JUNE 25, 2007
SPLAT-MAT FOR FRUIT FLY MANAGEMENT FEATURED IN JUNE 2007 USDA ARS NEWS RELEASE

SPLAT-MAT™ is a new product for the management of fruit fly pests jointly developed by ISCA Technologies and Dow AgroSciences. Based on the pest management strategy known as “Male Annihilation Technique (MAT)” the flowable matrix in SPLAT provides a sustained and controlled release of the fruit fly attractant together with a toxin which works to attract and kill male fruit flies. SPLAT-MAT increases productivity in two ways: the product has an outstanding field life of 6-8 weeks, and most important, SPLAT-MAT as with all SPLAT™ products can be easily applied using manual or mechanized equipment (e.g. metered dosing gun, caulking gun, R&D type sprayers, mechanized sprayer, tractor, aircraft, etc.).

The SPLAT-MAT formulation for fruit flies, featured in the USDA ARS news release “New Fruit Fly Control Combination More Effective, Longer Lasting” remains active for more than eight weeks, capturing “nearly 14 times as many oriental fruit flies (Bactrocera dorsalis) as the carrier Min-U-Gel with Naled, which is the current product used against this species of fruit fly.”

Says Dr. Reg Coler, Vice President of ISCA Technologies: “We are very pleased with the outstanding performance of SPLAT-MAT products. They are yet another example of the superiority of SPLAT as a controlled release formulation for semiochemicals.”

Download the article here (PDF document).

ISCA Technologies Update

Many positive developments have occurred since the USDA ARS article was written. Some of these developments are:

• New mechanical application technologies. New machinery has been developed and is now being tested for use with SPLAT formulations for aerial and a variety of ground type applications. Results have been positive and many of these mechanical application methods, which rely on the use of existing and off-the-shelf equipment, are currently available and easily adaptable for SPLAT applications.

• Longer pheromone release duration of SPLAT. Several proprietary improvements to the SPLAT formulation have extended pheromone release duration, in some cases to more than 6 months, offering season long protection with just one SPLAT application. Lab and field tests with a variety of semiochemicals have reinforced the cost savings of SPLAT over competitive products due to its efficient release rate profile. For instance, in competitive tests with SPLAT GM (a SPLAT mating disruption formulation for Gypsy moth), mating disruption was effective for up to 10 weeks with as little as 6 grams of pheromone applied per acre. We attribute SPLAT’s exemplary performance to its efficient release of pheromone in each point source, compared to other formulations which result in pheromone wastage by locking up 30-50% of the pheromone in its formulation.

About the USDA ARS

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the chief scientific research agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The mission statement of ARS is to conduct research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority and provide information access and dissemination to:

• ensure high-quality, safe food, and other agricultural products
• assess the nutritional needs of Americans
• sustain a competitive agricultural economy
• enhance the natural resource base and the environment, and
• provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as a whole

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