Arysta LifeScience’s iodomethane receives New Zealand registration

Arysta LifeScience Wednesday announced New Zealand has granted commercial registration for RIPPER®, a broad-spectrum soil fumigant based on iodomethane that effectively controls a broad range of soil-borne diseases, nematodes, weed seeds and insects that threaten high-value crops. RIPPER® is approved for soil use in commercial and nursery strawberry production fields. New Zealand is the fourth country to register iodomethane for commercial use, following the U.S., Japan and Turkey.

"New Zealand’s decision to register iodomethane follows a series of successful trials in cooperation with the New Zealand Horticultural Research,” said Hildo Brilleman, Global Product Manager for Fumigants at Arysta LifeScience. “The application of RIPPER® as a pre-plant soil fumigant will allow New Zealand strawberry growers to continue to produce healthy, high yield crops in a time of methyl bromide phase-out.”

The active ingredient in RIPPER®, iodomethane, was developed as a drop-in replacement for methyl bromide, a fumigant being phased out of use internationally. Iodomethane is commercially registered as MIDAS® in the U.S., YOKAFUME® in Japan, and WAPITI 98® in Turkey.

RIPPER® is applied pre-plant to bare soil and provides essential broad-spectrum crop protection and helps establish a strong healthy crop that delivers high yields. For the past two years, Arysta LifeScience has worked in cooperation with New Zealand strawberry growers to apply and test RIPPER® extensively.

"Strawberry growers in New Zealand who have had access to RIPPER® for testing in their fields have experienced excellent results,” said Mike Allan, Global Business Development Manager for Arysta LifeScience. “As with all products based on Iodomethane, RIPPER® is accompanied by the highest standards for stewardship and environmental protection and the latest advancements in fumigation technology.”

Registration for iodomethane is pending internationally in Australia, Morocco, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Chile and Argentina while development is on-going in many other countries