Resistance is first line of defense against cotton nematodes

The timetable for the Temik phase-out, announced by Bayer CropScience last summer, has hit hyper drive following a Bayer announcement last week that production of the insecticide/nematicide has been halted.

“We have fast-forwarded four or five years,” says Texas AgriLife Extension plant pathologist Jason Woodward. “It was bad enough when we had time to evaluate options. We thought 2014 would be when they would stop manufacturing Temik and stop selling it in 2016. In 2018, use would stop.”

After the recent announcement, “it is essentially 2018 now,” he says.

Some product will be available this year, but much of the product may not be available to Texas producers. “It may show up on inventory as being here,” Woodward says, “but much of it may be committed elsewhere.”

He says losing Temik puts a damper on early-season nematode control. “We will lose some convenience. And we lose efficiency for producers who applied Temik for thrips and nematodes.”

The situation is worse for farmers with Root-knot nematode infestations.

Growers have options for thrips, including various seed treatments and foliar products. “We have far fewer options for nematodes.”