Dow AgroSciences the first of April introduced SENDERO herbicide and says it is the new standard in long-term mesquite control.

The old standard began when Reclaim herbicide was introduced in 1987. For 25 years Reclaim was tank-mixed with Remedy herbicide (later named Remedy Ultra herbicide) to create the predominant mesquite treatment used on millions of acres, Dow officials said.

Dow now expects Sendero to replace that tank mix as the treatment of choice. Like the original standard, Sendero is labeled for aerial, ground broadcast, and foliar individual plant treatments.

Dow unveils new long term mesquite control.

Sendero has delivered both better and more consistent control than the previous standard , said Dave Owens, range and pasture portfolio marketing leader for Dow.

In a series of aerial application trials, Sendero herbicide averaged more than 10 percentage points better control than the tank mix of Reclaim and Remedy Ultra used in the same trials. The trials were funded by Dow AgroSciences and conducted by range specialists within Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

In those trials, Sendero also averaged 76% root-kill two years after treatment compared to 64% for the Reclaim/Remedy Ultra tank mix.

Perhaps more important, company officials said, mesquite control with Sendero was about 40% more consistent than that from the Reclaim-Remedy tank mix.

In addition to mesquite, Sendero controls many species of broadleaf weeds and provides soil residual activity to control many later-emerging broadleaf species for weeks after treatment. Beyond the first season, there is no long-term forb shock from the herbicide.

Sendero does not harm desirable grasses, so native grass recovery can be as fast as environmental conditions allow.

Left untouched, mesquite cover tends to increase over time. Texas range scientists documented significant drops in grass production on clay loam soils once mesquite achieved more than 25% canopy cover. Following a high level of control from mesquite treatment, enhanced grass production can last at least 20 years, the researchers reported.

Success with SENDERO still depends on proper application, Dow officials emphasized. Those include timing with carbohydrate movement in the mesquite plant, leaf condition, soil temperature and growing conditions.