Positive experiences with Booster on cabbage stem flea beetle in Czech and Polish oilseed rape crops

Roger Pinder, Global Business Development Consultant for Pangaea Biosciences, shares positive experiences from recently reported independent trials and commercial use in Czech and Poland in which Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle, brassica pod midge, rape winter stem weevil, and seed weevil were targeted, he says. ″In Czech they have been achieving excellent results with various insecticide mixtures and Booster™.″

Growers in the UK are desperate to find a way around CSFB which can destroy crops completely. It is a major pest in oilseed rape and in some regions has been responsible for the reduction in the cropping area. The only treatment to date is pyrethroid insecticides, most of which are highly resistant. 

″We have many practical examples to demonstrate that the addition of Booster™ to a pyrethroid insecticide can obviate resistance,″ says Charles Tilbury, sales account manager for Northern Europe for Pangaea Biosciences.

Charles explains that the active ingredient in Booster™ was first identified at Rothamsted Research Station in 1950’s as a substance which deactivated or blocked normal metabolic pathways responsible for pesticide breakdown. It works by leaving the insect pest in a hypersensitive state, so that the concentration of the pesticide will kill even the most resistant types. It deactivates the metabolic pathway (Cytochrome P450) in insects, which causes the breakdown of the insecticide. Its great strength is that it rejuvenates older chemistry, a major advantage to the farmer given the huge cost and time (greater than £250 million and 10 to 12 years) to bring a novel chemical to the market resulting in few new products. Pangaea Biosciences has optimised the formulation of Booster™, improving its stability and uptake, resulting in superior efficacy of the partner insecticide. 

The first registration and commercial use of Booster™ was for the control of pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus) in oilseed rape. This is a critical insect species across Europe with high levels of resistance to pyrethroids (more than 60% resistance across Europe) in the field. In countries such as Poland and Lithuania resistance can be as high as 80%. Booster™ was tested on resistant pollen beetle at 5 different Polish locations with a range of pyrethroid insecticides, which were no longer controlling pollen beetle. When tank mixed with 300 ml/ha of Booster™, efficacy of these insecticides was significantly improved to 100% as resistance to the insecticide was overcome. Recently it has come to light that rape growers in Czech and Poland have also been using Booster with pyrethroids, applied at night when the cabbage stem flea beetles are active with great success.

Charles Tilbury reports that there are more than 4 million hectares of winter oilseed rape in Europe, most of which is subjected to insect attack. ″Resistance is a major problem in the control of insect pests in oilseed rape across Europe. It is a significant threat to global food security,″ says Charles. ″The ability to bring back a range of chemistries which have all started to fail in the market through resistance problems should have enormous appeal to farmers all over the world. Currently Booster™ is registered in Poland, the Baltics, Romania, Czechia, Denmark, the UK and Indonesia. Registrations are also proceeding in other parts of Asia and Australia. 

The commercial experiences in Czech and Poland are positive indicators of Boosters™ assistance in controlling damaging insects.

″Being able to show UK growers a positive route ahead and the opportunity to save their crop through reducing the impact of Cabbage Stem Flea beetle will make a huge difference to them,″ concludes Charles.

Pangaea Biosciences already has a range of distributors. But if anyone would be interested in expanding the list for other parts of the EU or globally, please ring Nick Gooch on Mobile: + 44 (0) 7900 891692.