South Korea approves Bayer's rice herbicide Council™ Complete

Bayer CropScience´s rice herbicide Council™ Complete(triafamone+ tefuryltrione) has been granted its first regulatory approval worldwide in Korea. The market launch in Korea is scheduled for 2015; with other major rice-growing countries in Asia to follow as a measure to further strengthen the company's crop protection portfolio in this important region.

“Smallholder rice farmers play a key role in the production process of this important staple crop. To secure their harvests and increase rice production, they need modern technologies such as improved rice varieties and innovative crop protection products,“ said Tobias Marchand, Head of the Crop Protection Region Asia Pacific at Bayer CropScience. “Our new rice herbicide Council™ Complete will contribute substantially to improved integrated weed management.” In view of the growing importance of rice as a staple food, weeds in rice fields represent a threat to the global food supply.

Council™ Complete is based on two innovative active ingredients, triafamone and tefuryltrione. Triafamone is a new selective herbicidal substance which can be effectively used in direct seeded or transplanted rice from seeding or transplanting to late post-emergence timings using spray or granular formulations. Its mode of action is inhibition of the enzyme acetolactate synthase (ALS). Triafamone controls a variety of important weeds, including millet and grass species, and is also suitable for pre-emergence application. Another advantage for the rice grower is improved flexibility because triafamone will be available in several low-dose mixtures and co-formulations.

The second component, tefuryltrione, is a new hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD)-inhibitor. This mode of action blocks the formation of carotenoids (accessory pigments) that protects chlorophyll in the plant and ultimately results in a characteristic bleaching of the plant tissue. Tefuryltrione is very effective in controlling sulfonylurea (SU) herbicide resistant weeds that are increasing in Korean paddy fields.

Bayer CropScience´s new herbicide has a favorable environmental profile and provides excellent crop safety. These characteristics make Council™ Complete an environmentally compatible and pioneering product in the Asian rice market.