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Queensland strawberry growers face cost increase following dimethoate suspension Success™ NEO emerges as preferred optionAustralia - May 01, 2012
Some Queensland strawberry growers selling fruit into Victoria face an increase in growing costs this year due to a new interstate agreement that requires them to introduce integrated pest management procedures. The agreement (ICA 34) regulates the pest management practices used by growers in south east Queensland. Its introduction in January follows the decision of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to suspend the use of dimethoate, an insecticide which targets fruit fly on certain horticultural crops. "Strawberry growers were not big fans of dimethoate to start with as it kills the predatory mites which control two-spotted mite and can affect the taste of the fruit, but it was certainly a cheaper alternative to the current regulations," explained Eddy Dunn, a consultant with Hortus Technical Services who works with a range of growers within a 100 km radius of Bundaberg. "One spray of dimethoate costs around $30 per hectare, whereas now, strawberry growers in regions affected by ICA 34 need to comply with a wider range of measures to protect from fruit fly. These measures range from the installation of fruit fly cups at distances of 20 metres to perimeter bait spraying and regular external inspections." In addition to the cost increase, strawberry growers have had to find an alternative to dimethoate. The growers Eddy works with have largely chosen Success™ NEO from Dow AgroSciences as a preferred option. The active ingredient in Success NEO, spinetoram, was named as an acceptable alternative to dimethoate for fruit fly management in strawberries. "Success NEO has a proven track record. It helped protect strawberry crops from an outbreak of western flower thrip last season, which threatened at least 50 per cent of the 2.5 million plants in Bundaberg," explained Eddy. He noted that the pest outbreak was not surprising given the late dry spell, which provided the ideal climate for the western flower thrip to thrive. "Western flower thrip causes shrivelling of the fruit along with scarring and blemishing. We put three sprays of Success NEO over all of the plants, including those not yet affected. We sprayed in fairly close succession to kill the adults and break the pest cycle by ensuring newly hatched pests didn't have time to lay more eggs. I estimate we managed to eradicate at least half of the active pests, saving 500,000 of the one million affected plants, which is a great outcome given how difficult western flower thrip is to eradicate," said Eddy. Success NEO provides safety for beneficial insects and predatory mites, added Eddy. "It's softer than other available alternatives and won't kill predatory mites which are actually a useful arthropod to have as they eat two-spotted mites which can cause damage to the plants and fruit," he said. "This makes it a much better product than dimethoate, which killed everything in its path." The active ingredient in Success NEO, spinetoram, is at least twice as effective as spinosad, the active ingredient in Success2, the product which Success NEO replaced in June 2011. Success NEO is extremely effective against key chewing caterpillar insects and western flower thrip and only has half the active ingredient loading (120 g ai/L spinetoram) when compared with that of Success2, which contained 240 g ai/L spinosad. So while the rates for control remain the same at 200 mL/ha, less active ingredient is required to do the job, meaning less finds its way into the food chain and environment. Success NEO features improved photo stability, meaning that it won't break down easily in sunlight. This increases its residual effectiveness and makes it ideal for use in warmer, sunnier climates such as Bundaberg. The harvest withholding period is three days for most fruit and vegetables and one day for celery and tomatoes. "I have used Success NEO successfully in other crops too, including capsicums, watermelons and tomatoes. Its efficacy, particularly against western flower thrip, is notable, making it one of the preferred treatments I recommend in my consultations with growers across the region," said Eddy. For Editorial Information:
John Gilmour
Sharyn Casey |
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