Bayers insecticide Movento granted regulatory approval in Australia

Date:09-01-2009

Bayer CropScience’s insecticidal active ingredient spirotetramat – marketed internationally under the brand name Movento – has received regulatory approval in Australia. The company plans to launch Movento in Australia before the end of this year. Spirotetramat can be used in Brassica vegetable crops, cucurbits, lettuce and leafy vegetables to protect against a number of sucking insect pests. The Australian regulatory authorities are also evaluating the use of this active ingredient in other crops including onions, mangoes, citrus fruit, tomatoes, capsicums, potatoes and cotton.

The registration of Movento in Australia is a further milestone in its global commercialization. Since the product was first launched in 2008 in the United States, Canada and Austria, Bayer CropScience has succeeded in gaining access to other key markets such as China, Colombia, Mexico, Tunisia, Turkey and New Zealand. Further market launches are planned this year in Argentina, Chile and the Netherlands. Spirotetramat was recently granted regulatory approval in the UK, where it is planned to launch Movento for use on lettuce and brassicas in 2010. Movento is scheduled to be marketed in more than 70 countries in total.

High level of assured efficacy and long duration of action thanks to two-way transport

Spirotetramat, a substance from the chemical class of ketoenols, has a broad spectrum of action and is effective against a wide range of sucking insects such as aphids, psyllids, scales (armored and soft), mealy bugs, whiteflies and some thrips species as well as the mango leafhopper. Spirotetramat can also be used in numerous major arable crops such as cotton, soy and potatoes.

The active ingredient is characterized by an outstanding property: it moves up and down inside the plant in the sap. Thanks to this two-way transport following uptake, Movento can reliably combat insects both on the inner leaves of, for example, lettuce and cabbage, and in the bark of fruit trees. This unique new mechanism of action also distributes the agent evenly in new shoots, leaves and roots. An important advantage for users is the product’s long-lasting action: spirotetramat protects crops against insect attack for up to several weeks.