U.S. approval for Syngenta's dicamba herbicide Tavium Plus VaporGrip Technology

Syngenta announced recently that its newest herbicide, Tavium® Plus VaporGrip® Technology herbicide, has been registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As the market’s first premix residual dicamba herbicide, Tavium contains built-in residual control to manage resistant weeds and maintain clean fields throughout the season. Tavium, a proprietary Syngenta premix, will be available for the 2019 growing season, subject to state approvals.

Tavium can be used preplant, at planting and early post-emergence on Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® Soybeans and Bollgard II® XtendFlex® Cotton. The premix of dicamba and S-metolachlor offers growers a convenient new tool to manage key ALS-, PPO- and glyphosate-resistant broadleaf and grass weeds.

“Unlike all other stand-alone dicamba products, the multiple effective sites of action in Tavium broaden the activity spectrum and increase its overall efficacy and sustainability,” said Bobby Bachman, herbicide product lead at Syngenta. “The addition of S-metolachlor with dicamba in a premix not only helps manage resistance, but it offers up to three weeks longer residual control than dicamba alone.”

The Tavium formulation targets driver weeds, including waterhemp, Palmer amaranth, horseweed (marestail), common and giant ragweed, kochia, morningglory, barnyardgrass and foxtail.

Tavium will be a valuable tool for growers in the fight against the most difficult-to-control resistant weeds and is formulated for exceptional performance by:
•    Managing emerged weeds through contact activity
•    Controlling weeds that have yet to emerge with residual activity
•    Providing up to three weeks longer control than dicamba alone
•    Working in all tillage systems and various geographies in both pre- and early post-emergence applications

Tavium should be used as part of a two-pass program in order to preserve the efficacy of auxin technologies like dicamba. Syngenta recommends applying Tavium in a two-pass system, following a pre-emergence application of Boundary® 6.5 EC, BroadAxe® XC or Prefix® herbicides in soybeans, or after Caparol® 4L herbicide in cotton.

“The premix formulation provides an easy way to reduce selection pressure on dicamba, but a system of pre- and post-emergence herbicides is still crucial,” Bachman said. “Practicing sound resistance management principles – such as starting clean and using diversified management and agronomic practices – will help growers be good stewards of the technology.”

With the additional residual control and second layer of effectiveness against weeds, Tavium is another example of how Syngenta is accelerating innovation to address the increasing challenges for farmers and the environment, as well as the changing views of society. We are investing in technologies that matter to bring about positive, lasting change for more sustainable agriculture.