CRD have issued an EAMU for the use of Bayer’s ketoenol insecticide Movento (spirotetramat) to control aphids on crops of carrot, parsnip, swede and turnip.
This comes just weeks after leading carrot agronomist Howard Hinds warned of potentially massive losses to carrot viruses this year and called for Movento’s urgent approval for the crop.
Following the typical build up of aphids during May, Howard applauds the regulator’s prompt action; “It’s just in time and now we stand a chance of controlling virus-spreading aphids in this year’s carrot crops, at least later into the summer.”
This EAMU relates to the use of Movento (M14446) for the control of parsnip aphid (Cavariella pastinacae), willow–parsnip aphid (Cavariella theobaldi), willow–carrot aphid (Cavariella aegopodii) and peach–potato aphid (Myzus persicae); the newly discovered vector of carrot viruses in recent AHDB-funded projects led by Fera’s Adrian Fox.
Maximum individual dose is 0.3 L/ha, two treatments per crop are permitted and the latest time of application is 8 weeks prior to harvest. Applications are to be made via hydraulic boom sprayers in a water volume of 200 to 600 litres per hectare.
Howard adds that Movento has been included in efficacy trials for control of willow-carrot aphid at Warwick Crop Centre. “This was firstly in the SCEPTRE project and more recently in FV 445 (2015). In both cases it was one of the most efficacious products tested, considerably reducing the numbers of young and wingless adult aphids compared with the untreated control. It also appeared to have persistence.”