Argentina has the first selective herbicide in the world that eliminates resistant weeds in soybean crops

One of the great challenges of global agriculture is to fight pests and weeds in a more efficient and selective way. The problem is that some plants have stopped responding to herbicides and farmers are forced to use more and more products and strategies.

Luckily, Argentina has just found a possible solution thanks to the launch of the Authence herbicide. It is a product from the company Syngenta based on Virestina technology and the active ingredient metproxybicyclone.

According to the agricultural company, It is the first selective herbicide in the world to control resistant grass weeds in soybeans and cotton in almost 40 years.

Argentina revolutionizes world agriculture with the first selective herbicide

Biofertilizers that increase agricultural productivity have already emerged from Argentina, but Authence’s objective is different: stop resistant grasses in soybean and cotton crops.

And we are talking about a post-emergent, selective and systemic herbicide to control annual and perennial grasses during the fallow period and within registered crops.

That is, it is not a generic solution for any type of weed, but rather it works on emerging weeds, with active growth and within the indicated sizes.

But the real revolution is that Argentina has been the first country in the world where this selective solution is approvedwhich puts its farmers at the forefront.

This is essential at a time when Resistant grass weeds affect 70% of the Argentine productive territory and can reduce performance drastically.

How the new molecule works against resistant grasses in Argentina

The active ingredient of Authence belongs to a new chemical classdescribed as carbocyclic aryl-dioneand acts by inhibiting the enzyme Acetyl Coenzyme-A Carboxylase.

So that we understand each other, the molecule interferes to stop the synthesis of fatty acids in grasses. The result is that active weed growth stops 48 hours after herbicide application.

At the moment its use is recommended for ryegrass weeds, lent grass, hen’s foot, oats, capin, urochloa, chloris and Aleppo sorghum, although rhizome sorghum control is listed as partial, since a management program is needed with herbicides of different types of action.

In fact, what is recommended is still do not use only one type of herbicides and combine different modes of action to reduce the selection of resistant biotypes.

The herbicide that can transform Argentine agriculture forever

The problem of resistance to herbicides goes beyond the technical, since it also means an increase in production costs and the final price of the fruit.

Precisely the objective of Authence is to reduce this pressure on the farmer by offering him a new tool against grasses that no longer responded to traditional herbicides such as glyphosate or clethodim.

For now, the obstacle that must be overcome is that Its application in more than two crop cycles is still not recommended.with a maximum of one on fallow and one on soybeans or cotton.

In addition, 80 days must pass between the last application and the harvest in soybeans and 90 days in cotton. It should also not be applied in strong winds and its effectiveness still depends on the climate, soil, spraying technique and weed species.