New Fungicide Targets Key Diseases

A new fungicide slated to hit the market next year boasts good control of key diseases in fruiting vegetables and cucurbits — gummy stem blight, Alternaria early blight, and powdery mildew.

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Aprovia Top, which will be released by Syngenta and is pending EPA approval, is an SDHI-class fungicide. It will be available to vegetable growers as a pre-mix with the active ingredients, Solatenol fungicide plus difenoconazole.

Solatenol fungicide stops the spore germination, says Allison Tally, a Syngenta technical product lead. The difenoconazole helps stop mycelial growth if there is infection already on the fruit and leaves.

“It’s hitting two different parts of the fungal life cycle, to prevent infections and stopping them once they’re there,” she says.

Use In A Rotation
Tally recommends growers use Aprovia Top in a program of no more than two sequential applications of the product and then rotate with non-SDHI (Group 7) fungicides.

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“We always recommend preventative sprays. It’s better to get in front of these diseases. Hit it hard, hit it early,” she says.

Tally says Solatenol fungicide has been shown to suppress southern stem rot (southern blight) in peanuts and anticipates that this suppression will also occur in vegetables.

Syngenta is also working with IR-4 for use of Aprovia Top in bulb crops, which is expected in 2017.

“We have seen no issues with different tank mixes. We can’t test everything and there are many three-way and four-way tank mixes, which are common. Jar compatibility tests are recommended,” she says. “Aprovia Top is also safe to the plants.”

Tally recommends using Aprovia Top in alternation with other classes of chemistry and this is “another tool they can use in a program,”she says.

Fungicide Update

During the last several months, new disease control products have hit the market and others have had additional crops added to their respective labels. Here’s a rundown on the latest fungicide offerings.

  • Fracture fungicide from FMC Corp., which was registered in all states but California and Florida, received registration in the Golden State and the Sunshine State in February for use on strawberries and tomatoes. Fracture is a new broad spectrum, biological fungicide that is labeled for the prevention and control of powdery mildew, botrytis, and brown rot blossom blight.
  • Quintec fungicide from Dow AgroSciences, known as an effective treatment for suppressing bacterial spot in peppers, is now available to tomato growers battling bacterial spot.
  • ADAMA has received EPA approval for Captan Gold 4L liquid fungicide for use on strawberries, tree fruits, and other specialty crops. A multi-site contact fungicide, Captan Gold 4L penetrates fungal spores, protecting crops against diseases like anthracnose, botrytis (gray mold), brown rot, and scab.
  • Last spring, Syngenta announced the trade name for its newest fungicide, Orondis, which contains the active ingredient oxathiapiprolin. Registration will be sought for use on vegetables, potatoes, and tobacco. Orondis fungicide will offer effective control of soil and foliar diseases caused by oomycete fungi in vegetables and potatoes.
  • In March, Nufarm Americas has announced new label expansions for its Cleary 3336 F and EG fungicides. 3336 EG is now available in a new, low-dust extruded granule (EG) formulation in addition to the flowable (F) formulation, providing greenhouse growers with the systemic power of thiophanate-methyl for spray or drench control of diseases such as Thielaviopsis, Rhizoctonia, Botrytis, and powdery mildew. Both F and EG versions of 3336 received EPA approval for use on select greenhouse vegetables and transplants, and herbs.
  • Gowan USA announced in January the federal registration for Zing! for use in potatoes, tomatoes, cucurbits, and onions. Zing! is a new premix fungicide combining two active ingredients — zoxamide and chlorothalonil — into an easy-to-use liquid suspension concentrate (SC) formulation.
  • Growth Products’ Companion Biological Fungicide Wettable Powder is now registered as a pesticide by EPA, and has obtained an Organic Material Review Institute listing for use in organic food production. Companion is a broad spectrum biological fungicide for use on all agricultural crops.

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