Parachute nC27 Paraffinic spray oil sets a new benchmark for paraffinic oil formulations.

Available from FMC, Parachute is not only an excellent adjuvant of herbicides, insecticides, and defoliants, but also a registered insecticide for sucking and chewing pests of canola, pulses, and cotton.

It combines very high paraffinic loading and high median molecular weight with hyper-spreading properties that distribute the paraffinic oil extensively and evenly over the leaf surface from their original droplet.

As a result, the target receives an even coverage of product which improves pest control and minimises issues such as phytotoxicity which can happen when droplets don’t spread evenly.

A drop of Parachute oil will rapidly move over and then into the leaf cuticle covering a much larger surface area from each spray droplet than conventional spray oils.

FMC’s northern technical services manager, Dr David Johnson says the unique attributes of Parachute give it a role to play in many crop protection aspects across the farm.

He says Parachute was registered to control pests such as silverleaf whitefly, cotton aphids and green mirids in cotton and cabbage and diamondback moths in canola.

It also has suppression claims on an array of other pests in a range of crops.

DR Johnson said importantly, it could be used as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) program working in conjunction with beneficial insects to control pests in crop.

“Research conducted by CESAR involving beneficial insects have shown paraffinic oil to have low effect on many beneficials making it an excellent choice for IPM.”

The mode of action results from physical effects – respiratory system blocking, leaf surface modification to deter egg laying, and insect cuticle dehydration.

“As an insecticide with a physical mode-of-action, the likelihood of a pest developing resistance to Parachute is extremely low,” Dr Johnson says.

“The addition of Parachute in the rotational mix will help control pests resistant to other chemistries and also leave many types of beneficial insects in the crop to do the same,” he added.

“We encourage its use with insecticides, such as our new diamide insecticide for canola, Exirel, to provide in-tank resistance management.

Parachute will simultaneously add to, and protect, the diamide MOA of Exirel.  The additive effect from the second MOA can take out individuals that might otherwise initiate the development of pathways of resistance to the Group 28.  

FMC trials demonstrated while Parachute alone gave strong suppression of diamondback moth in canola, when applied together with Exirel the combination demonstrated control equal to current market leading insecticides.

Not only can Parachute complement early season pest management strategies, its hyperspreading property makes it an excellent adjuvant of early season, or in-crop herbicides too.

“If you can use a regular oil or esterified seed oil-based adjuvant with a herbicide, then you can use Parachute with it instead.” 

Recent trial work demonstrated the ability of Parachute to enhance burndown of a range of broadleaf weeds when combined with a novel herbicide under development by FMC.

When used with Parachute at 1 per cent v/v, the herbicide showed an increase in early burndown of broadleaf weeds of approximately 40 per cent over the herbicide applied with MSO.

Dr Johnson says agronomists and growers were finding scenarios where the utility of Parachute was coming to the fore.

“Parachute has a strong fit in canola crops where early season spraying for green peach aphid can coincide with the need to control grasses with a Group 1 herbicide,” he says.

“Later in the season, they’re partnering it with high value insecticides like Exirel when seeking to control diamondback moth and cabbage moth or suppressing green peach aphid.