AgroPages-Brazil: Emamectin benzoate should not be used against helicoverpa next season‏-Agricultural news

Brazilian farmers should not use emamectin benzoate in the next crop season to fight helicoverpa armigera. The information came during the Second National Meeting on Agrochemical Research, held in Paraná, Brazil with 100 companies from 15 Brazilian states, and the enforcement agents.

"There is no need of emergency imports at this moment. What we need is the monitoring and controlling the application of products at the lowest necessary dose," said Júlio Sérgio de Britto, General Coordinator of Agrochemicals of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply(MAPA). MAPA only releases emamectin benzoate imports in cases of phytosanitary emergency, and then only two Brazilian states used the product at this crop season (Mato Grosso and Bahia).

The Brazilian Company of Agricultural Research (Embrapa) states that the insecticide "can be one more option to control the helicoverpa armigera. However, it is necessary to consider that there are at least 24 other products registered at the Ministry of Agriculture to control this plague".

According to Britto, there are about 40 technical products registered to combat the helicoverpa armigera, including chemical formulations, viruses, pheromones and transgenic seeds with the Bt technology (which eliminate caterpillars).

"Studies on soybean crops by Embrapa indicate that at least five molecules present satisfactory efficiency when applied on foliar spraying in the registered doses. These molecules represent eight products registered and distributed in four different chemical groups (diamides, pyrazole, oxadiazine, diacilhidrazina) enabling the rotation of products with different modes of action to avoid that the plagues develop resistance to insecticides throughout the years," the entity says.