Australian cotton and vegetable growers are the first in the world with commercial access to a powerful new insecticide developed by BASF. New Efficon® Insecticide is powered by Axallion® active, an innovative mode of action with no cross-resistance to any of the insecticides already in use.

Efficon is effective against a range of piercing and sucking pests. Its world-first registrations here in Australia are to control:

• Silverleaf whiteflies and greenhouse whiteflies in cotton, cucurbit and fruiting vegetable crops.
• Green peach aphids and cabbage aphids in brassica and leafy vegetable crops.
• Cotton (or melon) aphids in cotton and cucurbit crops.

Whether you’re growing cotton or vegetables, Efficon will add extra flexibility and reliability to your IPM program. It is especially effective for whiteflies, controlling most life stages and quickly stopping feeding to minimise damage and rapidly control even heavy infestations.

That early feeding cessation means virus transmission will also be minimised when Efficon is used on aphids.

Efficon can be applied up to four times across the season, in two pairs of consecutive applications. Its wide application window allows Efficon to be sprayed during flowering and, with its 1-day withholding period, right up until harvest in all the registered vegetable crops.

Efficon is particularly useful at and after crop closure. Its systemic movement through the xylem will protect the whole plant, including ongoing new growth.

The new product’s unique mode of action will control pest populations with reduced sensitivity to older chemistry and, equally importantly, slow the development of resistance to other products you trust and rely on so they can stay in the rotation.

Efficon’s excellent safety profile makes it a strong option to complement beneficial insect releases as well.

“Adding Efficon to the rotation will really strengthen growers’ crop protection whether they’re targeting whitefiles or aphids,” said Serge Usatov, Horticulture Portfolio Manager at BASF Australia.

“We think users will be impressed by how quickly it can bring whitefly infestations under control through its activity on multiple life stages.

In brassicas, cucurbits and leafy vegetables, Efficon can be added to spray programs that already include Versys^® to maintain that benchmark level of aphid control.” Serge concluded.

For more information and resources about Efficon, visit crop-solutions.basf.com.au.