Editor’s note: The following article was supplied by PBI-Gordon. All product claims, research cited and other information is directly from the company.
When you achieve a goal, it can be easy to rest on your laurels. After all, you’ve found success. You’re done. Right?
Wrong. If you’re PBI-Gordon and the goal is producing the No. 1 speed herbicide, reaching that pinnacle with SpeedZone Broadleaf Herbicide for Turf means it’s time to start innovating again. And that’s where SpeedZone EW Broadleaf Herbicide for Turf comes from: the drive to make an industry favorite even better.
Original SpeedZone and most other popular herbicides are EC formulations — emulsifiable concentrates, relying on solvents to solubilize active ingredients.
SpeedZone EW is an advanced emulsion-in-water (EW) formulation. It uses new polymeric technology to create smaller particle size than an EC formulation.
The new formulation reduces the percentage of fine particles <105 μm, from 2.20% to 1.30%. With that 40% reduction in fine particles, the EW formulation reduces drift and delivers more of the four active ingredients in SpeedZone to the leaf surface of the targeted weeds. More complete leaf coverage means improved efficacy.
While SpeedZone has a reputation for killing broadleaf weeds fast, developing the EW formulation was a painstaking and methodical process.
“We worked on SpeedZone EW for more than seven years,” says Dale Sanson, Ph.D., director of formulation development and compliance chemistry at PBI-Gordon. “There were some setbacks on the way, but we knew we could make it work. And it does. It’s a game changer.”
To test SpeedZone EW and SpeedZone Southern EW, PBI-Gordon enlisted private researchers in Kentucky and Florida, as well as several top university turf science programs, including the University of Georgia, Ohio State University, Penn State University, Rutgers University and the University of Tennessee.
In side-by-side comparisons of EW and EC formulations, the EW outperformed current EC formulations in controlling 15 to 20 of the top broadleaf weeds, including dandelion, clover, plantain, henbit and ground ivy. SpeedZone EW controls more than 70 total broadleaf weeds, as well as post-emergent goosegrass and nimblewill.
SpeedZone EW is labeled for use on Kentucky bluegrass, annual bluegrass, annual and perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, red/fine leaf fescue, and other listed broadleaf weeds.
It’s ideal for use on golf course fairways, aprons and roughs, as well as on commercial areas, athletic fields, sod farms and more. SpeedZone EW has a lower odor profile and lower volatile organic content (VOC) than EC formulations, it’s rainfast in three to four hours, and you can reseed in one week.
Original SpeedZone is the No. 1 speed herbicide in the industry, and it’s difficult to improve on No. 1. But that’s exactly what PBI-Gordon did with SpeedZone EW.