It was pomp and dance as flower growers welcomed the entry of a first class nematicide for ornamental products. The launch came with an almost audio recorded oratory of Marcel Breedeveld, Product development Manager, Europe Africa Middle East, Lawn and Gardens not previously heard in Kenya.
In a more theatrical way, Mr. Breedeveld said, “In today’s growing environment- with constantly shifting social, economical, environmental and market priorities, every grower would vote for a product with significant crop enhancement effects through increased root mass and greening effect on leaves. In addition it should lead to more vigorous, healthier and higher yielding crops”.
Formulation
TERVIGOTM has proven activity against a variety of destructive nematodes in ornamental crops. The unique chelated formulation ensures effective protection of the active ingredient for optimal soil penetration and contact with nematodes leading to more vigorous and higher yielding crop.
Mode of action
TERVIGOTM as soil application is highly effective against the root-knot nematodes and other several species of plant parasitic nematodes. Abamectin, the active ingredient in TERVIGOTM, affects plant parasitic nematodes by blocking the transmittance of electrical activity in nerves and muscle cells and stimulating the release and binding of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) at nerve endings. This causes asn influx of chloride ions into the cells, which lead to hyper polarization and subsequent paralysis of the neuromuscular systems and then death. This unique mode of action is effective on nematodes that are resistant to other organophosphates and carbamatenematicides.
TERVIGOTM interacts with different stages in the life cycle of nematodes
- Strong side effect on eggs in the soil
- Fast elimination of soil moving stages
- Stops nematode invasion and gall formation
Direction for use
Drip irrigation is the optimal method of applying TERVIGOTM in ornamental crops. This ensures that the product is released at a constant rate, directly to the plant base, keeping the product around the root mass where it will kill nematodes populations and enhance root health.
Application Timing
Apply TERVIGOTM in an early curative situation (after appropriate nematode extraction, identification and counts). The window for application should thus be positioned around the population build-up periods. Proper sampling should be carried out to determine the infestation levels in order to choose the most appropriate application intervals.
Crop tolerance
Margaret Njambi, the technical manager East Africa assured farmers that the product had also been tested in Kenya .”This formulation has been tested for phytotoxicity on several ornamental crop varieties and has a wide margin of safety on the varieties tested. However, it is recommended to do phytotoxicity test on new varieties before wide scale use”, she said.
Resistance Management
Use TERVIGOTM as a rotation partner with other nematicides of different mode of action. TERVIGOTM is an excellent tool for the control of nematode populations suspected to be resistant to carbamate and organophosphate nematicides.
IPM- Fitness
TERVIGOTM fits well into any IPM systems. Since it is applied to the soil and it is not systemic, beneficial (Bees and natural enemies are not affected during and after application).
Remarks
The chief guest during the event, Loise Mukami a Lead auditor at KFC, said the launch of TERVIGOTM could not have come at a more opportune moment than this for the Industry. Growers yearn to obtain quality Nematicides that can be integrated with IPM; to meet the ever stringent market requirements on safety and environment protection, amongst others. She commended Syngenta E.A. for working hard on this area to provide growers with successful and efficient products.
In his speech, Mr. Marcel Hubers, technical Manager, Europe Africa Middle East, Lawn and Gardens took growers through the Syngenta portfolio globally. He said that syngenta was keeping abreast of market demand, whilst maintaining the highest standards of operation demanded by the international European standards. “We keep a hawk’s eye on our products as guided by the stringent international standards and TERVIGOTM has been able to pass them,” he said. TERVIGOTM entry into the Kenyan market offers growers additional choice of nematicides.
In his remarks Mr. Walter Njenga said, “Today marks an important milestone in our history and commitment to growers. We will strive to bring you benefits not just products. We will not sell products we will provide solutions to enhance productivity per unit area. We will not bring you just new products; we will package technologies to meet the ever changing dynamics of crop protection”.
Most of those interviewed by this bi-monthly magazine represented a cross-section of people from all sub-sectors of the horticultural business and they believed the launch of TERVIGOTM would be of major commercial advantage to them. “I have tried the product before and for sure it is good,” said Mr. Dilipe Berge of primarosa flowers. Similar sentiments were expressed by Mr. Andrew Tubei Production Manager, Maasai Flowers- Sian Group, describing it as cost effective.
Addressing the growers, Mr. Victor Juma, Lawns and Gardens Manager said, “Our desire is to use our technical capacity and capabilities to introduce quality molecules like TERVIGOTM. We will also endeavour to offer you professional and ethical advisory services in crop protection. It is our high expectation that we will live to your expectations as world class chemical company”.