New Fungicides From BASF Gain Registration

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Growers have two new tools to prevent and control a broad spectrum of crop diseases. BASF has announced the full EPA registration of Priaxor fungicide and Merivon fungicide.

Priaxor is expected to provide unprecedented disease protection and post-infection disease control from some of the toughest fungal diseases in tomatoes and potatoes. Merivon will do the same in several pome and stone fruit crops, including apples, cherries, and peaches.

“BASF is committed to developing new chemistries and innovative products to help growers be more successful,” said Paul Rea, vice president, U.S. Crop Protection, BASF. “The discovery of our latest active ingredient, Xemium fungicide, is a testament to our promise to provide the tools to help growers get the most out of every acre.”

Priaxor is a 2:1 premix fungicide containing F500 — the same active ingredient as Headline fungicide — and Xemium fungicide, a new active ingredient in the carboxamide family, providing a new mode of action in row crops. Merivon is a 1:1 premix fungicide of F500 — an active ingredient in Pristine fungicide — and Xemium.

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Priaxor is labeled for use in potatoes and tomatoes to control disease, leading to improved crop quality. Studies showed Priaxor controls some of the toughest diseases threatening these crops, effectively controlling powdery mildew and black mold in tomatoes, and early blight and black dot in potatoes.

Two 2011 trials in California and Florida showed a nearly 20% less incidence of early blight in tomatoes treated with Priaxor compared to untreated plants. Three 2011 trials in California, Wyoming, and North Dakota found potatoes sprayed with Priaxor had a 2.9% severity of early blight compared to an untreated check, which showed an incidence of 22.2% severity.

Priaxor has also shown effective disease control in corn, controlling several yield-robbing diseases including Northern and Southern corn leaf blight, gray leaf spot, and common rust.

Disease Control In Fruit

Merivon fungicide, the newest fungicide for pome and stone fruit crop growers, also received registration from the EPA. Three years of BASF in-field research showed effective control of diseases that annually affect pome and stone fruits, resulting in more marketable fruits. Specialty crops are plagued by annual diseases including scab in apples, powdery mildew and leaf spot in cherries, and blossom blight, shot hole, and powdery mildew in peaches. Merivon will provide a new level of control on these devastating diseases.

The most recent Merivon research, conducted in 2011, found that:
• Apples treated with Merivon showed no apple scab, compared to 27.2% disease incidence when left untreated.
• Treated apples also had only a 1.5% incidence of powdery mildew, compared to 86.8% disease incidence when left untreated.
• Peaches showed as much as a 50% reduction of blossom blight, shot hole, and powdery mildew when treated with Merivon compared to untreated checks.
• Cherry orchards treated with Merivon showed excellent control of powdery mildew, leaf spot, and Monilinia brown rot.

“Merivon fungicide will be an important tool that’s both reliable and successful in providing the protection specialty fruit crops need from damaging, yield-robbing diseases,” said Caren Schmidt, Ph.D., technical service pepresentative, BASF. “Research has shown Merivon will be an effective way for growers to control diseases and produce more marketable fruit, leading to increased profitability.”

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