A natural insecticide providing effective control of difficult pests in high-value crops like vegetables and top fruit has been launched by Dow AgroSciences.
Tracer is so novel that it has been put into a new insecticide class - Naturalyte (TM).
The active ingredient spinosad is naturally derived and based on the metabolites produced by the fermentation of soil-borne actinomycete bacterium.
As a natural product, Tracer's green credentials make it highly attractive to growers, retailers and the general public. But the natural tag does not mean reduced control. Tracer is proven to achieve high levels of pest control comparable to the market leading synthetic products, yet its safety and environmental profile is similar to the biological products.
"Tracer is being targeted at brassica, leek, onion, apple and pear growers in the UK," said Mark Tully, managing director of Landseer, the company marketing Tracer. "It controls tortrix and codling moths together with brassica caterpillars. Apart from lepidoptera Tracer is particularly effective against thrips, a pest that growers are finding increasingly difficult to control.
"We see Tracer as an integral part of IPM programmes with its unique mode of action. Specific resistance management strategies are outlined on the label and growers should follow IRAC principles such as rotation with other product classes, integration with cultural practices and optimal use of the product," explained Tully.
Tracer is applied on top fruit in the spring at a rate of 250 ml/ha, and on leeks and onions for thrips control at 200 ml/ha.
Manufacturer Dow AgroSciences has been developing the product since the discovery of the soil-borne actinomycete bacterium in 1982 at a disused rum factory in the Caribbean. The metabolite produced by the fermentation of the bacterium is Tracer's active ingredient spinosad, one of a new family of actives called spinosyns.
Spinosad is registered in 68 countries across the world, and used on over 200 crops. Work is ongoing to develop additional label uses in the UK, including cabbage root fly on brassicas, as well as thrips on salad onion, strawberry, and lettuce crops.
"Its mode of action is unique as it binds onto a novel site on the nerve endings of target insects. The result is an almost immediate cessation of eating, rapid paralysis and eventual death, often within hours," said Dow's insecticide product development manager Andy Leader.
"The main mode of action is through ingestion, though contact activity is strong if insects receive direct spray."
Tracer has a good beneficial insect profile, with very low toxicity on natural enemies like ladybirds, lacewings, spiders and thrips and mite predators amblyseius and phytoseiulus. The insecticide shows mainly surface movement on the plant, with some translaminar activity although it is not highly systemic. It breaks down through photo and microbial degradation to environmentally benign products and has a short soil half-life of 9-17 days.
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