Robust insecticide released for key pulse crops
DuPont™ Altacor® insecticide has been registered for use in Chickpeas, Mung beans and Soybeans to
provide a robust and superior pest control option for growers of those pulse crops.
Altacor® has been used successfully in Cotton over a number of seasons and has now been
introduced into these pulse crops to control a range of chewing pests.
DuPont Crop Protection Australia Product Development Manager, Geoff Cornwell, said Altacor® had
a number of advantages over existing products and had excelled in trials leading up to its release.
“It has a wide range of technical advantages,” Mr Cornwell said.
Key target pests for Altacor® in all three crops are the Cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and
Native budworm (Helicoverpa punctigera) but the insecticide also controls other key chewing
insects.
“For Mung beans another pest registered is the Bean podborer (Maruca vitrata),” Mr Cornwell said.
“It is specific to Mung beans in Australia and quite a difficult pest to control as it feeds on flowers
and pods. You need a robust product for good control.”
Trials conducted in the lead-up to commercialisation into these pulse crops compared Altacor® and
the current DuPont™ Steward® insecticide which is acknowledged as a benchmark product in the
industry.
“We have done numerous trials comparing Altacor® and Steward® and Altacor® is equal to, or
slightly better, in all three crops,” Mr Cornwell said.
A key to the success of Altacor® is its residual and translaminar activity which allows the insecticide
to achieve robust control of the pests over time.
Mr Cornwell said in crops such as Mung beans, the young heliothis grubs tended to attack the buds
and flowers first. He said the grubs were often hidden in flowers and continued to feed as the young
pods developed. “They are quite difficult to target in the flowers which makes some existing
products quite variable in their performance. Altacor® on the other hand with its insecticidal
potency, residual activity and ability to move within the plant, is a most effective tool in these
situations.”
Altacor® has also demonstrated excellent performance across a wide range of larval stages which is
particularly important in crops where agronomists and farmers monitor and wait for a threshold to
be reached before an insecticide is applied.
“In a crop such as Chickpeas, the small larvae graze on the leaves initially then move into the pods as
they grow larger.” Mr Cornwell said.
“Altacor® is robust across a range of larval stages.”
Grubs rapidly stop feeding after exposure to Altacor®, reducing damage early, but actual death in
the field will occur over a three to five day timeframe. Agronomists need to be aware of this feature
when checking Altacor® sprayed crops.
Mr Cornwell highlighted the fact that Altacor® demonstrated excellent residual control and
continued to protect the crops for longer into the season.
“We are getting two or three weeks control in Chickpeas and similar control in Mung beans.”
Altacor® is a targeted insecticide and will control the chewing pests while leaving many of the key
beneficial insects in the crop.
“Beneficial insects can be very important in crops such as Soybeans and Mung beans,” Mr Cornwell
said. “A product such as Altacor® leaves the beneficials behind and helps to manage other pests
such as whitefly.”
In the case of Mung bean and Soybean, Altacor® controls the heliothis and looper complex but will
not affect predatory wasps and other beneficial insects.
ENDS
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