White flies and spider mites are among the most damaging of the various sucking pests that attack crop plants. They are difficult to control, because they reproduce very rapidly and are quick to develop resistance to insecticides or acaricides that have been used too intensively in the spray programme.
Broad spectrum-of-action
Applied to leaf surfaces, Oberon controls white flies (Bemisia- and Trialeurodes-species) and numerous mite species, including spider mites (Tetranychus- and Panonychus-species), tarsonemid mites and rust mites, and shows excellent activity against tomato psyllid (Paratrioza spp). Besides these target pests, Oberon also shows good activity against certain thrips-species, such as Caliothrips phaseoli in beans and Thrips palmi in vegetables. Among the many cultures for which Oberon treatments have been developed are vegetables, fruit, cotton, maize, beans, tea and a number of ornamental plants.
New mode-of-action
Oberon contains the active substance spiromesifen from the new chemical class of tetronic acids. Spiromesifen possesses a new type of mechanism of action that leads to the inhibition of fat synthesis in the target pest (i.e. the active substance is an LBI – “lipid biosynthesis inhibitor”).
Ideal for resistance management
With its rapid onset of activity and long duration of action, this product controls target pests at all stages of development. Its unique mode of action means that it is ideally suited for resistance management programmes: it controls white flies and mites that have already developed resistance to other products (such as carbamates and organophosphates). Moreover, there has been no evidence of cross-resistance to any other products applied to control white flies or mites. Because Oberon is harmless to beneficial insects, it is an ideal component of IPM-programmes.
Apply before leaves are damaged!
The recommendation regarding timing of use is that the product should be applied as soon as the pest population starts to increase – i.e., before symptoms of damage (e.g. leaf discolouration) are seen.
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