Mustard producers can use it beginning in 2025
Mustard growers in Western Canada will have a new crop protection tool available to them for the 2025 growing season.
Bayer has expanded its label of BUTEO start insecticide seed treatment to include use on mustard.
“This product has been trusted by canola growers for a few years for (striped and crucifer) flea beetle control, and we’re excited to be able to help more farmers have that same level of protection,” Bryan Bryson, marketing portfolio lead for traits and licensing with Bayer Crop Science, told Farms.com.
Canadian farmers planted 637,037 acres of mustard in 2023, Stats Canada says.
Seedlings are especially vulnerable to flea beetle damage as the pest can locate and defoliate seedlings shortly after emergence.
If left untreated, the flea beetles can cause poor plant stand, delayed maturity and reduced yield
In Western Canada, these pests can cause yield losses up to 10 per cent, costing growers about $300 million each year, university research says.
Canola farmers have been using BUTEO since 2020.
The Group 4D insecticide delivers rapid uptake and systemic translocation from cotyledon to leaf margins. This enables a quicker-growing canopy and uniform flowering even in conditions where flea beetles thrive.
A BUTEO label expansion to include mustard seemed like a natural progression, Bryson said.
“We identified there was a need for this kind of product in mustard given that these beetles attack it as well as canola” he said. “Expanding the label helps farmers protect those acres and gives them another tool at their disposal.”
BUTEO start insecticide seed treatment will be available for mustard growers for the 2025 growing season.
Producers are encouraged to visit Bayer’s website or contact their local rep to learn more about the product.