Sugarcane Aphid
Report
Yesterday EPA and TDA announced
that Transform was granted a Section 18 for use this growing season. Pat Porter
posted the following information on the Texas Sugarcane Aphid News website, http://txscan.blogspot.com/, regarding the Section 18 and the specific label
instructions. In particular, note the restriction that Transform cannot be
applied ≤ 3 days pre-bloom until after seed set.
Section 18 for
Transform (Sulfoxaflor) Granted on Sorghum
We have just received word from
Dale Scott, Texas Department of Agriculture, that EPA has granted a Section 18
request to allow the use of Transform (Sulfoxaflor) on Texas sorghum for
control of sugarcane aphid in 2016.
This is good news in that we now
have two very effective insecticides for use on sugarcane aphid (Transform and
Sivanto), and both preserve beneficial insects that have a major affect on
controlling aphid populations after initial insecticide application. We would
like to thank Dale Scott and the Texas Department of Agriculture for a lot of
hard work in getting this Section 18 request approved.
Texas Section 18
Transform WG Label Specifics
The Section 18 label for Transform
(Sulfoxaflor) use on sorghum to control sugarcane aphid has been released, and
the official version will be posted on the TDA website today or tomorrow. A
COPY OF THE LABEL MUST BE IN HAND WHEN APPLICATIONS ARE MADE. The Section 18
Emergency Exemption became effective on 8 April 2016 and expires on 8 April
2017.
Here are some specifics from
the Texas Section 18 Label.
• Rate range: 0.75 to 1.5 oz. per acre.
• Application by ground or air (no
chemigation).
• Wind speed not to exceed 10 mph.
• Droplet Size: Use only medium to coarse spray nozzles (i.e., with
median droplet size if 341 μm or greater) for ground and non-ULV
aerial application according to ASABE (S 572.1) definition for standard
nozzles. In conditions of low humidity and high temperatures, applicators
should use a coarser droplet size except where indicated for specific crops.
• Boom height for ground application: Not to exceed 4 feet.
• Carrier volume for ground application: A minimum of 5 to 10 gallons per acre - to be increased
with increasing crop size and/or pest density.
• Carrier volume for aerial application: A minimum of 3 gallons per acre, but a minimum of 5
gallons per acre is recommended.
Restrictions:
• Preharvest Interval: Do not apply within 14 days of grain or straw harvest
or within 7 days of grazing, or forage, fodder, or hay harvest.
• A restricted entry interval (REI) of 24
hours must be observed.
• Do not make more than two applications
per acre per year.
• Minimum Treatment Interval: Do not make applications less than 14 days apart.
• Do not apply more than a total of 3.0 oz
of Transform WG (0.09 lb ai of sulfoxaflor) per acre per year.
• Do not apply product ≤ 3 days pre-bloom
until after seed set.
Wheat Update
Basically, fields should be scouted for greenbugs, Russian
wheat aphids, and because of the dry condition scout for Brown wheat mites. If
infestations of greenbugs and Russian wheat aphids reach treatable levels,
chlorpyrifos insecticide products can still be applied this year. There may be some confusion because of EPA
proposal to revoke chlorpyrifos food residue tolerance back on October 30,
2015, https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/epa-proposes-revoke-chlorpyrifos-food-residue-tolerances.
The process is still on-going, but I found out in February from Dow
AgroSciences that EPA has not come to a final decision. Therefore, chlorpyrifos
is still being sold this year.
Dr. Charlie Rush, Texas
A&M AgriLife Research plant pathologist, has a project studying wheat viral
diseases. Part of the project involves monitoring the progression of the wheat
disease movement across fields over time. He mentioned to me that he would like
to be able to monitor the movement of the disease in producer fields. If you
have a field or as a consultant have a field that Dr. Rush could monitor,
please contact him at CRush@ag.tamu.edu or call at (806) 354-5804.
