Reuters says, “The EPA approved the herbicide for sale and use in several U.S. states more than a year ago, but later found that its assessment of the product's two active ingredients was incomplete.
“Enlist Duo, developed by Dow Chemical's Dow AgroSciences unit, is among a group of next-generation herbicides designed to combat weeds resistant to glyphosate, a widely used herbicide in the United States and the active ingredient of Monsanto Co.'s Roundup.
“Enlist Duo, which combines an herbicide component known as 2,4-D with glyphosate, is meant for use on corn and soybeans that have been genetically altered to tolerate it while killing surrounding weeds that can drag down crop yields.
“The EPA said it discovered claims by Dow AgroSciences – the registrant of Enlist Duo – in its patent filings that the two active ingredients work better in combination, according to a court filing seen by Reuters. The EPA's study had assumed the components did not have such ‘synergistic effects.’”
In a Dow press release, Dow AgroSciences President and CEO Tim Hassinger said, “We believe the questions that have been raised about any potential synergy between 2,4-D choline and glyphosate can be promptly resolved in the next few months, in time for the 2016 crop use season.”
“It’s possible that we could see some changes to use conditions on the existing Enlist Duo label,” Hassinger said. “However, based on the ongoing dialogue with EPA, we do not expect these issues to result in the long-term cancellation of the Enlist Duo product registration. We continue to prepare for commercial sales of Enlist Duo for the 2016 growing season with enthusiastic grower adoption.”
Read the full story. FG
