The U.S. EPA has granted federal registration of Bayer CropScience’s Velum Prime—an innovative, non-fumigant nematicide with additional disease management benefits—for use on potatoes. According to Bayer, state registrations are expected to follow shortly across the northern U.S.’s “potato belt,” including in Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.
“The federal registration of Velum Prime from EPA is a significant step forward in our effort to introduce a much-needed nematicide/fungicide crop protection tool to the potato market,” says Bayer product manager Joel Lipsitch. “Velum Prime is registered for application early in the potato growing season (6- to 12-inch rosette stage) via overhead chemigation. Velum Prime offers potato growers protection from nematodes and diseases [and] helps sustain high plant vigor and maximize crop yield potential.”
The product’s nematicidal activity has been documented in numerous field trials against the key potato nematode species. Velum Prime rapidly immobilizes nematodes, killing them within one to two hours after contact. The active ingredient then moves systemically throughout plant tissues, effectively suppressing key potato diseases such as white mold and early blight.
“Velum Prime is not intended as a replacement for fumigants, but it is a supplement for standard nematode management programs for improved nematode and disease protection and, ultimately, increased yields,” Lipsitch says. “Field trials have shown that Velum Prime significantly increases yields when compared to the current industry standard program, and [that it] has an even greater impact when used in concert with a nematode management program with Movento and full disease management program with products like Luna Tranquility.”
The Velum Prime MRL supports a single application with two in-season applications of Luna Tranquility. The product is trade-enabled in NAFTA, Japan, Taiwan and other key export markets.