Sivanto is an insecticide developed by Bayer CropScience to manage insect pests in agricultural settings. It reduces pest populations that damage plants and diminish yields. The product is effective against various sap-feeding insects that threaten crops globally.
Sivanto targets specific damaging insects while aiming to preserve beneficial insect populations. Its flexible application methods and timing allow integration into broader pest management programs.
Understanding Sivanto’s Action
Sivanto’s active ingredient is flupyradifurone, a butenolide insecticide classified as IRAC Group 4D. While distinct from nitroguanidine neonicotinoids, it shares a similar mode of action.
Flupyradifurone acts on the insect’s central nervous system as a selective partial agonist of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). It mimics a natural neurotransmitter, overstimulating nerve cells. This sustained activation disrupts the insect’s nervous system, leading to rapid cessation of feeding and death.
Sivanto is a systemic insecticide, absorbed by the plant and transported throughout its tissues. As a foliar spray, it moves translaminarly through leaf tissue and acropetally towards leaf tips, reaching pests on the underside of leaves. For soil applications, it moves from roots to leaves, providing widespread protection.
This systemic movement provides sustained control as pests feed on treated plant parts. Its rapid action causes pests to quickly stop feeding, reducing crop damage and the transmission of plant viruses. It is effective against pests, including those resistant to neonicotinoids.
Primary Applications and Target Pests
Sivanto is used across a broad spectrum of crops, including fruit, vegetable, broadacre, and plantation crops like citrus, coffee, cocoa, and tropical fruits.
The insecticide targets sap-feeding pests. Key insect pests controlled by Sivanto include:
Aphids
Whiteflies
Psyllids
Leafhoppers
Mealybugs
Certain scales
Sivanto’s rapid action helps prevent the spread of plant viruses. For instance, it controls silverleaf whitefly, greenhouse whitefly, green peach aphid, and cotton aphid in vegetables like cucurbits, eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes. In fruit crops such as apples and mangoes, it targets fruit spotting bugs and planthoppers.
It controls pests resistant to older insecticides, including some neonicotinoid-resistant whiteflies and jassids. Its targeted action and compatibility with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs support crop health and yield.
Guidelines for Use
Sivanto can be applied via foliar sprays, soil drenches, and chemigation. For foliar applications, thorough coverage ensures effective absorption. It is considered “rainfast” within one hour after drying.
Dosages vary by crop and target pest. Foliar applications in some vegetable crops generally range from 500 to 1000 mL per hectare. For soil applications, such as in-furrow sprays or post-transplant drenches, it can be injected below the seed line or applied directly to the root zone. Soil treatment rates can range from 21.0 to 28.0 fluid ounces per acre for pests like aphids, leafhoppers, and whiteflies in brassica head and stem vegetables.
Application timing is often based on pest thresholds, allowing flexible use. Minimum intervals between applications typically range from 7 to 14 days. The maximum number of applications per crop season or year is generally limited to two, or up to three for certain brassica crops. A restricted-entry interval (REI) of 4 hours is common, though it can be 12 hours in California and for specific activities like hand girdling of grapes.
When tank mixing Sivanto, check for compatibility and follow the most restrictive directions of all products. Avoid tank mixing with azole fungicides (FRAC group 3) during the bloom period.
Environmental and Safety Considerations
Sivanto’s active ingredient, flupyradifurone, generally has a favorable environmental profile compared to older insecticides. It has limited potential for accumulation in soil, water, or air. However, flupyradifurone and its degradates may impact surface water quality through runoff, especially from poorly draining soils or areas with shallow groundwater.
The product is considered practically non-toxic to adult honey bees and larval bees in laboratory and field studies at maximum labeled rates. However, it is highly toxic to aquatic and benthic invertebrates, and to adult alfalfa leafcutting bees via direct contact. It can also be detrimental to predatory bugs.
Proper handling of Sivanto involves wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), such as rubber gloves, overalls, and eye protection, to avoid skin and eye contact. Users should wash hands thoroughly after handling and before eating, drinking, or using tobacco. Contaminated clothing should be removed and cleaned promptly.
For storage, keep Sivanto in its original container in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area, away from direct sunlight, food, feed, and out of reach of children. Protect it from freezing and prolonged storage at temperatures exceeding 40°C (105°F) or falling below -10°C (14°F).
Disposal of the product and empty containers must follow label directions to prevent environmental contamination. Empty containers should be triple-rinsed, punctured, and flattened before disposal or recycling. Prevent spray drift onto non-target crops, grazing areas, or water bodies.