New corn rootworm insecticide available

BOONE, Iowa — Farmers with concerns about damage from corn rootworms have a new option to control the pest with Duro LQ.

“Duro LQ is a new corn liquid soil insecticide for corn rootworm control and nematode suppression as well as control of other seed corn attacking pests,” said Wen Carter, AMVAC product marketing manager.

“This insecticide allows us to go into a space we have not been in yet,” he said at the AMVAC booth during the Farm Progress Show. “It is a liquid fertilizer compatible product that you can mix directly with fertilizers.”

Aztec, Counter and Index are organophosphate insecticides with excellent efficacy, Carter said.

“But we wanted another offering for growers that does not require a closed containment system and Duro LQ allows us to do that,” the product marketing manager said.

“For growers that have a liquid system on their planter, we want to be able to do an in-furrow application with fertilizer and insecticide at the same time,” he said.

Duro LQ includes two active ingredients — bifenthrin and abamectin.

“The abamectin provides nematode suppression, and it also makes the bifenthrin work better on corn rootworm control,” Carter said. “We are seeing an increase in efficacy over a bifenthrin alone product.”

“This is not just another bifenthrin with another product name,” he said. “It is a product that takes corn rootworm control to the next level and provides nematode suppression.”

It may be difficult for growers to determine if they have a nematode problem.

“Nematodes are the silent pest because unless you test for them, you do not know they are in the field,” Carter said. “They can be robbing you of yield and you are not even aware of them.”

AMVAC planted 10 to 12 grower trials this year that included Duro LQ.

“The corn looks great and we are waiting for the yield results,” Carter said.

“One of the things we heard from our growers was the ease of mixing Duro LQ with their liquid fertilizer,” he said. “The product mixed and handled great with no compatibility issues.”

Carter is excited about the soil insecticide portfolio that is available from AMVAC.

“We can walk growers through a decision tree based on their equipment, what pests they are trying to control and what level of strength they want from a product,” he said.

Another new product coming from AMVAC is Assure HTC.

“We already sell Assure II. That is labeled for use in soybeans as post-emergence herbicide,” the product marketing manager said.

“The HTC stands for herbicide-tolerant corn, so Assure HTC will be for weed control in PowerCore Enlist traited corn,” Carter said.

“It will provide excellent control of a wide spectrum of grass species,” he said. “In an age where grasses are constantly evolving and having more resistance to glyphosate, we are looking forward to having Assure HTC registered.”

AMVAC was expecting to receive registration for the new product by the end of 2026.

“But I think it might be closer to the first quarter of 2027,” Carter said. “So, it could be available for the 2027 growing season.”