Farm Progress

New Bayer products target nematodes

New mode of action for nematode controlSeed treatment targets multiple nematode speciesVellum recommended for heavy nematode pressure

Ron Smith 1, Senior Content Director

October 10, 2016

2 Min Read
<p>Bayer FiberMax field day participants check experimental varieties near Idalu, Texas.</p>

Nematodes are sneaky little devils, capable of stealing hundreds of pounds of cotton from right under a farmer’s nose before he has an inkling that his pocket is being picked.

The pests are widespread in West Texas cotton fields, and control options have been limited. In recent years, farmers and crop consultants lost both Temik and Vydate, leaving them dependent on rotation and nematode-resistant or tolerant varieties.

Two new products from Bayer CropScience offer new alternatives, particularly in combination with resistant varieties.

“Every grower has nematodes,” says Bayer’s Frank Rittemann. “Population levels and damage vary, but producers need to manage these yield robbers.” He discussed the problem and new products at a recent Bayer FiberMax field day at test plots near Idalou, Texas.

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Gary Evitt, a Lubbock County cotton grower who farms near the Bayer facility, says nematode infestation is one of his big challenges. “They have been a problem. I planted a resistant variety, FM1911, this year, and it has done well. I used Temik in the past, and then Vydate; but (the EPA) took both of those away.”

Rittemann says a new seed treatment, Copeo Prime, available for the 2017 season, offers a new mode of action for nematode control. “It works across all types of nematodes,” he says.

Recommended use will be for light to moderate nematode pressure, and in combination with resistant varieties. “Bayer will specify which FiberMax or Stoneville varieties to select,” he says.

Trials have shown Copeo Prime and resistant varieties may add as much as 45 pounds per acre to cotton yields with light to moderate  nematode populations. “This is the first true nematicide seed treatment,” Rittemann says. “Copeo protects the seed for approximately 40 days. Benefits are consistent.”

For heavier nematode populations, he recommends Vellum Total, a broad spectrum nematicide introduced two years ago and available across the cotton belt last year. “Vellum covers a larger area (in the soil) than Copeo Prime, which just protects the seed,” he says. “We’ve seen good yield response with Vellum in heavy nematode populations.” It can be applied with pop-up fertilizer.

About the Author

Ron Smith 1

Senior Content Director, Farm Press/Farm Progress

Ron Smith has spent more than 40 years covering Sunbelt agriculture. Ron began his career in agricultural journalism as an Experiment Station and Extension editor at Clemson University, where he earned a Masters Degree in English in 1975. He served as associate editor for Southeast Farm Press from 1978 through 1989. In 1990, Smith helped launch Southern Turf Management Magazine and served as editor. He also helped launch two other regional Turf and Landscape publications and launched and edited Florida Grove and Vegetable Management for the Farm Press Group. Within two years of launch, the turf magazines were well-respected, award-winning publications. Ron has received numerous awards for writing and photography in both agriculture and landscape journalism. He is past president of The Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association and was chosen as the first media representative to the University of Georgia College of Agriculture Advisory Board. He was named Communicator of the Year for the Metropolitan Atlanta Agricultural Communicators Association. More recently, he was awarded the Norman Borlaug Lifetime Achievement Award by the Texas Plant Protection Association. Smith also worked in public relations, specializing in media relations for agricultural companies. Ron lives with his wife Pat in Johnson City, Tenn. They have two grown children, Stacey and Nick, and three grandsons, Aaron, Hunter and Walker.

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