Insighful Insect Instructions

2008 New Insecticides (Corn And Soybeans)
 Product  Company  Active Ingredient(s)
 Cobalt  Dow AgroSciences

 chlorpyrifos + gamma-cyhalothrin

 Hero EC  FMC Corp.  zeta-cypermethrin + bifenthrin
Kaiso 24 WG Nufarm Americas, Inc lambda-cyhalothrin
Respect BASF Corp. zeta-cypermethrin
Force CS Syngenta Crop Protection tefluthrin

Granted, there aren’t as many new insecticides as herbicides in the corn and soybean markets, but they are significant nonetheless — and your grower-customers expect you to know how each product fits into their fields’ insect profile.

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It’s time to meet Bugsy B. Gohn, our in-house insecticide advice columnist, who’s here to help sort through your key questions and concerns. Like herbicide columnist Reid W. Acker last month, Gohn is a fictional character based on a combination of almost two decades of staff research and writing about crop protection, along with current interviews with Extension insect scientists and manufacturing product managers.

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Here’s what Bugsy B. Gohn has learned about this year’s crop of new insect pest control products.

Dear Bugsy: What’s new in insecticides this year?

It’s a similar scenario to herbicides: We’re basically seeing existing active ingredients (a.i.s) in new combinations (see chart, above). Since you’re probably already familiar with them, it’s just a matter of building upon your experience with their insecticidal properties and putting that knowledge to work for your customers. “There’s a tendency for people to tank mix insecticides, so the manufacturers are simply doing it for you,” says Kevin Steffey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Exten­sion entomologist.

 

Dear Bugsy: What can we expect from soybean aphids this year? Will any of the new products help?

The even-numbered years have typically been “up years” for soybean aphids, according to Steffey, and 2008 doesn’t look to break the cycle based on fall trap counts. BASF’s Respect, Dow AgroSciences’ Cobalt, FMC’s Hero EC, and Nufarm’s Kaiso 24 WG are all labeled for soybean aphids.

Dear Bugsy: What’s unique about the new products?

For starters, keep in mind that Hero EC is labeled for field corn and foodgrade soybeans, says Ron Hammond, Extension field crop entomologist with The Ohio State University. Featuring Dual-Action Technology, it targets foliar pests.

Respect came out of an agreement between BASF Corp. and FMC Corp. Part of that deal gave BASF access within the U.S. to FMC’s zeta-cyper­­methrin technology. “Think of Mustang Max and Capture,” says Steffey of the broad-spectrum product.

Steffey notes that Cobalt is a mixture of Lorsban and Proaxis, a product similar to Warrior that is no longer sold by Dow. It provides consistent broad-spectrum control, offering fast knockdown with residual activity.

According to Nufarm, Kaiso — which features Sorbie granule formulation that performs like an emulsifiable concentrate and offers the handling characteristics of a dry product — can be used on a broad spectrum of insect pests, especially Lepidoptera.

And in seed treatments, Senator is the same as Gaucho, says Hammond.

2008 Label Changes
 Product  Company Label Change(s)
 Brigade  FMC Corp.

Name changed from Capture 2EC, product had different names depending on crop, simplifies to single name.

Counter 15G AMVAC Chemical Co. Now approved for SmartBox system.
Lindane Drexel Chemical Co., others worldwide Use as seed treatment ceases in 2008.
Mustang Max FMC Corp. Name change from Mustang Max EC, formulation change (still a liquid), and expanded crops list.
Orthene product line AMVAC Chemical Co. AMVAC purchased the product line from Valent U.S.A. Corp.

Dear Bugsy: How is Force CS different from the Force granular products, and how do we use it?

Force CS is a soil-applied liquid product that is applied through the Central Insecticide System manufactured by John Deere. The system will be available on John Deere 1790 Planters (30-inch only), 1770 NT CCS Planters with Pro-Series row units, and DB 80 and DB 90 CCS Planters with Pro-Series Row Units.

One of the pests that Force CS targets is the corn rootworm, a pest that Extension specialists have concerns about. “Corn rootworm is one to keep an eye on,” says Tom Hunt, Extension entomologist at the University of Nebra­ska-Lincoln Northeast Research and Extension Center. “It’s been found resistant to insecticides a couple of times in the past and now that it’s the target of transgenic corn, there’s concern about Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) resistance occuring.”

He recommends to growers in his own state to continue to use rotational practices. “We still have quite a bit of rootworm out there. Seed treatments for corn rootworm are not as effective as soil insecticides, and you need application boxes to apply the soil insecticides,” says Hunt.

And that’s where products like Force CS come in, says Ohio State’s Hammond. “A lot of people got rid of their insecticide boxes because of transgenic seed, so Smart Box and now the John Deere planter provide a way to use a soil insecticide,” he says.

Dear Bugsy: What’s in the pipeline that you can tell us about?

DuPont has a new product that they’ve submitted for approval in the U.S., Canada, the European Union, and Australia. Rynaxpyr insecticide is the first active ingredient from the anthranilic diamide class of insecticides and offers a novel mode of action. It provides long-lasting, broad-spectrum chewing insect control for field crops, plus a number of other crops.

Herbicide Update

Several herbicides were approved by EPA after the January installment of CropLife’s “Herbicides Review” went to press.

â–  Require Q and Resolve Q from DuPont Crop Protection. Require Q and Resolve Q are corn herbicides that provide contact plus residual control of tough grass and broadleaf weeds in a glyphosate-tolerant corn program. Resolve Q provides control of many weeds that are difficult for glyphosate, including morningglory, lambsquarters, and velvetleaf. Require Q features multiple modes of action to provide control of tough weeds resistant to glyphosate and/or ALS chemistres. Both feature DuPont Q brand safener technology, which provides corn growers with the flexibility to confidently apply the new herbicides under more diverse weather conditions, across more hybrids, and with a wider range of adjuvants.

â–  Volta from Rotam North America, Inc. This sulfonylurea herbicide (thifensulfuron-methyl) postemergence broadleaf herbicide for corn and soybeans can be used in preplant burndown and postharvest applications. Thifensulfuron is the same active ingredient in Harmony. It offers environmental compatibility and selective postemergence weed control at low rate.

Also, Bayer CropScience is preparing to launch a new herbicide premix (thiencarbazone-methyl + isoxaflutole +cyprosulfamide) for preemergence weed control in corn. Market introduction is expected in the U.S. in 2009 pending regulatory approval. Two more herbicide active ingredients, tembotrione and pyrasulfotole, are scheduled for launch in the U.S. in the near future, and four new herbicides are in late-stage development, scheduled for market introduction between 2008 and 2012.

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