Torac can be used as a rotational chemistry within commonly used insect control programs
By Joe Kertzman, managing editor, Badger Common’Tater
The challenge of discovering new active ingredients to control difficult pests like Colorado potato beetle is something Alex Truszkowski of Nichino America, Inc. says crop protection companies invest much time and resources toward accomplishing.
In 2018, Torac® Insecticide from Nichino America was granted a label expansion by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow use on potatoes in states east of the Mississippi River.
Torac provides fast broad-spectrum control of potato psyllid, Colorado potato beetle, aphids, leafhoppers and thrips.
The active ingredient, tolfenpyrad, works by blocking cellular respiration and is effective on eggs, nymphs and adults.
For effective resistance management, Torac should be used in rotation with insecticides of different modes of action.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison along with Heartland Farms and Pest Pros, a division of Allied Cooperative, helped evaluate and optimize the efficacy and timing of Torac for controlling Colorado potato beetle on commercial farm acres.
“When Torac was finally labeled in Wisconsin three years ago, we were hopeful it would become another tool in the toolbox,” says Matt Selenske, division manager for Allied Cooperative’s Pest Pros division.
