First year success for Syngenta's CruiserMaxx Rice

As the first insecticide/fungicide seed treatment combination for use on rice, CruiserMaxx® Rice exceeded expectations during its first season. Available as a premix formulation for 2011, CruiserMaxx Rice includes the active ingredients found in Cruiser® 5FS seed treatment insecticide, which received registration on rice in September 2009, and Dynasty®, Maxim® 4FS and Apron XL® seed-delivered fungicides. In 2010, CruiserMaxx Rice was applied on 30 percent of dry-seeded rice acres in Arkansas, 50 percent in Mississippi and nearly 30 percent of rice acres across the southern rice growing region.

If the numbers don't speak for themselves, growers who applied CruiserMaxx Rice also are impressed? with its first-year results. Tate Pfaffenberger of DeWitt, Ark., witnessed the many advantages of treating seed with CruiserMaxx Rice.

In an area with heavy grape colaspis pressure, Pfaffenberger benefited from the early-season insect protection offered by CruiserMaxx Rice. "In the past, we've had crops destroyed by grape colaspis; it's our number one threat to seedling rice. But CruiserMaxx Rice worked very well. We also have some rice water weevil pressure, and I haven't seen any scarring from that, either."

Thiamethoxam, the active ingredient in Cruiser, not only offers growers superior early-season insect protection but also can deliver healthier, more vigorous plants, even in the absence of pests. With faster emergence, greater plant stands and enhanced root systems, the benefits of Cruiser lead to maximizing yield potential. "I decided to use CruiserMaxx Rice last year because I had seen studies against competitive plots, and CruiserMaxx Rice basically looked a lot better," Pfaffenberger said. "We've seen increased vigor and healthier plants."

Furthermore, Pfaffenberger appreciates the triple fungicide combination of CruiserMaxx Rice and its protection against a wide spectrum of seedling diseases. "There's also the fungicide part of CruiserMaxx Rice," he said. "It is more systemic than other products. We used to have pretty bad seedling disease that would harm the plant when it was really young, but I haven't seen any disease damage this year."

As a first-of-its-kind product combination, CruiserMaxx Rice set the bar for rice seed treatments and is leading efforts toward improving rice production. If things get better with age, CruiserMaxx Rice has a bright future ahead.