FMC has launched Maipeng, a 36% bixlozone suspension concentrate, as a pre-emergence soil herbicide for wheat in China, aimed at grass and broadleaf weeds that no longer die from the post-emergence sprays farmers have relied on, AgroPages reports.
According to data FMC disclosed, Italian ryegrass in parts of China shows resistance indices of 11 to 25 times to mesosulfuron-methyl and 10.5 to 11.5 times to pinoxaden, while shortawn foxtail shows 11 to 17 times and 10 to 14 times to the same two herbicides. Those ALS and ACCase inhibitors have been the main post-emergence treatments in Chinese wheat for more than a decade, and the rising indices mean their performance is becoming less dependable.
Bixlozone belongs to HRAC Group 13: it blocks the enzyme DXS and with it carotenoid production, so sensitive weeds bleach, lose their protection against light and stop growing. It is taken up by roots and seedlings and moves through the plant with the transpiration stream. Its site of action shares no cross-resistance with ALS or ACCase inhibitors; clomazone is the only other active ingredient in the group. FMC says Maipeng controls Japanese foxtail, shortawn foxtail and Italian ryegrass as well as broadleaf weeds such as common chickweed and shepherd's purse.
The active ingredient was first registered in Australia in April 2020 as Overwatch and sold from the 2021 season. China registered it in September 2021 for broadleaf weeds in winter wheat under the Fengqu brand, and the EU approved it in April 2026, under the name Isoflex, as the first new chemical herbicide active ingredient approved in the bloc since 2020, with formulated products expected in 2027.
With Maipeng, FMC is repositioning the same molecule in China from a supplementary broadleaf product to a core soil treatment against resistant grasses, within integrated weed management. The efficacy and spectrum claims are the company's.
Photo: Keisotyo / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: AgroPages
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