It registered with regulatory authorities in the European Union and the other countries to develop products containing the active ingredient, Rynaxypyr.

Rynaxypyr will provide long lasting, broad spectrum, chewing insect control for fruits, vegetables, other specialty crops, field crops, and turf, the Wilmington, Delaware-based chemical company said.

“This is a significant step for DuPont because the regulatory submission keeps us on track for commercialization beginning next year,” said James Collins, Jr., vice president and general manager of DuPont’s Crop Protection division.

Rynaxypyr is the first active ingredient from the anthranilic diamide class of insecticides and offers a novel mode of action, DuPont said.

It regulates the release of stored calcium in insects, rapidly affecting skeletal and cardiac muscles. The insect stops eating and death occurs within 72 hours, a spokeswoman told Reuters.

Over 3,500 successful field trials have been completed and almost 400 regulatory studies conducted over five years. These studies demonstrate the effectiveness and extraordinarily low toxicity of Rynaxypyr to mammals, birds and fish, the company said.

Experimental use permits in the United States and Canada are planned in 2007, pending regulatory approval, and market launch for the insecticides is anticipated to begin in 2008.

Rynaxypyr will be sold worldwide under the brand names DuPont Altacor and Coragen for agricultural uses.

Source: Reuters