FMC Agricultural Solutions has begun the joint U.S. EPA and Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency registration process for bixafen, a new pyrazole carboxamide fungicide that belongs to a new generation of succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHI). Registration is being sought for corn, soybeans, cereals, canola, peanuts and potatoes in the U.S. and, in some instances, Canada.

Bixafen is effective against a wide range of fungal diseases in row crops, the company says. Data has been submitted for review of several target diseases including: Northern corn leaf blight and gray leaf spot in corn; frogeye leaf spot, brown spot and white mold in soybeans; septoria leaf blotch, stripe rust and stem rust in cereals; early blight and white mold in potatoes; white mold in canola; stem rot, leaf spot, leaf rust and Rhizoctonia limb rot in peanuts.

FMC acquired exclusive rights to bixafen from Bayer CropScience to develop and distribute the novel product for row crops in the U.S. and Canada. FMC has greatly expanded its fungicide offerings in recent years for row crops and specialty crops, including tree, fruit and vine crops. 

"Bixafen will further that growth with plans to build a suite of products around this chemistry," said Amy O’ Shea, vice president and business director, U.S. and Canada, FMC Agricultural Solutions. “We have simultaneously begun registration for several premixes."

Bixafen is the first of several new, proprietary crop protection active ingredients FMC plans to submit registrations for over the next three years. "FMC is investing in synthetic and biological products to address growers’ dynamic crop protection challenges,” said O’Shea. "As pest challenges evolve, it’s incredibly important to bring new active ingredients to market. Growers need new tools to manage resistance and to control yield-robbing diseases, weeds and pests."