DuPont herbicide protects biofuel crops

Date:10-17-2008

DuPont’s Accent herbicide, used to control tall grasses in corn crops, has found an additional use in at least one US state. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture has approved a Section 24(c) registration for the use of DuPont Accent herbicide on switchgrass, an important cellulosic biofuel crop, to control weeds that can hinder production, including signalgrass, johnsongrass, and foxtail. University of Tennessee trials show increased yields of 49% to 76% on varieties of switchgrass with the use of Accent.

The registration was granted based on the lack of available herbicides for effectively controlling grasses, as well as the performance of Accent, which has been evaluated for efficacy against grass weeds in Tennessee for the past three years. Increased production of switchgrass is expected to support the Tennessee Biofuels Initiative.