Certis hosted a tomato conference at HRI Wellesbourne, and took the opportunity to introduce Oberon, its new insecticide for the dual control of spider mite and whitefly in tomato crops.
Certis’ Peter Hingley said the UK is the first country in Europe to gain registration for the new compound, developed by Bayer CropScience. It is based on a new active ingredient spiromesifen and is from a new chemical group called the ketonenoles.
“Offering a new defence, Oberon is a valuable extra tool for growers where a high degree of resistance to other chemical classes has been developed by spider mite and whitefly species,” he said. “It’s also shown in field and laboratory trials to be safe on beneficials, effectively re-addressing the balance between prey and predators after application, so is ideal for use in IPM systems, widely used in tomato production.”
There are three (early, mid or late season) application opportunities, but Certis emphasise a maximum of two applications is allowable each season, and should be alternated with other pesticide options. “Ideally opt for Oberon when both whitefly and spider mite are present,” said Mr Hingley. Control up to 34 days after treatment has been observed.
Pointing to a range of trials results, consistently superior control of whitefly and spider mite, with over 90 per cent control of whitefly larvae from two applications, was achieved. Oberon is active on all stages of the lifecycles, but is most active on the larval and juvenile stages.
While the registration for Oberon is initially restricted to tomatoes it is likely to be extended to other salad, vegetable and ornamental crops in future.
No comments yet