NC+ Hybrids is the first seed company to sign an agreement with Gustafson LLC for use of their new seed-applied corn insecticides Gaucho* and Prescribe*.

"Because of their environmental and application advantages, there has been very strong interest from growers in Gaucho and Prescribe," NC+ President Larry Schuett said. "We have been offering Gaucho on grain sorghum to NC+ customers for the past few years and they have had great success with it. We wanted to be aggressive in offering the same advantages to corn growers as well."

Prescribe and Gaucho contain the same active ingredient (imidacloprid) that is precisely applied to each kernel of seed corn as the seed is conditioned for planting. This eliminates on-farm insecticide containers. Labor and application equipment associated with traditional planting time
insecticides are also eliminated. Both products are nonrestricted-use pesticides.

"A specially designed computerized batch treater was installed in the recently completed NC+ Seed Conditioning and Distribution Plant at our Hastings, Neb. facility for the specific purpose of applying these new products," Schuett said. "It was an added cost but we knew it would add
value to our products for our customers."

Gaucho protects germinating seed from the damage and stand loss caused by wireworms, seed corn maggots, imported fire ants and other secondary insect pests.

Prescribe provides protection against Northern, Western, Southern and Mexican corn rootworms as well as wireworms, seed corn maggots and imported fire ants. Prescribe also delivers protection against flea beetles that can transmit Stewart's Wilt, plus early season aphids and thrips known to transmit other crop diseases.

The new products protect against feeding insects through both contact and systemic activity. And because the seed is well-protected from the tart, healthier more vigorous plants are produced.

"Preliminary data we gathered from our field test plots near Hastings indicate a three percent yield advantage for corn hybrids that had been treated with Prescribe when compared to the untreated like hybrids," NC+ Director of Agronomic Services Bernie Trausch said. "Both the Gaucho and Prescribe plots had obvious visual advantages compared to the nontreated  plant plots. They had more even stands, more plants survived and the root systems showed less damage. These are the types of things that led to higher yields."

Trausch sees each product offering unique advantages to producers. "Gaucho will protect the seedling from the same pests that many planter box treatments do, while Prescribe has similar control to most of the soil-applied insecticides," he said. "The primary advantages for the seed-applied products are environmental and method of application."

NC+ Hybrids, based in Lincoln, Neb., is one of the largest independent seed companies in the United States. Farmer-owned for more than 40 years, NC+ nationally markets corn, soybeans, grain sorghum, forage sorghum, sudangrass and alfalfa. 

Company news release
N3041