Published on 22/06/2021
Nufarm territory manager Jeff Hurst says after six years of sales, Kaiso 50WG insecticide continues making real inroads into this market, and he’s expecting more growth this coming year.
One of the aphicide’s biggest points of difference – and also a big selling point – is its user-friendly granular formulation, developed by Nufarm. Non-flammable and easy to mix and store, with no dust, and no splashing, Kaiso looks like a wettable granule but once added to water, behaves like an emulsion concentrate, with fast knock down and repellent action.
The novel formulation also provides some other benefits that have proved popular with end-users. Kaiso does not have to be tracked, but like all other formulations it must be applied by a qualified person, Hurst says. This ease of use and handling, combined with efficacy in the field, have won positive market response and helped escalate Kaiso’s uptake.
A Plant & Food Research trial commissioned by Nufarm compared its persistence against cereal aphids with the industry standard, which contains the same active ingredient, lambda-cyhalothrin. Jeff Hurst says the trial used the same methodology as that used for similar Foundation for Arable Research trials, and the results were in line with Nufarm expectations: “Both products showed the same length of activity against aphids.”
To find out exactly how long it persists in killing aphids after application, researchers first drilled plots of cereals, then dug up two seedlings out of each plot, re-planted them in pots, and buried the pots back in the ground. “Aphids are really hard to count and sensitive to handling, because they are so small!” Hurst points out. “This way it’s easier.”
Ten aphids were put on each of the potted plants; the two insecticides were then applied at maximum label rates, then researchers came back three times a week and counted the number of aphids present on each potted plant. “Every time the number of aphids dropped below five per plant, they added 10 more aphids. And they kept repeating this process until they stopped seeing any effect of the insecticide on the aphid population. From that they could calculate the number of days for which the insecticide was effective.”
BYDV is a challenging disease for which farmers typically have to use a lot of different management tools, including seed coating at the start of the crop’s life as well as aphicides to control the main vector of the disease, he says. “It’s good to be able to give them the confidence to introduce a new and effective tool if they choose to.” Jeff Hurst says it has found a good fit in other crops as well, including forage brassicas, fodder beet and maize, where it is registered for control of cutworm.
For more detail phone your Nufarm territory manager.