Canadian mustard growers now have access to a flea beetle control tool that was previously the purview of canola.
On Sept. 17, Bayer announced that its Buteo start seed treatment has been registered for mustard in Western Canada.
“The damage caused by flea beetles at the start of the season impacts crop development long-term and can lead to significant yield loss,” Bryan Bryson, Bayer marketing portfolio lead for traits and licensing, said in a release.
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The Group 4D, flupyradifurone-based product reached the Canadian market in 2020. Its label now covers early season control of flea beetles in canola, as well as soybean aphid and bean leaf beetle in soybeans, although promotional materials from the company heavily market the insecticide for its canola applications.
The company pitches the product for control of striped and crucifer flea beetles. Fact sheets published by the company cite canola trials done in 2019 in flea beetle-infested areas. Those trials found that a combination of Buteo start and the seed treatment ProsperEverGol (which is also registered for mustard), showed significantly less leaf damage from three to 17 days post-emergence, quicker crop progression and a thicker stand.
The insecticide “delivers rapid uptake and systemic translocation from cotyledon to leaf margins, enabling a quicker-growing canopy and uniform flowering, even in dry conditions where flea beetles thrive,” the Sept. 17 release said.
Mustard growers face many of the same agronomic challenges as canola growers do, the company noted, and that includes flea beetles.
The insects have been a perennial problem for canola growers. Several years of difficult spring conditions led to stalled stands while plants were vulnerable. Significant and sometimes repeated applications of foliar spray were needed once seed treatments wore off.
According to the Canola Council of Canada, heavy flea beetle infestation can cause a 10 per cent yield reduction even when insecticides are applied.
“A yield reduction of one per cent per acre results in a total crop loss of about 25 million to 35 million dollars,” the council’s website states. “Annual crop losses in North America from flea beetles potentially exceed 300 million dollars.”
According to the manual put out by the Saskatchewan Mustard Development Commission, “damage is most severe when the beetles attack the growing point of the plant. In cool moist conditions, scouting should include observing the underside of cotyledons for pitting and the stem for notching or girdling. Feeding on pods can result in premature shattering and grade loss.”
