Eric Natwick

Dr. John Palumbo

Vegetable growers in California and Arizona are one step closer to achieving better control of the key worm pests that threaten their crops. DuPont™ Avaunt® insecticide has been granted a Section 3 label by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Registration has been received in Arizona and California. It is anticipated that Avaunt® will be available for commercial use in early 2001.

Outstanding control with reduced risk In field trials over the past eight years, Avaunt® has been proven a formidable adversary in the battle against the vegetable-loving lepidopterous insect pests that invade Western fields. In addition to providing effective control of key worms such as beet armyworm and cabbage looper, this low-use-rate insecticide also protects against corn earworm in lettuce, diamondback moth, imported cabbageworm, tomato fruitworm, tomato pinworm and European corn borer. Among the crops included on the label are head and leaf lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers and sweet corn (whorl application), apples and pears. Consult label for pests by crop.

Because of its low use rate and favorable environmental and ecological profiles, Avaunt® was designated a reduced-risk product in the EPA registration process. Since Avaunt® is new chemistry with a unique mode-ofaction, the product will enhance IPM and rotational chemistry programs by providing excellent crop protection and selective insect activity.

"We've seen good tolerance to Avaunt® by beneficial insects such as assassin bugs, big-eyed bugs, minute pirate bugs, damsel bugs, predacious mites and key parasitic wasps," says Jeffrey Pacheco, DuPont senior field technology representative based in Phoenix. "Preserving beneficials can help suppress aphid and mite flare-ups in several crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, apples and pears."

Avaunt® has a "Caution" label, allowing increased worker efficiency. The product has a low re-entry interval of only 12 hours for most crops and short preharvest intervals. For example, the preharvest interval is only three days in vegetable crops.

How Avaunt® works
The active ingredient in Avaunt®, indoxacarb, works by inhibiting sodium ion entry into nerve cells, resulting in paralysis and death of targeted pests. The primary route of entry is through ingestion of treated foliage, with some additional absorption through the pest cuticle. Pests exposed to Avaunt® stop feeding within 0-4 hours. Paralysis and death occur within 4-48 hours.

Eric Natwick, University of California Cooperative Extension Entomology Farm Advisor at the Desert Research and Extension Center in Holtville, Calif., describes Avaunt® as very active against lepidopterous pests. "We've looked at Avaunt® for control of beet armyworm and cabbage looper on vegetables, and it's provided excellent control," he says. "Once registered, I think it will find quick acceptance among growers and consultants."

Resistance management tool
Because of its unique mode of action, Avaunt® will be useful in managing insect resistance and preserving the long-term use of other chemistries. For the past five years, Dr. John Palumbo, research entomologist at the University of Arizona's Yuma Valley Agricultural Center in Yuma, Ariz., has been studying how new chemistries will fit into pest management programs in Arizona.

Palumbo sees Avaunt® as a good rotational product and describes a possible program: In the desert, growers confront a wide variety of insect problems at stand establishment, so they might first apply a pyrethroid, or a product such as DuPont™ Lannate® insecticide. Next they might follow it up with Success for additional broad-spectrum control. Then when the plants get to size-from post thinning to harvest- it's time to rotate to Avaunt® for more selective worm control.

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Avaunt® insecticide is a trademark of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.Success is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences, LLC.

• DOT Shipping [.pdf]
• Worker Protection Standard [.pdf]
• Avaunt® for Vegetables: Worm ID Guide
• Avaunt® for Vegetables: Case Studies
• Avaunt® for Fruit: Pest ID Guide

• The DuPont Minute:
• Dr. Stormy Sparks - Audio Clip # 2 - Vegetable resistance management with DuPont™ Avaunt® insecticide [mp3]
• Dr. Stormy Sparks - Audio Clip # 3 - Timing of resistance management with DuPont™ Avaunt® insecticide [mp3]
• DuPont's Larry McCauley - Audio Clip # 1 - Broad spectrum control with DuPont Asana®, Avaunt®, Lannate®, and Vydate® insecticides [mp3]
• DuPont's Donna McMikle - Audio Clip # 1 - Broad spectrum coverage for vegetables - with DuPont Asana®, Avaunt®, Kocide®, and Lannate® [mp3]
• DuPont's Donna McMikle - Audio Clip # 2 - Vegetable chemistries for tomatoes - with DuPont Avaunt®, Kocide®, Manzate®, and Tanos® [mp3]
• DuPont's Donna McMikle - Audio Clip # 3 - Avaunt® insecticide for vegetable & cabbage production in south GA & north FL [mp3]