Attune Agriculture secures EPA registration for Entrapment insecticide

Attune Agriculture has announced its Entrapment insecticide has received registration from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, enabling use across all U.S. states and extending the product’s label to include all agency-defined crop groups.

The approval allows application across a range of agricultural and non-agricultural settings, including row crops, orchards, vegetables, greenhouse production, turf and ornamental systems.

Entrapment is a contact, non-systemic insecticide based on a physical mode of action. Its active ingredient, Rhexalloid, forms droplets on plant surfaces that immobilize small insects and mites on contact without affecting metabolic or nervous system functions. The product is designed to avoid phytotoxic effects on treated crops.

The insecticide can be applied up to harvest and does not carry restrictions on application intervals or frequency, according to the company.

Entrapment  can be used either as a stand-alone treatment or in rotation with conventional chemistries as part of insect resistance management programs.

The label covers a broad range of pests, including aphids, thrips, whiteflies and mites, and has been expanded to include species such as spotted wing drosophila, cotton jassid and spotted lanternfly.

Field trials conducted by third-party research groups in the U.S. showed performance comparable to, and in some cases exceeding, standard chemical programs. Reported results included improved control of codling moth in apples, navel orangeworm in almonds, plant bugs in cotton and whiteflies in greenhouse tomatoes.

The Entrapment line includes multiple formulations, including one listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute for use in organic production. The company said the product will be available commercially in the near term.