BASF’s Alite ISO Enters Year Six of Regulatory Limbo
June 11, 2026 Cotton producers in 2026 will face an ever-growing list of weed species developing resistance to an expanding roster of herbicide products. The problem is as complex as it is expensive.
The situation, Extension experts say, is unlike anything growers have faced before.
“It’s the worst it’s ever been, there’s no doubt,” says Larry Steckel, University of Tennessee Extension weed scientist. “From the number of species that have resistance to the number of different herbicides that no longer work. It’s forcing the growers to use more herbicides that only partially work, in order to get only partial control.”
Steckel says Palmer amaranth is still the number one weed pest in the Mid-South — and in some pockets it has developed resistance to five or six different modes of action. Grasses, he says, have also become increasingly problematic. Barnyardgrass, goosegrass, ryegrass and johnsongrass have increased infestation levels and frequency in Tennessee and beyond.
Steckel, who has worked with Axant Flex technology and the Alite ISO herbicide in trial plots, expects the new BASF products to be a great help with the grasses, as well as with Palmer amaranth. Cotton producers, he said, are in dire need of a product that could boost their current programs.
“Currently it’s expensive, it’s not working as well, and we need some more options – some more tools —for them to use to integrate with the herbicides we’ve got now, as well as their cultural practices like cover cropping,” Steckel says. “The cultural practices work much better when the herbicide products are effective.”
The Waiting Game
Against this backdrop, BASF’s Axant Flex weed control system has been shackled by a prolonged regulatory review process of Alite ISO herbicide, which began over six years ago. Axant Flex is BASF’s proprietary herbicide trait technology, which offers tolerance of four distinct herbicide modes of action, including glyphosate, glufosinate, dicamba, and importantly, an HPPD inhibitor. BASF introduced the technology’s accompanying HPPD herbicide as Alite ISO.
BASF submitted isoxaflutole, the active ingredient in Alite ISO, for EPA approval in December 2019. Still, the EPA has given no indication of if or when the product could advance into a public comment period. BASF representatives offered this statement regarding the regulatory status of Alite ISO:
“We stand behind the data submitted to the EPA for Alite ISO herbicide and respect the role of the Agency’s career scientists in conducting thorough, independent reviews that are relied on by authorities around the world. That science-based process is essential to ensuring pesticides meet today’s expectations for safety, effectiveness, and responsible use.”
To compound frustration for American producers, competitive cotton farmers in Brazil have had access to these products for multiple cropping seasons. Producers there have enjoyed the use of Durance S herbicide (the equivalent of Alite ISO herbicide) for pre-emergence use since it was approved in 2023.
BASF submitted the product for review in Brazil in August of 2020 and received approval three years later. The Brazilian regulatory authorities approved the use of Durance S for post-emergence use in June of 2025.
EPA Bottleneck
At the heart of the matter is a years-long backlog of chemical approvals that has accumulated at the EPA. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has publicly stated his intent to tackle the bottleneck.
“We inherited so many backlogs,” Zeldin told a House Energy and Commerce Committee last year. “The pesticides review was something like 14,000. New chemical review — several hundred. We don’t mind getting a big mess to fix. We’re happy to do it.”
Since that time, the EPA says it has drawn down this backlog to roughly 8,000 pesticide submissions, according to an April report from the Washington Post. The report notes that some 6,800 new submissions have also been received in that time frame.
Weed experts across the Cotton Belt say approval for BASF’s new trait-enabled herbicide can’t come soon enough. University of Georgia Extension Weed Scientist Stanley Culpepper has seen resistant Palmer amaranth and resistant ryegrass cause major problems on row crop farms in his state. He says adding a new mode of action to his producers’ toolbox would provide significant help.
“Being able to include numerous mechanisms of action as part of an integrated weed management program is essential if our farmers are to continue providing abundant and affordable food, feed, and fiber that is safe to the consumer and our environment,” Culpepper says.
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