A new herbicide active ingredient from FMC

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FMC Corporation has obtained a new mode of action classification for its proprietary herbicide molecule, tetflupyrolimet.

It is the first active ingredient in the Herbicide Resistance Action Committee and Weed Science Society of America Group 28. As well, it is first new herbicide with a novel mode of action in the crop protection industry in over thirty years, says the company.

Current studies show the new mode of action herbicide provides season-long control of important grass weeds in the rice market, as well as key hard-to-control broadleaf weeds and sedges.

In its investor technology update from November 2020, FMC says they plan to start the registration process and expect to launch products containing tetflupyrolimet in the transplanted and direct-seeded rice markets in 2023. The active ingredient is being tested in other crops, such as sugarcane, wheat, soybeans, and corn.

Kathleen Shelton, vice president and chief technology officer at FMC, says the company made a strategic decision ten years ago to focus on discovering new herbicide modes of actions.

“The organization believed that resistance to herbicides would present a significant challenge for growers in the coming years, and they endeavored to discover a novel mode of action,” Shelton explains. “To achieve this, the research and development team screened over 60,000 compounds, synthesized 1,200 analogs and tested molecules in different crops and weeds around the world.”

Diane Allemang, vice president and chief marketing officer, says they will be able to provide growers with a critical new tool to rotate into their weed management program and achieve control they cannot achieve today.

“It is hard to overstate the significance of the development of tetflupyrolimet, which represents an entirely new class of chemistry and a new mode of action,” she says. “Additionally, due to its unique mode of action, tetflupyrolimet has no know cross-resistance.”

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