AI in Horticulture Means Active Ingredient NOT Artificial Intelligence
By Erik Draper
October 28, 2025
Joe Boggs started off the lively active ingredients (a.i.) discussion on BYGL by sharing his experience over the weekend about going to his local ACE Hardware store. He admitted he had another reason for going to the hardware store but of course while he was there, why not see what pesticides were available. We suggested that because he is an entomologist, the shelves of pesticide products are equivalent to insect pheromones, which lure or draw in unwitting insects to check them out!
Roundup for Lawns product with built in Sprayer
Joe started looking at the Roundup® for Lawns, Roundup® Weed & Grass Killer Concentrate, and other products with the classic Roundup® name from Monsanto that we have seen for the past 50 years! When someone said “Roundup” we automatically thought “glyphosate”, which was the typical a.i. in those products.
Roundup Wed & Grass Killer with built in Sprayer
Looking closely at product labels and specifically at a.i.’s, Joe noted that he couldn’t find one product that contained the former Monsanto product glyphosate, commonly called Roundup! However, all the labels had “Roundup®” on them and Joe using his own AI (artificial intelligence), noted they contained different a.i.’s based on the intended product use. If you are confused by it all… hang on and I’ll hopefully explain!
Roundup Dual Action Weed & Grass Killer plus 4 Month Preventer with built in Sprayer
For example, Roundup® for Lawns uses four different a.i.’s to control all types of weeds in lawns; namely, MCPA, Quinclorac, Dicamba, and Sulfentrazone, but NO GLYPHOSATE! Roundup® Landscape Weed Preventer contains the a.i. Pendimethalin, a very common preemergent herbicide, but not glyphosate. Roundup® Weed & Grass Killer Concentrate contains three different a.i.’s; namely, triclopyr, fluazifop-p-butyl and diquat dibromide and again, no glyphosate! So, what happened to change Roundup® meaning strictly glyphosate, to now Roundup® without ANY glyphosate but many different herbicide products?
Roundup Dual Action 365 Weed & Grass Killer plus 12 Month Preventer with built in Sprayer
Monsanto patented the herbicide and uses of glyphosate and other derivatives in 1971 under the brand name of Roundup® and began commercial sales and usage in 1974. Monsanto retained exclusive rights to glyphosate in the U.S. until the patent expired in September 2000. The Roundup® herbicide brand name originally produced by Monsanto was acquired by Bayer in 2018. In July 2021, Bayer announced it would remove glyphosate from the U.S. residential lawn and garden marketplace, effective January 2023. Here we are in 2025, and we are experiencing exactly what Bayer said that they would do!
Roundup Weed & Grass Killer with built in Sprayer
The confusion comes from the continued use of the brand name “Roundup” and NOT the actual chemical known as glyphosate. For over 50 years, glyphosate was synonymous with and always referred to as Roundup because it was quicker and easier to pronounce than glyphosate! Well, it’s time to get over it, move ahead and adapt because chemical products have changed and will continue to change. There is ONLY one way to stay up-to-date and current when using chemical products and Joe showed us how to do it! Let’s be careful out there and READ THE LABELS!!