New US Manufacturer Viriterra Launches Perseus Herbicide Built on In-House Pyroxasulfone
21 October 2026, Washington, D.C.: A new, vertically integrated US crop protection manufacturer has entered the herbicide market with the commercial launch of Perseus, a Group 15 residual herbicide built on pyroxasulfone that the company produces itself rather than sourcing from outside suppliers.
Viriterra Inc., based in North Carolina, announced the launch of Perseus SC, calling it the company’s first commercial product. Viriterra describes itself as a basic manufacturer of pyroxasulfone, meaning it makes the active ingredient from raw materials at its own plants rather than buying and reformulating technical material from a third party. The company says it operates three manufacturing facilities and employs more than 300 people.
Perseus received its EPA registration on May 12, 2026, under EPA Registration Number 104582-2, according to the registration notice and draft label filed with the agency. The label lists pyroxasulfone at 41.46 percent by weight, or 4.17 pounds per gallon, formulated as a liquid suspension concentrate. Pyroxasulfone is a long-established Group 15 (very-long-chain fatty acid inhibitor) mode of action already sold under other brands by larger competitors, so Viriterra’s point of difference is supply, not chemistry: it is betting that controlling its own pyroxasulfone production gives it more pricing and availability control than formulators who depend on imported technical material.
The product is labeled for use ahead of planting and before crop emergence in corn, soybean, wheat and other labeled crops. It is positioned for residual control or suppression of troublesome annual grasses, sedges and broadleaf weeds, including Palmer amaranth, waterhemp and foxtail species, three of the weeds most commonly associated with herbicide resistance in US row-crop production. Specific rates, timing and weed spectrum vary by crop and use pattern, and the company has not published a separate EPA registration date distinct from the one on file for the active product.
The company’s public launch announcement did not include pricing or a distribution timeline for the 2027 planting season, and it is not yet clear which retailers or distributors will carry Perseus.
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