This article appears in the April 2017 issue of Potato Grower.
Nematodes and diseases can wreak havoc on the most promising of potato crops. A focus on nematode control to increase root health is one way to keep potatoes healthy all season long, but comes as a challenge to most growers because they can’t always see the pests feeding and infecting their crop.
With that in mind, Bayer has recently introduced its V+M solution, which offers nematode suppression with added disease and insect management. The program brings together the wide-spectrum nematicidal activity of Bayer’s Velum Prime with the sustained in-season nematode protection of Movento.
Velum Prime has shown effectiveness against a wide range of target potato nematode species, including root-knot, cyst, endo-parasitic and ecto-parasitic species. It also offers suppression of early blight and white mold, and provides protection for plants’ root health.
Movento provides added nematode protection through in-season applications. Juvenile nematodes exposed to Movento can no longer continue to develop, leading to decreased populations.
The V+M solution requires growers to continue their current fumigant treatments with an early-season application of Velum Prime, followed by two sprays of Movento to provide season-long protection. Third-party trials show marketable yields were increased by as much as 82 hundredweight per acre with the V+M solution compared to competitive programs.
“You have two products with different modes of action,” says Bayer product and crop development manager Mike Schwarz. “You want to mold a program to their abilities and attributes. So we take care of the in-furrow, at-plant with an exceptional knock-down nematicide in Velum Prime.
“Movento is used because it has several attributes that Velum Prime doesn’t,” Schwarz continues. “It’s completely systemic from the top down. If you put it on foliage, it gets to the roots. But you’ve got to have foliage there for it to work. Velum in-furrow attacks the nematode population, then Movento inhibits the molting of the juveniles from one stage to the next.”
Bayer chemists didn’t originally set out to develop a full-season nematode management program. “When you develop products, you develop one at a time,” says Bayer product manager Nevada Smith. “So we focused on Velum and developed Velum. Then we focused on Movento and developed Movento. But we started noticing the synergy of the two together. They have a recharging effect together that really controls nematodes.”
“Bayer didn’t develop either one of these initially as a nematicide,” says Schwarz. “That was discovered after they were already registered and in use for other things. We were having growers ask us, ‘Did you guys ever test this as a nematicide, because we’re seeing significant declines in nematode populations with this product.’”
Schwarz says Bayer isn’t in the business of innovation for innovation’s sake. The company understands that growers need to see positive influence on their bottom line before they’ll embrace a product—or, in this case, a season-long program. Products that may work well are often cut from the Bayer portfolio because, in spite of agronomic potential, they provide little or nothing new to a farm business. The V+M solution is adamantly not in danger of being cut, as Bayer’s data show the program can improve yields by as much as 82 hundredweight per acre.
“We’re not only providing nematode and disease control, but we’re also providing growers with increased return on investment,” says Bayer product manager Joel Lipsitch.