Active ingredient
Prodiamine
Dinitroaniline (mitotic inhibitor, Group 3)
A long-residual pre-emergent that forms a barrier in the top layer of soil and kills seedlings as they germinate through it.
What it does
Prevents crabgrass, goosegrass, annual bluegrass and several small-seeded broadleaf weeds for a long time — SDSU Extension puts its residual at five months to over a year depending on rate, which is the longest in common homeowner use.
What it does not do
It has no post-emergence activity whatsoever. SDSU states it plainly: once crabgrass emerges, prodiamine is no longer effective. It also cannot tell your grass seed from a weed seed, so it forecloses overseeding for the length of that residual.
The label constraint people miss
The maximum annual rate is set per turf species, and the range is wide — one label we read allows 7.1 lb per 1,000 sq ft on bermuda, zoysia, tall fescue and St. Augustine but only 3.1 on creeping bentgrass. Check your species before your calendar.
Products we review that contain it
Every product below is here because we opened its label — on EPA's own database or the registrant's — and read Prodiamine in the ingredient statement. Registration numbers are on each product's page.
Pre-Emergent Herbicide (granular)
The Andersons Barricade Granular Pre-Emergent
★★★★★ (4.7/5)
Prodiamine on a spreader-applied granule. Same long-residual active ingredient as the professional concentrate, without the sprayer or the rate math.
Best for: Season-long crabgrass and annual weed prevention
$42–$52
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Selective Pre- and Post-Emergent Herbicide (concentrate)
Atticus Torocity Mesotrione Herbicide, 8 oz
★★★★★ (4.5/5)
Mesotrione is one of only three actives labelled for use at seeding time, and this is the homeowner-priced concentrate version of it rather than the professional product.
Best for: Spring seeding or renovation on a cool-season lawn, where every other pre-emergent would stop the grass seed too
$26–$34
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Selective Turf Herbicide (mesotrione, HPPD inhibitor)
Syngenta Tenacity Turf Herbicide, 8 oz
★★★★★ (4.6/5)
The mesotrione in Virginia Tech's bermudagrass programme, and the product whose label names Turflon Ester as its tank-mix partner.
Best for: Cool-season lawns where mesotrione's own weed list matters, and as the extension programme's partner for bermudagrass suppression
$55–$70
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Guides that use Prodiamine
- Best Pre-Emergent: Purdue Says the Active Barely Matters
- Best Weed Killer for Zoysia: Tolerance Is Not the Problem
- Chickweed and Henbit: Spring Spraying Is Too Late
- Prodiamine vs Dithiopyr: One of Them Forgives Being Late
- How to Kill Bermuda Grass in a Fescue Lawn: Mow It Out First
- Seeding After Pre-Emergent: The Conflict Nobody Warns You About
Buy for the active, then read the label anyway. Two products with the same active are not interchangeable — concentration, labelled sites and species tolerances all vary, and a three-part registration number means a narrowed label. How to read one in two minutes. Where our page and your container disagree, the container is the legal authority.