W166-Accent™ Herbicide for Weed Control in Sweet Corn

The convenient control of perennial and annual grass weeds in fresh market sweet corn has been difficult for a number of years due to the lack of available postemergence herbicide options. Accent™ herbicide has been labeled for use in processing sweet corn for a number of years but was not cleared for fresh market use until fall 2006. One concern with Accent™ use is that a small number of sweet corn hybrids could have low tolerance to nicosulfuron, the active ingredient (Figure 1). Additionally, delayed applications of the herbicide or applications with improperly calibrated spray equipment could result in ear pinching or plant death in extreme cases. The product label directs users to check local lists for tolerant hybrids and DuPont™ assumes no liability for ear damage. The University of Tennessee has conducted limited screening work and a list of hybrids that were tolerant under testing conditions is shown in Table 1. This list will be updated periodically as additional hybrids are screened for tolerance.