Cherry tomato growers have been given a boost with the news that the insecticide Oberon has been handed label approval for use on the crop.
The product is already registered for all other tomato types as well as protected salad crops cucumbers, peppers, aubergines and gherkins. It contains spiromesifen and is regarded as an effective control of both the Bemisia and Trialeurodes species of whitefly.
Certis' technical officer Alan Horgan said that Oberon can be integrated with biologicals to deliver high levels of whitefly control and also provides incidental control of spider mite. "The active ingredient spiromesifen is from new chemistry and there is no cross-resistance with other products. The three-day harvest interval is also a key benefit," he added.
According to Certis, Oberon has no impact on Encarsia or bee populations, while the predator to prey ratio of Phytoseiulus to spider mite is maintained.
The company also pointed out that the label approval of Oberon on tomatoes only specifies whitefly control, but the SOLA for peppers and cayenne pepper covers both whitefly and spidermite, including the hypertoxic strain.
