At the GIE+EXPO show last week, Turf had a chance to sit down with Dave Loecke, national key account manager of the concentrates division with PBI-Gordon Corporation. He was particularly excited about a new product, Vexis® Herbicide Granular, that will be introduced to the market in early 2020. While the majority of new products in the herbicide market are new blends of existing ingredients, said Loecke, Vexis is different. It contains a brand new proprietary active ingredient called Pyrimisulfan, a Group 2 herbicide ALS inhibitor being introduced for the first time to the U.S. turf and ornamental market.
Vexis offers targeted, post-emergent control of sedges and kyllinga species, including both purple and yellow nutsedge, cockscomb, and false green kyllinga. It can also be used on a wide variety of both cool- and warm- season turfgrasses – Kentucky bluegrass, fine and tall fescues, perennial ryegrass, Bermudagrass, bahiagrass, buffalograss, kikuyugrass, seashore paspalum, St. Augustinegrass (including improved varieties such as bitterblue and floratam), and zoysiagrass.
Sold in a 2-lb. “shaker” can and in a 15-lb. bag, the granular formulation helps reduce off-target drift and volatility compared to products currently available.
“Control of sedges and kyllinga is a common problem most lawncare professionals deal with during the growing season,” commented Jay Young, herbicide product manager for PBI-Gordon. “Vexis Herbicide Granular offers highly targeted and reliable control of these weeds, which dramatically reduces call- backs and improves customer satisfaction.”
For use on residential and commercial sites, sports facilities, and golf course tees, fairways, and roughs, Vexis was field tested for yellow nutsedge at Virginia Tech and false green kyllinga at Rutgers University.
