HSE has issued an EAMU for the use of Certis’ insecticide Spruzit to control a wide range of biting and sucking insect pests on leafy brassicas.
The EAMU permits use on kale, collard and oriental cabbage grown outdoor, outdoor with temporary rain covers and under temporary plastic mulch to control mealy cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae), peach–potato aphid (Myzus persicae), small white butterfly (Pieris rapae), diamond-back moth (Plutella xylostella), silver-Y moth (Autographa gamma) and whitefly (Aleyrodes proletella).
Spruzit is based on natural pyrethrins at a low concentration of 4.59g/L with 825.3g/L of the formulation being rapeseed oil which has a physical mode of action on insect pests.
In the Brassica Growers Association justification for the EAMU technical director Andy Richardson explained that Spruzit is well-suited to IPM systems.
“While Spruzit contains natural pyrethrins and is therefore classified by IRAC as group 3A, the addition of rapeseed oil effectively gives two modes of action making it better suited to managing knockdown resistance than synthetic pyrethroids.
“Natural pyrethrins also break down very quickly – usually within 24 hours – allowing naturally occurring beneficial insect populations to rapidly re-build after application.”
Mr Richardson welcomes the EAMU which he says should go some way to fill the gap in chemical control options recently left by the loss of thiacloprid.
The EAMU permits a maximum of two treatments per crop per crop at a maximum individual dose of 6L/ha in a water volume of 600 L/ha.
Spray concentration must not exceed two percent and latest time of application is three days before harvest.
Buffer zones are 5m to non-crop land and 20m to any static or flowing waterbody.