Progress Toward New Products Slows
My wife keeps telling me I should stop playing softball. She says I’m getting old. My answer, “And?” I went to play anyway, like any good warrior would and ran into an opponent I used to play against when I was younger. We briefly reacquainted ourselves, and then he asked, “So, what’s new with you?” I answered, “Not much.” That’s a pretty typical answer for a question like that maybe too typical.
Unfortunately, “not much” was the typical response from my contacts in the chemical industry this year when I asked if there was anything new. I remember Jim Barrett jealously complaining a few years ago that there were so many more new insecticides than PGRs. Well, maybe the tide is turning. In spite of the lack of new information, I do have a few things that you may be interested in, so I’ll get right to them.
Miticides
TetraSan 5WDG (etoxazole), Valent USA’s latest miticide, received a federal registration for nurseries, outdoors and landscapes this year to add to its greenhouse, and shade and lath house uses. In addition, the TetraSan label for greenhouses, shade and lath houses, and outdoor uses in California, was approved this last year.
Akari 5 SC (fenproximate) from SePRO is now federally registered for outdoor use. The supplemental label, which includes additional crops, new mite groups and mealybug suppression, should receive individual state approval before the end of the year. This supplemental will allow the sale of product that is currently labeled for indoor use only, to be used for field and nursery use.
In addition to the miticide Akari, SePRO has purchased the rights to Vendex (fenbutatin-oxide) miticide from Griffon LLC. There are no immediate plans to change the labeling of Vendex.
Last year, I mentioned a new product called Piton15SC (acequinocyl) from Arvesta Corporation (formerly Tomen Agro). Arvesta has decided on the name Shuttle for the product in the ornamental market. Shuttle is a mitochondrial electron transport inhibitor (METI) like Akari, but it has a different site of action than other electron transport inhibitors. At present, there are no indications of cross-resistance, but time will tell. Arvesta has been granted a federal registration for greenhouse and outdoor ornamentals and a California label for greenhouse use. A California label for outdoor use is pending.
I mentioned Forbid 4F (spiromesifen), a new translaminar miticide/insecticide being developed by Bayer Crop Science, in last year’s article. Product registration is expected in late 2005 or beginning 2006. It will be called Forbid in the landscape market, and Olympic Horticultural Products will market it as Judo (spiromesifen 45.2 percent) for the greenhouse and nursery. Judo is a new chemical class from the cyclic tectronic acids that interfere with lipid biosynthesis (LBI = lipid biosynthesis inhibitor). It is active against all stages of mites and whiteflies, including inactive stages such as egg and chrysalis. We’ve had good results against two-spotted spider mite on roses but have not gotten to our whitefly trials at this point. It’s good to have a new mode of action against mites and whiteflies.
INsecticides
The nicotinoids remain an exciting new chemistry to be utilized by the ornamental industry. One nicotinoid that I failed to mention last year was the active ingredient clothianidin from Arvesta. The proposed product name is Celero in the ornamental market, and it is presently formulated as a water-soluble granule. Like other nicotinoids, Celero is active primarily against homopteran insects (i.e., scales, mealybugs, aphids and whiteflies) and is versatile in application, being effective by means of seed treatments, root drench, planting hole application and foliar spray. We’ve just begun to use it here at University of California Riverside (UCR) as a drench and spray with glowing results against sharpshooters and aphids. Arvesta expects federal registration by the time this article is published and a California registration some time in early 2005.
Have you noticed that everything moves at break neck pace nowadays. The Internet has even brought news to our doorstep minutes after the occurrence of an event. Now with that in mind, doesn’t it beg the question, “Why isn’t government a little faster with its bureaucratic processes?” The DMV comes to mind. This is a quote from last year’s article concerning Tristar (acetamiprid) from Cleary, “ a bureaucratic error in the labeling of Tristar, and the REI for this product is currently 24 hours. All proper agencies are aware of the snafu and are working to correct the problem. It should have been and will be back to a 12-hour REI by the end of the year.” That was a year ago, back in November 2003, and Cleary is still waiting. I will reiterate here that they will probably have the label change by the end of this year.
Cleary also promises a Tristar label expansion to include numerous ornamental pests. In addition, there is a good possibility there will be new formulations including a soluble granule by late 2005. Right now, Tristar is marketed as a wetable powder in water-soluble packets (WSP formulation).
Safari 20SG (dinotefuran) is the name for Valent’s new nicotinoid. Valent is expecting a federal label for Safari any day now. In addition, a California label should follow soon afterward. Like other nicotinoids, Safari can be used to control homopterous insects like scale, aphid, mealybug and whiteflies but will also affect leafminers and lacebugs. We’ve used it as a spray and drench and have experienced very good results on everything we’ve tested, including aphids, mealybugs and sharpshooters.
One product I was unable to mention last year was Discus (imidacloprid 2.94-percent/cyfluthrin 0.7-percent, flowable) from Olympic, a product that will be registered for nursery use only. This should be quite an effective compound against ornamental pests. In tests here at UCR we’ve seen very good results against glassy-winged sharpshooters (leafhoppers), mealybugs and aphids on roses and mealybugs on azaleas. We plan on much more testing of this new product. California registration should occur before you read this article. In addition to Discus, Olympic is testing several new formulations of imidacloprid, the active ingredient in Marathon II.
Crompton/Uniroyal is expanding the Pedestal 10SC (novaluron) label to include outdoor ornamentals and mealybugs, and it is pending.
FMC has proposed the name Aria for the active ingredient flonicamid. Aria 50SG (flonicamid) is still in development but should receive federal registration in the next few months. It has been shown to work well on the homopterans, much like the nicotinoids. It is a new class of insecticide, a pyradine carboximide, and its mode of action is yet to be determined. It is translaminar and systemic and affects insects through ingestion. Watch for more about this compound in the future.
Talus IGR (buprofezin) from SePRO Corp. is a relatively new insecticide for control of immature stages of whitefly, scale, mealybug and leafhoppers. It is also a chitin synthesis inhibitor, so it affects the insect as it molts and should be a good fit for early use in ornamentals, especially for growers using beneficials early in their cropping cycle. Talus is now registered for greenhouse and outdoor ornamentals in all states except New York. SePRO expects registration in New York some time in 2005.
Olympic is developing a new formulation of Azatin XL (azadiractin 3 percent), a 4.5-percent formulation. It will be called Azatin XLT. Unfortunately, the REI will be 12 hours instead of four because different solvents are used in the formulation. It will be approved by the Organic Materials Review Institute, which should encourage organic gardeners and greenhouse herb growers. It will be available for purchase in 2005.
Finally
For those of you interested in the fate of Dimethoate, according to the EPA Web site, outdoor uses of Dimethoate are being supported by the registrants, and while use on ornamentals in other settings is no longer supported, outdoor ornamental production areas may remain on dimethoate labels. The REI may be prohibitive, though, up to seven days depending on use.
I hate to keep saying the same thing year after year, but some new numbered compounds are on the horizon. We just can’t talk about them right now. And the same is true that there are very few potentially new modes of action or active ingredients that I am aware of. There are a few new miticides in development; however, and no one will complain about that, I’m sure.
See Figure 1, page 34, for a summary of the products mentioned herein, and as always, check with your state and local agencies to make sure that the use of the products mentioned is OK in your area.
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