Restricting new chemicals, increasing pest resistance and restoring corn rootworm stress are just some of the factors that make 2020 a very demanding year for insect management, and these factors are likely to continue to exist in 2021.
As growers and retailers deal with these challenges, Sam Knott, Atticus LLC’s central US crop supervisor, observes that they respond less to reactive and second insecticides, while the planned approach is More.
Knott said: “When the characteristics and chemicals can be combined to give growers more bulletproof plans into 2021,” he added that he has seen more and more use of in-ditch insecticides. Prevent secondary pests such as nematodes and rub.
Nessler also found that due to a variety of factors, the demand for generic drugs (including pyrethroids, bifenthrin and imidacloprid) is increasing.
“I think the level of education of growers is unprecedented. Many progressive growers understand AI’s active ingredients or combinations better than ever. They are seeking quality products from reliable suppliers whose prices can be better satisfied. Their needs, and this is precisely where generic drugs can truly meet their needs and retailers’ needs for differentiation and providing quality products.”
When growers carefully checked their inputs, Nick Fassler, manager of BASF’s technical marketing department, encouraged a comprehensive survey of pest populations to determine whether the economic threshold was met. For example, for aphids, there are 250 aphids per plant on average, and more than 80% of the plants are infected.
He said: “If you conduct regular investigations and the population stabilizes, maintains, or declines, you may not be able to justify the application.” “However, if you (reach the economic threshold) are considering potential production losses. Today, We don’t have much “go all out” thinking, but it’s actually evaluating measures to protect the revenue potential. Those additional investigative trips can indeed bring rewards.”
Among the new insecticide products launched in 2021, BASF’s Renestra is Fastac, a premix of pyrethroids, and its new active ingredient Sefina Inscalis is effective against aphids. Fassler said the combination provides growers with a solution that can be used to control multiple pests and soybean aphids that are resistant to traditional chemicals. This product is aimed at growers in the Midwest, where there is a need to tackle soybean aphids, Japanese beetles and other chewing pests.
In the past few years, the decline in traits, especially for corn growers, has escalated, largely due to the perception that corn rootworms have been reduced as a threat. But the growing pressure on corn rootworms in 2020 may cause growers and retailers to reconsider their plans for next year.
“For the growers, this is a double blow. They switch from the pyramid to a single mode of action, and then this huge pressure rises (causing a lot of losses). I think 2020 will fall because people are The awareness of corn retention, pruning, yield loss and harvest challenges will greatly increase,” Meade McDonald, head of North American product marketing for Syngenta pesticides, told CropLife® magazine.
Of the four commercial traits that can be used to combat underground corn rootworms today, all four are field resistant. Jim Lappin, director of SIMPAS’s portfolio and alliance AMVAC, pointed out that approximately 70% of corn planted has only one underground characteristic, adding to the pressure on that characteristic.
Lappin said: “This does not mean that they will fail every time, but it means that people are paying more and more attention to the same performance as before.”
BASF’s Fassler urges growers to exercise caution when considering price cuts, because once root damage begins, it is almost impossible to remedy it within the crop.
“Talking to local agronomists and seed partners will be the best way to understand the pest pressures that exist and which inherent populations exist in the corn-soybean rotation to prove where you need to place traits and where you can trade Has declined,” Fassler suggested. “Hiding corn is not an interesting thing, it is not something we want anyone to experience. Before making this choice (to reduce the price), please make sure you already know the trade-offs.”
Dr. Nick Seiter, a field crop entomologist at the University of Illinois, suggested: “For corn fields that cause higher damage to corn rootworms in 2020, the best way is to convert them to soybeans in 2021.” It will not eliminate the emergence from the field. Potentially resistant beetles-especially in areas where rotational resistance is a problem-the larvae that hatch in soybean fields next spring will die. “From the point of view of resistance management, the worst thing is that after observing the accidental damage to the field in the previous year, continuous corn planting with the same traits.”
Seiter explained that measuring rootworm damage in the field is critical to assess whether the inhabited rootworm population may be resistant to a specific combination of Bt traits. For reference, a grade of 0.5 (half of a node is trimmed) is considered to have unexpected damage to the pyramidal Bt corn plant, which may be evidence of resistance. He added, remember to consider mixed shelters.
FMC Corp.’s regional technical manager Gail Stratman said that improving the viability of corn rootworms against Bt traits is prompting growers to step back and consider more diversified methods.
“I can’t just rely on Bt traits to meet my needs; I will have to consider the entire insect dynamics that I need to manage,” Stratman said, for example, combined with a spray program to knock down adult rootworm beetles and Manage the spawning population. He said: “This approach is now being discussed more widely.” “From the highlands of Kansas and Nebraska to Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and beyond, we have been watching To the corn rootworm problem.”
Ethos XB (AI: Bifenthrin + Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain D747) from FMC and Capture LFR (AI: Bifenthrin) are two products of its furrow pesticides. Stratman mentioned its Steward EC insecticide as an emerging product because it is effective against adult corn rootworm beetles and many lepidopteran pests, while having minimal impact on beneficial insects.
New insecticides launched by FMC include Vantacor, a highly concentrated formulation of Rynaxypyr. The other is Elevest, also supported by Rynaxypyr, but with the full proportion of bifenthrin added to the formula. Elevest enhances selective activity against lepidopteran pests and enhances the range of activities of more than 40 insects, including bed bugs and plant insects that plague southern crops.
The profitability of growers determines the annual crop structure in many regions. Strahman said that because corn prices have been rising recently, growers are likely to see an increase in insects that prefer corn, while corn-to-corn plantings continue to increase. “This may be important information for you to move forward in 2021. Recall what you saw in the previous two years, pay attention to how trends affect the farm and make corresponding management decisions.”
For WinField United agronomist Andrew Schmidt, cutworms and silk insects like his beetles and corn rootworm beetles pose the greatest threat in his Missouri and eastern Kansas regions. Missouri has very few corn plantations, so rootworm problems are not widespread. In the past two to three years, pod feeders (especially bed bugs) have been particularly problematic in soybeans, so his team has been emphasizing scouting during critical growth stages and pod filling.
Tundra Supreme comes from WinField United and is one of the main products recommended by Schmidt. This product has a dual mode of action (AI: bifenthrin + poisoning rif), and can prevent and residual control Japanese beetles, bed bugs, bean leaf beetles, red Spiders and many corn and soybean insects.
Schmidt also emphasized the company’s MasterLock additives as a partner for barrel-mix products to achieve good spray coverage and deposition.
“Many of the insects we are spraying are R3 to R4 soybeans in the dense canopy. MasterLock with surfactants and deposition aids can help us bring insecticides into the canopy. No matter which insecticide we use, We all recommend using it in this application to help control the insect and get a better return on investment.”
An extensive survey of agricultural retailers conducted by AMVAC in September showed that corn rootworm pressure on the entire corn crops in the Midwest and Northwest Midwest will increase by 2020, indicating that more corn soils will be used in 2021. Insect repellent.
The agricultural retailer conducted a survey in online and telephone interviews and compared the rootworm pressure in 2020 with the pressure in 2012. Since then, from 2013 to 2015, the use of soil pesticides has increased by three season.
The escape of weeds in the 2020 season will increase, providing more food sources and habitats for spawning sites.
Lappin pointed out: “This year’s weed control will have an impact on insect pressure next year.” Combined with higher corn prices and other factors, it is expected that colder winters will increase the survival rate of eggs and increase the resistance to Bt traits, which highlights the next Potential for more use of corn pesticides this season.
“The threshold for corn rootworm treatment of corn is an average of one female beetle per plant. Assuming there are 32,000 plants per acre, even if only 5% of these beetles lay eggs and these eggs can survive, you are still talking about thousands per acre Strain.” Lappin said.
AMVAC’s corn soil pesticides include Aztec, its leading corn rootworm brand and Index, its liquid alternative corn rootworm pellet product alternatives, as well as Force 10G, Counter 20G and SmartChoice HC — all of which can be combined with SmartBox+ Use and use with SmartCartridges. The SIMPAS closed application system will be fully promoted in the corn market in 2021.
AMVAC corn, soybeans and sugar beet market manager Nathaniel Quinn (Nathaniel Quinn) said: “Many growers find that they want to increase the level of control of what they consider to be the best crop harvest.” The ability to apply pesticides in different ways would be beneficial, and AMVAC provides these options. When considering normative applications, SIMPAS enables growers to provide the best combination of traits, pesticides, and other products for Reaching yield potential provides the level of control required.” He added: “There is more work to be done, but the technology we are developing is driving this progress.”
Jackie Pucci is a senior contributor for CropLife, PrecisionAg Professional and AgriBusiness Global magazines. View all author stories here.