AT LAST – A nematicide safe and effective to use anytime!
Plant parasitic nematodes represent a huge hidden cost to Australian producers and turf managers. It has been estimated that in Australia up to 19 million hectares of cultivated land and amenity turf is negatively impacted by parasitic nematodes. Crop yield losses were estimate back in 1992 to be upwards of $300 million per year (Stirling et al. 1992) which would be significantly higher using todays numbers.
Plant parasitic nematodes infest and damage plant roots which reduces crop yields and downgrades the quality of turf playing surfaces. Many producers and turf professionals, however, are reluctant to treat the problem due to the difficulties associated with handling and applying toxic nematicides and soil fumigants. At last there is a safe and effective treatment using the power of one of nature’s most potent nematocidal compounds called polysulphides.
Eco-nemguard™ was developed from many years of research funded by UK based company Ecospray. Their researched focused on the question why some garlic extracts have pesticidal effects and others have little to no effect. They discovered that garlic extracts with high bio-efficacy also had very high levels of polysulphide compounds. Armed with this new knowledge, Ecospray went about optimising their garlic extract formulation so that the final product had the highest possible levels of polysulphides that could be extracted from naturally sourced garlic. The final Eco-nemguard™ product has a guaranteed level of 26 g/L of polysulphides.
Eco-nemguard™ is registered for the management of nematodes in all vegetable crops and turf situations. Because polysulphides are naturally occurring they breakdown readily in soil leaving little to no residual effect. This is a very important and positive attribute of the product. Eco-nemguard™ rapidly knocks down plant parasitic nematode populations while minimising any long-term effects on soil biodiversity and fertility. Ideally this is the aim of modern pest management which reduces the negative side effects on the soil ecosystem and as a result reduces other input costs in the long term. No residual effects also mean that users can be confident that any potential spills or treated soil running off into sensitive environmental areas will not cause catastrophic impacts long term.
Eco-nemguard™ is soft on plant roots with little to no burning effects on sensitive root hairs and root tips. This highly flexible application feature, along with no withholding periods and no long re-entry restrictions, makes eco-nemguard™ a valuable tool in managing nematodes throughout the crop cycle. Combining eco-nemguard™ with pre-plant nematicides is also an effective management strategy in heavily nematode infested soils or where cropping cycles are very long.
Eco-nemguard™ is available in 10L containers as a concentrated liquid and in 20 kg bags as a free-flowing granular product (eco-nemguard™ G) making it easy to apply eco-nemguard™ anytime and anywhere plant parasitic nematodes are a problem in vegetables and turf. Call your OCP Territory Manager for more information.
Reference
Stirling, G.R., Stanton, J.M. and Marshall, J.W. (1992) The importance of plant-parasitic nematodes to Australian and New Zealand agriculture Australasian Plant Pathology 21: 104-115