A few days ago we had a conversation about various glyphosate herbicide brands and their effectiveness and how long they last.
I got busy and didn’t have a chance to respond.
Glyphosate:
The primary ingredient is obviously glyphosate, a systemic non-selective herbicide. A dilutable product that starts out in the range of 40-42% diluted to 4-6% in water will result in an effective kill of almost anything it contacts. The glyphosate is taken in thru leaves and stems and moves to the root system, it’s real target. Use of a surfactant increases the effectiveness significantly. Glyphosate has no soil activity so, no long term effect and its broken down fairly quickly by microbes in your soil.
Imazapyr
Imazapyr is added to some products to extend time of effective kill. Imazapyr does have soil activity, unlike glyphosate, and does not get broken down by soil microbes as fast as the glyphosate does.
Diquat:
A few glyphosate products also include Diquat. It is a contact herbicide and quickly “burns” the target plant to give you “quick gratification. It does nothing to improve or extend the effectiveness of the glyphosate, it just makes you feel like you accomplished something quicker.
Hopefully this will help as you evaluate various products.
Here is the Label for the RM43 that I use. Note that the active ingredients are;
Glyphosate - 43.68%.
Imazapyr - 0.78%
https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/ppls/084009-00003-20150710.pdf
If you take the course work and become a Private Applicator, you will always Remember;
1. Read The Label!
2. The Label is the Law!
Knowingly using these products in a manner contrary to the Label is a federal crime.