Corteva to launch new organic insecticide to Australian market

In a further commitment to its sustainability focus to provide a balanced portfolio of products, Corteva Agriscience is set to launch a new organic insecticide to the Australian market this October.

Entrust^® Organic Insecticide is a naturally derived product based on metabolites produced by fermentation of a naturally occurring soil organism and received regulatory approval by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) in July 2020.

Corteva’s Marketing Manager for Horticulture and Insecticide, Nick Koch, said the product has long been anticipated by the Australian agricultural market, not only for its organic certification, but also for its favourable environmental profile and selectivity to key beneficial insects, making it ideally suited to many Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems.

“Entrust organic belongs to a unique insecticide group known as the ‘Spinosyns’. A group 5 insecticide for resistance management, shared only by two other products, Success^® Neo and Delegate^® insecticide” Mr Koch said.

“The introduction of Entrust Organic offers organic growers a new resistance management tool for the selective control of some of Australia’s most damaging pests. As with all insecticides it is beholden on users to rotate between different chemical Modes of Action (MoA) in accordance with label directions to prevent the onset of resistance,” he said.

The broad label covers many crops including a wide range of fruit and vegetables. There are more than 80 registered crops to choose from making it extremely versatile for farmers with mixed enterprises.

Entrust Organic offers growers’ effective control of several damaging Lepidoptera species including Diamondback moth, Heliothis, Cluster caterpillar, Light brown apple moth and many other caterpillar pests including loopers. It also controls Western flower thrip, leaf miner and Cherry slugs (Diptera).

It is suitable for crops including brassica vegetables, cucurbits, culinary herbs, vegetables (fruiting, leafy, root, tuber, stalk and stem), legumes, avocados, berries, citrus, grapes, pomefruit, stone fruit, and tropical fruit crops.

Managing Director ANZ Rob Kaan said Corteva is proud to be making a gradual move away from older chemistries and offering growers sustainable, more selective chemistries with great ecological profile.

“There is a strong market demand for softer, more sustainable chemistry and we’re responding to that not just by making these new options available, but also phasing out products like Telone and Lorsban (Chlorpyrifos),” he said.

“We recognise the need for more transparency around where food comes from and how it is produced, so it’s a logical progression to include biologicals with conventional crop protectants.

“Our core values are built around the belief that when farmers win, everyone wins, and investing in the products our customers want and need makes good sense both as a company and also as global citizens who want to be able to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume.”

Entrust^® Organic will be available in limited supply from October.

AgroPages new issue 2020 Biologicals Special available for free download.