Let’s Talk Hard Water
Water quality matters, and the first step in knowing whether or not it’s an issue is to test your water. Your local WinField® United Independent Ag Retailer can help your sample get tested, and work with you to determine what the results mean. While hard water (>150ppm) only refers to the amount of calcium and magnesium cations present, it is helpful to get a water test that provides the full cation breakdown including sodium.
In 2023 and 2024, over 900 water samples were collected by WinField United retail partners. The results indicated hard water in 71% of the Manitoba samples, 69% of the Saskatchewan samples, and 47% of the Alberta samples. Based on these sample results, applying many pesticide products (such as Antler® brands, Cadillac® brands, or Stonewall® 540) with water from these sources, without a water conditioning agent, will result in tie-up and decreased product efficacy
Source: WinField United Canada
Well water and city or town water changes minimally over time, so the same sample in the spring is relevant for your fall burndown. However, dugout and slough water can change throughout the growing season as water evaporates and cations become more concentrated. Therefore, water from these sources should be re-tested regularly prior to spraying as it will often be best in the spring and deteriorate throughout the season. Regardless of the water source, it’s not just the hardness of the water that matters – we also need to be mindful of sodium, as water can be soft but if sodium is too prevalent, we will still see herbicide efficacy reduced.
Source: WinField United Canada
Hard water can tie up the herbicide both within the plant, as well as on the leaf surface.What is Crimson?
Crimson NG is a blend of ammonium sulfate (AMS) and a proprietary blend of water conditioning, coupling, and antifoam agents. It’s designed to be used with pesticide products that may be affected by hard water, or where the herbicide necessitates the addition of AMS such as some group 27* products. Because of the antifoam component, adding it at the start of the tank will make for the best experience. The AMS is also in a pre-dissolved formulation, making it readily mixable and optimal for handling.
Gerene Cole, an Account Manager with Crop Management Network in Castor, Alberta, explains how Crimson can help protect crops.
“There is a lot of money in the tank and the product needs to work as intended. Crimson is another way of protecting this investment of what’s in the tank.” says Cole.
Crimson contains 34% AMS, which is a bit lower than the 40% AMS products that are also available on the market. The reason for this is to increase shelf-life longevity, as higher concentration products tend to salt out within a year, while Crimson has a three-year shelf-life.
The label rate on Crimson is 1 to 2.5% v/v, depending on water quality.
Which Herbicides are Most Concerning?
The main herbicide groups that are affected by hard water are groups 1, 9, 10, and 27*. Glyphosate is particularly impacted by high sodium. Among the group 1 actives, those classified as 'dim' are the most sensitive to hard water, followed by 'fops', with 'dens' having a higher tolerance to hard water. Answer Plot trials in 2024 found that Antler® 360 Unpacked (clethodim) sprayed at 600ppm of hardness water had a significant reduction in wild oat control compared to Antler + Crimson.
“I think of Crimson as the chemistry’s sidekick, but a really important sidekick (like the Robin to your Batman),” says Jarid Wulff, Business Agronomist with Sturgeon Valley Fertilizers
As pre-burn time rolls around, it’s important to consider whether Crimson would have a fit as part of your pre-burn plan.
“Crimson mainly gets used with glyphosate pre-burn and glufosinate in-crop,” explains Cole.
Clay Casavant, a Sales Agronomist for AgriTeam Services Inc. in Hafford, SK, observed that generic glyphosate products introduced a few years ago appeared to have lower surfactant loads and were less effective than brand-name products. He suspects this may have been due in part to tie up in hard water.
“The problem was that glyphosate was getting bound in hard water. When Crimson was introduced, we were able to get back to the level of weed control we expect,” elaborates Casavant.
When Don’t We Want to Change pH?
The majority of herbicides prefer neutral spray water and therefore acidifying agents are rarely needed. Certain products, such as saflufenacil, don’t like acidic water and actually see dramatic changes in efficacy on tough-to-kill weeds like lamb’s-quarters and giant ragweed when sprayed in water with a pH of 4 vs. pH 7.71. Group 2’s are also very sensitive to acidic spray water, particularly sulfonylurea(SU) products. With these in acidic water you’ll see low solubility and therefore low plant availability.
Given the economic cost of herbicides, we want them to work as intended. Since water is one of the cheapest crop inputs, we must ensure it doesn’t compromise the efficacy of our crop protection products.
Why Use AMS?
As AMS does not impact pH, it is a great way to condition water. Crimson is a premium AMS product, offering not just the water-conditioning component but the added benefit of anti-foam.
“Crimson doesn’t just prevent hard water tie-up – it also has a great antifoaming agent that has been proven to work and be an important addition when glufosinate is in the tank,” says Wulff.
The best way to verify the efficacy of these proprietary additives is to test it yourself and compare to other products – when you have hard water, you will visually see the difference. Crimson offers the “next level” in water conditioning products.
“When we started selling Crimson, we only sold a few cases per year. Now we sell it in 1000L totes.” says Dale Shaw, Business Agronomist/Manager at Double Diamond Farm Supply in Minto, Manitoba.
Kyle Ozipko, Business Agronomist at Sturgeon Valley Fertilizers says, “Originally, I believed Crimson was ‘snake oil’. After using it both as a grower and an agronomist, I see how wrong I was!”
Source: WinField United Canada
Crimson is an easy-to-use water conditioning product, and Shaw at Double Diamond Farm Supply captured its versatility quite well: “Crimson offers a great deal of versatility for the rate per tank and, with the exception of dicamba*, we treat Crimson like Frank’s Red Hot – we put that stuff on everything!”
Herbicide Resistance
This is an issue that has been around for more than 50 years, but each year becomes more problematic with a growing list of resistant weeds and active ingredients affected.
“Herbicide resistance is a huge concern in our area and we’re seeing resistance in all our primary weeds,” shares Kevin Mohan, Sales Agronomist for Emerge Ag Solutions in Eston, SK. “If they’re not outright resistant to a product, they’re showing tolerance to what we’re applying and requiring alternative management strategies.”
If hard water is impeding our herbicides from working as well as they should, then water quality plays a role in fighting the battle against resistance.
“Crimson NG has by-and-large been an effective product.” says Pat Toner, Location Manager Warrington AgroDynamic, in St. Walburg, SK.
"When you add Crimson to the tank, you ensure that hard water is not getting in the way of herbicide performance, and that is a strong step toward avoiding herbicide resistance.” continues Ozipko.
Herbicides are among the most important crop inputs on the farm, and it’s crucial they work as expected. This growing season, consider the factors affecting herbicide performance and control what you can to protect your investment. For more information about Crimson NG, reach out to your local WinField United Independent Ag Retailer.
*Always read and follow label directions
