And this season is no exception, according to Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont.
 

“We’re continuing to see strong support for both Sparta and Transform as more and more farmers move towards softer, IPM-compatible crop inputs,” says Corteva Agriscience’s NZ marketing manager Glen Surgenor.
 

“It’s great to be able to walk into crops that have been treated with these products to see the beneficial insects still working.”
 

Sparta (spinetoram) controls diamond back moth and white butterfly caterpillars, looper caterpillars, leaf miner and springtails in forage brassicas.
 

It is also used in a wide range of other horticultural crops.
 

Transform (with Isoclast active) controls aphids in forage brassicas and cereals, as well as vegetable crops.
 

Surgenor says producers have welcomed the opportunity to use alternatives to older, more harmful chemistry such as synthetic pyrethroids (SPs) and organophosphates (OPs).
 

“This is game changing crop protection technology, both in terms of the environment and user safety.”
 

Sparta contains the active ingredient spinetoram (Group 5), which is based on a naturally occurring active ingredient that poses minimal risk to people, animals and the environment.
 

Its unique chemistry provides powerful control of diamondback moth and white butterfly that out performs current market standards, Surgenor says.
 

It is also very effective at controlling other pests, such as leaf miner.
 

Users appreciate its speed and efficacy of kill, lack of smell, low tox profile and low application rates.
 

In addition, Sparta’s unique mode of action mean OP and SP resistant insects will be effectively controlled.
 

Transform meantime features a novel active called Isoclast (Group 4C) which took the company 10 years and $270 million of R&D investment to create.
 

“There are other options out there, but Transform provides best in class aphid control, with a different mode of action, high end user safety and low environmental risk.”
 

Isoclast belongs to a unique insecticide group known as the sulfoximines which do not have cross resistance to any other insecticide group, making Transform an ideal rotation partner for insecticides with alternate modes of action in resistance management programmes.
 

Key points of difference include Transform’s ability to provide longer residual control than some of the alternatives, Surgenor says.
 

“Under UV light it doesn’t volatalise and disappear. It is systemic, moving through the plant and protecting new growth, and it also creates a reservoir in the leaf which resists wash-off, so farmers end up with up to three weeks control.”
 

Aphids sprayed with Transform stop feeding within 20 minutes, which is also a notable attribute, given their tendency to act as vectors for disease.
 

“This helps stop the spread of virus. For cereal growers, it’s become an invaluable tool to achieve reliable control of Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) using fewer spray applications and without comprising IPM programmes.”
 

Both Sparta and Transform are registered for aerial as well as ground application, which is a major benefit as forage brassicas are often grown where ground based application is not possible.
 

They can also be combined when both aphid and caterpillars are an issue in crops.
 

For more detail talk to your Corteva Agriscience territory manager.