We can expect to see two new plant protection actives, one herbicide and one insecticide, introduced into the market in the near future. The active ingredients from Dow AgroSciences are from new families of chemistry and will form the basis for a fresh range of herbicides for cereals and insect control in a wide range of crops.

Announcing the products, Dow AgroSciences local business manager William Corrigan said that this almost represents a scientific breakthrough: “The introduction is happening at a time of increased fear about the loss of existing crop protection products and a more stringent regulatory environment, particularly in the EU.”

Arylex® Active, is from a class of chemistry for use in cereals.

“It will control a wide spectrum of weeds and has outstanding reliability in unpredictable weather conditions”, according to Corrigan. It also claims to have no rotational implications or cross-resistance concerns.

This is one of the first actives to come through the increasingly stringent EU registration system, says Corrigan. Dow AgroSciences hopes that the first commercial products containing this new ingredient will be available to Irish cereal growers in 2017.

The insecticide active is called Isoclast® Active. This is being developed for the Irish and UK insecticide markets. It will control sap sucking insects such as aphids, in a wide range of crops.

Corrigan stated that “key features of Isoclast® Active include no known cross resistance to other insecticides plus a favourable profile on beneficial organisms”.