Improved plant protection by a unique seed delivered nematicide

摘要

Abamectin applied as a coating to cotton and various vegetable seed at rates of 0.1 to 0.3 mg a.i./seed resulted in early season seedling protection against plant-parasitic nematodes that was comparable to current standards of soil-applied non-fumigant nematicides. In a cucumber field trial, abamectin treatments resulted in faster fruit setting and development as well as higher yield compared to the non-treated control. In 55 US cotton field trials with predominantly root-knot and/or reniform nematode infestations, seed coating with abamectin at 0.15 mg/seed resulted in an average yield increase that was at least equivalent to the soil-applied standard aldicarb at 841.4 g/ha. This results in a significant reduction of nematicide application and in combination with insecticide and fungicide seed coatings is a novel tool for plant protection.