2011 for Vertisan fungicide. Small-grain growers will be able to apply it and control leaf and stripe rust at flag leaf.

• Priaxor fungicide from BASF is combining the active ingredient in Headline with Xemium. Registration could come in time for 2012 corn and soybean applications.

BASF officials say Priaxor will provide longer residual than Headline and even better movement throughout the plant.

With the addition of Xemium to pyraclostrobin, they anticipate the new fungicide will provide a broader disease-control package.