Florpyrauxifen-benyzl is a new active ingredient registered for the control of weeds in rice and aquatic sites. It is applied at very low rates – up to 153 times lower than other herbicides commonly used in rice crops. When used according to the label recommendations, it has been shown to pose minimal risk to farmers, applicators, animals and nontarget plants. Florpyrauxifen-benzyl has low persistence in soil and water and low toxicity to birds, insects, fish and other organisms. It is an effective alternative for control of grass, broadleaf and sedge weeds in rice that are resistant to other classes of herbicides. It is also registered for selective aquatic weed control of several major invasive aquatic plants, including hydrilla and water hyacinth.

Imazamox is a reduced-risk herbicide used for postemergence control of several broadleaf and grassy weeds in soybeans, alfalfa, canola, dry beans and wheat. It also has been approved for aquatic applications. Like florpyrauxifen-benzyl, imazamox is applied at extremely low rates. EPA granted imazamox reduced-risk status because of its safety profile. Toxicological studies show there is a reasonable certainty no harm will result from exposure to residues from the chemical, even if they were to appear in food or in drinking water.

Mesotrione has been used for years to control weeds in corn, sugarcane, sorghum and other grass crops. Now, though, it has been granted reduced-risk status for use in small acreage crops like cranberries, asparagus, okra, rhubarb, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, which have few registered herbicides available for weed control. In many cases, mesotrione is used at a much lower rate than the product it is replacing. Many of the mesotrione reduced-risk registrations were requested by the IR-4 Project (IR-4), which facilitates the registration of conventional pesticides and biopesticides used on specialty food crops and nonfood horticulture crops.