Monsanto launches Warrant herbicide

Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) announces the launch of a new encapsulated formulation of acetochlor designed for cotton and soybean acres in 2010 has proven successful.  The new product was used as MON 63410 Herbicide by farmers this season and will be available widely for 2011 as Warrant™ Herbicide. 

"Farmers and our retail customers in the Cotton Belt and the Midwest have provided great feedback on Warrants control of tough weeds like Palmer amaranth and Tall Waterhemp, as well as crop safety," says Kerry Overton, selective chemistry marketing lead for Monsanto.

Tim Jamerson has 2,600 acres of cotton and faces tough-to-control pigweed on his farm in the Missouri Bootheel.  He says "I needed a product to spray over the top; this fits. Im very happy with no crop response versus a competitive product and the spray window it has on early cotton. And Ive mixed it with various combinations or other products and havent seen any injury." 

North Carolina cotton and soybean farmer Ronnie Parks says "We are at ground zero in terms of herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth pigweed. We tried MON 63410™ Herbicide on 330 acres of cotton this year for the expressed purpose of keeping the pigweed from germinating. At roughly 35 days after treatment, we were still not seeing any flushes of pigweed – Id estimate control at 90 percent to 100 percent. This cotton is the cleanest cotton Ive had in a long time, and there is no pigweed where I applied the herbicide." 

Given the seed bank of herbicide-resistant pigweed in his area, Parks says a program approach is needed to keep this problem under control. The three pints per acre of MON 63410 Herbicide was tankmixed with Orthene®, Choice Weather Master and glyphosate and applied post-emergence. The farmers pre-emergence herbicide treatment at planting included diurex, Stealth® and Reflex®. At layby, Parks made a second post-directed application of Warrant™ herbicide, again at a rate of 3 pints per acre, in an effort to carry the residual pigweed control all the way to crop canopy. He also plans to make a MON 63410™ Herbicide application to his soybeans this year.

The markets familiarity with the efficacy of other acetochlor products, like Harness® and Degree® Herbicide brands used in corn, drove high farmer and retailer demand for the new product designed for cotton and soybeans during the launch, Overton says.

"We sold out of MON 63410 Herbicide this year and based on the current buzz in the market place around performance and crop safety we anticipate strong demand for Warrant Herbicide in 2011," he says.  "Warrant has a great fit in weed management programs for Roundup Ready® Soybeans and Genuity® Roundup Ready® FLEX Cotton."