Canada approves BASF’s new pre-seed herbicide

BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions (BASF) received registration from Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) on the active ingredient (AI) Topramezone. The first Group 27 herbicide approved for pre-seed use in canola, Topramezone is the AI found in Certitude® – BASF’s new pre-seed herbicide that will provide canola growers with industry-leading control of kochia and volunteer canola for the upcoming 2021 growing season. 

“At BASF, we are constantly investing in and developing new crop protection solutions to help growers address agronomic challenges head on,” said Mark Shillingford, Director of Marketing, BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions. “We recognize that tackling tough-to-manage weeds and weed resistance is one of the top concerns facing today’s growers, whether they are growing canola or cereals. The registration of BASF’s two new pre-seed treatments reflects our promise of providing growers with a robust product portfolio that is constantly evolving to meet their needs, which fuels success on their fields, both today and into the future.” 

Two of the biggest challenges facing canola growers today are kochia and volunteer canola, which can significantly impact yields. Certitude marks a significant addition to BASF’s portfolio, helping growers manage difficult weeds. At the same time, the herbicide supports target plant populations and crop sustainability by managing volunteers that can host pathogens. This includes clubroot and blackleg, which have the potential to impact the health of current and future canola crops. 

In addition to Certitude, BASF also recently received PMRA registration for its pre-seed herbicide Smoulder™, containing the active ingredients Saflufenacil and Metsulfuron-methyl. A pre-seed herbicide for wheat and barley growers, Smoulder is a first-of-its-kind solution that provides growers with both residual control of volunteer canola and superior burndown of all group two, four and nine resistant broadleaf weeds. It will be available for purchase in the 2022 growing season, and BASF will have a large field scale demo program for Smoulder in 2021.

“While historically growers have had to choose between focusing on volunteer canola residual control or unique broad spectrum burndown, Smoulder eliminates this tough decision by delivering burndown and residual control with two modes of action,” said Dan Packer, Senior Brand Manager – Herbicides, BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions. “At BASF, we are always striving to make our growers lives easier by providing them with the solutions they need to overcome agronomic challenges. Smoulder marks an exciting next step in this market and will help our customers better manage resistant and tough-to-control weeds on their wheat and barley crops.”

Certitude will be available for purchase in 2021, and Smoulder will be available for the 2022 growing season.