Fruiting vegetables and cucurbit programs are set to benefit from a new crop protection product that has recently been registered in Australia. The insecticide has been formulated to help growers fight against destructive and highly resistant pests found in vegetable crops, including silverleaf whitefly and aphids.

A new insecticide has been released to help control chewing and sucking pests that attack fruiting vegetables and cucurbits, while setting a new course for resistance management.

Newly registered by Syngenta, MINECTO® FORTE contains diafenthiuron (Group 12A) and cyantraniliprole (Group 28). This is a combination that quickly brings on insect pest paralysis, whether they are feeding or vectoring, to prevent any further crop damage. The inclusion of diafenthiuron is especially good news for those growers with resistant whitefly and aphid populations.

“These two complementary modes of action were carefully selected to provide control of pest species that overlap. The end result is a formulation with precisely the right amount of each active ingredient to deliver both robust control in field crops and a novel solution to resistant populations,” Syngenta Technical Services Lead Shaun Hood said.

Diafenthiuron is a new mode of action for the control of silverleaf whitefly and aphids in both fruiting vegetables and cucurbits. It works through inhibition of mitochondrial ATP synthesis, resulting in paralysis, primarily through direct contact following application. Meanwhile, the cyantraniliprole component works via ingestion. The active ingredient binds to the pest’s ryanodine receptor, causing the onset of paralysis and cessation of feeding.

“MINECTO FORTE has performed as we expected throughout trials, but it’s something you have to see for yourself to fully appreciate,” Dr Hood said.

“It’s a product that advisors and their clients can readily use to address a particular pest as soon as the threshold is triggered. That application will also go to work on overlapping insect pest species, while they are ticking along in the background.”

A new weapon

In both cucurbits and fruiting vegetables, this new insecticide includes control claims for melon aphid, green peach aphid, two-spotted mite, silverleaf whitefly, Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa punctigera, potato moth, cluster caterpillar and cucumber moth. It also delivers suppression of western flower thrips, tomato thrips and plague thrips.

The product should be applied early in the crop once pest action thresholds exceed what can effectively be controlled by natural predators. A maximum of two applications are permitted per crop – at least 28 days apart – observing a one-day withholding period at harvest for cucurbits and six days for fruiting vegetables.

“MINECTO FORTE has been a feature of our Bowen GrowMore site through April and May, so make sure you follow the results through the Syngenta website,” Dr Hood said.

Find out more

Please contact your local Syngenta Territory Manager, or phone the Syngenta Advice Line on 1800 067 108 or visit the Syngenta website.

This article first appeared in the winter 2020 edition of  Vegetables Australia. Click here to read the full publication.