V Preschoux, J Chetty, J-J Esther and A Mansuy
eRcane, 29 rue d’Emmerez de Charmoy, B.P. 60315 – 97494 Ste-Clotilde Cedex, Réunion, France; vivien.preschoux@ercane.re
eRcane, based in Réunion, is a key player in the global sugarcane sector. Its unit dedicated to herbicide testing has been approved as «Good Experimental Practice» (GEP) since 2014. This approval issued by the state attests to the rigor of its «officially recognized tests” to acquire reliable and comparable data. This data is used to compile marketing authorization (MA) application files for herbicide products at the national level. The challenge for the sector is to maintain solutions (economically viable and environmentally acceptable) for weed management in sugarcane in Réunion. Weeds are currently the main pests of the crop and chemical control methods are becoming increasingly rare with the ban on 60% of authorized herbicides over 10 years. The objectives of the GEP unit are threefold: provide herbicide manufacturers with the data needed to apply for approval of their products (efficiency data on weeds and sugarcane sensitivity data); identify new substances for weeding; acquire efficacy data on herbicide mixtures to advise sugarcane growers (optimize their efficiency to reduce quantities). The GEP team is made up of two, two-person teams (scientist and technician) for setting up the trials, and is led by a manager and their assistant. Guided by the “GEP Requirements Framework” and the method published by the Biological Testing Commission (CEB), the team relies on a precise and coherent documentary system including procedures and records to control all the components of the experimentation (equipment, skills, weighing and treatment operations, data collection and entry, etc.). Since 2014, 50 herbicide products have been tested, obtaining a MA (temporary or permanent) for six products. Most recently, this concerns the re-authorisation of Callisto (Syngenta), mesotrione (100 g/L), at a maximum dose of 1.5 L/ha. The results of the efficacy trials of the mixtures are presented to the sugarcane growers and technicians by means of leaflets and during meetings, technical visits and seminars.