SPIDER MITE CONTROL
GET SPIDER MITES UNDER CONTROL WITH OUR TWO IPM-FRIENDLY ACARICIDES
Spider mites reduce your marketable crop, threating yield and quality. The effects of untreated infestations can persist beyond the current season with productivity impaired by feeding damage.
Overwintered spider mite eggs are notoriously tricky to spot. If you leave them untreated until there are visible mites and damage at a later growth stage, the canopy is often much denser making control more challenging: mites are often found on the underside of the leaf, so are more difficult to hit.
It’s even harder to distinguish between mite species. Changing weather conditions mean that species are ‘migrating’ to crops where they haven’t previously been seen.
This makes the picture more complicated, as having mixed species at various lifecycle stages and with different multiplication rates in a crop means they are more difficult to tackle and adversely affects the ability of beneficials to manage them alone.
The answer – go early
Use an effective acaricide that targets eggs and larvae – Nissorun®
Follow up if needed at the first signs of mite activity to relieve pressure and give you flexibility for the best chance of control – Kanemite®
Complementary acaricides for season-long control
It’s time to cut spider mites down to size, with Nissorun and Kanemite. They fill gaps in control where other options have been withdrawn, are restricted in use or aren’t IPM-friendly.
Both provide targeted control at key stages. In the long run, you’ll have fewer problems with the most important spider mite species, Two-spotted (Tetranychus urticae) and Fruit Tree Red (Panonychus ulmi), while protecting your macrobiologicals.
Both support IPM, allowing beneficials and natural predators to stay alive and active. They give the variety and novelty you need across IRAC groups to manage resistance, with no cross-resistance to other acaricides including METIs. And you can alternate easily with biopesticides like Eradicoat Max for a balanced programme.
Highly cost-effective
Nissorun and Kanemite work on contact activity, so using maximum concentration and achieving optimal spray coverage is essential.
But they deliver more with their ability to tailor dose rate and water volume to the crop growth stage and density. The earlier and smaller the crop, the lower the effective dose and water volume needed to tackle mites. It’s a winning combination.
See how they work
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See what advisors and growers say
“Very good selectivity with minimal effects on non-target species.”
Following a cold start to the 2021 season, pest development has been slow. However, spider mite populations are set to grow rapidly in orchards favoured by the inevitable increase in temperatures. In orchards where levels of predatory mites are not sufficient to keep pest mites under control, well-timed acaricide applications are necessary. Protected crops are likely to see an exponential increase of spider mite numbers, so thorough and regular pest and beneficials monitoring is very important.
With a general trend of summers getting longer and warmer (Met Office), spider mite crop risk is becoming increasingly important for stone fruit as well as top fruit orchards.
Kanemite is an acaricide with very good selectivity and minimal effects on non-target species, which fits the Agrovista Fruit IPM strategy perfectly. An application gives good knockdown for a range of pest spider mites such as T. urticae, T. cinnabarinus, P. ulmi, etc. Kanemite is effective on all growth stages of the pests, has long residual activity while being safe to the key predators and is a good fit in an IPM approach.
Efficacy is not affected by temperature. It has contact and ingestion activity, so adequate spray coverage is essential to achieve good control. Kanemite should not be tank-mixed with highly alkaline products, as this would affect its efficacy.
Last season’s applications in both stone and top fruit orchards gave good pest control, when they were timed and applied correctly, following thorough crop monitoring, while having minimum impact on beneficials and non-target species.
Alex Radu, Technical Manager, Agrovista Fruit
“It’s all about balance.”
A proactive approach with Nissorun and Kanemite maintains the balance between predatory mites and pest mites. This allows for natural suppression through the remainder of the season.
Richard Killian, Fruit Agronomist and Technical Coordinator, Agrii
“If you start low, it’s easier to stay low.”
That’s the approach I recommend to tree fruit and hop growers to reduce spider mite populations throughout the season. Nissorun and Kanemite are valuable additions to the acaricides market. It really helps that they are both IPM-predator-friendly.
Jonathan Blackman, Horticultural Technical Manager, H L Hutchinsons
“The biggest problem – red spider mite.”
Charlie Dunn, fruit grower, Chandler & Dunn
Acaricides in depth
Read this article to discover the view of Richard Killian and Jonathan Blackman in detail. First published in Fruit Grower.
Nissorun: the early starter
Resolve initial and overwintered infestations with early application of Nissorun to reduce mite burden later in the season. Its active substance, hexythiazox, conclusively breaks the mite lifecycle by inhibiting the enzyme that catalyses the polymerisation of chitin. Put simply, it’s a mite growth inhibitor.
Use on apples, pears, hops Single application Targets Two-spotted and Fruit Tree Red spider mites Rain-fast and non-systemic 28-day PHI IRAC Group 10A PACE-compatible |
Application
Nissorun has excellent activity on egg and larvae stages, but minimal effect on the nymph stage and little to no effect on adult mites, so timing is key.
Maintain maximum concentration and optimum coverage: this can be achieved with a fraction of the full dose depending on time of application. That’s because Nissorun fits with AHDB PACE (Pesticide Adjustment to the Crop Environment) for dose rates tailored to crop growth stages. You’ll also use less water than if you had treated later in the season. Don’t wait, be proactive, get in early.
Kanemite: the fast worker
The sooner you use Kanemite when mites are first active, the more thorough and economical the control. Always use the maximum concentration whatever the water volume being applied; going early gives flexibility according to crop growth stage and density. Like Nissorun, Kanemite is PACE-compatible. Knockdown and feeding damage stops after just one hour with mortality after around eight hours.
Kanemite controls mites throughout the lifecycle, including eggs, which is especially vital with mixed mite species and lifecycle stages present at the same time. Its Mode of Action (MoA) inhibits electron transport complex III, preventing the use of energy in the mite’s cells, with immediate results. And it provides vital diversity for resistance management as the only acaricide in IRAC Group 20B.
In addition, the need for robust SWD programmes in cherries can often negatively affect beneficials which are key to spider mite control. Kanemite has less impact on these important beneficials while taking care of spider mites.
Use on apples, pears, outdoor cherries Single application Targets a range of spider mites including Two-spotted and Fruit Tree Red Rain-fast in one hour 30-day PHI apples and pears, 21 days cherries IRAC Group 20B PACE-compatible |
Application
Kanemite is unaffected by temperature and rain-fast within one hour.
Learn more
We’ve plenty of ways to help:
- Talk to your advisor or distributor.
- Read key Nissorun and Kanemite details.
- Contact our technical experts on 0845 373 0305 or send us this quick form.
