After 15 years of research and investment, Bayer has launched Sivanto Prime 200 SL (flupyradifurone), an insecticide that is highly efficient in combating the coffee leaf miner (Leucoptera Coffeella), in Brazil. Coffee leaf miner is an insect that can reduce yields by 30% to 40%. 

The plague acts by defoliating the coffee plant, and, without the leaves, no production will occur. The Arabica variety, which is the most cultivated in Brazil, is the most affected by the plague. 

According to studies by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Company (Embrapa), the leaf miner sticks to coffee leaves, leaving a hole and a rust color on the surface. The insect attack causes considerable leaf loss, which get dehydrated, dry, and weak, inflicting huge losses to coffee growers. Studies proved that the productive capacity of coffee can be reduced up to 80%, according to the region, time and intensity of the insect action. 

Fabio Maia, Bayer marketing manager for fruits and vegetables, coffee, citrus, and tobacco, explained that the Sivanto active principle had a different mode of action because it acts within the insect’s nervous system. “There is no product in the market having this technology. Another differential is that it can be sprayed on soil, as well as on the leaf, the only one in the market with this characteristic, easing crop management.” 

Bayer, as a company of sciences for life, is committed to delivering the best solution for farmers. It also has a responsibility to the society and the environment. “If the recommendations of the agronomist, as well as the instructions on the packages for its application are followed, the product does not offer risk to the environment and beneficial insects, that is, natural enemies of the crop, like wasps and ladybugs, which do a natural predation on coffee,” Maia remarked. 

Before the product arrived in the field, the company conducted trials in 50 demonstrative areas in the regions of Cerrado Mineiro, Mogiaria, and Alta Paulista. “We obtained impressive results when Sivanto was sprayed on the plant. If we compare the management of the crop without insecticide, we had 17% of leaves with live leaf miners, which after the application of Sivanto, reduced by almost 100%,” Maia noted.