New herbicide tackles grass and broadleaf weeds

• Herbicide available to growers now

• Offers early-season broadleaf control

• Also effective on mix of grass weeds

Wheat growers have a new herbicide at their disposal to tackle a range of grass and broad-leaved weeds.

Developed by Corteva Agriscience, Broadway Ultra builds on the success of Broadway Star which has been a mainstay of early-season weed control on many UK farms for 14 years.

Strong reputation

The new Broadway Ultra formulation combines pyroxsulam and mesosulfuron-methyl – offering arable farmers the ability to control a range of weeds in a single pass, says Corteva herbicide manager Alister McRobbie.

“Broadway Star has a well-earned reputation as reliable, proven chemistry but with our new Broadway Ultra product the addition of mesosulfuron brings meadow grass control into farmers’ hands too.”

Significant evolution

“We see this as a significant evolution. We now have two of the most effective post-emergence grass weed active ingredients in a single formulation and this should be something of real value to growers at the start of spring herbicide campaigns.”

Excellent levels of annual meadow grass control will be an important feature of the new product in the UK market. But exceptional levels of ryegrass and other problematic weeds are also retained.

Corteva expects growers with traditional rotations and on lighter land – where meadow grass and broad-leaved weeds are the key issue – to benefit the most from this innovation. It will be an effective product where there are mixed populations of grass weeds too.

Broadway Ultra’s label weeds also include brome, ryegrass, tame oats, wild oats and loose silky bent as well as difficult broad-leaved weeds such as cleavers, speedwells, mayweed, charlock, chervil and volunteer oilseed rape.

‘Act early’

Trials conducted by Corteva demonstrate the same level of control of ryegrass, meadow brome and annual meadow brome as mesosulfuron- and iodosulfuron-containing herbicides.

The same “act early” principles around application timing should be followed with the new product, says Mr McRobbie. Broadway Ultra can be applied from 1 January right the way through to the middle of May, but cannot be used in the autumn.

“Getting on top of key problem weeds early is as important as it ever was, and the challenging autumns we have had in recent years often shifts the pressure for weed control to the spring,”  Mr McRobbie explains.

Tank mix

“It can be safely tank mixed with – or followed by – Zypar and has a broad range of ALS joint applications on the label, including combinations with Corteva ALS herbicides and those of other manufacturers.”

The wettable granule should be applied with an adjuvant at a rate of 100g per hectare and comes in a 500g pack. A 5m reducible buffer zone applies, says Mr McRobbie.

“We are pleased to be able to bring this product to the market and have good availability of the product for growers who want to experience the new formulation on their farms.”

Diddly Squat Farm to host Cereals 2026

TV celebrity farmer Jeremy Clarkson will host next year’s Cereals event – in a move organisers say will raise the profile of UK agriculture.

Some 25,000 visitors and exhibitors are expected to attend the two-day show – held on 10-11 June 2026 – at Diddly Squat Farm, in the village of Chadlington, near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.

Event director Alli McEntyre says: “Hosting Cereals at the high-profile farm under the auspices of host farmer Jeremy Clarkson will help to draw attention to the ongoing issues faced by arable farmers and the wider UK farming industry.”

Challenges and priorities

Agronomists and farm business consultants Ceres Rural will help to curate the event – led by managing partner Charlie Ireland, who appears as ‘Cheerful Charlie’ in the Clarkson’s Farm TV series.

“There are a lot of conversations that happen every day on any given farm,” says Mr Ireland. “And now more than ever the industry needs solutions to meet the challenges and priorities on both sides of the farm gate.

“Diddly Squat Farm is very much like any other arable and diversified farm, despite the cameras; it is still subject to the vagaries of the weather, volatility of markets, and navigation of industry transition and policy.

“The event will be a great platform for conversation, demonstration, and exploration of how farm businesses can best deliver sustainable food production while achieving profitability – because the two should not be separated.”

Mr Clarkson (pictured left) said: “Farmers across the country are facing some of the toughest conditions seen in decades – so we wanted to be involved in something positive.”