Top Crop Manager

Features Insecticides Seed & Chemical
Midwestern farmers have new in-furrow pesticide

With positive 2016 field results, the Environmental Protection Agency has approved registration for a new product for turf, as well as other possible applications.

The abamectin-based nematicide product, code-named “VCP-11” is approved for use on turfgrass including greens, tees and fairways. VCP-11 uses Vive’s proprietary delivery system (Allosperse) to help the nematicide penetrate the thatch and control parasitic nematodes below the soil surface. In field trials conducted in Florida, Louisiana, and Australia, VCP-11 increased turf quality over leading competitors.

VCP-11 will be available for turf application this year, and is being tested in crops that are also susceptible to nematodes such as soybeans and potatoes in 2017.

Field results
The field results from 2016 show Vive’s products are delivering on their promises. “Corn yields in 2015 and 2016 saw an average increase of over six bushels per acre. About 80 percent of the 24 fields in the program had a yield bump with in-furrow AZteroid FC application,” says Darren Anderson, co-founder of Vive Crop Protection. Several growers were also able to skip expensive applications at tassel due to reduced disease pressure and increased plant health.

“The Allosperse delivery system in AZteroid FC is the key; it allows the fungicide to be compatible with salty liquid fertilizers. Most in-furrow pesticides are not compatible with starter fertilizers and can separate in the tank or plug the application equipment. Allosperse has solved this problem,” says Anderson.

The tank mix has a one-pass application, it survives delays due to weather and doesn’t require special equipment. 

The first two products developed by Vive using the Allosperse technology are the fungicide AZteroid FC and the insecticide Bifender FC. Both mix uniformly with liquid fertilizers to be applied at planting. Both are approved for key crops in the U.S. Midwest including corn, soybeans and potatoes. AZteroid FC is also approved for use on sugar beet, cotton and peanut crops.

 “For sugar beets, control of Rhizoctonia is a key issue. The best solution is azoxystrobin in-furrow with a starter fertilizer – which is what we offer with AZteroid FC. In a sugar beet trial conducted at North Dakota State University, when AZteroid FC was applied with starter fertilizer, crops out-yielded fungicide seed treatment by 1.5 tons per acre. AZteroid FC in-furrow, on top of seed treatment with an early-season banded application, out-yielded seed treatment alone by 4.5 tons per acre,” says Anderson.

AZteroid FC in seven potato trials saw increases of 24 cwt/acre on average.

March 21, 2017  By Top Crop Manager


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