With events scheduled until December, to launch the Ohkami insecticide, specifically for controlling the tomato moth (Tuta absolute), Sipcam Nichino Brasil celebrates the results delivered by the new technology in pre-launch trials. For the company, such studies show that tomato plants now have a revolutionary solution in managing the crop's main pest. The company also informs that Ohkami is the result of the new molecule Tolfenpyrade, patented by Nihon Nohyaku/Nichino of Japan.
According to Sergio Camargo, from the market development area at Sipcam Nichino, the research, which aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the new Ohkami, was carried out jointly by specialists Regiane Oliveira, Agrimip group (Unesp de Botucatu-SP), Sergio Benvenga (Inspecta Pesquisa e Consultoria) and Agrosynthesis Pesquisa e Consultoria.
According to Camargo, pre-launch studies prioritized the new product's performance in controlling eggs (ovicidal action) of Tuta absolute and also pest caterpillars (lizarticidal effect), in the different phases of its biological cycle. The analyses, says the agronomist, observed that the active ingredient Tolfenpirade interferes with the fertility of the tomato moth, when the pest is in the adult stage.
According to Camargo, Tuta Absolute has the capacity to multiply quickly, in a cycle that is potentially harmful to tomato productivity. “In her life cycle, a female is capable of laying 55 to 130 eggs. In the caterpillar form, the pest feeds on plant structures and formed fruits. Left unchecked, it causes 70% to 100% damage to production.”
Camargo highlights that data collected in pre-launch studies showed that Sipcam Nichino's new insecticide controls 93% to 100% of eggs from one, two and three days of incubation. “We noticed that Ohkami also reduces the ‘laying’ of eggs by up to 93% and makes up to 71% of them unviable, laid by adults who have had contact with the product.”
He also reveals that, in a specific evaluation of the lizard-killing effect of Ohkami, the product was compared to two other treatments, known to tomato producers, based on the association between active ingredients with different modes of action. All products used in this part of the research targeted four populations of 2nd instar caterpillars (about 2 cm in length). “Applied alone, Ohkami controlled 93% to 100% of these populations, in the period analyzed, from one to six days”, Camargo.
Still according to Camargo, in another point of study, this one with the objective of evaluating the percentage of reduction of live tomato moth caterpillars in crops, researchers compared Ohkami to four more 'premium' insecticides, widely applied in tomato farming in the country. The final result, says Camargo, highlighted that the average performance of the Sipcam Nichino product was 86,6%, compared to 81,5%, 59,9%, 62,4% and 60,5% of the others.
In absolute terms, pre-launch studies found that Ohkami reduced the number of live caterpillars in crops by more than 80%. Another difference, says Camargo, is the insecticide's mechanism of action. “This is the only product for tomato moth control registered in the country with an action mechanism of ‘Inhibition of Complex I in the Electron Transport Chain’. This characteristic, added to the fact that Ohkami comes from a new molecule, avoids the cross-resistance of Tuta Absolute to the product”, he concludes.
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