Dow AgroSciences’ Spitfire sales soar in first season

Spitfire, the new flexible herbicide designed to control broadleaved weeds in cereals from Dow AgroSciences proved an instant success, despite drought conditions reducing the weed challenge this spring.

The new herbicide, a unique combination of fluroxypyr and florasulam, was launched in spring 2011 and first season sales have exceeded the company’s expectations. What’s more, users have had nothing but praise for its performance even in the testing drought conditions where slow growing weeds were tough to control.

'One of Spitfire’s key advantages has been its flexibility in use,’ says Vaughn Stansfield, Dow AgroSciences’ cereals market manager. ’It can be applied to all cereal crops, except Durum wheat, and is recommended for application from GS13 right up to GS45. It is effective even in the cool weather conditions that occur in early spring.

'Add all this flexibility up and it is little wonder that farmers could buy the product with confidence that it would do a job to fight off all the key competitive broad leaved weeds including cleavers.’

With the product established in the challenging 2011 conditions, Dow AgroSciences is confident that Spitfire will play a major part in the battle against yield robbing weeds in 2012.