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Sumitomo Chemical will launch a new herbicide for Australian broadacre crops in early 2027 – pending regulatory approval – offering a lifeline to grain and sugarcane growers facing ongoing chemistry restrictions or deregistration.
Australia will become the third country in the world to access Sumitomo Chemical’s systemic weed control herbicide Carvero, following a 10-year journey of trials, Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) registration and distributor training. It will be Sumitomo Chemical’s biggest new product launch in Australia in at least a decade.
Marketing and business development manager Jock Leys said the launch – expected by next April – would follow Argentina (2025) and imminent release in the United States.
“Carvero will be manufactured in Melbourne for national distribution, enabling us to scale up production quickly to meet market demand,” he said.
The non-selective herbicide from the Group 14 (PPO) sub-category contains the active ingredient epyrifenacil, powered by Rapidicil technology, a proprietary novel herbicide ingredient developed by Sumitomo Chemical in Japan. It has a similar mode of action as others in the category. although has been shown to control weeds resistant to other PPO herbicides in overseas trials.
“It’s highly effective at low doses, provides superior control of grass and broadleaf weeds, is non-selective and offers improved resistance management,” he said.
“We’ve been working with distribution partners and agronomists for the past two or three years and they are eager to get this in front of growers as soon as registration is finalised.”
Research and development manager Doug Paton, whose research team has been working with growers to trial and develop Carvero®, said the release was good news for farmers who needed to fill the gaps created by regulatory use restrictions and increased weed resistance.
“There are now few viable alternatives and growers face significant uncertainty in their weed control options,” he said.
“It is particularly well suited to sugarcane growers following the APVMA’s restrictions on paraquat in June. It can replace paraquat and 2,4-D amine in traditional spray mixes.”
He said Sumitomo Chemical Australia had completed about 120 trials of Carvero across multiple crops, in all states since 2017.
“Trials show it is the strongest of the Group 14 herbicides on grasses and is very good on broadleaf weeds in fallow or prior to the establishment of field crops, in non-crop areas and in sugarcane either as a standalone herbicide or with other non-selective knockdown herbicides or residual herbicides,” he said.
“It has minimal environmental impacts and desiccates weeds rapidly, sometimes within six hours.”
“Having some systemic activity allows it to be used at slightly slower water rates and it can still move through weeds, providing a thorough kill.
“It’s a good mix partner with current knockdowns glyphosate and paraquat and makes glufosinate much more reliable,” he said.
According to Sumitomo Chemical, Rapidicil is particularly suitable for non-till farming, which is garnering global attention as a regenerative agricultural practice, and is expected to contribute to soil conservation and carbon neutrality.
Growers who would like to see a Carvero trial before its release, should contact their local Sumitomo Chemical Australia rep.