Importantly, it also has minimal impact on beneficial and non-target insects, proven crop safety in all citrus varieties, and its twin mode of action means it can be a vital tool for resistance management when used in conjunction with other existing chemistry.

Insect and mite pests cause significant losses across Australia’s 28,000-hectare citrus industry. In all growing regions, including major areas of southern Australia’s Riverland, Sunraysia and Riverina and Queensland’s Emerald and Central Burnett, citrus trees are attacked by one or more species of a range of sucking insects – and all aerial parts of trees are susceptible.

Trivor from Adama, which was registered in September 2017, is a unique Group 4A and 7C insecticide containing the active ingredients acetamiprid and pyriproxyfen for control and suppression of Californian red scale, citrus mealybug, black scale, pink wax scale, citrus leaf miner and Kelly’s citrus thrips.

“Because of the dry conditions this season there’s been a lot of dust, dirt and debris throughout the orchards which is conducive of having a red scale outbreak. As we go forward this year it’s going to be really important to control red scale, mealybug and loopers as I think the conditions for these pests will be advantageous,” said Rick Pearce from Cox Citrus.

“Last season we had a patch of Valencias which were absolutely riddled with red scale. We tried numerous products which just hadn’t been successful, so I talked to my local chemical suppliers and we came up with a trial using Trivor. After applying Trivor we found that it had cleaned the red scale right up.

“We’ll definitely use Trivor again in the future. It’s really well priced so we think that in scales of economy it will certainly fit the program. Where we have leaf miner, red scale and some of the other nasties we think it is definitely the product to use going forward.”

Trivor can be applied at low use rates but is fast acting for rapid removal of pest populations and offers extended residual protection, helping to prevent fruit damage and maximise yields and quality.

Adama Australia senior product manager Dror Dagan said Trivor had shown improved pest control and fruit marketability in trials compared with standard alternative treatments, offering up to 120 days of protection. 

Mr Dagan said Trivor’s extended protection meant one application could control second and later generations of red scale and citrus mealybug, achieving savings for growers.

“It will set a new benchmark in cost-effective sucking pest management in citrus, and maximising the potential for marketable fresh fruit will please growers, especially considering the higher quality standards for export and domestic markets,” he said.

He recommended Trivor should be used in conjunction with a season-long program for sucking pests, including insecticides with alternative modes of action and other integrated pest management (IPM) practices that help ensure long-term efficacy and sustainability.

“Trivor’s low toxicity to predatory insects and mites makes it a good fit in IPM systems,” he said.

Brett Morgan, managing director of Agri Business Supplies said, “We believe Trivor has a great fit with Suprathion being taken away from the market. We also believe strongly in resistance management strategy so we think Trivor will be a great rotation with the existing insecticides that are in the market at the moment.”

Steve Lehmann from Elders Riverland agreed: “This up and coming season we see Trivor having a good fit with a lot of other products being taken off the market, so Trivor will definitely be a product we’ll be recommending.

“We’re here to get the most returns for growers and give them a program that’s cost effective and that does the job.”

Meanwhile, further work is underway with Trivor and a label extension is expected in January 2019 that will include fruit spotting bug in avocados; grape scale, longtailed mealybug and light brown apple moth in grapes; fruit spotting bug and macadamia borer in macadamias; and flatids, fruit spotting bug and mango scale in mangoes.