Published on 04/12/2020
Syngenta sales manager for South Canterbury and Southland, Nigel Goodwin, says one of the most common questions he gets asked is whether to add Pirimor when applying Minecto Star. Goodwin says it is a difficult question to answer over the phone since he cannot see how many aphids are present or the condition of the crop.
“It is important to know when the crop is going to be sprayed, because aphid numbers can increase rapidly from six to well over 100 aphids per plant in just a few days. If spraying is delayed for a couple of days, it can make a big difference to the end result.”
Some good rules of thumb can be used, however. In the case of Syngenta’s products, Pirimor is a fast-acting aphicide that is IPM compatible and has short-lived residual activity. It also has a fumigant action that helps control aphids that are not directly contacted by spray droplets.
Minecto Star is a combination insecticide with two IPM compatible active ingredients, cyantraniliprole and pymetrozine. Cyantraniliprole (which is also available as a solo product) offers excellent control of caterpillars and leafminer, but only suppression of aphids. Pymetrozine, on the other hand, is a selective, strong and systemic aphicide that offers up to 21 days residual control of aphids by rapidly preventing them from feeding. It literally starves them to death.
Minecto Star and Pirimor applied together offers the highest level of aphid control, in addition to controlling caterpillars and leafminer which are likely to be in the crop if aphids are present. “The beauty of Minecto Star and Pirimor is both products are IPM compatible, meaning they can be applied without harming beneficial insects such as ladybirds,” Nigel Goodwin says. “They provide ongoing control of aphids,and in many cases, one well-timed application of Minecto Star (and if required Pirimor) is enough for the whole season.”
He says the best advice he can give on the product to use is if the crop can be sprayed before pest numbers exceed six aphids per plant and the crop is relatively open, Minecto Star can be applied alone.
“If you can see more than 6-10 aphids per plant, aphid numbers are growing and the crop is dense, then you need to add Pirimor and apply it as soon as possible at full label rates.“
"You always need to add a wetting agent,because brassica leaves are hard-to-wet and aphids can produce a waxy coating when they are present in high numbers, and this makes coverage challenging.”
For more detail phone Nigel Goodwin, 021984 079