Spirotetramat (Movento®): new systemic insecticide for control of green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphidae) on peach

The green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) is one of the most common and most harmful species of aphids on the peach in the world. It is a serious problem for many industrial and vegetable crops and vector of various economically important viruses on them. The control of this species of aphids is extremely difficult due to the specific life cycle, the high reproductive potential, the wide range of hosts, the ability to spread rapidly and the development of resistance to different groups of insecticides. A series of field experiments was carried out in the spring of 2016/2017 to improve the control of this species of aphids. The purpose of these experiments was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of spirotetramat (Movento (R)) used to control M. persicae with that of neonicotinoids imidacloprid or thiamethoxam when applied alone after flowering. The results show that spirotetramat demonstrates excellent efficacy and very good persistance, allowing effective control of M. persicae populations for more than a month. Movento (R), applied once after flowering, provides excellent and reliable control of M persicae populations, significantly superior to that of neonicotinoids imidacloprid and thiamethoxam in terms of efficacy and persistence. Spirotetramat can be considered as a reliable means of controlling M. persicae and a possible alternative to neonicotinoid insecticides to reduce the risk of mass multiplication and resistance occurrence. The best time for its application is after flowering before or in the presence of first visible colonies of M. persicae on the peach shoots.