Arysta LifeScience Introduces Broad-Spectrum Soil Fumigant

Posted by |8 August 2011

Arysta LifeScience is pleased to announce Yokafume, a broad-spectrum soil fumigant containing iodomethane (methyl iodide), is now available for commercial use in Japan, according to the company.

Iodomethane, the active ingredient in Yokafume, was first developed in the United States as a replacement for methyl bromide and effectively controls a broad range of soil-borne diseases, nematodes, weed seeds and insects that threaten high-value crops, according to the company. Yokafume was registered in Japan in October 2009 and is approved for use with tomato, melon, chrysanthemum and carnation crops. An expansion of the YOKAFUME label to include other crops, such as ginger and myoga, is underway.

Yokafume is applied to bare soil by professional applicators and farmers prior to planting. When used according to label directions, Yokafume does not pose a threat to human health or the environment, according to Arysta.

Arysta LifeScience developed a stewardship and training program for YOKAFUME to ensure safety and compliance with label directions. More than 400 local technical advisers and more than 150 farmers have been trained on the safe use of Yokafume to date. This safety and stewardship program is also in place in the United States, where iodomethane (methyl iodide) has been safely applied to more than 17,000 acres under the name Midas since it was registered by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2007, according to the company.

In addition to Japan and the United States, iodomethane (methyl iodide) is registered in Turkey, New Zealand, Morocco, Mexico and, most recently, Guatemala, with additional registrations pending in Australia, Egypt, Israel, and South Africa.