Due to the loss of several products, apple growers have had difficulty in recent years in keeping aphid control in order. The biological crop protection product NeemAzal®-T/S is a welcome, if not indispensable addition to the scheme. “It has proven to be a good fighter against pink apple aphid and it also tackles other pest insects and caterpillars,” says technical advisor Tjeerd Peeters of Nufarm. “With a few applications before and after flowering, you can keep the scheme closed during that sensitive period.”
Under favourable weather conditions, pink apple aphids can multiply quickly, especially when the crop itself is active. This is often noticeable around the flowering period. Preventive systemic agents were often able to keep these pests under control, but these are hardly available anymore. “You have to puzzle a lot to be able to keep the schedules balanced”, Peeters knows. “Without the use of natural agents, this is hardly possible. NeemAzal-T/S is such an agent and has already proven its value in many crops. Including in apples for controlling aphids.”
Unique product
NeemAzal-T/S was the first approved product based on azadirachtin A and is considered the most effective agent in this segment. It has a permanent place in many crops, both covered and uncovered, in the approach to, among other things, thrips, whitefly, leaf miner flies and aphids. Spider mites, young caterpillars and plant-parasitic bugs are also sensitive to it.
“NeemAzal has a broad effect, but leaves natural enemies, bumblebees and bees untouched,” says Tjeerd Peeters. “It is a unique product that distinguishes itself from other neem products. For example, it contains a high concentration of azadirachtin A, which is extracted from the seeds of the neem tree. Thanks to the pure formulation based on vegetable oils, it is well absorbed by the leaf within 2 hours. Adding an adjuvant ensures better coverage and thus optimal absorption and effect.”
Translaminar action
In the leaf, part of the absorbed active substance is transported translaminarly to the underside. “That is often where most of the attackers are,” emphasizes the technical advisor. “Almost every pest insect that eats the plant or pierces the plant to suck the sap, ingests the active substance. As a result, larvae, nymphs and caterpillars cannot develop further. They then die irrevocably. Adult lice will not die from it, but they will become less fertile. That is also worth a lot.”
Recommended use NeemAzal-T/S in apple cultivation
In apple cultivation, NeemAzal-T/S may be applied a maximum of four times per season. The recommended use for applications before 1 May is: 200 ml NeemAzal-TS per 100 litres of water (0.2%) and a maximum dosage of 3 litres/ha. After 1 May, the concentration may be increased to 0.3% and a maximum dosage of 4.5 litres/ha.
Peeters advises applying NeemAzal-TS at least once both before and after flowering. “Two sprayings in a row with a week’s interval works best, but you can make that depend on the aphid pressure and the schedule with other products,” he notes. “Repeated application helps to protect newly formed crop parts and effectively break the generation cycle of moulting insects.”
Good crop coverage
For almost all green agents, good leaf coverage and contact with the pest to be controlled (contact action) contribute to a good result. An advantage of NeemAzal is that it is also transported to the underside of the leaves due to its translaminar action. “For optimum crop coverage and absorption, you can add a wetting agent to the spray solution,” the technical advisor concludes.
Do you have any questions after reading this article? Our advisors will be happy to help you.
Gerwin Murre: [email protected] , telephone number: 06-26625355.
Tjeerd Peeters: [email protected] , telephone number: 06-51224563.
Use crop protection products safely. Read the label and product information before use.
