Copercana 2023 – Syngenta highlights technology in Sphenophorus control

Sphenophorus, currently the most debated pest in the sugarcane sector, was the subject of a presentation by José Carlos Rufato, DTM New Technologies for Sugarcane at Syngenta Crop Protection.

In a lecture at Copercana 2023, covered by AgroPages, he spoke about the insecticide Engeo Pleno S (Thiamethoxam; Lambda-Cyhalothrin) and its attributes as a tool to control the so-called silent weevil in sugarcane.

At the beginning of his presentation, the specialist, who has studied the pest for more than ten years, addressed the technical criteria for cutting stumps, the primary control management, such as application speed, soil depth adjustment, syrup volume, the parallelism of streets and straw management, which highlighted showing images of the ″ruffled straw″, enveloping the stumps, preventing the pesticide from reaching the stumps.

Then it focused on handling the adult, which has an average life of 210 days, that is, three generations of the cycle, which, if not controlled, in less than a year, can cause an explosion of individuals.

As a pest control expert at this stage, he showed an assay that the pyrethroid (lambda-cyhalothrin) present in the composition of the product eliminated 100% of the population in less than 72 hours due to the high dosage, reaching more than twice, compared to similar products, of the active ingredient responsible for generating the shock effect.

The second focus was on the larva, which feeds on the rhizome of the plant, weakening the ratoon, where everyone knows the need to reach it within the root system, which is possible through the efficient cutting of the ratoon, product mobility in the soil and high systematicity, which is the case of the second active ingredient of Engeo Pleno S, Thiamethoxam.

Still on this neonicotinoid, Rufato drew attention to its scientifically proven bioactivator effect, as it manages to stimulate the plant's metabolism, giving greater vigor to the root system.

"We can define Engeo Pleno S as a defensive antidote because, in addition to acting against a pest that feeds on the roots, it also works to regain its strength and consequently gain in size and productivity of the plant as a whole", explained the specialist.

Finally, the product's advantages have been developed in a microencapsulated formulation, called ″Zeon Technology″, which gives great residual power, allowing its use, with an efficient mixture, in a tank of localized vinasse application that holds a high volume of syrup.

Still on the subject of forms of application, he mentioned the use of stump cutting in the 70:30 system, in which a smaller percentage is directed to the surface to attack the adults in that region of the soil.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)