Luna Fungicide Gets Green Light
February 14, 2012 Bayer CropScience has announced that Luna, the company’s newest fungicide, has received registration from EPA and is now available for sale. The product, which is not registered in all states, will be available for the 2012 growing season on almonds, pistachios, apples, cherries, potatoes, and watermelons.
Luna fungicides have a unique chemistry and systemic mode of action that provides enhanced control of some of the most problematic fungal diseases to help growers deliver the best possible fruits, nuts and vegetables.
According to Bayer CropScience, Luna fungicides offer growers:
• New level of systemic disease control for a broad range of problematic diseases – including Alternaria blights, scab, powdery mildew and white mold – to give them peace of mind that they will get as much value as possible from their crop.
• Demonstrated improvements in long-term tree health and on fruit quality and storability.
• New chemical class that maintains control where other products are failing
“The horticultural market has the highest value crops attracting top dollar in markets around the world. With so much money on the line, growers need solutions that will help them overcome problematic disease and resistance issues,” said Herb Young, product manager at Bayer CropScience. “With the availability of Luna, growers will have a new tool to help them overcome these disease issues and deliver the highest quality products possible.”
Many growers are experiencing resistance against current fungicides. To help combat this, the Luna portfolio includes three solutions – Luna Sensation, Luna Tranquility and Luna Experience – each of which includes dual modes of action.
These brands are uniquely designed to address the specific needs of individual crops as follows:
- In apples, Luna Sensation helps to keep crops disease-free and ensures that the fruit’s high quality will be maintained through storage and transport. Trees treated with Luna Sensation will hold leaves longer and have greatly reduced inoculum levels the following season.
In his research, Dr. Keith Yoder, Virginia Tech University, found that Luna Sensation not only provided excellent powdery mildew and scab control on apples, but virtually eliminated primary powdery mildew outbreak the following spring.
- For potatoes, Luna Tranquility offers the broadest spectrum of disease control on the market while also increasing yield. The product is highly effective broadcast or through chemigation in controlling white mold, black dot, the entire early blight complex, including Botrytis and brown spot.
Dr. Jeff Miller, Miller Research, found that when Luna Tranquility is used with potatoes, white mold and early blight control have been outstanding. Luna was very effective on key diseases when applied through chemigation.
- With almonds and pistachios, Luna Sensation and Luna Experience provide control of all key diseases, including Alternaria and hull rot, while improving plant health and decreasing defoliation.
Dr. Jim Adaskaveg, University of California, Davis, found that Luna Experience provided excellent control of Alternaria leaf spot on almonds. Both Luna products performed well in his field trials against hull rot.
In his three years of pistachio trials, Dr. Themis Michailides, University of California, Davis, found that Luna Sensation delivered outstanding control of Alternaria and the other key diseases of pistachio with no loss of activity like other fungicides.
- In watermelons, Luna Experience is effective against Strobilurin and Boscalid-resistant strains providing excellent Gummy stem blight control where other products are failing. Luna offers growers effective disease control at nearly half the rate of current industry standards.
Dr. David Langston, The University of Georgia, found that Luna Experience offered greater control of Gummy stem blight in watermelon than all other solutions in his trials.
* For cherries, Luna Sensation helps growers deliver high-quality fruit at harvest and in transit protecting against powdery mildew, cherry leaf spot, brown rot blossom blight and fruit rot and various postharvest rots.
Dr. Jay Pscheidt and John Bassinette of Oregon State University conducted trials of Luna Sensation against powdery mildew. After six applications, from start of petal fall to preharvest, Luna Sensation outperformed all other solutions within the trial.
For additional information on Luna, please visit www.LunaFungicides.com.
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