Dow AgroSciences received federal registration of DEFENDOR specialty herbicide, a new postemergence product designed to be applied early in the season in cool weather to eliminate unsightly dandelion blooms and control clover and other winter annual and perennial weeds. It can be applied at the same time lawn care operators make their first preemergence applications of the season, giving them a head start on broadleaf weed control and more flexibility when scheduling applications. Typically, these timings are too cold for other postemergence herbicides to be effective on difficult-to-control annual and perennial broadleaf weeds. With DEFENDOR, lawn care operators can spray during this cold time of the year and see great efficacy on these weeds.

DEFENDOR, with the active ingredient florasulam, comes in a convenient liquid formulation and can be tank-mixed with DIMENSION 2EW specialty herbicide for early season broadleaf weed control and proven preemergence crabgrass control. In addition, DEFENDOR is effective at extremely low use rates compared with competitive postemergence products, reducing the total herbicide load on the environment.

State registrations for DEFENDOR specialty herbicide are pending. The product is expected to be available in the marketplace in early 2013.