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NE Iowa | With all the posts about conventional corn and dropping traits thought I would post what I've learned about liquid insecticide. I've been using generic Capture for probably 8 years or so. I apply it in-furrow with 5 gallons of 10-34-0. There are several different names of generic Capture like Fanfare, Bifenthrin, and Discipline. There has been a lot of debate on here about whether generic Capture can be used with liquid fertilizer or whether you need to use the more expensive Capture LFR. The LFR stands for liquid fertilizer ready. I used to think that generic Capture mixed fine with fertilizer and stayed in suspension. I would pre-mix the generic Capture with a little water because I was told it helped. Last winter I ran some tests. I took jars of 10-34-0 and added the correct amount of Generic Capture. Within 30 minutes it would completely settle out. Just like oil and water. I tried pre-mixing the capture with a little water but that didn't help. I tried adding some proplylene glycol because I noticed that Capture LFR had that on the MSDS sheet but that didn't help. I tried a compatibility agent called Linke but that also didn't work either. Everything I tried failed and the generic Capture would settle out in a matter of minutes.
The cheap side of me didn't want to resort to using Capture LFR. Generic Capture's are all 2# AI per gallon and the full rate is 5.12 oz. per acre with 30" rows. You can buy generic Capture from any cash-n-carry retailer for about $60 per gallon so a full rate is $2.40 per acre. Capture LFR is 1.5# AI per gallon and the comparable rate is 6.8 oz. per acre with 30" rows. You can buy Capture LFR from any cash-n-carry retailer for about $200 per gallon so a full rate is $10.63 per acre. So for the same amount of active ingredient the generic Capture is over $8 per acre less than the Capture Liquid Fertilizer Ready.
So last winter I bought a Dosatron metering pump. I bought mine slightly used on Ebay for about $125. But you can buy the model I bought new for about $287:
http://www.qcsupply.com/dosatron-d25re2-medicator-without-bypass-to...
I robbed the 3 gallon clean water tank off my Hardi sprayer to use as the insecticide tank. All I had to do was plumb the metering pump into the main fertilizer supply line after the pump. Then there is a small hose that draws the insecticide out of the small tank. The metering pump basically injects the insecticide into the fertilizer stream. I diluted the insecticide with some water so that I could set the concentration on the metering pump at 50:1. I was a little skeptical it would work but it worked much better than I anticipated. It seemed to be very accurate. It was a set it once and forget about it type deal. It is also very easy to set up. A complete system is sold here but it is pretty pricey at $975.00:
http://www.crsupply.com/index.php/products/planter-products/dosatro...
I just thought I would share with others my positive experience of using metering pumps with generic Capture insecticide. There is money to be saved and thought others would like to know how much it could be per acre. Below is a couple pics of my low budget system.
 (Nov2014 001.jpg)
 (Nov2014 003.jpg)
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 Nov2014 001.jpg (79KB - 1660 downloads)
Nov2014 003.jpg (39KB - 1867 downloads)
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Generic Capture vs. Capture LFR - Metering Pumps
