MRLs for Bayer’s Sivanto™ prime insecticide established in Canada, Mexico and Japan

Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for flupyradifurone, the active ingredient in Sivanto™ prime insecticide from Bayer, have been established, effective immediately, in Canada, Mexico and Japan. The MRLs have been established across key crops, including vegetables, citrus, melons and blueberries. With these regulatory bodies’ approval, Sivanto is now trade-enabled within the NAFTA region and Japan.

“With these MRLs in place and harmonized with the U.S. tolerances, growers who export their produce to Canada, Mexico and Japan can now include Sivanto prime in their pest management programs,” says Frank Rittemann, Sivanto prime product manager for Bayer. “Sivanto prime is a key component of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that gives growers a much needed option to protect crops against a broad spectrum of damaging pests – especially those that are exhibiting resistance to other insecticides.”

Sivanto prime is the first member of a new chemical class of insecticides (the Butenolides, a newly created IRAC subgroup 4D) and has shown excellent control of neonicotinoid-resistant aphids and whiteflies in U.S. field trials. It precisely targets key damaging pests at multiple life stages with minimal impact on beneficial insects and predatory mites when used as directed.

“Thanks to its strong feeding cessation characteristics, Sivanto prime helps prevent direct feeding damage to plants, which helps minimize diseases vectored by insect carriers,” Rittemann says. “In high-value crops, quality is often just as important as yield when it comes to marketability, if not even more.”

Enabling global trade is of key importance to Bayer. The company is pursuing additional MRLs for Sivanto prime in Australia, EU, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea, where similar MRLs are expected to be established within the next 2 years.