OA10589A

OA10589A - Protection of trees

Info

Publication number: OA10589A
Application number: OA60885A
Authority: OA
Inventors: Jorge Cepeda; Juan Bocanegra
Original assignee: Rhone Poulenc Agrochimie
Priority date: 1995-09-05
Filing date: 1996-09-05
Publication date: 2002-07-10
Also published as: GB9618525D0; FR2738112A1; GB2304575B; ZA967477B; GB9618548D0; FR2738112B1; OA10328A; AU725638B2; GB2304708B; ZA967479B; AU728772B2; AU6442096A; GB2304575A; MX9603861A; GB2304708A; AU6441996A; CO4480714A1

Abstract

Trees of the families Musaceae or Plantanginaceae which share a common root system are protected from destructive pests by cutting one of the trees to remove its fruit and then reintroducing a pesticide into the cut tree.

Description

s*' 010589

Protection of trees

This invention relates to a new method of protecting trees of the families Musaceae (banana) and Plantanginaceae (plantains) from harmful or destructive pests. 5 Global regulatory requirements are becoming more and more demanding with respect to the use of pesticides particularly with respect to unmanaged or unnecessary pesticide residues.

Thus there exist mutually contradictory requirements of farmers in that the need to controldestructive pests very thoroughly demands that more pesticides be used, while increasingpressures from regulatory agencies demand that less pesticides be used. These regulatory 10 demands are aimed to protect the safety and health of agricultural workers and the general public.It also well known that the general public would like less Chemical residues on fruits andvegetables. A particular conséquence of this situation is that there is an increasing need to hâve moreefficient methods of protection of banana trees and plantain trees. It is well known that such fruit- 15 producing trees attract a large number of pests, particularly destructive insects and nematodes. A common technique for cultivating banana trees or plantain trees is by growing them on large blocks or plantations. The trees are disposed as mother plants having a sériés (for example 1to 5, generally 1 to 3) of followers or peeps, that is daughter plants, growing from the corm (thatis, the base of the pseudotrunk) of the mother plant. In this respect the mother and daughter 20 plants share a common root System. At an appropriate time before the harvest of the fruit of themother plants or trees, ail the daughter plants are removed except one per mother plant which aredeemed by the grower to hâve the best chances of survival. Such a practice allows the nextgénération of banana or plantain plants to be readily produced. The removal of the daughterplants is possible after the harvest of the mother plants, but it is agronomically preferred to 25 remove them beforehand.

The fruits of the banana trees are harvested by cutting off the bunches of fruitAfterwards, the mother trees are eut to remove the canopies. The pseudotrunks which are left aregenerally in a height range from 0.5 meters to 2.5 meters. Such a practice facilitâtes the growthof the daughter plants. The mother pseudotrunk is then left to decay or is eut down in stages until 30 only a daughter pseudotrunk remains.

Therefore there exists a need to provide an improved method of protection for daughter banana trees and plantain trees from pests which is efficient against destructive pests, especially -2- 0 1 0589 insects and nematodes and whereby the interval from the treatment of said trees by a pesticide toharvest is as long as possible and whereby the worker exposure is at a minimal level. It has nowbeen found that these needs may be met in whole or in part by means of the instant invention.

According to the invention, a pesticide is found to be most advantageously applied onto orinto the pseudotrunk of the eut mother tree in order to protect the daughter tree. In anotherembodiment, after the initial removal of the canopy of the mother tree the daughter plants may beallowed to develop and the mother pseudotrunk gradually reduced in size by subséquent cuts. Apesticide may be applied onto or into the mother pseudotrunk at any point during this timeincluding when the mother pseudotrunk has been effectively removed. However, it is mostadvantageous to apply the pesticide early in the development of the daughter plant in order tomaximise the treatment-harvest time interval.

The instant invention is related to a method for the protection of two or more trees of thefamilies Musaceae or Plantanginaceae from destructive pests wherein the trees to be protectedshare a common root System which method comprises: (a) cutting one of the trees sharing the said root System to remove its fruit and (b) then introducing a pesticide into the said eut tree.

The pesticide may be introduced into any portion of the said eut tree. According to afeature of the invention, the pesticide is introduced into the eut of the tree. According to anotherfeature of the invention, the tree is eut to remove its canopy after the removal of its fruit andbefore introducing pesticide. The pesticide is, in a preferred feature of the invention, thenintroduced into the eut of the tree formed by the removal of the canopy.

The pesticide is generally an insecticide, nematicide, fungicide or plant growth regulator,preferably an insecticide or nematicide. The pesticide is generally translocatable and morepreferably water soluble at ambient température, the water solubility being generally higher than0.5 g/1, preferably higher than 2 g/1 at ambient température. The pesticide can be provided in aformulation that is generally translocatable and more preferably water soluble at ambienttempérature.

Those species of banana or plantain trees to be preferably protected according to the présent invention are Musa textilis, Musa sapientum, or Musa paradisica.

The pesticide is generally introduced into the tree from zéro to about thirty days after one of the trees is eut, preferably from about one to about seven days and even more preferably from about two to about three days. - 3 - 010589 A preferred group of insecticides or nematicides according to the invention arecarbamates. Carbamates are a well-known group of pesticides: those skilled in the art willrecognise these in The Pesticide Manual lOth ed., edited by C. Tomlin, British Crop ProtectionCouncil, United Kingdom, 1994. A preferred group of carbamates are N-methyl carbamates, thatis those substances that possess the substituent -OC(O)NHMe. A particularly preferredcarbamate that can be used according the instant invention is 2-methyl-2- (methylthio)propionaldehyde O-methylcarbamoyloxime (aldicarb). Other carbamates that can beused according to the invention are 2,3-dihydro-2,2-dimethylbenzofuran-7-yl methylcarbamate(carbofuran) and N,N-dimethyl-2-methylcarbamoyloxyimino-2-(methylthio)acetamide (oxamyl). A carbamate can be used alone or in combination with other pesticides.

Other insecticides or nematicides that can be used according to the instant invention eitheralone or in combination with other pesticides include: nitromethylenes or nitroimines including l-(6-chloro-3-pyridylmethyl)-N-nitroimidazolidin-2-ylideneamine (imidacloprid) ; cyanoimines including (E^N’-IXô-chloro-S-pyridy^methylJ-N^-cyano-N1-methylacetamidine (acetamiprid);and organophosphates including S.S-di-iec-butyl O-ethyl phosphorodithioate (cadusafos); (RS)-S- jec-butyl O-ethyl 2-oxo-l,3-thiazolidin-3-ylphosphonothioate (fosthiazate); and O-ethyl S,S-dipropyl phosphorodithioate (ethoprophos).

Other insecticides or nematacides that can be used according to the instant invention eitheralone or in combination with other pesticides include compounds of formula (I): R, in which:

Rl is -CN or methyl;R2 is -S(O)nR3; R3 is alkyl or haloalkyl; (I) -4- 01 0589 R4 represents a hydrogen or halogen atom or a member of a group consisting of -NR5R.6, -S(O)mR7, -C(O)O-R7, alkyl, haloalkyl, -ORs and -N=C(R9)(RlO); R5 and Rg independently represent the hydrogen atom or an alkyl, haloalkyl, -C(O)alkyl, alkoxycarbonyl or -S(O)rCF3 radical; or R5 and R^ can together form a divalent alkylene radical which can be interrupted by one or two divalent heteroatoms, such as oxygen or sulfur; R7 represents an alkyl or haloalkyl radical; R8 represents an alkyl or haloalkyl radical or a hydrogen atom; R9 represents an alkyl radical or hydrogen atom; RIO represents a phenyl or heteroaryl group which is unsubstituted or substituted by oneor more halogen atoms or a member of the group consisting of -OH, -O-alkyl, -S-alkyl, cyano,and alkyl; X represents a trivalent nitrogen atom or a -C-R12 radical, the other three valences of thecarbon atom forming part of the aromatic ring;

Rl 1 and Ri 2 represent, independently of one another, a hydrogen or halogen atom;

Rl3 represents a halogen atom or a haloalkyl, haloalkoxy, -S(O)qCF3 or SF5 group;m, n, q, and r represent, independently of one another, an integer equal to 0,1, or 2;provided that, when Ri is methyl, then R3 is haloalkyl, R4 is -NH2, Rl 1 is -Cl, R13 is CF3andXisN.

By the terni “alkyl” is meant carbon chains of from one to six carbon atom that are eitherlinear or branched chains. By the term “divalent alkylene” is meant a carbon chain that attaches attwo points to the nitrogen atom of the radical R4. A preferred group of compounds of formula (I) is one in which:

Rl is CN; R3 is a haloalkyl radical; R4 is NH2; X is C-R12;

Rl 1 and R12 represent, independently of one another, a halogen atom;and

Rl3 is a haloalkyl radical. A most highly preferred compound of formula (I) is 5-amino-l-(2,6-dichloro 4- trifluoromethyl phenyl) 4-trifluoromethylsulfinyl-3-cyanopyrazole.

Compounds of formula (I) may be prepared according to known processes, for example as described in International Patent Publications No. WO 87/3781,93/6089, and 94/21606 as well as -5- 010589 in European Patent Applications 295117, 403300, 385809 or 679650, German Patent Publication 19511269 and United States Patents 5232940 and 5236938 or other process according to the knowledge of a man skilled in the art of Chemical synthesis.

Pests that may be controlled according to the instant invention include Cosmopolitessordidus (banana weevil), Radopholus similis (burrowing nematode), Helicotylenchus multicinctus(Spiral nematode), Meloidogyne incognita (Rootknot nematode) and pests of the familiesHeteroderidae and Thripidae.

Fungicides that may be used according to the instant invention include: methyl l-(butylcarbamoyl)benzimidazol-2-ylcarbamate (benomyl); triazoles including (±)-l-[2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-propyl-l,3-dioxolan-2-ylmethyl]-lH- 1,2,4-triazole (propiconazole);and 1- [(2RS,4RS:2RS,4SR)-4-bromo-2-(2,4dichlorophenyl)tetrahydrofurfuryl]-lH-l,2,4-triazole (bromuconazole).

Plant growth regulators that may be used according to the instant invention include:a gibberellin such as gibberellic acid or 2- chloroethylphosphonic acid (ethephon).

The amount of pesticide which is used is an effective and agronomically acceptableamount per tree. In the case of 2-methyl-2-(methylthio)propionaldehyde O-methylcarbamoyloxime, quantities of from 0.01 to 5g per tree may be appropriate, preferablyfrom 0.3 to 0.9g per tree.

The introduction of the pesticide in the pseudotrunk of the tree is made by insertion of acomposition, which can be of liquid or solid formulation, preferably solid, in order to reduceworker exposure, especially with compounds having relatively high acute toxicity. A solidformulation is preferred for 2-methyl-2-(methylthio)propionaldehyde O-methylcarbamoyloxime.

Formulations are chosen so as to speed the transmission of the active ingrédient into anaqueous phase such as the vascular tissue normally présent in plants or trees. Formulations arealso chosen in order to minimise the exposure of agricultural workers to the pesticide.

Still more préférable are those substantially dustless formulations, for example thosewhose particle size is greater than 0.1 mm, preferably from 0.4 to 0.8 mm. Acceptableformulations may be made by mixing the active ingrédient with a polymer, especially a watersoluble polymer. Gels may also be used. - 6- 010589

The introduction of the pesticide into the pseudotrunk of the mother tree may be made by any suitable means. One possibility is the injection of the pesticide into the pseudotrunk. Another possibility is to make or drill holes in the tree and to put therein the formulation and then to plug or stop the holes. The holes may be made on the latéral part of the pseudotrunk, but it is preferred to make the insertion where the pseudotrunk was eut to remove the canopy.

Another method of introduction of the pesticide is to eut a wedge out of the pseudotrunk,add the pesticidal formulation and replace the wedge back into the space from which it came. Anespecially preferred embodiment of this insertion is to eut the wedge out from the surface of theeut made by removing the canopy.

Another embodiment is the insertion into the pseudotrunk of a water-soluble capsulecontaining a dose of the desired pesticide.

The following non-limiting-example is given to illustrate the invention.

EXAMPLE

Banana trees are grown in a plantation. The trees are disposed as mother plants having asériés (1 to 5) of daughter plants growing from the corm. Just before harvesting the motherplants, the daughter plants are removed except one daughter plant per mother plant.

The fruit of the banana trees are harvested by cutting the sets of fruits. Within one weekafter this harvest, the pseudotrunks of these plants are eut to remove the canopies. After twodays a wedge is eut from the surface resulting from the removal of the canopy of eachpseudotrunk of each mother tree. A dose of 0.5 g per tree of 2-methyl-2- (methylthio)propionaldehyde O-methylcarbamoyloxime in the form of a 15 % w/w granularformulation is placed in the empty concave space from which each wedge was removed and thewedges are replaced.

The daughter plants are protected against both nematodes and weevils up to harvest rimeof the daughter trees which is 35 weeks later thus to provide economically acceptable fruit Therisk of worker exposure is greatly reduced.

Claims

010589 - 7 - * CLAIMS

1. A method for the protection of two or more trees of the families Musaceae orPlantanginaceae from destructive pests wherein the trees to be protected share a common rootSystem which method comprises: 5 (a) cutting one of the trees sharing the said root System to remove its fruit and (b) then introducing a pesticide into the said eut tree.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the eut tree is eut to remove its canopy afterthe removal of its fruit and before introducing the pesticide.

3. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the pesticide is introduced into the10 eut of the tree.

4. A method according to anyone of the foregoing daims wherein the pesticide isintroduced into the eut of the tree formed by the removal of the canopy.

5. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the pesticide is introduced into thelatéral portion of the tree. 15

6. A method according to any one of the foregoing daims wherein the pesticide is introduced from zéro to about thirty days after the tree is eut.

7. A method according to any one of the foregoing daims wherein the pesticide is aninsecticide or nematicide.

8. A method according to any one of the foregoing daims wherein the pesticide is20 generally translocatable at ambient température.

9. A method according to any one of the foregoing daims wherein the pesticide isprovided in a formulation which is water soluble at ambient température.

10. A method according to any one of the foregoing daims wherein the trees are eitherMusa textilis, Musa sapientum, or Musa paradisica. 25

11. A method according to any one of the foregoing daims wherein the insecticide or nematidde is a carbamate, preferably an N-methyl carbamate.

12. A method according to claim 10 wherein the insectidde or nematicide is 2-methyl-2-(methylthio)propionaldehyde O-methylcarbamoyloxime or 2,3-dihydro-2,2-dimethylbenzofuran-7-yl methylcarbamate. 8- 010589

13. A method according to claim 12 wherein the amount of 2-methyl-2-(methylthio)propionaldehyde O-methylcarbamoyloxime used per tree is from 0.01g and 5g pertree, preferably from 0.3g to 0.9g per tree.

14. A method according to any one of daims 1 to 10 wherein the insecticide or5 nematicide is: l-(6-chloro-3-pyridylmethyl)-N-nitroimidazolidin-2-ylideneamine (imidacloprid); (E^N'-I/ô-chloro-S-pyridytymethylJ-N^-cyano-N’-methylacetamidine (acetamiprid); N ,N-dimethyl-2-methylcarbamoyloxyimino-2-(methylthio)acetamide (oxamyl); S.S-di-sec-butyl O-ethyl phosphorodithioate (cadusafos); 10 (RS)-S- sec-butyl O-ethyl 2-oxo-1,3-thiazolidin-3-ylphosphonothioate (fosthiazate) ;or O-ethyl S,S-dipropyl phosphorodithioate (ethoprophos).

15 (I) in which: Rl is CN or methyl; R2 is S(O)nR3; R3 is alkyl or haloalkyl; 20 R4 represents a hydrogen or halogen atom or a member of a group consisting of NR5R6, S(O)mR7, C(O)O-R7, alkyl, haloalkyl, OR8 and -N=C(R9)(Rl0)î R5 and Rg independently represent the hydrogen atom or an alkyl, haloalkyl, C(O)alkyl, alkoxycarbonyl or S(O)rCF3 radical; or R5 and R5 can together form a divalent alkylene radical which can be interrupted by one or two divalent heteroatoms, such as oxygen or sulfur; 25 R7 represents an alkyl or haloalkyl radical; R8 represents an alkyl or haloalkyl radical or a hydrogen atom; -9- 010589 R.9 represents an alkyl radical or hydrogen atom; RIO represents a phenyl or heteroaryl group which is unsubstituted or substituted by one or more halogen atoms or a member of the group consisting of OH, -O-alkyl, -S-alkyl, cyano, and alkyl; 5 X represents a trivalent nitrogen atom or a C-R12 radical, the other three valences of the carbon atom forming part of the aromatic ring; Rl 1 and Ri2 represent, independently of one another, a hydrogen or halogen atom; Rl3 represents a halogen atom or a haloalkyl, haloalkoxy, S(O)qCF3 or SF5 group;m, n, q, and r represent, independently of one another, an integer equal to 0,1, or 2; 10 provided that, when Rl is methyl, then R3 is haloalkyl, R4 is NH2, Rl 1 is Cl, R13 is CF3 and X is N.

15. A method according to any one of daims 1 to 10 wherein the pesticide is a compoundof formula:

16. A method according to any one of daims 1 to 10, and 15 wherein the compound offormula (I) is 5-amino-3-cyano-l-(2,6-dichloro 4-trifluoromethylphenyl)-4-trifluoromethylsulfînylpyrazole. 15

17 A method according to any one of the foregoing daims wherein the pesticide used is in a solid or liquid formulation, preferably a solid formulation.

18 A method according to daim 17 wherein the formulation is substantially dustless.

19 A method according to daim 17 or daim 18 wherein the formulation has a particle sizegreater than 0.1 mm, preferably from 0.4 to 0.8 mm.