| Frontier-P Herbicide
The Australian release of the BASF herbicide Frontier-P will aid growers in forging a new direction in weed management under local growing conditions. The AVPMA registration of Dimethenamid –P, the active ingredient of Frontier-P, is the culmination of many years of collaborative work between BASF, Serve-Ag, Peracto and industry partners.
Frontier-P introduces a new active into the Australian horticultural and agricultural market segments. Growers of Green Beans, Navy Beans, Sweet Corn, Corn (Maize), Poppies, Green Peas, Pumpkins and Kabocha now have a new option for the control of certain broadleaf and grass weeds. Frontier-P is primarily a pre-emergent herbicide with the exception of it application in Poppies where it has a post emergent use pattern.
The unique sulphur-based ring structure (Thiopheneringmolecule) gives the growers of the above crops some key benefits. The biological expression of the characteristics of this chloroacetamide chemistry varies from other older benzene ring Group K’s. The thiophene structure gives greater activity, quicker activation and consistent control. This results in a number of advantages.
The lower use rates per hectare means less applied product and packaging to be managed by growers. The ability for Frontier-P to be activated by less moisture or irrigation means advantages in these times of water conservation. The products ability to remain in the moist upper levels of the soil without leaching beyond the weed germination area, gives efficiencies to maximise weed control.
Frontier-P has good soil activity with the ability to quickly adsorb to clay and organic matter and to disperse evenly through the soil profile. Frontier-P has the ability to evenly distribute within the soil, making more product available to control germinating weed seeds.
The short half life of this new chemistry allows for better rotational options without compromising in crop performance. It also has the ability to be partnered with other industry products to further strengthen weed management options.
Growers can have confidence that Frontier-P meets the high environmental standards expected of today’s modern chemistry. | 
