Kumiai’s herbicide nears registration in US and Australia

Kumiai Chemical Industry is anticipating US and Australian approval within this year for the registration of its pyroxasulfone as a new herbicide, with the marketing of products containing pyroxasulfone as their active ingredient to begin in 2012. It has its sights set on combined annual sales of 6 bn yen ($78.4 mn) by 2014 for the two markets.

After the US and Australia, registrations and market launches are expected in Europe, Brazil, Japan, India, Thailand, South Africa and Chile over the next 3-5 years, to generate annual sales surpassing 30 bn yen in the future.

pyroxasulfone is a soil-preparation herbicide for dry field crops like corn, soybean, and wheat, primary crops that are grown globally. The isoxazoline-based chemical has a unique action mechanism of being absorbed by the plumules and roots of weeds to inhibit the biosynthesis of ultra-long-chain fatty acids in cells and interfere with cell division, killing the weeds. Its per-hectare usage amount is 200g for corn and soybean cultivation and 100g for wheat cultivation, about one-tenth that of previous chemicals, and its weed-control ability lasts 1.5-2 times longer. Highly safe to humans, animals and the environment, it exhibits strong efficacy against a wide spectrum of weeds, including herbicide-resistant weeds like Amaranthus and water hemp, which are developing into a problem in the US and Australia.

Kumiai jointly developed pyroxasulfone with Ihara Chemical Industry. The lead compound was created in 1998, evaluation testing was started in the US in 2002, and applications to register it as an agricultural chemical were submitted in the US and Australia in 2009.