Successful new generation synthetic pyrethroid Mavrik (Group 3 insecticide) has been joined by Mavrik Duo (Group 1 and Group 3 insecticides), which will be available from mid-August.

Both insecticide products are registered for use in cereals, arable and fruit and vegetable crops.

Adama commercial manager Daren Mabey says Mavrik, which contains the active ingredient tau-fluvalinate, continues to be the only SP that is safe to most of the key beneficials in agricultural crops.

He says consistent Mavrik sales growth has been supported by increasing awareness of the importance of bees and beneficials to farm management programmes.

“For flowering crops, where pollination is vital, Mavrik is the obvious choice. There’s so much confidence in bee safety that taufluvalinate is used by beekeepers for varroa mite control. Even though it can be applied during flowering periods, spray should never be applied when bees are actively foraging. Early morning or in the evening is best when bees are in their hives.”

Although NZ’s honey bee population continues to grow, Daren Mabey says sensitivities to damage are acute.

“No beekeeper is going to back you if you’re using sprays that have the potential to damage their colonies.”

Mavrik affects the nervous systems of susceptible insects after direct contact or ingestion. It also has a repellant effect. Aphids tend not to enter sprayed crops while they can detect the chemical.

Launching this season, Mavrik Duo combines Mavrik with pirimicarb, providing fast, solid knockdown.

The product works through direct contact and ingestion, and through fumigant action when sprayed at temperatures over 15 degrees.

Mavrik Duo is also translaminar, penetrating through to the underside of leaves, which Mabey says makes it particularly effective on crops with a larger canopy, such as oil seed rape.

“In spring, when there’s a bit of a canopy there, that’s when Mavrik Duo really comes into its own.”

He says while the use of Mavrik and pirimicarb has been around for some years combining both saves time and hassles.

“There is no need to tank mix and apply two products. It can all be done in one hit.”

Pest populations may build up very quickly as the weather warms coming into spring.

Mabey says the impact of aphids, particularly on wheat and barley yields, is often seriously underestimated.

This is often due to the fact that aphids transmit yield limiting viruses, such as barley yellow dwarf virus in cereals.

“One of the most interesting things to come out of industry trials is that it doesn’t take many aphids to have an effect. You can lose a tonne of cereal a hectare just like that – you really need to be on your game.”

He would like to see more farmers monitoring crops themselves, rather than leaving it to agronomists or consultants.

“As soon as they start to detect aphids in their crops, that’s the time to spray. If they don’t, they could be in trouble. Monitoring is obviously the best way to see what’s going on.”

While prevention, or early detection, are the best strategies, Daren also recommends Mavrik Duo for those ‘oh bugger’ moments, when unexpected population explosions occur.

An instant knockdown and a strong residual effect is exactly what’s needed in these situations.

For more detail phone Adama.