New Product of the Year Runner Up: Storen by Syngenta
The results are in for the 17th annual new product of the year contest, and The Scoop’s audience has voted for Storen corn herbicide by Syngenta as the new product of the year runner-up.
As the 2023 new product of the year runner-up, Storen corn herbicide’s status as an early favorite may not come as a surprise to some. The product was developed based on feedback from its target audience.
“When we were doing market research with growers and talking to our customers, growers were telling us they weren’t satisfied with the level of control they were getting with their pre-emergence corn herbicides,” says Shawn Hock, corn herbicide product lead from Syngenta. “So we started discussing how we could develop a herbicide that really increased the length of residual control but more importantly increased the overall level of control of challenging weeds.”
Hock shares many of those growers were most dissatisfied with other products’ control of waterhemp and Palmer amaranth—two of the more than 74 weed species Storen is labeled to protect against. When combined with atrazine, field trials show Storen delivers 10% better control and a more than 58% increase in overall consistency of control on waterhemp and Palmer amaranth compared with other leading corn herbicides.
“Growers expect a product to work every time they use it, not just half the time,” Hock says. “They have more than one field, and they want consistent performance across every field—no matter the weed pressure or spectrum of weeds. Since Storen increases the consistency of control above 95%, now they’re receiving excellent control on their fields.”
The product combines four active ingredients to deliver these results: bicyclopyrone, mesotrione, S-metolachlor and pyroxasulfone. It is formulated to adapt to the needs of growers.
“As farmers get larger, a lot of them have two planters and are planting faster than they can spray. Each season also brings different weather conditions and challenges with getting into the field,” Hock says. “While it’s ideal to apply Storen prior to weed emergence so weeds don’t even have a chance to compete with the emerging corn crop, Storen is labeled for use from 28 days pre-plant up to V8 corn leaf stage, which is a very wide window of application in case Mother Nature throws a curveball.”
The Year Ahead
Between 2020 and 2023, Syngenta field-tested Storen at 398 locations. Now, the product is ready for its first official season on the market.
“Ag retailers across the country have started getting bulk shipments,” Hock says. “Our goal this year is to collect grower feedback on Storen that confirms what we’ve seen in trials—that Storen is a better, stronger, longer-lasting herbicide compared to anything else they’ve used before.”
And for ag retailers, Hock says the product is an opportunity to grow as a trusted partner and adviser.
“Ag retailers have told me they’re most excited about having a product that will help restore their customers’ confidence in weed control,” he says. “They need products that work as expected because ultimately growers are looking to them for what solution to use.”
