Apr 4, 2022

How to Mitigate Resistance

Corey Fisher

Defend Your Orchards With Delegate® WG Insecticide

{Sponsored} While the risk of insecticide resistance is a growing concern in orchards, informed management decisions can help you reduce that risk and protect your fruit crop.

Often, the more effective a class of chemistry is, the more often it is used to control insect pests. Unfortunately, frequent use of a singular mode of action can increase the potential for resistance development.

The recipe for long-term pest control success includes Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices, including monitoring pest activity, field scouting, and spraying only when pest counts reach economic or defoliation thresholds. It is also crucial to rotate modes of action and ensure that you are employing the most effective solution for your pest challenge.

Rotating three different insecticides does not necessarily equate to rotating three modes of action. Pay attention to IRAC group numbers, read the product label, and find that number to be sure you are rotating to a different mode of action.

“It is relatively easy to think you are rotating to a different mode of action, when you are instead rotating to another product within the same chemistry group,” says Corey Fisher, sales representative with Nutrien Ag Solutions in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Fisher also stresses the importance of timing insecticide applications for the control of codling moth. “Degree-day data can help pinpoint moth flights and better identify the most effective spray timing,” he says.

“We generally recommend two sprays for codling moth, one early and one in mid- to late-season,” Fisher says. “In this window, get a rotation of Delegate and Voliam Flexi insecticide started.”

An IRAC Group 5 insecticide, Delegate® WG insecticide with Jemelva™ active (spinetoram), offers a distinct mode of action found nowhere else in the market.

Delegate promises quick, lasting control of troublesome pests, such as codling moth, armyworms, leafrollers, thrips and leafminers, with minimal impact on beneficial insects.

While entomologists generally recommended using individual selective herbicides when primarily targeting one pest, there are times when a tank mix is called for.

If tank mixes are in the plan, try to ensure that each product in the mix breaks down at approximately equal rates of time. Tank mixes also work best when pests are susceptible to each mode of action included and no cross resistance is present.

“Don’t wait until field failures become obvious because, at that point, you may already have resistant species in that field,” Fisher says.

To learn how the distinct mode of action in Delegate can help control fruit pests while also minimizing resistance development, visit DelegateWG.Corteva.US.

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