Rely® 280 Herbicide Production to Cease
In May, California avocado growers learned that the herbicide Rely® 280 (glufosinate-ammonium) had finally received a registration for use on avocados in California. This was welcome news for many growers who had been struggling to manage glyphosate resistant weeds in their groves. Unfortunately, CAC learned last week that BASF, the manufacturer of Rely® will no longer be manufacturing the product.
This was purely a business decision by BASF. Earlier this year, the registration of the herbicide dicamba was revoked for use on corn, soybeans and cotton. BASF manufactures the popular Liberty® herbicide, another glufosinate-ammonium product, for use on corn and soybeans. As a result of dicamba no longer being available, BASF sees an opportunity to shift its supply of glufosinate-ammonium to Liberty® instead of Rely®. In addition, numerous generic glufosinate-ammonium products have come on the market in recent years, which has put downward pressure on the price of Rely®, further influencing BASF’s decision.
Growers who have seen success with Rely® are encouraged to purchase as much product as they can at this time. CAC’s understanding is that there is a good supply of Rely® in the market, but growers may need to shop around and even look outside their area to find some. As a reminder, Rely® is currently the only glufosinate-ammonium product registered for use on avocados in California.
In the near term, CAC is urgently working to find a generic glufosinate-ammonium manufacturer who is willing to support a 24(c) Special Local Needs registration for the use of their product on avocados. We are hopeful that this process can be completed quickly, and another glufosinate-ammonium product can be available for growers by early 2025.
The long-term solution will partially depend on BASF’s ultimate plans. Currently, BASF owns the data that was used to obtain the full registration of Rely®. BASF could choose to sell that data to another manufacturer for registration of a generic product or they could hold onto that data if they ever see a point in time when they would begin manufacturing Rely® again. It’s likely that we won’t have a full understanding of BASF’s intentions for at least a year. Should BASF choose to hold onto the data, then CAC would need to seek a manufacturer of a generic product to support an avocado registration and determine how to generate the necessary data for full registration.
Heatwave to Impact Southern California Avocado Growing Areas this Week
Southern California avocado growing areas are set to see unseasonably warm temperatures later this week. Inland growing areas are predicted to see temperatures rise to around 107 °F by Friday, with coastal areas forecast to be around 90-95 °F. Growers should be irrigating their trees now, in advance of the heat, to ensure their trees are fully hydrated. For extended heat waves, daily pulses of irrigation are recommended to maintain the trees’ water status without saturating the soil. A well-watered tree will tolerate the stress of a heat wave much better than a tree that is suffering from water stress.
National Weather Service forecasts from the Los Angeles and San Diego offices, which cover the avocado growing regions, can be found at the links below.