Pounce replaces toxaphene for cutworm control
FAYETTEVILLE - Cutworms
can be a problem in most East
Coast com, especially that which is
planted no-till. Where fields have a
cutworm history, growers find it
practical to use a pre-emergent
chemical at planting to avoid
almost certain loss.
For most, toxaphene has been
used to forestall such damage
until 1987 when the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) decreed
that it not be marketed or even
applied. For Eugene Hege and
many other area growers, Pounce
(R) 3.2 EC insecticide, newly
labeled in 1985 for cutworm and
true armyworm control infield
com, was used as a preventive
treatment.
“Pounce is a good, low cost
alternative,” says Hege who farms
with hie son, Brian, near Fayet
teville, Pa. “Cost of chemical for
four ounces per acre was less than
$5-recoverable by saving just two
bushels of yield.
“But we did much better than
that,” Hege continues. “We har
vested 11 bushels per acre more
where the Pounce was used.” The
Heges had Willard Chemical Co.
custom apply Pounce on 170 acres
of no-till com. A 100-foot-wide
check strip was maintained un
treated in order to check results.
By having the Pounce tank-mixed
along with their liquid fertilizer
and com herbicides, they had no
additional charge for application.
Hege, and more recently Bryan,
who is a graduate of Penn State,
have been growing no-till com for
eight years. Previously, com was
all reduced tillage on their Duffield
soil. They operate a major hog
enterprise and use lots of manure
on com ground. With careful soil
testing and an intensive soil
nutrition program, they grow lots
of continuous corn. One field, Hege
states, has been in continuous corn
for 33 years.
Cutworms are the prime
problem creating the need for use
Heges to use a Pounce pre
emergent treatment. “We perhaps
have more armyworms than we
think,” Hege says, “and may be
getting some beneficial kill on
these as well.” He points, out that
stand count on the corn treated
with Pounce was some 1000 more
stalks per acre. Application of a
corn rootworm insecticide,
Furadan (15G(R) in
secticide/nematicide, is a regular
practice. Though it is a broad
.spectrum insecticide and kills a
number of com insects, it does not
control cutworms and ar
myworms Both Furadan and
Pounce are needed on his no-till
crop, according to Hege.
i Across the state line, in New
Jersey, the Jelliffee Brothers also
used Pounce in 1985. The brothers,
Bill and Jake, made their own
application on 500 acres of no-till
corn. Like Hege, they spent less
than $5 per acre for chemical, used
pre-emergent at a four-ounce-per-
acre rate, and tank mixed the
Pounce with their regular com
herbicides. They also had a rye
cover crop. “The chemical
worked,” says Bill. “We plan to
use it again on our no-till com. We
really didn’t have any problems on
our conventional com except for a
couple of small fields.” The
brothers produced a total of 1238
acres of corn in 1985.
In one seven-acre field near his
home, Jake said the rye crop was
baled for dairy herd bedding. “We
haybined the rye and planted no
till com with no pre-emergent
treatment. We had big infestations
of both cutworms and armyworms.
We sprayed with Pounce as a
rescue treatment and replanted
immediately in the row. The
chemical worked.” Kill was total,
he said.
In another 35-acre field which
was moldboard plowed and
planted in com, armyworms wiped
out the new com. “We broadcast
the Pounce was a rescue treat
ment,” Bill says, “and we killed
out the infestation. I think we also
got some slugs.”
The Jelliffee Brothers always
use a com rootworm insecticide
and figure this boosts corn yields
by seven to ten bushels per acre.
However, on all no-till com and in
some other instances with con
ventionally planted com, they
have found that they also need
Pounce for cutworms and ar
myworms. Pre-emergent treat
ment of no-till com will be the rule
again for this coming season.
Joe Newcomer, staff agronomist
for Willard Chemical Co. at
Frederick, Md., agrees that the
pre-emergent treatment is needed.
Willard, custom applicator for the
Heges, operates five locations in
the Mid-Atlantic region and not
only supplies crop chemicals but
also handles a major custom ap
plication business. Newcomer says
five key insect problems threaten
com for this area. He puts
European com borers as the main
threat, followed by black cut
Joe Newcomer
Eugene Hege
worms-the species controlled by
Pounce. For cutworms, Newcomer
recommends a pre-emergent
treatment. “There’s too good a
chance that growers won’t spot an
infestation until too late to prevent
heavy losses,” he says, “unless
they scout their fields closely.”
Other insect problems identified
by Newcomer after European corn
borers and black cutworms are
corn rootworms (Northern,
Southern and now Western), ar
myworms (though these are
usually limited to corn after small
grains and late-planted com), and,
finally, the com stalk borer (which
can be controlled to some extent by
the pyrethroids).
Newcomer says the Pounce,
which was custom applied by his
firm this past season on no-till
com, accounts for 83 percent of all
com acreage in areas served by
Willard.. A big advantage of the
pre-emergent treatment is that i(
can be tank mixed with liquid
fertilizer and herbicides with no
extra charge for application.
Further, Pounce is ettective
According to Newcomer, “Pounce
controls a broad spectrum of in
sects and is a logical replacement
for toxaphene.” As an agronomist
for Willard, he has field-tested the
product for the past three years
and is “happy with the ef
fectiveness of Pounce. ’ ’
Pounce (R) 3.2 EC insecticide is
manufactured by the Agricultural
Chemical Group of FMC Cor
poration, headquartered in
Philadelphia. The spring of 1985
U.S. soybean farmers
welcome Soviet purchases
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - It is time for a
thaw. Whitewater, Wis., soybean
farmer John Hoffman could be
talking about his home state’s
wintery weather, but he isn’t
Hoffmann is talking about the
Soviet Union. For the first time in
more than a year, the Soviet Union
is buying U.S. soybeans.
Recently, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture announced Soviet
purchases of U.S. soybeans
totaling 1,077,800 metric tons, or
just less than 40 million bushels
Hoffmann, who serves as
secretary of the American
Soybean Association, was in the
Soviet Union in December on a
trade expansion mission for U S
soybean farmers. Traveling with
Hoffmann were ASA staff vice
president Michael Phillips, and
staff of the Soybean Association’s
Vienna office
“These soybean purchases may
mean a significant warming in
United States-Soviet agricultural
relations,” says Hoffmann “But
now the Soviets are looking for a
stronger commitment from the
United States Trade has to be a
two-way street.”
The Soybean Association is
already working to pave that
street.
In meetings with Soviet officials,
Hoffmann learned of Soviet con
cerns about access to high
technology...and the Soviet desire
to be treated as a respected,
valued trading partner of the
United States.
At stake for U.S soybean far
mers is a 696-million-bushel
market. That’s what the Soybean
Association estimates the Soviet
Union could need to adequately
meet animal nutrition
requirements
“Wc are providing the Soviets
with technical assistance and
information about soybean, meal
We want them to chose U S
soybeans,” says Hoffmann We
can offer technology to them that
Asbury, NJ, farmers Bill, left, and Jake Jelliffee.
was the first tune that Pounce was cutworms, armyworms, Common
labeled as a pre-emergent treat- stalk borer and European corn
ment for cutworms and ar- borer prior to ear formation at the
myworms. Pounce may also be same recommended rate as the
used as a rescue treatment for pre-emergent treatment.
other soybean suppliers can’t
provide
“The Soviets have decided to
feed their people better. They have
made a commitment to improve
animal production efficiency and
upgrade livestock feeds The
Soviets are going to purchase
protein; the questions are how
much of that protein will be
soybean, and where will they buy ”
During the meetings in Moscow,
groundwork was laid for a feed
manufacturing short course this
spring in the Soviet Union And
preliminary plans were made for
joint cattle feeding trials which
will feature local feed ingredients
and soybeans The Soviets also
indicated interest in increasing use
of vegetable oil products such as
margarines and mayonnaises
The Soybean Association’s
Phillips sees this expanding Soviet
interest as a continuing chapter in
a long-term effort to secure Soviet
soybean markets
“Since the lifting of the 1979
gram embargo, the Soybean
Association has worked hard to
recapture lost ground in the Soviet
Union,” says Phillips.
He cites soybean farmer par
ticipation in trade missions; the
addition of staff to the Soybean
Association’s Vienna office which
serves the Soviet Union; and ef
forts in the United States to foster
policies which facilitate trade
In particular, Phillips points to
Soybean Association efforts to
preserve contract sanctity and
prevent future grain embargoes
“When the United States uses
food as a weapon, U.S. farmers
lose,” says Phillips. “The Soybean
Association is working to insure
that contract sanctity remains in
law as a protective shield for
farmers ”
Anti-embargo contract sanctity,
which President Reagan signed
into law in January 1983, says that
while the President may still
declare a gram embargo, he
cannot cancel shipment of private
export contracts for 270 days after
that declaration
Soybean Association legislative
efforts also include a proposal for a
new trade category-Major Ex
port Market - for nations like the
Soviet Union which are not eligible
for Most Favored Nation status
Phillips explains that MEM
would allow a country preferred
duty treatment for goods it sells in
the United States, but would not
provide the export credit eligibility
that goes with Most Favored
Nation status MEM could easilv
apply to the Soviet Union
Hoffmann says, “U S soybean
farmers want to send a clear
message to the Soviet Union We
are serious about reliable sup
pliers We are committed to
preventing trade embargoes,
preserving the sanctity of con
tracts, and reducing market
barriers. The Soybean Association
wants to build the United States'
share of the Soviet soybean market
instead of being its soybean sup
plier of last resort ”
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