DuPont has received a label for Prevathon which includes uses in cotton, pasture grasses, and field, pop and seed corn. The active ingredient (rynaxypyr or chlorantraniliprole) is the same as in another DuPont product called Coragen. However, Prevathon is the product that will be marketed in field crops.  I’ve tested both Prevathon and Coragen in several crops. It has a deserved reputation of providing excellent control of most caterpillar pests, including a long residual. Prevathon contains 0.43 lb a.i./gallon and has a typical use rate ranging from 14 – 27 oz/acre depending on the crop and target pest. In cotton, Prevathon should provide excellent control of the bollworm/budworm/armyworm complex at the mid or higher use rates.  The fit of this product on Bt cotton will be limited in part due to price, but for those with non-Bt cotton, Prevathon may have considerable “play”.  I’ve also seen good results controlling southwestern corn borer in corn at low to mid use rates.

Voilam xpress (Syngenta) is a premix of the same active ingredient in Prevathon plus lambda-cyhalothrin (the a.i. in Karate). It contains 0.835 lb and 0.417 lb a.i./gallon of chlorantraniliprole and lambda-cyhalothrin, respectively.  It is also labeled for use in corn, including sweet corn, cotton and pasture grasses (among other things). Typical use rates are in the 6.5 – 12.5 oz range for cotton and 6 – 9 oz/acre in corn, but check the label for more details.

Price will be a big factor in how much either product will be used. There may be a little sticker shock, but these products do provide considerable residual control when applied in a timely fashion at the appropriate rates. Just to help you make comparisons, consider the following.

Active ingredient per ounce of product

• 1 oz Prevathon = 0.0034 lb a.i. chlorantraniliprole. Thus, 22.6 oz would contain 0.077 lb a.i. of chlorantraniliprole.  This would be a pretty solid use rate if targeting tobacco budworm, bollworm or other caterpillar pests in cotton.
• 1 oz Voliam xpress = 0.0077 lb a.i. chlorantraniliprole +0.0033 lb ai lambda-cyhalothrin. Thus, 10 oz would have 0.077 lb a.i. of chlorantraniliprole plus 0.033 lb a.i. of lambda-cyhalothrin. This lambda-cyhalothrin rate would be equivalent to about 2 oz of Karate per acre.

Previous blog about new insecticideS: http://www.utcrops.com/news/2011/02/new-insecticides-for-2011/

Link to database of pesticide labels: http://www.cdms.net/LabelsMsds/LMDefault.aspx