Minecto Pro Insecticide Protects Specialty Markets

While there’s not a lot of common ground when it comes to growing tree nuts and potatoes, there’s one production tool that’s making a huge difference in both specialty crops. Minecto Pro^® insecticide, which contains two complementary modes of action, cyantraniliprole and abamectin, provides broad-spectrum control of lepidopteran pests and sucking insects.

In tree nuts, the navel orangeworm is an extremely destructive pest that produces multiple generations in a season. It feeds directly on nuts, rendering them unmarketable. But a May spray application of Minecto Pro can bring growers much-needed relief.

“When an application of Minecto Pro is timed to control multiple pests, it does its best work,” says Meade McDonald, insecticide product lead for Syngenta. “A May spray application will provide growers with a strong foundation for early control of mites and navel orangeworm.”

In potatoes, the Colorado potato beetle devours plant foliage, drastically impacting yield and quality. It requires frequent scouting to make sure populations are under control. Minecto Pro can provide growers with up to three weeks of residual activity, reducing the amount of time growers need to spend scouting. Minecto Pro also provides growers with an alternate mode of action to neonicotinoids, which helps expand the available insecticide arsenal.

“When an application of Minecto Pro is timed to control multiple pests, it does its best work.”

“There have been some reports of neonicotinoids not controlling the second generation of Colorado potato beetles during the course of a season,” says Kiran Shetty, Ph.D., technical product lead at Syngenta. “In those cases, Minecto Pro fits really well, because it’s able to clean up that second generation, giving growers the protection their potatoes need.”