Paraquat: Herbicide Helps No-till Operations

China Farmer Spraying Rice Paddies

ICI Plant Protection (now Syngenta Crop Protection) discovered paraquat in 1955 and registered it for use for the first time in the United States in 1964. Paraquat is a non-selective, contact herbicide that acts quickly, is rainfast within minutes of application and biologically inactive upon soil contact.

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Its widespread use as a pasture-renovation tool for no-till operations before planting or crop emergence has made paraquat one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. It is used in the desiccation of seed crops and noncrop and industrial weed control in bearing and non-bearing fruit orchards, shade trees, and ornamentals. It is also used in the defoliation and desiccation of cotton and as a harvest aid in soybeans, sugarcane, guar, and sunflowers. It also eradicates weeds in rubber plantations, coffee plantations, and paddy bunds.

Paraquat is used in more than 120 countries on more than 100 crops, according to Syngenta. It is used regularly in the United States, China, Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan. The European Union allowed paraquat to be used beginning in 2004, but member countries lobbying for its cessation succeeded in 2007.

The Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority of the Philippines granted paraquat a full re-registration in October. The three-year approval allows 12 million growers to continue to use the chemical. The country’s primary exports include coconuts, bananas, and pineapples.

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