Centric Section 18 for Control of Pasture Mealybug

The EPA approved a FIFRA Section 18 Crisis Emergency Exemption for Centric 40WG insecticide to control mealybug in pasture grass in the State of Texas.
The Section 18 Exemption can be found HERE

We updated the Mealybug Fact sheet to reflect the Section 18.
The update reads as follows:

Pasture Mealybug Management

When grass injury symptoms are detected and the pest is present, management with cultural and chemical methods may be used to help reduce mealybug numbers.

Cultural control methods include cutting/shredding and heavy grazing. Pasture mealybugs thrive in tall, dense forage, so reducing biomass by cutting/shredding and heavy grazing will also reduce the mealybug populations.

Chemical control is still being evaluated, but there are several insecticides that research has shown to have activity against pasture mealybug.

  • Labeled for use in pastures in Texas:
    1. Centric 40WG has a Section 18 Crisis Emergency Exemption for use at 2 to 3.44 ounces per acre. Research has shown Centric 40WG at 2.5 ounces per acre to be consistently effective in reducing mealybug populations. Pre-harvest interval is 7 days before cutting for hay and zero day for forage.
    2. Sefina Inscalis at 8 to 10 fluid ounces per acre offers suppression of the pasture mealybug. Research suggests that managing high populations of mealybugs with this product may not produce desirable levels of control. Its best use is when crop injury is slight, and the mealybug population is not severe. Pre-harvest interval is zero day.
  • Not labeled, but research shows they are active towards pasture mealybug:
    1. Other non-labeled insecticides that have shown good activity in research trials include Admire Pro at 6 fluid ounces per acre, and Sivanto Prime at 8 to 14 fluid ounces per acre
  • Insecticides that have proven ineffective in research trials include Besiege, Dimilin, Carbaryl, and Lannate; and those with the active ingredients of pyrethroids and fipronil.
  • Adjuvants: We recommend including adjuvants to facilitate product spread on the leaf surface and leaf absorption. Methylated seed oils have demonstrated good ability to enhance leaf absorption in other crops.
  • Avoid broad-spectrum insecticides: For sustainable control of pasture mealybugs, reliance on pest predators and parasitoids is critical. To prevent eliminating these natural enemies, avoid treating pasture-mealybug- infested pastures with these types of insecticides: carbamates (group 1A), organophosphates (group 1B), or pyrethroids (group 3A).

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