A NEW HERBICIDE with a different mode of action to combat grass weed resistance could be available by this autumn, Syngenta has announced.

Currently under development, prosulfocarb is a liquid herbicide that can be used in wheat and barley to control blackgrass and ryegrass from pre-emergence up to the one leaf stage, the firm said.

It comes from the thiocarbamate herbicide group, which currently have no known in-field resistance among UK blackgrass or rye grass populations, explained the firm‘s Iain Hamilton.

As well as helping to improve resistance management strategies, because prosulfocarb is a single active ingredient, it can also be tank mixed with other pre-emergence herbicides, he noted.

“A different mode of action would allow growers to rotate pre-emergence treatments each season – thereby improving management of grass weed resistance,” added the firm‘s Alison Bosher.

Syngenta hope that the product will be approved and available to growers this autumn.