Bayer’s Concept insecticide approved against soy, potato pests in Canada

Bayer CropScience last week announced federal approval for its foliar insecticide Concept, a combination of imidacloprid and deltamethrin, in all provinces and territories in Canada.

Deltamethrin, a Group 3A insecticide, is the active ingredient in Bayer's Decis, while imidacloprid (Group 4A) is the active in Bayer's Admire and other products such as Cheminova's Grapple and UAP's Alias.

The product provides "quick knockdown and residual protection" against soybean aphid and Japanese beetle and suppresses bean leaf beetle in soybean crops, Greg Good, Bayer's portfolio manager for row crops, said in a release.

Concept also controls a "broad range" of pests in potato, tomato, blueberry and brassica vegetables (that is, cole crops such as cabbage), David Kikkert, the company's portfolio manager for horticulture, said in the same release.

In potatoes, for instance, the product is registered to control Colorado potato beetle, aphids, leafhopper, potato flea beetle and tarnished plant bug, and to suppress European corn borer.

Bayer bills Concept as the first insecticide to be available as an oil-based, solvent-free flowable co-formulation, using a proprietary "O-TEQ" liquid formulation which it said will ensure Concept is "rainfast, acts quickly and stays on the leaves longer than other products."

Combining two active ingredients increases the number of insects controlled with one spray and will also be useful for growers concerned about managing insecticide resistance, Good said.

On soybeans, the product is applied at 325 to 650 millilitres per hectare, and on potatoes at 650 ml/ha. In all crops, Concept is registered for ground application only.