BASEL, Switzerland — Syngenta Crop Protection introduced EQUENTO, a novel seed treatment that provides control of various soil pests, on June 5.

EQUENTO, based on Syngenta’s PLINAZOLIN technology, is applied onto seeds, protecting the crop right from the start of its life. Based on a new mode of action (IRAC Group 30), it breaks the critical rise in insect resistance, while offering precise control of a broad variety of soil pests, including difficult-to-control pests such as the wireworm and the red legged earth mite. The seed treatment can be applied across multiple crops including cereals and canola.

Safe for both the seed and plant, this seed treatment is highly effective at very low dose rates and is not easily soluble or mobile in soil, according to Syngenta. This provides precise and effective pest control in the area immediately surrounding a plant’s roots and ensures healthier roots that contribute to better soil health and biodiversity.

This seed treatment also offers farmers greater flexibility in farming decisions – ranging from application timings, dose rates to choices of mixtures with other insecticides and fungicides. It is effective in low soil temperatures, controlling pests that either ingest or come in contact with the plant, and reducing pest populations in the soil. In addition, EQUENTO features target specificity, which enables farmers to precisely tailor their dose rates to meet particular pest challenges.

Insects and soil pests pose significant challenges to farmers, threatening both yields as well as the quality of the harvests by harming the crop as well as opening pathways for disease. Their ability to constantly evolve, coupled with the impact of climate change that has propelled shifts in the insect pressure and spectrum farmers face, have increased the urgency for innovative solutions that protect the farmers ability to grow productively and sustainably. An estimated 600 species of insects are already deemed resistant to at least one insecticide.

Syngenta will mark its global launch of EQUENTO in Australia later this year, under the trademark EQUENTO Extreme. Further registrations are expected to follow in other markets worldwide.

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