Steward Insecticide Registered in Tobacco

 

A new insecticide, Steward, has recently been registered in tobacco. Steward, with the active ingredient indoxacarb, is labeled for tobacco budworm, hornworms, and tobacco splitworm and has a unique mode of action in tobacco. In addition to these labeled pests, we have also seen efficacy against tobacco flea beetle from early season foliar treatments. We haven’t been able to generate late season efficacy for tobacco flea beetle in our research station plots, so it is important to note if growers are hoping to achieve late season flea beetle control, they need to use application methods that ensure excellent coverage. In other words, late season applications require high volume (50 gpa or more) with drop nozzles. We have worked with Steward for several years in our efficacy trials, and you can review the results of this work via Arthropod Management Tests:

 

 

 

 

 

In short, Steward performs similarly to our standard materials for tobacco budworm and hornworms and similarly to imidacloprid (Admire Pro and others) and Assail when applied as foliar treatments for tobacco flea beetle. It is encouraging to have additional active ingredients and modes of action for these target pests in tobacco.