Contents - Greenmount Press
Contents - Greenmount Press
Contents - Greenmount Press
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news & new products<br />
Canopy now registered for<br />
whitefly in cotton<br />
The popular Caltex precision spray oil, Canopy, has been<br />
granted added label claims for suppression of Silver Leaf<br />
Whitefly (SLW) in cotton and suppression of aphids in<br />
canola and pulses.<br />
These latest additions to the Canopy label make it a genuine<br />
all-rounder for pests of summer and winter crops. In addition,<br />
Canopy can also be used as an adjuvant, at the same rate as<br />
Hasten with a range of selective grass herbicides commonly used<br />
in winter crops.<br />
Caltex Precision Spray Oils Technical and Marketing Manager,<br />
David Johnson, said Canopy has become a very strategically<br />
Squeezing out<br />
that extra bit of<br />
yield<br />
At the recent excellent Australian Cotton Conference there<br />
was an interesting talk on Current Economics of Irrigated and<br />
Dryland Cotton Production and the general message was that<br />
there is a Top 20 – the most profitable 20 per cent of growers –<br />
who are doing well. They are followed by a large percentage of<br />
growers who are going to be struggling as cotton prices remain<br />
relatively low. The talk looked at what put a grower in the Top 20<br />
and, not surprisingly, it was controlling input costs and squeezing<br />
out that bit of extra yield that takes growers into the profit zone.<br />
TwinN is a microbial bio-fertiliser that fixes nitrogen into the<br />
crop and increases root growth, enabling more efficient capture<br />
of applied nitrogen fertiliser. This technology aligns exactly with<br />
the Top 20 goals since it can be used to decrease N requirements<br />
by about 30 kg to provide cost savings, or can be applied on<br />
top of standard N rates when cotton prices are high and yield<br />
maximisation is the only goal. Growers who used TwinN in their<br />
2012 crop are recording a 0.5–0.8 bales per hectare yield increase<br />
with cuts to N ranging from no cut to 30–40 kg per hectare<br />
reductions.<br />
Managing Director of Mapleton Agri Biotec, Rob Bower, says<br />
“When cotton prices are very high it doesn’t take a lot of thought<br />
to work out the economics of what to apply to the crop – just about<br />
everything. But when prices are low it becomes vital to get that extra<br />
yield without increasing costs and TwinN does exactly that.”<br />
TwinN is applied by overhead irrigation, via liquid injection<br />
under knife point, or water run up the furrow. Rob Bower<br />
commented “it has taken us a while to work out how to apply<br />
TwinN in cotton farming systems and we are grateful to a number<br />
of growers who worked out how to use the product in their<br />
systems then told us how it was done.” Application is generally at<br />
the start of squaring although later applications are also effective.<br />
Information on TwinN and results from trials in various crops are available<br />
on www.mabiotec.com<br />
important insecticide for cotton pests as well as a popular low<br />
rate defoliation aid.<br />
“Canopy provides an economically and scientifically sound<br />
way of managing resistance problems and tackling emerging<br />
insect pests such as SLW in cotton, in addition to controlling other<br />
common sucking pests such as green mirids and cotton aphids.<br />
“Growers at the recent Australian Cotton Conference on the<br />
Gold Coast were urged to be mindful of the need to control<br />
chewing and sucking pests in both Bollgard and conventional<br />
crops, and to avail themselves of all available options to manage<br />
aphid and SLW resistance to neonicotinoid and OP insecticides.<br />
“Because of its physical modes-of-action, Canopy does not<br />
trigger any resistance mechanisms and greatly enhances the<br />
activity of some key biological products which are important to<br />
maintain integrated pest management strategies.<br />
“When used before insect numbers build-up, and strategically<br />
throughout the season, Canopy delays SLW population<br />
development and growers can avoid being locked into more<br />
costly options later in the season.<br />
“Importantly, use of Canopy at every spray opportunity may<br />
avoid insect damage and reduce spread of diseases such as<br />
Cotton Bunchy Top caused by aphid infestations.”<br />
David said the latest registrations for SLW suppression, oilseed<br />
and pulse pest control and as a grass herbicide adjuvant, made<br />
Canopy the product of choice in a range of situations, and by far<br />
the most versatile oil-based product to stock.<br />
Best value oil<br />
A survey of Australian cotton consultants who between<br />
them manage more than 360,000 hectares, or about 60 per<br />
cent of the total 2011–12 planting, has provided resounding<br />
endorsement of the role of Canopy.<br />
Canopy was compared with four other oils registered for<br />
pest control and defoliation in cotton in an end of season survey<br />
conducted through Crop Consultants Australia (CCA).<br />
Canopy was the top ranked product in five of the seven<br />
categories surveyed, namely:<br />
■■<br />
Best value for money;<br />
■■<br />
Most useful during the growing season;<br />
■■<br />
High quality product;<br />
■■<br />
Most trusted brand; and,<br />
■■<br />
Easily accessible information.<br />
Caltex Precision Spray Oils National Sales Manager, Michael<br />
Knight, said the survey results were very pleasing and indicated<br />
the widespread acceptance and uptake of Canopy by growers in<br />
a range of situations from early to late pest control, defoliation<br />
and as a spray adjuvant.<br />
In addition, Caltex D-C-Tron Cotton was the most strongly<br />
identified with defoliation, indicating the strong market fit of this<br />
product among growers.<br />
Both D-C-Tron Cotton and Canopy achieved similarly high<br />
scores for having the most credible label claims.<br />
More information on Canopy is available from Caltex Precision Spray Oils<br />
website www.precisionsprayoils.com.au or from your Caltex representative.<br />
60 — The Australian Cottongrower October–November 2012