PONCHO® seed-applied insecticide is now registered to protect grain sorghum from a broad spectrum of damaging insect pests.

PONCHO protects sorghum seedlings from chinch bugs, greenbugs, corn leaf aphids, yellow sugarcane aphids, English grain aphids and other chewing and sucking insect pests. It also protects sorghum seed and seedlings from early season wireworms and protects sorghum seedlings from black cutworms that feed on tender young roots and stems.

“We look for PONCHO to change the standards for insect protection in grain sorghum just like it has in corn,” says Glen Karaffa, product manager at Bayer CropScience. “In field trials across the sorghum growing areas, PONCHO has consistently outperformed conventional seed- and soil-applied insecticides.”

Field trials conducted in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska demonstrate that PONCHO consistently reduces populations of insect pests, improves plant stand, and increases sorghum yields compared with conventional seed- and soil-applied insecticides. After four years of testing, PONCHO has produced as much as 34 bushels per acre more sorghum than untreated fields. Field trials also demonstrate that PONCHO improved plant stands by an average of 19 percent vs. untreated fields in trials at seven locations.

PONCHO provides superior protection from chinch bug, which is identified as the number one sorghum pest in the eastern two-thirds of Kansas. Chinch bugs also cause economic damage to Texas sorghum three out of every five years. In a 2003 dryland chinch bug study conducted by Jim Swart, Extension IPM specialist, Texas A&M University, plots protected with PONCHO produced a yield of 2,444 pounds (43.6 bushels) per acre, 938 pounds (16.8 bushels) more than the plot treated with Cruiser® and 1,782 pounds (31.8 bushels) more than the untreated check.

Researchers at Kansas State University also report that PONCHO has shown a high level of efficacy in areas with severe chinch bug pressure. In 2004 field trials conducted by Gerald Wilde, Ph.D., research entomologist, Kansas State University, plots protected with PONCHO contained no chinch bugs at 19 days after planting, while nearby untreated plots were infested with an average of 29.5 chinch bugs per plant.

PONCHO delivers outstanding protection from greenbugs, as demonstrated in 2006 Extension trials in Texas. At 67 days after planting, plots protected with PONCHO contained an average of 49.5 greenbugs per plant, compared to 53.1 greenbugs per plant in the plots treated with Cruiser, and 202.9 greenbugs per plant in the untreated check.

PONCHO also demonstrates excellent activity against corn leaf aphids on grain sorghum. Trials conducted in 2006 by Kansas State University at Hays, Kan., showed that untreated fields contained an average of 81.3 corn leaf aphids per plant at 39 days after planting. That compared with just 0.2 corn leaf aphids per plant for the plot protected with PONCHO.

PONCHO provides outstanding protection against yellow sugarcane aphids as well as chinch bugs, greenbugs, corn leaf aphids and other insect pests. Field trials conducted by Roy Parker, Ph.D., Extension entomologist with Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, in which yellow sugarcane, corn leaf aphids and chinch bugs were present, showed that fields protected with PONCHO yielded 3,169 pounds (56.5 bushels) of sorghum per acre. That compared with 2,923 pounds (52.1 bushels) per acre from fields treated with Cruiser and 2,382 pounds (42.5 bushels) per acre from the untreated check.

PONCHO is a non-restricted-use insecticide. The water solubility and attraction of plant lipids (oils) of PONCHO is nearly ideal for maximum plant absorption. And since grain sorghum growers can now order seed protected with PONCHO through their seed suppliers, there is no chemical container disposal or special equipment required. A precise amount of PONCHO is applied to every seed, then delivered to the farm, on the seed, in the bag.

For more information, contact your local sorghum seed supplier.

Bayer CropScience LP is the U.S. business of Bayer CropScience, which has its global headquarters in Monheim, Germany. Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about EUR 6 billion, is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of about 19,000 and is represented in more than 120 countries, ensuring proximity to dealers and consumers.

Poncho is a trademark of Bayer.
Cruiser is registered trademark of a Syngenta Group Company.
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