The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture's Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals (ICAMA) has recently approved the sugarbeet herbicide metamitron (98% TC) of China agrochemical company Rosi Chemical Co., Ltd. The approval will be valid for 5 years.
Metamitron is triazinone herbicide. The mode of its action is to disrupt photosystem II, inhibiting electron transport. It is applied as a foliar spray, and is absorbed effectively through the leaf surface and the roots. Once absorbed, it is translocated acropetally to the leaves of the target plants.
Being a selective herbicide, metamitron can be used for pre-emergent or post-emergent weeds control. Target plants are weeds of fodder beet, mangels, red beets and sugar beets. These include grasses and broad-leaved weeds.
As the leading herbicide in sugarbeet sector, metamitron reached the sales of more than $90 million in year 2010.
