When the product works, the delivery has to match: FireHawk® Bioherbicide Super Concentrate and MagrowTec
When Contact BioSolutions brought FireHawk® Bioherbicide Super Concentrate to market, they knew they had something significant. The newly registered super concentrate, the highest-loaded product of its kind, uses a patented formula with an unknown mode of action to desiccate green plant tissue fast, breaking through a plant’s protective barriers to deliver rapid, effective results.
Non-selective and with no resistance development: it’s a compelling offering.
But for Richard Hall, Head of Agricultural Sales and Agronomy at Contact BioSolutions, the efficacy of the product in the drum needed to be matched by the mode of delivery.
“FireHawk® being a contact herbicide, the efficacy really comes down to application,” says Richard. “So MagrowTec was really a natural choice in looking at delivery systems that we could use to complement our patented formula to ensure that we get the product where it needs to be on the target.”
A natural pairing
The partnership with MagrowTec came about naturally. Richard had heard the name mentioned, did his own research, found information online, and reached out to James Turtle, Regional Director for Australasia. A demonstration followed, and Richard knew MagrowTec was the right call.
MagrowTec’s rare earth magnetic assist technology conditions spray liquid before it leaves the nozzle, producing more uniform droplets and achieving through physics what surfactants and drift reduction agents do chemically. The result is improved on-target deposition, reduced drift, and consistent spray quality, all with no moving parts, no maintenance, and no ongoing costs after a one-time installation.
For a contact herbicide that works within minutes of application, precise delivery is not a nice-to-have. It is the job.
“It’s hard to imagine not having this available to us,” Richard says.
The setup: built for flexibility
Contact BioSolutions configured a trailer sprayer as their demonstration unit, towed behind a ute or tractor, fitted with MagrowTec, and designed to move through vineyard rows, orchards, and across paddocks. The versatility was deliberate.
“We wanted something that could be as versatile as possible,” explains Richard. “We can tow it with a ute if we need to, we can tow it with the tractor. It’s set up to go through vineyards, orchards, over pasture or cover crops.”
The problem: glyphosate resistant ryegrass
The combination was put to work at a vineyard on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, a property with a known and worsening glyphosate-resistant ryegrass problem.
Previous attempts with different tank mixes and application machinery had produced limited results. The infestation had been spreading year on year, to the point where it was visible on satellite imagery and requiring costly manual labour to manage.
“It’s not the favourite job on the vineyard to do,” Richard acknowledges, “but important to get on top of it before it continues to spread.”
The approach: a tank mix of FireHawk® BioHerbicide Super Concentrate and glufosinate, applied through the MagrowTec-equipped trailer unit. FireHawk®’s unknown mode of action made it an effective option where glyphosate had failed. MagrowTec ensured the mix reached the target.
The results
The difference was visible almost immediately, a function of how quickly FireHawk® BioHerbicide Super Concentrate acts.
Within minutes of application, the contrast between treated and untreated areas was apparent.
“Combining FireHawk® BioHerbicide Super Concentrate, being the highest loaded product of its kind on the market, along with MagrowTec really driving the efficiencies and getting the product on target: the results have been just spectacular,” says Richard.
After years of the problem increasing, the grower is now getting on top of it.
A case study in complementary technology
What the Mornington Peninsula trials demonstrated was not simply that two products work.
It was that the right herbicide and the right delivery system, working together, can resolve a problem that neither approach alone had been able to crack.
For Contact BioSolutions, MagrowTec is now an integral part of how they demonstrate FireHawk® BioHerbicide Super Concentrate in the field, and a system they are unlikely to be without.
“It’s great to have the tank mix,” Richard says, “but it’s got to get on the target. And that’s where MagrowTec comes in.”
