MANA Unveils New Nematicide
13 August 2013 
Makhteshim-Agan of North America unveiled a new nematicide at a conference in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
Introduced as a new formulation that utilizes a novel strategy to kill nematodes, MANA’s product manager for the new material, which is currently code-named MCW-2, said it will be the company’s flagship product.
“This is a big change, almost a birth process,” said Herb Young. “For us — you can’t imagine the excitement behind it.”
MCW-2, or fluensulfone, is different in that it’s not a fumigant, it is simply applied and then incorporated into the soil. While other nematicides might have a re-entry period of five days, for MCW-2 it is just 12 hours.
A decision by the EPA on registration of MCW-2 is expected in December. However, Young emphasized that even if all goes well there will only be a very limited supply in 2014. Makhteshim-Agan is currently building a new facility at its headquarters in Israel, where it will be manufactured.
The initial registration will be for such crops as fruiting vegetables of the Solanaceae family like tomato and pepper, as well as vegetables from the cucurbit family such as cucumber, pumpkin, squash and various melons.
MCW-2 is expected to be available on other vegetables, such as lettuce and other leafy vegetables, potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots — as well as strawberries — in a few years. Many other tree and vine crops, such as pome and stone fruits, nuts, citrus and grapes, would also be included in that second tier of registration.
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