Roundup Pro Vantage 480 5L Industrial Weed Killer Review

Roundup Pro Vantage 480 is a new, more environmentally friendly weed killer. It has been designed to replace Roundup BiActive. It is one of the only strong, industrial, weed killers that is safe for use in marine areas.

Inspired by Roundup ProBio, Roundup 480 is a new product that has a formulation rate of 480g/L. It is similar to Clinic Ace 5 Litre Concentrate but still has its own unique characteristics.

Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup Pro Vantage, has recognized that this product has taken over 40 years of investment to formulate so that it meets the needs of modern amenity professionals.

How it works

Roundup ProVantage is a weed killer that works on all annual or perennial weeds, grass, forestry areas, or farm crops.

Before I get into explaining the working mechanism, let me first cover the ingredients which this herbicide is made from. Roundup Pro Vantage contains the ingredients, potassium salt of glyphosate, alkylpolyglycoside, nitroryl, and water.

For any herbicide to work, it first needs to move through the waxy surface of the leaves and make its way into the plant cells. To make it work, Roundup has included a surfactant which targets the waxy cuticle.

From there, the unique formulation containing tallow amine cuts through the wax and leaf surface to allow glyphosate to penetrate down to the roots.

However, three metrics can affect the performance of Roundup Pro Vantage 480. They are:

Sunlight

Sunlight is another key factor that determines how efficiently Roundup 480 works. If there is little to no sunlight, the herbicide will not be able to penetrate down into the roots of the weed. Activities such as cultivation and manure fertilisers will contribute to blocking of sunlight.

Relative humidity, fog, dew point, and rainfall

Roundup Pro Vantage works best during high humidity when there is dew on the surface of the affected area. It is best to use this weed killer during early mornings so that there is ample time for the product to dry up. You’ll want to avoid rainy conditions so be sure to check with your local weather station for warnings. Aside from that, applying this herbicide during wet conditions can lead to toxic run-off that ends up near drainage’s.

Temperature

This weedicide is used best in moderate temperatures ranging between 14 and 26 ºC. Cold weather reduces the process of metabolism within the plant, rendering it less useful than what would have been during moderate temperatures. Scorching hot sunny days can also affect the performance of the product because it leads to extra stress on the weed killer. Weeds also produce thick waxy cuticles during warm temperatures to protect themselves from drought.

Is it Hazardous to Pets, People, and the Planet?

Roundup ProVantage is formulated to have a low toxicity to humans, animals, aquatic life, and insects. Its working mechanism is simply an enzyme found in plants that target a weed’s ability to produce protein. Since it is safe, there is no need to exclude anyone from the treated area after each use.However, you may still want to avoid contact with the treated area until it dries up.

There is a negligible risk to birds that feed on the treated vegetation. Roundup Pro-vantage degrades in the soil under soil micro flora. Because this herbicide is strongly absorbed into the ground, there is petite chance for leaching into groundwater.

After treatment, weeds will begin to turn white in the centre. Following that, the weeds will be dead within a week and close to 99% of weeds will be eliminated within 11-20 days.

Pros

• Supports environmentally friendly packaging
• Classified non-hazardous by COSHH
• Low drift formulation does not accidentally spray to unintended areas

Cons

• Priced as a higher-end product
• Can take up to 3 weeks to completely remove weeds

Suggested Usage

The Roundup 480 is very versatile and can be used in many different areas such as amenity vegetation, surfaces not intended to bear vegetation, plant-free areas, permeable surfaces overlaying soil, non-porous hard surfaces, trees and forests, woodlands, grassland, and aquatic zones. Note: for usage in aquatic areas by law you are required to register with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

The best time to apply Roundup is between early spring and late summer. By this period, weeds have had the chance to emerge and actively grow.

Covered Spectrum

Roundup Pro-Vantage 5L helps to control weeds such as:

• Annual/perennial grasses and broad-leaved weeds
• Deciduous species
• Coniferous and evergreen species.
• Scrubs such as oak, hazel willow, tough plants, sycamore.
• Woody plants such as birch, bracken, bamboo, and brambles
• Annual Meadow-grass, common chickweed, dock seedlings, mayweed species, speedwell species, meadow fescue, Italian ryegrass, and meadow foxtail.
• Creeping soft-grass, cock’s foot, plantains, yorkshire fog, soft brome, broad-leaved dock, common bent, perennial rye-grass, and curled dock
• Red clover, common nettle, yarrow, tufted hair-grass, creeping thistle, sedges, creeping buttercup, dwarf thistle, and sheep’s sorrel.
• Jointed rush, common ragwort, heath rush, molinia, and hard rush
• Rhododendron, floating weeds, giant hogweed, Reed Canary-grass
• Japanese knotweed, himalayan balsam, buddleja, rosebay willow herb, ground elder, and Ailanthus altissima

Instructions

This weed killer is meant to be used with a knapsack sprayer. The dilution rate/mix ratio according to the data sheet listed below:

Weed type	Max individual dosage (litres of product per hectare	Maximum total dosage (litres of product per hectare) per year	Latest time of application
Enclosed waters, open waters, land adjacent to aquatic area	4.5 litres/hectare
Cherry, plum, and damson orchards	3.75	3.75l/ha/year
Permanent grassland (destruction)	4.5	4.5 l/ha/year	5 days prior to harvest, drilling, or grazing
All edible and non-edible crops (destruction before sowing/planting)	3.75	3.75 l/ha/year
Forestry Weed control   Stump destruction   Chemical thinning	7.5 litres/hectare   150ml/litre of water (15% of roundup)   1.5ml per 10cm diameter of tree
Japanese Knotweed	3.75l/ha		August –September
Amenity vegetation	3.75 litres/hectare
Natural surfaces not intended to bear vegetation	1.0l/ha

Necessary safety precautions

When using this product it is required that you strictly adhere to the instructions and safety label. Here are some pointers to follow

• When using, wear chemical resistant equipment such as gloves, eye goggles, and coveralls.
• Although Roundup Pro-Vantage does not have a hazard rating, it is still good practice to conduct a COSHH assessment through their online tool
• This demonstrates you have carefully analyzed the safety aspects of your weed control project.
• Unused spray should be stored in the original container in a safe location out of reach of children or pets.
• Empty containers should thoroughly be washed before sending it to a waste disposal site.
• In the case of skin or eye contact with the weed killer substance, thoroughly wash the area with water and soap.

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