ADAMA has expanded its specialty crop portfolio with the launch of SONAVIO®, a new herbicide designed for industrial tomato production in Portugal, as growers face mounting challenges from herbicide resistance, labor constraints, and increasingly limited crop protection options.
The introduction of SONAVIO® comes at a critical time for Portugal’s processing tomato sector, one of the country’s most important horticultural industries. The launch event, held in the Ribatejo region, brought together growers, agronomists, and industry stakeholders to assess the product’s performance and discuss evolving weed management strategies in commercial tomato production systems.
Positioned as a differentiated solution within the Portuguese market, SONAVIO® is currently the only herbicide specifically registered for pre-transplant applications in industrial tomatoes. The product is based on bifenox, a PPO-inhibiting active ingredient classified under HRAC Group 14, and combines both contact and residual weed control mechanisms.
The herbicide delivers immediate activity against emerged weeds by disrupting photosynthetic processes while simultaneously creating a residual protective barrier on the soil surface that suppresses future weed emergence. This dual-action approach is designed to provide extended protection during critical crop establishment periods when competition from weeds can significantly impact yields and crop performance.
Field evaluations conducted across tomato-growing regions demonstrated strong control of several problematic broadleaf weed species, including black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), pigweed (Amaranthus spp.), purslane (Portulaca oleracea), and goosefoot (Chenopodium spp.). According to company data, residual weed suppression can extend for up to 60 days following application, reducing weed pressure during early crop development.
Beyond efficacy, SONAVIO® is expected to play an important role in resistance management programs. By introducing an alternative mode of action into weed control strategies, the product provides growers with additional flexibility to diversify herbicide programs and reduce the risk of resistance development associated with repeated use of the same active ingredients.
The launch also reflects broader shifts within European crop protection markets, where regulatory pressures and evolving sustainability requirements are driving demand for innovative solutions that maximize the performance of existing active ingredients through improved formulations and targeted crop registrations.
While industrial tomatoes represent the primary focus of the Portuguese launch, SONAVIO® has also secured registrations across a range of horticultural crops, including lettuce, onion, garlic, carrot, parsley, artichoke, and escarole. Depending on the crop, the herbicide can be integrated into pre-transplant, pre-emergence, or early post-emergence weed management programs, offering greater operational flexibility for growers.
As European producers seek more efficient and sustainable approaches to weed control, products that combine broad-spectrum efficacy, residual activity, and resistance management benefits are becoming increasingly important components of integrated crop management strategies. For ADAMA, the introduction of SONAVIO® reinforces its focus on delivering specialized solutions tailored to the needs of high-value horticultural production systems.
