Launched in 2015 at GIE+EXPO, Intelligro’s Civitas WEEDfree hybrid selective herbicide is now available nationwide in the United States.
To better serve and support lawn and landscape professionals, the company says they have implemented a distributor training program to answer the frequently asked question, “How do I integrate Civitas WEEDfree brand concentrate into my IPM program?”
Intelligro says that this program helps customers and distributors understand the ease of product integration, as well as provide market insights into trends, competitive activity, regulations and growth.
The company notes that this product is geared toward lawn and landscape professionals, and so far they have found that the biggest users of the product are in the lawn and landscape industry.
The goal of the company, Intelligro says, is to bring products together that mold people, profit and the planet together, which they say ultimately helps a company’s sustainability.
But how do you measure sustainability when it comes to chemicals? Intelligro raises the question, “Just because you’re using less chemicals, does it still mean that the chemical you’re using is still sustainable?”
At this year’s GIE+EXPO, Intelligro further discussed Civitas WEEDfree and its environmental impact quotient (EIQ). The EIQ measures the positive and negative impact on the environment by herbicides and pesticides, and it was developed by Cornell University.
With the introduction of EIQ, Intelligro says it will allow applicators to look at products and determine whether or not they fit into the sustainability platform and use that to differentiate their businesses.
EIQ has three main criteria: worker safety (any acute or chronic toxicity the product can cause to people), consumer friendly (food residue, chronic toxicity and leachability to groundwater) and ecological impact (aquatic and terrestrial non-target toxicity runoff and potential persistence).
In comparison to a traditional three-way mix selective herbicide, which was tested to have an EQI of 28.5, Intelligro reports that Civitas WEEDfree has an EQI of 6.4.
Intelligro says that with every product they plan to create, the goal is always to drive EIQ down while still providing the efficacy that customers are looking for.
The company says that Civitas WEEDfree is specially formulated with Microtechnology, can kill over 60 broadleaf weeds with less active ingredients, has no offensive odor and will save time and money with reduced call backs and labor costs.
The company adds that this product is as effective as the traditional three-way mixes, and they say the Microtechnology delivery system penetrates into weeds more effectively. This, Intelligro says, results in significantly less active ingredients required to kill weeds down to the root.
