Q&A WITH Aaron Hathaway

1 How does your product save time?

Premium herbicides like Horsepower®, Cool Power®, Escalade® 2, and Change Up™ broaden the overall spectrum of broadleaf weed control. This broadened spectrum means more consistent control on more properties. Since no one set of properties has all the same weed issues, premium herbicides allow an applicator to mix one product and be confident that it is up to each unique weed challenge. It also means an applicator doesn’t have to meticulously scout each property to determine an appropriate tank mix for effective control of the different weeds. For those properties with crabgrass breakthrough, consider Quincept® and Sure Power®. They can provide excellent control of the crabgrass and any lingering broadleaves – again, saving time by reducing scouting and mixing needs at each site. In short, premium herbicides offer premium active ingredient combinations to broaden the overall spectrum of weed control, making them more reliable at more sites and requiring fewer tank mixes to boost weed activity.

2 How does your product save labor?

Difficult to control weeds are not well-controlled by typical 3-way herbicides and are a main source of costly customer callbacks. Effective weed control with use of premium herbicides increases customer satisfaction and reduces labor-intensive return trips for repeat applications.

3 How does your product save materials or fuel?

Premium herbicides can save a second trip and repeat applications by better controlling difficult weeds in one spray. For example, ground ivy is a difficult broadleaf that isn’t well-controlled by a typical 3-way herbicide (2,4-D + MCPP + dicamba). However, Horsepower and Escalade 2 both contain premium pyridines (triclopyr and fluroxypyr, respectively) that provide better control of ground ivy in conjunction with the other active ingredients. These premium pyridines provide excellent translocation through ground ivy stolons and better specific activity on the weed. One effective application not only saves herbicide product, but saves fuel from a planned or unplanned repeat trip to a property to finish the job.

4 How do your products help generate additional revenue for landscape and lawn care companies?

The use of one or two main premium herbicides with relatively broad spectrums of control can allow applicators time to focus on other aspects of turf management like plant nutrition and soil health. Because premium herbicides are more effective on a broader list of broadleaf weeds, applicators can rely on effective control, worry less about possible misses or callbacks and upsell other services.

5 In what other ways do your products make landscape and lawn care companies profitable?

Some premium herbicides not only contain pyridines that broaden broadleaf spectrum of control, but also contain PPOs, which speed visual activity and aid increased efficacy – especially in the early spring or mid-summer seasons by helping to break down plant cuticles. Sure Power and 4-Speed® XT contain a PPO herbicide (flumioxazin and pyraflufen-ethyl, respectively) and can provide a boost on difficult weeds during less-than-ideal control conditions. 4-Speed XT has proven to be a great early-spring broadleaf herbicide and Sure Power is a hammer for tough broadleaf weeds, like ground ivy and wild violet, in cool-season turf. Sure Power also has some activity on crabgrass and nutsedge which makes it a great mid-summer herbicide as broadleaf weeds can be especially difficult to control at this time. These fast and ultra-effective herbicides can easily increase customer satisfaction and help grow a positive company reputation.