Agspec prides itself on listening and responding to customer feedback. The rapid success of Axcela® in Australia has created a demand for a new packaging option. Agspec is introducing a new, eye-catching, purple 100-kilogram weatherproof drum in response to demand, especially from the horticulture market.
“The new 100kg pack suits the hort market as well as medium-size paddocks, and it’s strong, waterproof and reusable”, said Craig Wood, Victoria & Tasmania Business Manager and Axcela® Product Manager.
At Agspec, we’re always looking for effective and cost-efficient solutions for Australian growers. When the opportunity arose to introduce Axcela® slug and snail bait to the Australian market a couple of years ago, Agspec immediately saw the potential benefits to Australian growers.
The economic impact of crop losses due to molluscs has been estimated to be as high as 34-44% of farm profit in many Australian cropping regions (GRDC 2016), and the problem is increasing. Molluscs are particularly damaging to high-value crops such as emerging canola and lentils, with some areas experiencing yield losses of up to 80%. (GRDC 2016).
Pictured: Controlled snails in the field.
The adoption of more environmentally sensitive cropping practices has meant tillage and burning, both of which can be detrimental to overall paddock health. Therefore, baiting has become Australian grain grower’s primary mollusc management tool. Strategic and well-timed baiting with a high performance, long window bait offers excellent protection for the emerging crop and maximises yield potential.
Craig Wood has years of experience in the molluscicide industry and stresses,
“Slug and snail control can make or break a crop. With increasing pest pressure and wet weather, cost-effective long-window baits are the most efficient form of slug and snail control”.
Agspec’s Axcela® bait, developed in Switzerland by Arxada, the global pioneer in metaldehyde development and bait technologies, offers Australian growers a long-window bait with a vital point of difference: its unique wet-extrusion gelatinisation process. Not only is the bait highly robust with excellent “spreadability”, but it is designed to absorb moisture quickly, soften, and swiftly become palatable to pests, all while maintaining bait integrity. Many short window baits quickly disintegrate under wet conditions, leaving a crop exposed to further damage. These other baits require rain events to become available to pests, whereas Axcela® works even with a heavy dew.
From his years in the industry, Craig is highly knowledgeable on the development processes of several mollusc baits and says,
“Axcela® is an outstanding product. It’s the best [slug and snail] bait I’ve ever seen.”
The best mollusc control is achieved by utilising the best bait matrix. Axcela® delivers outstanding availability, palatability and unsurpassed longevity; Axcela® can last for over 5-6 weeks even in challenging conditions.
Since Agspec launched Axcela® in 2021, feedback from growers in agriculture and horticulture markets has been positive. Agspec continues to develop Axcela® for Australian conditions and looks forward to seeing Axcela® continue to protect crops, saving growers time and money.
For more information about managing slug and snail pressure in Australia, contact Craig Wood, Agspec Business Manager 0484 234 973.