USDA deregulates Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist™ cotton trait

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently issued its decision deregulating Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist™ cotton trait in the United States. The USDA has now completed its regulatory review process for all Enlist traits — corn, soybeans and cotton.

Enlist cotton, one component of the innovative Enlist Weed Control System, provides tolerance to Enlist Duo™ herbicide — a proprietary blend of new 2,4-D choline and glyphosate -- as well as full tolerance to glufosinate. With three tolerances, Enlist cotton offers more weed control options in one convenient system.

Once registered by the U.S. EPA for use on Enlist cotton, growers will be able to apply Enlist Duo herbicide on Enlist cotton from burndown up to mid-bloom. Dow AgroSciences developed Enlist Duo with growers in mind. The herbicide features Colex-D Technology, which will provide near-zero volatility, minimized potential for physical drift, lower odor and better handling characteristics.

“The deregulation of Enlist cotton marks a tremendous milestone for the cotton industry,” says John Chase, Enlist™ commercial leader, Dow AgroSciences. “In the South, growers are all too familiar with the challenges created by resistant weeds. Enlist cotton will open the door to other options for in-season weed control with multiple modes of action.”

Growers share on-farm experience with Enlist cotton

This summer, growers throughout cotton-growing regions are participating in Enlist grower research plots, raising PhytoGen® cottonseed with the Enlist trait on their farms.

As part of their research plot experience, participating growers applied Enlist Duo herbicide to Enlist cotton in-crop. The growers are now sharing firsthand knowledge of the system’s benefits and advantages, including reduced off-target movement and excellent weed control.

“Enlist Duo does not have the volatility that we’re used to seeing with old 2,4-D compounds,” says Mike Griffin, Virginia grower and research plot participant. “Volatility is beyond my control as an operator and for a company to have basically formulated a compound where volatility is not something I have to worry about, that’s probably my single most exciting factor about this.”
Grower research plot participant Trey Koger, Ph.D., farms in Belzoni, Mississippi, and has seen how Enlist Duo helps control glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth.

“We deal with glyphosate-resistant weeds and primarily glyphosate-resistant palmer pigweed in this geography,” Koger says.  “We fight that weed species in every one of our crops. There are a lot of benefits I see out of this technology in addition to the ability to control glyphosate-resistant Palmer pigweed.”

While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved Enlist Duo for use with Enlist corn and soybeans, the EPA is currently reviewing the use with Enlist cotton and registration for this use is pending.

Pending regulatory approvals, Dow AgroSciences expects to launch Enlist cotton in proven, consistent, high-yielding PhytoGen cottonseed in 2016.