Clad in his white lab coat and protective glasses, Dow AgroSciences scientist David Simpson stood in front of the trade press
and spoke about the challenges his company endures in bringing a new chemistry to market.
"A lot of times things work well in the greenhouse, but we can't put them out in the real world," said Simpson, the company's
product characterization leader in global weed management. "And by the time we discover something, it usually takes about
seven to nine years to launch it."
Mark Urbanowski
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It's a taxing process, indeed, but can be worth it.This past July, Simpson and other Dow AgroSciences leaders invited the
trade press to their corporate office in Indianapolis to talk about the reward that comes with the research: A new active
ingredient.
At the press event, Dow AgroSciences announced the registration of penoxsulam, a proprietary molecule that delivers postemergence
control of broadleaf weeds in turf at low-use rates. How low? Penoxsulam, a systematic herbicide, provides activity at generally
0.02 to 0.06 pounds of active ingredient per acre. It was accepted for review and registration under the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's Reduced Risk Pesticide Initiative. "You must have excellent turfgrass safety for a product to survive in this market," said Jeff Borger, an instructor of turfgrass
weed management at Michigan State University, who researched the herbicide. "Penoxsulam has this."
Dow AgroSciences will market penoxsulam under the name LockUp specialty herbicide, and expects to introduce the product in
mid-2008. It will be available to distributors as a formulated product alone and in combination with other selective herbicides
on fertilizers or straight granules. Mark Urbanowski, the company's senior marketing specialist for turf and ornamental and
technical products, said penoxsulam can be mixed with 2,4-D and Dicamba to broaden the spectrum of control.
"This active brings powerful, consistent control with residual activity and will be a good option to the old industry standbys
found in favorite three-ways," Urbanowski said.
Penoxsulam is labeled for use on most cool- and warm-season turf. Superintendents can use it on fairways and roughs. Dow AgroSciences
said penoxsulam is the first ALS inhibitor formulated on a granule. This mode of action inhibits plant enzyme acetolactate,
which is essential for the synthesis of amino acids. Inhibition of amino acid production inhibits cell division and causes
death in susceptible plants.
Dow AgroSciences also said university trial research revealed that penoxsulam showed activity on susceptible species when
applied to wet and dry foliage. It also showed enhanced efficacy on white clover, Virginia buttonweed, dandelion and dollar
weed when combined with phenoxy herbicides.
Penoxsulam also controls sedge weeds, ground ivy, chickweed, oxalis, bittercress, pigweed, kyllinga, sagebrush, Florida betony
and broadleaf plantain.
Dow AgroSciences also developed a liquid formulation of penoxsulam called Sapphire speciality herbicide for use as a stand-alone
product for problem weeds such as English lawn daisy found on golf courses in California and the Pacific Northwest. It will
also be introduced in mid-2008.
During the meeting with the press, Dow AgroSciences staff members stressed how basic manufacturers spend millions of dollars
investing in new technology. David Morris, the company's commercial leader for turf and ornamental and technical products,
emphasized the "investment element" and the company's continued research investment for new molecules, new formulations, and
innovative active ingredient combinations. Urbanowski said generic products are driving the value down in the pesticide segment,
adding that it's getting more costly to develop new active ingredients.
"Many of our industry's products have come out of our agricultural business," he said. "As that business tends to go more
into the biotechnology arena, there may not be as many active ingredients coming out of that pipeline. The cost to develop
a new active, because there are less of them, will escalate."
