. .

Checkmate BAW F

AgriSense BCS Ltd © - Product Picture - Checkmate BAW F

Mating Disruption Sprayable Pheromone
For the Control of Beet Army Worm (Spodoptera exigua) in Vegetables

  • Effective pheromone-based insect control
  • Controls insecticide-resistant moths
  • Reduced labour costs
  • No residues on fruit
  • No pre-harvest intervals
  • No field re-entry delay
  • No environmental hazards
  • No effect on beneficial insects
  • Highly pest selective

CheckMate BAW-F is a cost effective biorational control product for use against Beet Army Worm (Spodoptera exigua). This product is undergoing development and is not yet commercially available in Europe.

CheckMate BAW-F is a patented liquid pheromone system designed to deliver sex pheromone for control of Beet Army Worm through mating disruption. When used as directed, this product saturates the crop environment with pheromone for an extended period of time (up to 30 days) so that individual males cannot locate female moths ready to mate.

CheckMate BAW-F is an ideal product for use in Integrated Pest Management strategies.

CheckMate BAW-F is specific for Beet Army Worm, leaving beneficial parasites and predators in the crop. These beneficials aid in control of the mites, aphids and other secondary pests.

Tips and Techniques
Monitoring traps must be placed in the crop early enough to detect the first moths emerging from over-wintering. For best results apply Checkmate BAW-F early in the season, as soon as the first Beet Army Worm is detected by a pheromone monitoring trap, or by field inspection.

In crops subject to high levels of attack by Beet Army Worm in the previous year, or where damage to the fruit was above the tolerance thresholds, mating disruption should be integrated with chemical or other biorational product (e.g. Bt's) treatments.

Mating disruption works best in the control of Beet Army Worm when used in crops of at least 2-3 hectares of surface.

Monitor Beet Army Worm infestations with pheromone traps and by visual inspection of fruit. Place one monitoring trap per 4 hectares with a minimum of two traps per block. Place additional traps on borders that are most subject to migrations from adjacent fields or host crops.

Pheromone mating disruption treatments will shut down trap catches of male moths. Pheromone lures, can not detect migration of Beet Army Worm females from adjacent fields or developing infestations of secondary pests.

Host Plants
The Beet Armyworm has a wide host range, occurring as a serious pest of vegetable, field, and flower crops. Among susceptible vegetable crops are asparagus, bean, beet, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chickpea, corn, cowpea, eggplant, lettuce, onion, pea, pepper, potato, radish, spinach, sweet potato, tomato, and turnip. Field crops damaged include alfalfa, corn, cotton, peanut, safflower, sorghum, soybean, sugar beet and tobacco.

Larvae feed on both foliage and fruit and it is regarded as a serious defoliator of flower crops and cotton. Young larvae feed gregariously and skeletonise foliage. As they mature, larvae become solitary and eat large irregular holes in foliage. They also burrow into the crown or centre of the head on lettuce, or on the buds of brassica crops. Tomato fruit is most susceptible to injury, especially near fruit maturity.