Expert: John Wood, Certis USA Regional Manager-Southern CA, Central Valley, Desert

Q. Why should I consider using a bio-miticide?

A. There are many miticides available for use by nut growers, and we need to retain the useful life of each and every one of them. That makes managing resistance every bit as important as controlling the pest. And to manage resistance, everything is about mode of action. Biopesticides give us access to novel modes of action that work in concert with conventional materials to help ward off the development of mites resistant to synthetic chemicals. 

I suggest that you consider adding the biopesticide PFR-97 to your miticide tank mix. PFR-97 is one of the safest tank mix partners for conventional miticides. It’s safe on beneficials. It has a short 4-hour reentry interval (and zero-day pre-harvest interval). It is residue exempt, so you have no MRLs or limitations on where you export your crop. And it can be used on conventionally or organically grown trees—it is NOP Approved and OMRI® Listed. PFR-97 can be tank mixed with a wide variety of insecticides, miticides and herbicides, but because its active ingredient is a fungus, do not tank mix with fungicides. 

The active ingredient of PFR-97 deploys a mode of action novel to those used by conventional miticides. PFR-97 is a fungus that occurs naturally and is highly virulent to mites. When foliar applied, the spores of the PFR-97 fungus penetrate, infect and kill the mites it comes into contact with. PFR-97 can be used as a stand-alone contact miticide, but it should not be your choice for expanding mite populations. I think it an excellent choice for you to use to mitigate resistance.