Thrips are one of the most destructive pests for greenhouse growers. Utilizing the right rotation of chemicals is key for prevention and control of the pest. In the April issue of Greenhouse Management, Kansas State University professor and extension specialist in horticultural entomology and plant protection Ray Cloyd wrote that, “Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) are still the most destructive insect pest of greenhouse-grown horticultural crops, the reason being that western flower thrips cause both direct feeding damage to leaves and flowers, and indirect damage by vectoring viruses. This results in a very low tolerance for this insect pest.”
For this reason, having the right tools to battle thrips is of the utmost importance. So, when SePRO released Hachi-Hachi SC to the market a few months ago at Cultivate’15, it was big news. Mark Brotherton, the ornamental portfolio leader for SePRO, shared his thoughts on the new product.
“As I’m sure many growers know, we had the original formulation Hachi-Hachi EC. It was a less than ideal formulation and we’ve done extensive work to improve that formulation to provide better crop safety and ensure the same phenomenal efficacy as the first formulation,” he says. “SePRO conducted extensive testing to be sure we provided growers with the best tool we could.”
Brotherton says that Hachi-Hachi SC provides excellent activity on the egg, immature and adult life stages of insect pests. The chemical acts as an immediate stop-feed to prevent further damage to a crop.
“It is absorbed via contact or ingestion, so thorough coverage is suggested,” he says. It also provides excellent control of aphids, scales, leafhoppers and suppression of whiteflies, powdery mildew and even downy mildew, he says. It’s currently labelled for greenhouse use only.
“We did extensive work with universities and IR-4 to test as many varieties as we can,” Brotherton says. “But we always want growers to conduct a small-scale trial at their location because there are many different factors that could come into play.”
Brotherton was also excited to note that, to this point, there have been no known resistances or cross-resistances developed in response to Hachi-Hachi SC.
“We’re very excited about this chemical,” he says.
