Admire Pro granted Florida SLN registration for citrus

Date:10-08-2012

Florida citrus growers fighting to protect young and vulnerable citrus trees from the vector of HLB, the Asian citrus psyllid, received a boost with the state’s approval of special local need (SLN) 24c registration of Admire Pro (imidacloprid, Bayer CropScience). The registration will allow expanded use of the product as a soil drench treatment for young (5 to 9 feet tall) citrus trees. The SLN will allow growers to double the amount of active ingredient that may be applied in a year.

Rather than be limited to one soil drench application, growers can now make two applications per season. Research by UF/IFAS has shown that a soil drench application of imidacloprid has proven effective in controlling the psyllid in trees that are one to two years old. However, for trees that are three to five years, the amount of Admire Pro allowed under the current label is inadequate to provide year-round protection. The new SLN registration will allow growers to provide protection for these three- to five-year old trees.

Important details include:

• Change in the annual amount that can be applied to young citrus trees 5 to 9 feet tall in Florida

• Application to this tree size class cannot occur between November 1 and full petal fall

• Changes only apply to the specific tree size targeted with this request

• The SLN approval is for a fixed period which ends Dec. 31, 2014