Recently, Nichino USA announced that its new herbicide ZEMBU™ has been approved by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) for use in rice weed control. The herbicide's active ingredient is the protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO) inhibitor bifenac.
The herbicide ZEMBU was developed by Kyoyu Agri Co., Ltd. and is specifically used in the California rice market. It represents a major advancement in herbicide technology and will completely change the way rice is cultivated. ZEMBU is ideally suited as a base herbicide for season-long weed control, and its unique chemical mode of action controls a wide range of weeds including broadleaf weeds, sedges and grasses. ZEMBU provides long-lasting control with just one application on the day of planting (DOS) or before planting and serves as a good weed resistance management tool in rice.
Nichino has obtained the U.S. sales rights for the herbicide ZEMBU through a partnership with Kyoyu Agri. It stated that the performance of ZEMBU in controlling major broadleaf and grassy weeds (including resistant weeds) in rice has been confirmed, and California growers can add ZEMBU to their herbicide management plans.
Difenfenil has the characteristics of broad herbicidal spectrum, rapid action, easy use and high safety. It has high activity against barnyard grass in rice fields and is the first choice herbicide for killing barnyard grass in Japan. Its compounding or mixed use can expand the control spectrum and improve the herbicidal effect. At present, bifenac has a high market share in rice cultivation in Japan and South Korea, with Japan accounting for 50% and South Korea accounting for 30%.
