Sipcam Nichino Brasil launches herbicide Click with new active ingredient for sorghum

Sipcam Nichino has announced to AgroPages the launch of Click^® herbicide for sorghum cultivation. Initially introduced for corn crops, this solution maintains the cereal's productive potential due to the effect of the latest generation molecule, terbuthylazine.

José de Freitas, an agronomist in Sipcam Nichino's market development area, stated that Click results from an innovation process and significant investments in research and development. 

According to him, in the pre-registration phase for sorghum, terbuthylazine demonstrated high reliability in controlling broadleaf weeds and good suppression of grasses.

Growing in importance in recent years in terms of cultivated area and economic significance, sorghum challenges producers during the crop season regarding weed management, given the few alternatives of selective herbicides available for pre- and post-emergent use. Until recently, the active ingredient atrazine was the only option of its kind.

"We believe that, as in corn crops, Click^® will revolutionize sorghum weed management for infestations of hard-to-control plants, in pre- and post-emergence action," Freitas reinforced. 

"Click^® stands out compared to atrazine due to its greater stability in the soil profile, even with heavy rainfall. It delivers a more prolonged residual effect against the main sorghum weeds, even under high infestation pressure conditions. It keeps the crop with a lower level of reinfestation (pre-emergence effect, residual action) and, therefore, tends to become a new technological reference for sorghum producers," he adds.

According to the agronomist, the herbicide proves to be superior to the current market standard, especially in managing broadleaf weeds such as morning glory, beggarticks, sida, and wild peanut, "but also providing good suppression for grasses in early stages, such as large crabgrass, goosegrass, Alexander grass, and southern sandbur."

"With a modern formulation, a much lower dose than the current standard with atrazine, and easy operation, terbuthylazine allows flexibility and can be used in association with other products, increasing the operational yield of sorghum. Click^® opens a new era among herbicides for this crop commercialized in Brazil," Freitas said in conclusion.

According to Kynetec data, sorghum cultivation is expanding in the country. The cultivated area grew approximately 30% between 2021 and 2023, and the trend for the 2024 cycle is to reach 1.56 million hectares. Sorghum is an alternative to soybean succession or a replacement for second-crop corn. It shows good adaptation to hot climates, good rusticity, and good drought tolerance. It is used in human food, animal feed formulation, and sustainable biofuels in grain, sweet, forage, biomass, and broom varieties.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)