Vegetables

Prevent pests with seedling drench
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Widely used by growers across New Zealand to protect leafy vegetables, brassica leafy vegetables and vegetable brassica crops, DURIVO® insecticide provides an excellent alternative to repeated applications of foliar insecticides, particularly early in the crop growth cycle when numerous insect pests try to become established on growing seedlings.

DURIVO® is applied as a pre-planting drench to vegetable seedling trays 12 to 24 hours prior to transplanting, and effectively controls white butterfly, diamondback moth, aphids, greenhouse whitefly and onion thrips. The insecticide can provide season-long control of aphids and control of white cabbage butterfly and diamondback moth caterpillars for four to six weeks.

Raeleen Watherston, Syngenta New Zealand Customer Marketing Lead, says the two powerful active ingredients (thiamethoxam and chlorantraniliprole, Group 4A and Group 28 respectively) in DURIVO® are taken up by the roots and rapidly translocated through the plant to give long lasting and rainfast insect control. 

“This reduces the need for early foliar insecticide applications, saving time and money,” says Raeleen.

“This also makes DURIVO® compatible with integrated pest management programmes because there is no risk to beneficial insects being exposed as they don’t feed on plants the way sucking and chewing pest pests do. Growers know their crops are protected during the critical establishment phase.”

Raeleen notes that poor application techniques can lead to a shorter period of pest control in the field. “It’s recommended to use dedicated nursery spray equipment such as a calibrated hydraulic boom, rather than watering cans, handguns or sprinklers where application may be uneven or generate undesirable run-off.”

DURIVO® best use recommendations 

  • Apply to leafy vegetables and brassica leafy vegetables at 15 mL per 1,000 seedlings, while vegetable brassicas require a rate of 25 mL per 1,000 seedlings.
  • Use correctly calibrated equipment to apply as a seedling tray drench and ensure DURIVO® is washed into the root ball.
  • If seedlings require watering following the DURIVO® application, take care to avoid leaching the insecticide from the tray cells as this will reduce the duration of pest control.  
  • The pre-harvest interval for DURIVO® on leafy vegetables and brassica leafy vegetables is 18 days, and 56 days for vegetable brassicas, enabling growers to use DURIVO® as a seedling tray drench on shorter rotation crops.
  • For resistance management against diamondback moth, do not follow a DURIVO® application with another Group 28 product on that crop.

For more information about using DURIVO® to protect your vegetable crops, download the Technote or contact your local Syngenta Territory Sales Manager.