Herbicide news

A couple of interesting developments in the world of herbicides have crossed my desk in recent days. In the U.S., Dow AgroSciences has announced a new herbicide tolerant trait system. It will be called the Enlist Weed Control System. Crops with the trait will have robust tolerance to a 2,4-D product in addition to glyphosate.  Regulatory approvals are pending. Commercial launch in the U.S. is anticipated in corn for the 2013 crop year with other crops to follow. The Enlist Weed Control System is in response to herbicide resistance concerns in the current systems. No word on when the system may be coming to Canada. In a completely separate development, a new herbicide called Phantom has been registered by MANA Canada. Phantom has the same active ingredient as Pursuit. MANA says Phantom will be widely available at a fair price and the ag community will be in a very good position due to increased competition. Pursuit is not registered for use on lentils and Phantom isn’t either. However, MANA company officials say they will look at the risks and benefits associated with a lentil registration and make a decision in the latter part of 2011 on whether to go after a registration for 2012. I’m Kevin Hursh.