The Syngenta corn herbicide uses a premium formulation to keep fields cleaner for longer — and growers are taking notice
Weeds are costly to growers at any point in the season. They rob corn crops of nutrients, water and sunlight and are especially damaging to yield potential early in the season. Growers are taking notice: One survey from 2022 showed that 40 percent of growers say Palmer amaranth and waterhemp are difficult to control with current preemergence corn herbicides.1
Forty percent, by any standard, is considered high.
Syngenta set out to better dial into the needs of corn producers and dramatically decrease that percentage. Growers wanted a preemergence residual corn herbicide that would last longer and mix well with some of the more challenging fertilizers. They also wanted something that was effective against herbicide resistant weeds.
However, success couldn’t be just about how the field looked at harvest. It had to be about how it looked every week from spring to fall.
As soon as weeds emerge, they begin to compete with the crop for light and vital soil resources. Research shows even small weeds can cause irreversible changes to corn’s growth and development. That’s why clean rows from start to finish deliver the maximum potential ROI, more than just clean rows at the finish.
“If you want the maximum yield potential from your corn crop, it shouldn’t compete with weeds a day in its life,” said Matt Geiger, an Illinois-based agronomy service representative for Syngenta. “Weeds are not free.”
Having debuted commercially during the 2024 season, Syngenta’s Storen® corn herbicide has proven itself to be a high-performance residual herbicide that corn growers can hang their hat on, even on acres where they may have previously struggled to eradicate weed pressure.
“With Storen, farmers are not as intimidated by the problematic acre anymore,” Geiger said. “They can control weeds with far greater consistency with this product.”
Storen contains four active ingredients — Bicyclopyrone, Mesotrione, S-metolachlor and Pyroxasulfone — that work together to provide maximum residual performance. It also separates itself from competitors because, in addition to the active ingredients, Storen has dozens of inert ingredients that allow it to mix well, prevent crop injury, and improve its fertilizer compatibility.
The testing and complexity behind Storen have resulted in broad positive reactions from growers who used it in 2024. More than 3,000 growers adopted the product that season, and among more than 500 reviews submitted, 99.7 percent said they would recommend it to a friend.*
In this tough-to-please market, that number feels almost unreal. But it’s the truth.
“Storen has given me the best weed control I’ve had in years,” said Drew Beers, a grower in Syracuse, Nebraska.
Data has shown that Storen corn herbicide provides greater than 95 percent weed control nine out of 10 times,2 and it helps deliver a 4 to 5 bu/A yield advantage at harvest.3
By comparison, Shawn Hock, Syngenta corn herbicide product lead, said that the nearest competitor in this space only gives that kind of control about five out of 10 times.2
“For someone who farms 1,000 acres, for example, Storen would work and provide above satisfactory results on 90 percent of that land, where the nearest competitor would provide those results on only 50 percent of those acres,” he said. “That’s a huge difference.”
Syngenta’s investment in this product aims to restore growers’ confidence in corn herbicides and show that rows can effectively stay clean until canopy. When using Storen at the full, labeled rate, the grower gets the market’s maximum residual activity, which can be as long as nine weeks — that’s up to three weeks longer than leading competitors.4
“You get up to three weeks longer control on amaranthus species, you get an enhanced potency on large-seeded weeds and you also get a longer residual on grass species,” Geiger said.
Plus, he noted, Storen has benoxacor, a proven crop safener for preemergence crop safety, as well as a ZC (capsule-suspension) liquid that improves crop safety when used in post-emergence applications.
“Storen took an already impressive residual foundation and enhanced it,” Geiger added.
Storen was recently named 2024 New Product of the Year by AgriMarketing magazine, which recognizes outstanding technology introduced to American growers to help them become more efficient and profitable.
Travis Gustafson, an agronomic service representative based in Nebraska, emphasized how remarkable the feedback about Storen is because it’s so difficult to get a high level of satisfaction from an herbicide program. Too often, the programs don’t work the way a grower wants them to, and more and more herbicides are having to combat well-established resistant species.
But corn growers also know that skipping an herbicide plan altogether is likely to sink any hopes for a successful growing season and harvest outcome.
Storen has helped change perceptions, with nine out of 10 growers saying they planned to use it again in 2025.*
“It’s very positive. I’ve never heard anybody gush over an herbicide product like how they have with Storen,” Gustafson said. “That’s a nice feeling to have.”
To read more reviews from growers and retailers who tried Storen last season, visit www.StorenReviews.com.
This article was funded by and published on behalf of Syngenta. Visit this page to find a Syngenta Crop Protection Specialist near you.
Ryan Tipps is the founder and managing editor of AGDAILY. He has covered farming since 2011, and his writing has been honored by state- and national-level agricultural organizations.
