Prevathon® Controls Damaging Worms
Worm infestations can occur at any time from emergence to harvest, so growers should be prepared to monitor and control potential threats to protect crop quality and quantity every season.
Rising insect populations that can damage crop marketability and rob yields often catch growers off guard. Frequent, effective scouting and being prepared to control potentially damaging worms can mean the difference between harvesting a crippled crop and having a banner year.
The Lifecycle of Corn Pests
The potential for corn pests to have a big year is an ever-present threat. Dry, hot weather provides the perfect breeding ground for corn earworm, one of the most devastating corn pests. In its larval stage, this pest feeds on corn ears, hampering growth, hurting quality, and opening the door for secondary infections caused by mycotoxins and bacteria.
Adult female corn earworms can lay 450 to 3,000 eggs in a two-week lifespan and hatched larvae feed for 14 to 21 days. Due to this enormous feeding potential, cornfields should be scouted frequently from emergence to harvest for preventive corn earworm management.
The European corn borer feeds on corn plants at all stages of plant development, ultimately resulting in yield loss. Stalk tunneling during the vegetative stages of plant growth results in shorter plants with fewer, smaller leaves and eventually broken tassels and stalks. European corn borer also can feed on ear shanks during ear fill stages, encouraging stalk and shank breakage and causing ear drop.
High Cost of Infestation
The loss of yield and quality can be easily mitigated with timely application of insect control products as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) solution and newer options are available, says Lars Swanson, portfolio manager, DuPont Crop Protection.
“Growers looking for a long-lasting solution to a wide variety of corn pests can use DuPont™ Prevathon® insect control, powered by DuPont™ Rynaxypyr®, to get the job done effectively.”
"In addition to corn earworm and European corn borer, breakthrough worm control provided by Prevathon® also delivers excellent protection against beet armyworm, fall armyworm and western bean cutworm."
“A single Prevathon® application can protect crops from costly insect damage for as long as 21 days on treated foliage,” adds Swanson. “When you consider the marketability and yield lost to a pest like corn earworm, the return on investment for one Prevathon® application is well worth it.”
“Corn growers will benefit from increased flexibility when using Prevathon®, says Dan Sherrod, product development manager, DuPont Crop Protection. Field trials have demonstrated that Prevathon® provides outstanding labeled worm control in corn crops even under heavy pest pressure, resulting in quality crops that yield greater value at market.
IPM at Work
While these unrelenting pest pressures can dishearten growers already beleaguered by unpredictable weather conditions, IPM practices that incorporate products including Prevathon® can help overcome the challenge.
Prevathon® provides powerful, long-lasting residual activity for fewer seasonal applications, controlling the most challenging pests, and it has a favorable environmental profile. Replacing the multiple spray applications required by other insecticide programs with Prevathon® enhances grower profitability and is an important part of an effective IPM program.
“These pests can rapidly devastate an entire cotton field,” adds Sherrod. “One of the benefits of Prevathon® is its ability to stop pest feeding almost immediately after they feed on treated plants. Its unique mode of action ends the damage quickly, so crops are protected.”
Optimize Cotton Yields
Prevathon® also controls the entire cotton worm complex, regardless of seed variety and the demands of production. With Prevathon® applications in cotton fields, growers receive:
- Long-lasting residual control of cotton pests like beet armyworm, cotton bollworm, fall armyworm, saltmarsh caterpillar, southern armyworm, tobacco budworm, western yellowstriped armyworm, cabbage looper and soybean looper
- Better quality conventional cotton yields that compete with Bt varieties
- Enhanced yield on Bt cotton and control of strong worm pressure where oversprays are required
- Freedom to select cotton varieties that are best for their land and to secure optimum lint potential
- Better, longer-lasting protection from the entire worm complex with a wider window of application to help meet production demands
- Immediate cessation of insect feeding with 14 to 21 days of protection
- A short, four-hour re-entry period
- An alternate mode of action versus current standards to break the insect resistance cycle
Highly Effective Worm Control on a Variety of Crops
Prevathon® is also labeled for sugarcane and the full grass and non-grass animal feed crop groups. Grower benefits with Prevathon® use:
- Helps break the insect resistance cycle due to its alternate mode of action versus current standards
- Delivers long-lasting residual control of key worm species
Improve Sugarcane Output
- Excellent residual control of sugarcane borer while having minimal impact on beneficials
- Controls larvae as they enter stalk, reducing feeding damage, and keeps working more than 21 days for excellent crop protection
Optimize Alfalfa Yield and Pasture Quality
- Applications can be made right up to cutting – 0 days PHI
- Grazing and haying intervals are 0 days – livestock can re-enter and graze immediately after application
- Offers effective control of worm pests while having minimal impact on beneficials such as honeybees
The information provided on this website is for reference only. Always refer to the product labels for complete details and directions for use.