Print This PageRoundup
Roundup® agricultural herbicides are the flagship of Monsanto’s agricultural chemicals business. Roundup herbicides and other glyphosate products can be used as part of an environmentally responsible weed control program and fit with our vision of sustainable agriculture and environmental protection.
The original Roundup herbicide, containing the active ingredient glyphosate, was introduced in 1974. Today Monsanto’s glyphosate products are registered in more than 130 countries and are approved for weed control in more than 100 crops. No other herbicide active ingredient compares in terms of number of approved uses.
Roundup PowerMAX™, Roundup Ready® herbicide and other Roundup brand agricultural products are broad-spectrum, non-selective herbicides, which are active on most species of green plants. Roundup herbicide has excellent environmental features such as rapid soil binding, biodegradation (decreased persistence) and extremely low toxicity to mammals, birds and fish. It is also non-volatile, stable in sunlight, completely water soluble and easy to apply.
There are a number of Roundup agricultural herbicide formulations available in Australia to suit the needs of different users. Each formulation has been extensively tested across a broad range of field sites to deliver the benefits Australian users have been asking for.
Nufarm is the exclusive distributor of Roundup herbicide brands in Australia, for any queries or to download an MSDS please click here.
Scotts distribute Roundup for use in the home garden, for more information or to download an MSDS click here.
What is glyphosate?
Glyphosate is a unique molecule. There’s no other herbicide like it. In fact, it’s in a group all on its own – herbicide group M. How does it work? Glyphosate inhibits an essential plant enzyme called EPSPS (5-enolpyruvyl – shikimate -3 – phosphate synthase). Inhibition of this enzyme prevents production of aromatic amino acids required for protein synthesis.
Glyphosate enters a plant through foliage; the amount of glyphosate and speed of entry depend on plant species and glyphosate delivery system. Only healthy and actively growing weeds should be sprayed as translocation and the translocation rate is dependent on the sugar transport system within the plant. Once in the plant, glyphosate moves in the phloem with sugar to the growing points. Most glyphosate is transported to the growing points within four hours (although this doesn’t mean symptoms show up in four hours). Transport slows after four hours and stops by 48 hours. The key to effective glyphosate activity is getting as much glyphosate into the plant as quickly as possible, because eventually glyphosate will inhibit its own transport.
Factors such as plant stress, dust and extreme weather can affect the uptake of glyphosate in to the plant.
