The Latest Tools For Organic Growers

Plum Regal

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Within the last couple of years, several disease control tools, which include new copper products and biofungicides, have been made available to organic growers. Meg McGrath, an associate professor in the department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology at Cornell University who gave a presentation on the subject at the New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference in December, provides information on these products and the benefits they can offer organic growers. With the new coppers, in general, she says they use less metallic copper, mix better, and are effective at lower rates than older copper products.
 
The Latest Coppers

   Consisting of two copper products, the first one on the list is Badge from Isagro-USA. “Badge features a copper that is readily available and one that is a little slower to become available for longer lasting control,” explains McGrath.  
   Next is Cueva from Certis USA. This new formulation of copper is less metallic, says McGrath, “and if growers can use less metallic copper, that is a good thing. Because copper doesn’t biodegrade, there is concern that it can build up in the soil.”
   Two other copper products McGrath mentions that can be used by organic growers are Nordox, from Brandt Consolidated, and Nu-Cop HB from Agri Star.

New Biofungicides

   In addition to the coppers, organic growers also have a few new biofungicides from which to choose. Regalia from Marrone Bio Innovations, which has been on the market for nearly two years, has recently received a chemigation label. The new label essentially allows the product to be taken up by roots so there is better distribution of the product in the plant, says McGrath.
   The new formulation of Serenade from AgraQuest, Serenade Soil, also is designed to be taken up by the roots via chemigation, she adds.
   Next on the list is Tenet, which was developed by Isagro and marketed by Sipcam. Tenet contains two beneficial fungi to control disease. “This is an interesting approach looking at combinations of organisms,” says McGrath. “The fungi are active at different temperature ranges so growers should get control over a broader spectrum of environmental conditions.”
   The last three products McGrath mentions are Certis USA’s MeloCon, which is a biological nematicide; TriTek from Brandt Consolidated, which was formerly called Saf-T-Side, and can be used as a fungicide, insecticide, and miticide; and AgriPhage from OmniLytics, Inc., which is a virus going after a bacterial pathogen. “Biocontrol for bacteria, is a great addition,” adds McGrath.

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WITHIN the last couple of years, several disease control tools, which include new copper products and biofungicides, have been made available to organic growers. Meg McGrath, an associate professor in the department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology at Cornell University who gave a presentation on the subject at the New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference in December, provides information on these products and the benefits they can offer organic growers. With the new coppers, in general, she says they use less metallic copper, mix better, and are effective at lower rates than older copper products.
 
The Latest Coppers
   Consisting of two copper products, the first one on the list is Badge from Isagro-USA. “Badge features a copper that is readily available and one that is a little slower to become available for longer lasting control,” explains McGrath.  
   Next is Cueva from Certis USA. This new formulation of copper is less metallic, says McGrath, “and if growers can use less metallic copper, that is a good thing. Because copper doesn’t biodegrade, there is concern that it can build up in the soil.”
   Two other copper products McGrath mentions that can be used by organic growers are Nordox, from Brandt Consolidated, and Nu-Cop HB from Agri Star.

New Biofungicides
   In addition to the coppers, organic growers also have a few new biofungicides from which to choose. Regalia from Marrone Bio Innovations, which has been on the market for nearly two years, has recently received a chemigation label. The new label essentially allows the product to be taken up by roots so there is better distribution of the product in the plant, says McGrath.
   The new formulation of Serenade from AgraQuest, Serenade Soil, also is designed to be taken up by the roots via chemigation, she adds.
   Next on the list is Tenet, which was developed by Isagro and marketed by Sipcam. Tenet contains two beneficial fungi to control disease. “This is an interesting approach looking at combinations of organisms,” says McGrath. “The fungi are active at different temperature ranges so growers should get control over a broader spectrum of environmental conditions.”
   The last three products McGrath mentions are Certis USA’s MeloCon, which is a biological nematicide; TriTek from Brandt Consolidated, which was formerly called Saf-T-Side, and can be used as a fungicide, insecticide, and miticide; and AgriPhage from OmniLytics, Inc., which is a virus going after a bacterial pathogen. “Biocontrol for bacteria, is a great addition,” adds McGrath.

Tomatoes With Late Blight Resistance

Late blight was worse on Long Island, NY, in 2011 than it was in the notoriously difficult 2009 season, thanks to the wet weather. From a small source, the pathogen quickly spread throughout the region, causing a huge epidemic, says Meg McGrath, an associate professor in the department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology at Cornell University.

“Not knowing when and where late blight might occur and knowing by the time you see it, it often is too late to manage, makes it a very difficult disease,” says McGrath. “But now growers will be more informed as a result of monitoring, pathogen strain identification, and other activities of a new national project, http://usablight.org.”

To help growers in their fight against late blight on tomatoes, a couple of seed companies are now selling varieties that are resistant to the disease. “These varieties have excellent resistance to the current late blight strains,” says McGrath.

The varieties in question are marketed by Seedway and Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Seedway is currently distributing Mountain Magic, a Campari type, and Plum Regal. Produced by Bejo Seeds, both varieties were developed by Randy Gardner at North Carolina State University. The third tomato is a slicer called Defiant available from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.

In spite of the fact these varieties show a high level of resistance, McGrath adds that it is always a good idea to use an integrated management approach when combating late blight. “You don’t always know when the pathogen has changed,” she warned.

LATE blight was worse on Long Island, NY, in 2011 than it was in the notoriously difficult 2009 season, thanks to the wet weather. From a small source, the pathogen quickly spread throughout the region, causing a huge epidemic, says Meg McGrath, an associate professor in the department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology at Cornell University.
“Not knowing when and where late blight might occur and knowing by the time you see it, it often is too late to manage, makes it a very difficult disease,” says McGrath. “But now growers will be more informed as a result of monitoring, pathogen strain identification, and other activities of a new national project, http://
usablight.org.”
To help growers in their fight against late blight on tomatoes, a couple of seed companies are now selling varieties that are resistant to the disease. “These varieties have excellent resistance to the current late blight strains,” says McGrath.
The varieties in question are marketed by Seedway and Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Seedway is currently distributing Mountain Magic, a Campari type, and Plum Regal. Produced by Bejo Seeds, both varieties were developed by Randy Gardner at North Carolina State University. The third tomato is a slicer called Defiant available from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
In spite of the fact these varieties show a high level of resistance, McGrath adds that it is always a good idea to use an integrated management approach when combating late blight. “You don’t always know when the pathogen has changed,” she warned.

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