This article appears in the May 2020 issue of Potato Grower.
With the potential to cause up to 90 percent annual yield loss, nematodes can be a key threat to a potato crop. Nematodes affect potatoes directly by feeding on roots and tubers and indirectly through transmission of diseases. To protect yields and plant health, growers should take action either at planting or in-season to mitigate damage.
Velum Prime nematicide and Movento insecticide can help growers prevent damage from nematodes and provide a yield boost in potato fields. In fact, in trials held in Connell, Wash., this combination of Velum Prime nematicide and Movento insecticide increased marketable yield by 82 hundredweight per acre, as compared to Vydate insecticide/nematicide, under heavy nematode pressure.
Velum Prime plus Movento from Bayer provide a systemic solution designed to protect root health and maximize potato yield potential. Called the V+M Solution, the combination of these tools can boost plant health by not only preventing below-ground plant-parasitic nematodes but other above-ground damaging pests such as mites and insects, including psyllids and aphids.
“The V+M program for nematode management is effective because you put the Velum Prime in-furrow at planting to affect the nematodes in the soil,” says Saad Hafez, nematology professor and extension specialist at the University of Idaho. “And then you come back before closing with the Velum and Movento applications, and that will stop whatever nematodes get in the root system.”
Velum Prime nematicide is an innovative, non-fumigant nematicide with disease-management benefits. It can be applied in-furrow during planting or early in the potato-growing season via overhead chemigation. Due to its nematode suppression, Velum Prime protects root health to help establish the crop, leading to improved yield potential. In addition, Velum Prime has systemic movement that effectively suppresses key soil and foliar diseases, including early blight and white mold.
Movento insecticide offers two-way movement both upward and downward within plant tissue to protect against pests, including nematodes. Specifically, Movento manages adult female pests, reducing fecundity and limiting the survival of their offspring, therefore providing more effective reduction of overall pest pressure. With its all-over plant protection, Movento also protects against the diseases associated with key pests such as potato leaf roll virus, potato virus Y, zebra chip and Verticillium wilt. With long-lasting protection and a high level of residual efficacy, Movento also protects new foliage, root and tuber growth.
“Movento fits in really nicely because it has minimal impact on all the beneficials, the ladybugs and other things that feed on aphids and thrips,” says Kamren Koompin, an Idaho potato grower. “Having that added nematode benefit, along with Velum Prime on those fields, really helps with late-season plant health.”
“The V+M Solution is attractive to growers because you can get both nematode and disease suppression,” says Hafez. “And really, once you get a healthy vine, you get a really good yield response.”
To learn more about Velum Prime and Movento, please contact a Bayer representative or visit www.cropscience.bayer.us.
