Pesticide Giant Syngenta Readies New Weapon Against Superweeds
The chemical, launching first in Argentina, is designed to fight grass weeds in soybean crops
- Syngenta will launch Virestina, a new weedkiller targeting herbicide-resistant grass weeds, in Argentina in June.
- Herbicide-resistant weeds cost the U.S. agricultural industry $33 billion annually, driving a race for new weedkillers.
- Agriculture companies are developing new herbicides, with Syngenta aiming for further approvals and Bayer planning Icafolin’s 2028 release
One of the world’s biggest chemical companies aims to strike a new blow against hard-to-kill weeds that can cost farmers billions of dollars.
Pesticide maker Syngenta said it would begin selling in South America this year a new weedkiller capable of eradicating grass weeds that have evolved to resist other common crop sprays, and threaten soybean and cotton crops.
The chemical, called Virestina, is part of a multibillion-dollar race among agriculture companies like Syngenta, Bayer and Corteva. The companies are pushing to research, develop and market herbicides after a decadeslong lull in launching new weedkillers.
Syngenta, owned by China National Chemical Co., said the weedkiller will launch in June in Argentina, the world’s third-largest soybean producer, after recently being approved for use there. The company aims to obtain approvals in Brazil and Australia next, while the U.S. is expected later because of its longer regulatory process, Syngenta said.
Heavy use of longstanding herbicides, like glyphosate, the main ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup, has contributed to resistance developing among weeds such as waterhemp and palmer amaranth. Herbicide-resistant weeds cost the U.S. agricultural industry roughly $33 billion each year, according to Colorado State University research.
Some weeds can now withstand four or five chemicals, industry officials have said. They decrease harvests for the two most popular crops in the U.S., corn and soybeans, by up to 91% and 79%, respectively.
“It continues to grow faster than our original models,” Ioana Tudor, Syngenta’s head of crop protection marketing, said about weed resistance. “It is a huge problem for farmers.”
Companies have been trying to identify and develop new chemical weedkillers after leaning for decades on established chemicals. Bayer recently developed a herbicide called Icafolin, due to be released in Brazil in 2028.
The key ingredient in Syngenta’s Virestina is a new molecule called metproxybicyclone, developed using machine-learning models. It disables specific growth enzymes in grass weeds, while the same enzymes in crops like soybeans remain unaffected.
While the new herbicide is primarily for soybeans, Syngenta officials said it could develop corn varieties genetically engineered to withstand it.
The agriculture industry is pushing to launch herbicides while advocates of President Trump’s Make America Healthy Again coalition have railed against some widely used weedkillers. Seed and pesticide companies and trade groups representing farmers have been lobbying the administration to shield producers from legal liability.
Syngenta, the world’s largest pesticide supplier, estimated that it spends about $2 billion a year on research and development. Executives said it has 20 chemical and biological products in its research pipeline over the next 10 years.