So what is the price of Glyphosate per 20 lt drum? Is it a good time to buy and can I actually get any?
All good questions a bit like, "what will the selling price of Oilseed Rape be on December 1st 2022?"
Of course only with the value of hindsight can we say that what we did was correct but Glyphosate is required on farm now and most likely in a greater quantity for Oilseed Rape desiccation in a couple of months’ time.
The molecule “Glyphosate” is not very soluble and so it has to be converted to a salt before it is formulated into useable form. There are three salts of glyphosate, the Isopropylamine, Trimesium and Ammonium salt.
All do the same job but all behave slightly differently especially when one considers their formulation and use with or without adjuvants.
Within each formulation surfactants are added to allow the molecule to spread over the target, adhere to the cuticle and finally penetrate inside.
The speed of translocation and eventual kill is influenced by the amount of “Glyphosate” taken up and damage that has or does occur to the leaf surface at application. Both these are affected by the formulated adjuvant and the particular salt applied.
There is always talk about using a lower rate of Glyphosate if you mix in additional adjuvant. This reduces the cost and improves the results. Well, that is what some businesses actively promote.
So yes, currently there are the 360 g formulations available along with some of the more premium brands and the price has stabilised.