A Syngenta seed treatment recently received an emergency registration for controlling pea leaf weevils in dry and succulent peas in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Yves Dooper, research and extension manager with Alberta Pulse Growers, said the registration covers application of Cruiser at 50 to 83 millilitres per 100 kilograms of seed in peas, where the higher rate is recommended for higher pressures. Tank mixes of Cruiser and Apron Maxx RTA seed treatment are also covered under this emergency registration.
Dooper said because peas are treated and planted before the insect is evident, the decision to apply Cruiser will be based on insect pressure observed in the area last year.
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Alberta Agriculture has produced a map that shows the results of a pea leaf weevil survey done in 2006. Scott Meers, pest risk management specialist with Alberta Agriculture in Brooks, said the survey was done at the end of May and early June last year.
“We did five fields per county. The average feeding is based on sampling 100 plants from each field. We counted the number of feeding notches done by the adults,” Meers said.
“There’s five different gradations of feeding damage from our survey. We’re concerned going into 2007 about the top two areas. Those areas are the most likely to see significant damage in 2007. The other areas have lower levels of infestation and weren’t economic last year.”
Meers said most of the spraying for pea leaf weevils last year occurred from Lethbridge toward Foremost and also toward Clares-holm. He said pea producers in areas with heavier feeding damage in 2006 should be watching carefully this year.
“Cruiser just received its emergency registration for use in peas. Those are for guys that saw significant damage last year and are pretty certain they’re going to have damage this year,” Meers said.
“We’re hoping to see a minor use come through for a foliar (insecticide) application. Right now that’s with PMRA (Pest Management Regulatory Agency). We do have a while yet on that, so they’re not pushing that through as fast. But we expect that to come through before we get into the time of year when we’d be spraying.”
Spray season for pea leaf weevil is typically from mid to late May and into early June. Meers suggested producers spray before the six node stage for maximum control.
The seed treatment will be useful for farmers that know they will have a problem, but Meers said he expects there will also be an emergency registration for a foliar application.
“Something has been submitted and we expect it will go through. We can’t say much until it does, but I’ve been quite impressed with PMRA and their response to this. They moved very quickly on the Cruiser application and for the post emergent application, I’m confident we’ll have the tools we need in place,” he said.
“It’s excellent news we have Cruiser on emergency use. It’s going to give us a chance to evaluate a pre-emergent insecticide on fairly large acres. To me, it looks like a pre-emergent seed treatment is going to be our best answer. It’s very similar to flea beetles on canola.”
Meers said he recommends producers treat some of their acres and then evaluate its performance against the foliar if required.
Meers didn’t get a chance to test insecticidal seed treatments in 2006, but he’s looking at two compounds this year in replicated trials.
“We didn’t expect it to be as big as it was last year. We’re on stream to get things done this year.”
Hector Carcamo, an entomologist with Agriculture Canada at Lethbridge, said larvae can destroy most of the rhizobium nodules and reduce fababean yield by 28 percent, but yield losses were extremely variable in field peas.
In one report provided by Syngenta, Cruiser provided excellent control of pea leaf weevil under low insect pressure.
Syngenta said treated seeds kill pea leaf weevil larvae and the adult beetle when it feeds on foliage.
