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Combination with insecticides

Albit is well-applicable in combination with insecticides, that visibly reduces insecticide-induced stress effect on treated plants.

Insecticides are group of pesticides used to control insect pests. Generally, insecticides are united with acaricides (pesticides against pathogenic mites), since they have the same mechanisms of action. Thus, this group of pesticides can be called insectoacaricides. Sometimes, term 'insecticide' is used as short form of 'insectoacaricide'. Like fungicides and herbicides, insecticides cause considerable stressful effect on plants, that leads to yield losses and decreased yield quality (for example, decreased gluten content).

Efficiency of Albit/insecticide combinations was demonstrated in field trials carried out by farms of Krasnodar and Stavropol krais, Vladimir, Nizhniy Novrorod and Rostov oblasts, All-Russia Institute of Plant Protection (2003, 2004) on fungicides based on thiamethoxam, lambda-cyhalothrin, diquat, carbofuran, dimethoate, cypermethrin, diazinon, deltamethrin, malathion and others. There have been no cases of incompatibility or decreased efficiency of insecticides used jointly with Albit yet.

With the lapse of time, insect pests injure cereal crops more and more. This in jury is not just the mechanical damage of plants: insects (for example, aphids of cereals and swedish fly) are also carriers of viral diseases. It was especially actual in Russia in 2005, when many farmers had to use insecticides for the first time so save yield. Combinations of Albit with insecticides (for example, with diazinon and deltamethrin based ones against cereal aphids and cereal leaf beetle) were also tested.

One good example of such combination efficiency is joint application of Albit with lambda-cyhalothrin based insecticide on spring wheat and barley in Pushkinskoe experimental farm (Nizhniy Novgorod oblast) against leaf miners and flea beetles. Area of field, used in the trial, exceeded 2000 hectares; in 2004 the insecticide was used alone, in 2005 – in combination with Albit. Despite possible differences in plant’s response in different years, one can note positive tendency. Albit did not decreased efficiency of the insecticide, but, due to its immunizing activity, it reduced yield losses caused by diseases (Table 15). Owing to Albit, total yield losses caused by pests and diseases were reduced by 30% (wheat) and 32% (barley) on average. These values almost twice exceeds average yield increase provided by pure Albit on these cultures (16-18%). Therefore, obtained effect might be created also by antistress activity of Albit.

It is well known, that application of insecticides against shield-backed bugs suppresses plant growth, transportation of photosynthesis products, reduces synthesis of gluten in grain, decreases yield quality. Combination of insecticides with Albit abolishes this effect, that leads to increase of gluten content in grain by 1.2-4.6% comparing to variant treated with insecticide only. In Rostov oblast (1999-2004) Albit was successfully used in combinations with insecticides against shield-backed bugs in EC stages 50-69. Application of such combination provided abolishment of plant growth suppression effect and stable yield of 45-49 centners/hectare contained 26-29% of gluten having Gluten Deformation Index of 65-95.

High effectiveness of Albit/malathion-based fungicide combination was demonstrated in trial carried out by Vladimir Regional Plant Protection Station on white cabbage (2004).

Albit used in combination with thiamethoxam based insecticide (against Colorado beetle) did not decrease insecticide’s effectiveness (All-Russia Institute of Plant Protection); in contrary, application of the combination even increased total effect of insecticide on yield, possibly, due to relieving insecticide’s toxic influence on plants. Thus, yield increase due to treatment with the insecticide only was 10.6%, whereas treatment with Albit/insecticide combination provided yield of 18.5%. Analogous data on potato were obtained by All-Russia Institute of Plant Protection in experiments on fipronil based insecticide in 2003.

According to data of Scientific Agricultural Institute of South-East (2005, 2006), All-Russia Institute of Plant Protection (2006) and All-Russia Institute of Biological Plant Protection (2006), the highest yield increase due to Albit/insecticide application is demonstrated by canola. In trials, insecticides based on alpha-cypermethrin, deltamethrin and beta-cypermethrin were used on winter and spring canola starting from coming-up until beginning of flowering to control bugs, blossom beetle, turnip sawfly, red turnip beetle, cabbage white butterfly, cabbage moth and cabbage stem flea beetle. Addition of Albit to insecticides did not decrease insecticide’s efficiency; instead, it visibly increased yield of seeds and oil output.

Results of field trials on joint application of Albit and insecticides are summarized in table 2.

Thus, using available data of trials, one can conclude, that combination of Albit with insecticides increases yields of cereals, potato and vegetables by 8-32% (in case of canola – up to 93%) comparing to treatment with insecticide only; application of Albit as an antidote is effective agricultural technique.