New Insect Control Tool Now Available for Use In Corn, Cotton & Cereals

Syngenta’s latest innovation knocks out corn rootworm and addresses a host of other yield-robbing pests in a variety of crops.

Corn-Rootworm-Larva
Corn rootworm larvae chew on and tunnel into the roots of corn plants, which can sever primary and secondary roots.
(Tomasz Klejdysa)

A new insect control tool from Syngenta, Plinazolin, is now registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use in a variety of broad-acre and specialty crops including corn, cotton, cereals, vegetables and tree fruit.

Plinazolin is the trademark name for the active ingredient isocycloseram, a member of the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee’s Group 30.

This group of insecticides is known as GABA receptor antagonists. Plinazolin is formulated to control insect pests by contact and ingestion to quickly stop feeding.

The company spent 12 years researching and developing the product, as well as testing it in more than 3,000 U.S. trials, according to Elijah Meck, Syngenta technical product lead.

For the 2026 season, growers can purchase the product – which Syngenta reports will power five separate insecticide products – as a seed treatment, soil-applied insecticide or foliar-applied insecticide. The product is available for use subject to state approvals.

The five individual products and some of the key pests each one controls, include:

  • Opello: This soil-applied insecticide provides revolutionary control of corn rootworm, consistently helping corn yield up to 27 bu/A more than untreated1, while its highly tank-mix compatible formulation allows growers to leave equipment clogs and slowdowns in the past.
  • Equento: This insecticide seed treatment offers a flexible and compatible option to terminate wireworms and suppress other below-ground pests, ultimately improving plant stand and helping a grower’s bottom line.
  • Vertento: One of the toughest insect pest fighters in its class, this foliar-applied insecticide for cotton, peanuts and onions delivers a fast-acting, knockout punch to insect pests including plant bugs, thrips and mites.
  • Incipio: With impressive residual strength to take the guesswork out of insect control, this foliar-applied insecticide for brassica, leafy, fruiting vegetable and cucurbit crops delivers a heavy-duty takedown of tough insect pests.
  • Zivalgo: This foliar-applied insecticide can lead the way for potato and tree fruit insect pest management with unmatched, broad-spectrum control of Colorado potato beetles, codling moth, citrus thrips, spider mites and more.

Syngenta notes in a statement that each formulation has been specifically designed to maximize performance based on crop needs, pest pressure and application method.

More information on the products is available at Syngenta-US.com/social.

Reference:
1n = 8 trials with location of IA(3), WI, IL, KS, SD, MN, average injury of 1.51 and Internal and University Cooperator Field Trials 2022-2024.

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