Aventis has received approval for use of Liberty Herbicide on high performance LibertyLink canola varieties in Eastern Canada.

"The approval of Liberty Herbicide for canala in Eastern Canada will give producers a new approach to weed control in canola", says Greig Zamecnik, Liberty Product Manager with Aventis. Zamernik notes that Aventis is no stranger to canola. For several years the company has been the leader in the research and development of high yielding LibertyLink hybrid and open pollinated canola varieties for Western Canada.

Liberty itself is a powerful new post-emergent herbicide. It controls a broad spectrum of grass and broadleaf weeds and is fast acting, controlling weeds in three to seven days. The active ingredient in Liberty is glufosinate-ammonium, an active ingredient with a new and different mode of action. Liberty Herbicide has a very successful track record given widespread use on LibertyLink corn hybrids in Eastern Canada over the past two years.

The approval of Liberty Herbicide provides a new herbicide and weed resistance management tool for canola producers. Zamecnik notes that Liberty can be applied up to the early bolting stage of canola growth in canola but must only be used on seed having the LibertyLink symbol on the bag.

"Crop safety is also a key component of the LibertyLink system", comments Zamecnik. "Liberty when used an LibertyLink varieties provides a high level of crop safety which reduces plant stress and allows the crop to reach full performance potential. As a contact herbicide, it also means you can rotate crops without the worry of herbicide residues''

Aventis CropScience is part of the agricultural business area of Aventis, a world leader in life sciences. Aventis integrates crop protection, plant breeding, biotechnology and agronomic information to provide total crop solutions to farmers. With 1998 pro-forma sales of more than 4.09 billion euros ($6,l billion Canadian) Aventis CropScience devotes over 10% of its turnover to the research and development of new chemicals, biotechnology and plant varieties. It employs about 16,000 people in more than 120 countries worldwide.

Company news release
N2649