Spexit

Manufacturer
Andermatt
Category
Insecticides
Registered until
N/A
Registration number
69553-4
Links

Spexit offers highly efficient control of beet armyworm by preventing feeding damage and controlling armyworm populations. Due to its unique mode of action, Spexit is especially valuable as a resistance management tool and can be included in any integrated pest management program (IPM) for growers of both, conventional and organic vegetable crops.

Pest distribution and life cycle
Beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, is found in the southern half of the United States. Adult moths are highly dispersive. Eggs are deposited in clusters, usually
on lower surface of the leaf, near blossom or the tip of the branch. Females lay 300 to 600 eggs. Eggs hatch after 2–3 days and larvae mature in as few as
21 to 24 days. Larvae are gregarious and may feed in large swarms on both foliage and fruit, causing devastating crop losses.

Mode of Action
Larvae need to ingest the virus particles applied to the plant surface in order to get infected. Particles enter the larval midgut, where their DNA is incorporated and replicated in the host cells. Larval organs are infected within a few days; the larva stops feeding, eventually dies, and releases new viruses into the environment, ready to infect other beet armyworms.

General instructions
For best crop protection, adult flight is monitored and Spexit is applied as soon as first catches of moths are recorded. Since young larvae are most vulnerable,
they should be infected at the earliest possible stage of their development, when they are most susceptible, and not yet hidden inside fruits, flowers or stems. Older instars cause more feeding damage and take a longer time to die.