California growers have new pest control options

The California registration of a pair of products from pest management and plant health company ProFarm offers new tools to growers.

Insecticides/nematicides Arino, for use on almonds, pistachios, grapes, stone fruit, potatoes and citrus to help control mites, mealybugs and lepidopteran pests, including naval orangeworm, and Bronte, for use on strawberries, caneberries, leafy vegetables, tomatoes, peppers and melons to help control mites, lygus, whiteflies, loopers and armyworms, are now available .

“These California registrations expand growers’ access to high-performance IPM tools with field-validated efficacy for enhanced insect resistance management strategies,” Nevada Smith, ProFarm head of marketing, North America, said in a news release.

Both products are powered by RinoTec Technology, the process of creating the mixture of metabolites, proteins and enzymes that mitigates plant-damaging insects and nematodes. The technology offers new mechanisms of action with the potential to replace or reduce the use of standard synthetic pesticides used to help manage soil-dwelling and foliar crop pests, according to the release.

In 2024, RinoTec received the EPA’s Green Chemistry Challenge Award, recognizing its environmental and economic benefits.

“Arino and Bronte reflect our commitment to delivering practical, effective and economically viable solutions for growers,” Smith said. “California is one of the most demanding regulatory and agronomic environments in the world. These registrations mark another milestone for Pro Farm Group and are tied to our strategic plan of arming growers with novel, effective and more sustainable crop protection solutions to help them meet industry and consumer demands.”

Arino and Bronte are exempt from residue tolerances and have established pest maximum residue levels (MRLs) for export, according to the company. The products have minimal personal protective equipment requirements, a four-hour reentry window after application and a zero-day preharvest interval.