• What is INVITE?

• Who makes INVITE?

• How does INVITE work?

• How is INVITE applied?

• Is INVITE wash-off resistant?

• Which pesticides perform best with INVITE?

• What are the benefits of a CRW beetle control program?

• Where has INVITE been field-tested?

• What is the USDA Corn Rootworm Beetle Area-wide Management Program?

• What impact does INVITE have on beneficial insects?

• What role does crop scouting play in using INVITE effectively?

• How does INVITE address environmental concerns?

• How does the cost of a corn rootworm control program using INVITE compare to that of other approaches?

• Where can INVITE be purchased?

Q.  What is INVITE?

A.  INVITE Emulsifiable Concentrate is a new insect stimulant that can be applied with popular registered insecticides to get fast knockdown and effective control of corn rootworm (CRW) beetles.  INVITE is a water-soluble, inert adjuvant containing an organic substance technically known as cucurbitacin.  this active ingredient arrest insects and is found naturally in many common garden plants.  It is an environmentally friendly substance that stops CRW beetles when they come in contact with it in spray droplets, and then causes them to feed compulsively and ingest the insecticide until they die.

Q.  Who makes INVITE?

A.  INVITE is manufactured and marketed by Florida Food Products (FFP) based in Eustis, Florida.  FFP is an agribusiness founded in 1954, specializing in plant extracts for the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and agricultural industries.  INVITE was developed and formulated by FFP, in cooperation with the United States department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research service (USDA-ARS), specifically for the control of CRW beetles.  FFP's state-of-the-art processing facilities and expert formulations technology are used to manufacture INVITE.

Q.  How does INVITE work?

A.  INVITE shifts the mode of action of registered insecticides from dermal toxicity to the insects' digestive systems.  By promoting ingestion versus relying on direct contact with each beetle's exoskeleton, lower rates of insecticides can be applied.  In field trials, insecticides were used at 10 percent of normal rates, yet performed with increased effectiveness.

Rates as low as 1.6 oz. of Penncap-M per acre and 3.2 oz. of Sevin XLR per acre were effective, compared to maximum labeled rates for those insecticides of 32 and 48 oz. per acre, respectively.  FFP is recommending 4 oz per acre of Penncap-M with 12 fl oz of INVITE.

Cucurbitacin - the active ingredient in INVITE - arrests beetles and acts as a feeding stimulant.  In essence, it is "bait" to get beetles to ingest insecticide by ravenously feeding on spray droplets containing INVITE.  Beetles can sense the material via sensors in their feet as they walk on a leaf that has been sprayed.  Field observations have shown that they will stop and freeze right on the spray droplet, start feeding and ingest the toxin, and continue to feed until they die.

In standard, full-rate insecticide spray programs, only 1 to 2 percent of the pesticide actually comes in direct contact with the beetle. Only at those sites will beetles be killed.  INVITE draws the beetle to the toxin, giving it exactly what it wants to eat, and delivers the toxin internally to the beetle.  It is essentially candy for the beetle and control for the grower and it works at much lower insecticides rates than conventional programs.

Q.  How is INVITE applied?

A.  The recommended use formulation is 1-gallon-per-acre total mix containing 12 oz. INVITE, plus insecticide at 10 percent of the labeled rate, plus water.  It is applied to corn via ariel application prior to the CRW beetle egg-laying, normally when 10 percent of female beetles are gravid, or 10 to 21 days after the initial beetle emergence.

Q.  Is INVITE wash-off resistant?

A.  Rainfastness is formulated into INVITE for maximum efficacy in the pivot irrigation systems common to this region.

Q.  Which pesticides perform best with INVITE?

A.  INVITE has been field-tested with a number of existing registered insecticides commonly used to control adult CRW beetles.  The best results to date have been seen with Penncap-M.

Q.  What are the benefits of a CRW beetle control program?

A.  University studies show that the number of adult beetles that emerge in fields infested with CRW larvae actual can be greater in fields treated with soil insecticides that in untreated fields.

Dr. Mike Gray, Extension agronomist with the University off Illinois, says soil insecticides kill larvae in the band only where they are applied, but many larvae survive and thrive on roots outside the treated band.  these larvae emerge as adult beetles, which lay eggs that become the next generation of larvae.  Soil-applied insecticides are designed to protect roots, but do little to manage a corn rootworm population in the long run, concludes Gray.

Mild winters, pesticide resistance and earlier planted hybrids all play an additional role in promoting the survival of CRW larvae and subsequent adult beetle population growth.

The adult-beetle-spray approach can help break the cycle, and eliminate the need for spring soil insecticide applications.  Silk clippings by adult CRW beetles, which interfere with good pollination also are reduced, and studies have shown improved root ratings using adult-beetle-spray techniques.  While complete eradication of corn rootworms is not practical, the population can be controlled through careful tracking and spraying of CRW beetles.

Adding INVITE to the adult-beetle-spray protocol improves insecticide performance, while substantially lowering the amount of pesticide needed for effective control.

Q.  Where has INVITE been field-tested?

A.  In its first year of field use - the 2000 crop season - INVITE was thoroughly tested in plots and commercial fields by crop consultants, university Extension agronomist and USDA researchers.  In most trials 12 oz. INVITE per acre with one-tenth the standard rate of registered insecticide tested, and water, for one gallon per acre total mix.  More that 50,000 acres were treated with INVITE in 2000 and multiple hundreds of thousands of acres in 2001.  Among the results found:

• In a field near North Platte, Neb,. with high CRW beetle pressure, crop consultant Dave Collins observed adult beetle populations decreasing from 30 beetles per plant to no live detectable live beetles just 24 hours after INVITE - plus-insecticide application.

• Kearney, Neb., - based crop consultant Mark Kottmeyer found that a mixture of 3.2 oz. of Penncap-M plus 12 oz. INVITE was more effective that the full rate of 1.5 to 2.0 pints of Penncap-M alone.  Kottmeyer recommended applying INVITE plus Penncap-M to more that 10,000 acres of his clients' corn in 2000.

• To check the performance of INVITE firsthand, Nebraska crop consultant Rich Reinsch donned protective clothing and entered a treated cornfield one hour after it was sprayed with Penncap-M and INVITE.  he observed approximately 70 to 80 percent dead CRW beetles in a field that contained approximately five beetles per plant at the time of treatment.  Reinsch observed a live beetle aggressively scarify a leaf to get a spray droplet.  It immediately began feeding; within 10 minutes the beetle was on its back convulsing.

• Southwest Kansas crop consultant Loarn Buel evaluated INVITE as a participant in the USDA corn Rootworm Beetle area-wide Management Program.  he found INVITE to be effective when mixed with 1.6 oz. of Penncap-M and 2.4 oz. of Penncap-M in two separate trials.  He also observed good results when INVITE was combined with 3.2 oz. of Sevin XLR per acre.

Q.  What is the USDA Corn Rootworm Beetle Area-wide Management Program?

A.  This is a project of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, with trial sites in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas.  It is a multiyear project designed to investigate improved means of controlling CRW beetles, including the use of feeding stimulants such as INVITE.

Q.  What impact does INVITE have on beneficial insects?

A.  The low rate of insecticide application that INVITE affords makes it very useful in protecting beneficial insects from pesticides used to kill CRW beetles.  Traditional insecticides programs can damage populations of lady beetles, predatory mites, green lacewings and honeybees.  In the absence of these beneficial insects, spider mite populations can explode, necessitating yet another application of pesticide at a higher cost to the grower and more pressure on the environment.

Using INVITE helps protect the natural populations of beneficial/predator insects, which are an important part of any integrated crop management program.

Q.  What role does crop scouting play in using INVITE effectively?

A.  Correctly timing the application of INVITE-plus-insecticide is critical to reaping maximum benefit from the program.  the spray mix must be applied before adult, female CRW beetles lay their eggs in the soil, to suppress larval pressure the following year.

The first spray should be 10 to 21 days after the beetle emergence, or when female, adult beetles are 10 percent gravid.  The second spray, if needed, typically is applied 10 to 14 days later.  Normally, CRW beetles lay eggs 14 to 17 days after emergence.  Residual toxicity for 28 days after application of insecticide plus INVITE means a two-spray program almost always will be effective throughout the majority of the egg-laying period.  After the second application, population maximum should not exceed one-half beetle per plant, to negate the need for soil insecticide the following year.

Crop scouting also is useful in determining whether or not a soil insecticide is needed at the beginning of a growing season following spray treatment of adult CRW beetles.  If beetles do not reemerge to a threshold level of one beetle per every two plants (.5 beetles per plant) no soil insecticide is needed the following year.

Q.  How does INVITE address environmental concerns?

A.  INVITE allows for significant reduction in the volume of active ingredient needed to effectively control CRW beetle populations.  Pesticide rate can be reduced by 90 percent in most cases.  This promotes protection of beneficial insects, groundwater, wildlife and humans working with the crop.

Eliminating the need for spring-applied soil insecticides is another benefit - to the grower who handles the material, as well as the environment.  These highly potent pesticides need to be handled carefully; if growers can avoid using them, most prefer to do so.

Q.  How does the cost of a corn rootworm control program using INVITE compare to that of other approaches?

A.  The reduced chemical volume needed in an INVITE spray mix shaves about $1.50/acre off the price of a conventional, full-strength beetle spray program.

It also is important to remember that the most expensive protocol is the one that doesn't work.  INVITE promotes superior control of corn rootworm populations over both the soil insecticides and full-strength spray approaches.

Q.  Where can INVITE be purchased?

A.  See your aerial applicator, or contact Florida Food Products, Inc at 1/800-874-2331.