PBI/Gordon Corporation, a Kansas City, Missouri, company, and Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha (ISK) Corporation of Osaka, Japan, have recently announced an agreement to market Katana Herbicide in the United States’ professional turf management industry. Katana Herbicide contains flazasulfuron, a fast-acting sulfonylurea herbicide compound. The label is held by ISK’s United States subsidiary, ISK Biosciences with headquarters in Concord, Ohio.
“We have been working with flazasulfuron for some time,” says Tom Hoffman, Vice President of Product Development for PBI/Gordon Corporation. “The speed of ryegrass control for transition was our first interest,” he continues. “But Katana provides significant sedge, kyllinga and broadleaf control as well. We are quite pleased that ISK has chosen PBI/Gordon as their marketing partner in the United States professional market,” Hoffman stated.
Katana will be marketed for sedge, broadleaf weed and grass weed control as well as a ryegrass transition-aid product for bermudagrass, zoysiagrass and centipedegrass turf in golf course fairways and roughs, commercial turf, athletic fields, cemeteries and sod farms, according to Doug Obermann, Product Manager for Gordon’s Professional Turf and Ornamental products.
In university tests, Katana has excelled in removing cool-season grasses from warm-season turf, including ryegrass, clumpy ryegrass, Poa annua, Poa trivialis and annual ryegrass. In addition to kyllingas, sedges and clumpy ryegrass, Katana also controls a broad spectrum of broadleaf weeds, reports Obermann. Katana has both foliar and root uptake and, like other sulfonylurea products, is effective at very low rates. Katana’s speed is second to none for this class of herbicides. Applications of Katana also have some residual control.
“Katana will be a great addition to our ProFrom® product line,” says Obermann. “Like our other ProForm products, Katana is fast-acting and provides superior cool-weather performance,” he continues. Katana Herbicide is undergoing extensive cooperator trials this summer and will be in nationwide distribution for the 2010 season.
ISK Biosciences Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd of Osaka, Japan. With headquarters in Concord, Ohio, ISK Biosciences has primary responsibility for development, registration and logistics for ISK’s products in the Americas. ISK, founded in 1920’s, is one of the leading manufacturers of organic and inorganic chemicals with core businesses in titanium dioxide pigments and proprietary agrochemicals and organic intermediates. The company has a fully integrated agricultural chemicals business with research and development, marketing, registration and production operations. For additional information concerning ISK Biosciences, visit www.iskbc.com