Eurofins Open Day gives blight fungicide insight
26 August 2021, UK: In one of the most challenging seasons for blight management, results of this year’s independent Eurofins trials have even greater resonance for potato growers and agronomists.
Reported today (Wednesday 25 August), at the Derbyshire site’s Open Day, Syngenta Technical Manager, Michael Tait (below), highlighted the company’s intrinsic trials gave an essential insight into the ongoing strength of key active ingredients.
Speaking to industry specialists at the event, he said: “The positive news is that the practical on-farm programmes we’ve put together, including a mancozeb-free option, have performed well. Even under the intense blight conditions and crops inoculated with the aggressive EU_36 strain of blight back in early July.
“When we look at protocols using products applied right through the season, the differences are beginning to start to show,” he advised.
Latest results, released this week at the event, have shown Revus (mandipropamid) was assessed at less than 4% late blight infection, compared to 98% in the untreated plots. “The trial has once again confirmed that the addition of the drift retardant, Crusade, has further boosted performance – down to a barely visible 0.3%, and making it the best performing single-active application in the Syngenta trial.
“Since running the intrinsic trials, this is the third season we have been able to show a very consistent benefit from using Revus with a drift retardant (Crusade),” commented Michael.
“Over that time, we have had a number of very different seasons for blight pressure and differences in blight genotypes used for inoculation, but we have always shown an excellent performance from using Revus, and especially in combination with the drift retardant.”
Furthermore, in Syngenta application trials on the site, using a range of nozzles mounted on a farm sprayer, results have confirmed 90% drift reduction nozzles with an angled spray have performed the most effectively.
Treated with Amphore Plus, combining mandipropamid + difenoconazole, the Syngenta 3D ninety had proven the best performing nozzle in the trial, and significantly superior to a conventional flat fan application.
The addition of a drift retardant (Crusade) had again enhanced performance with all the commercially available nozzles in the trial, with effectively no blight detectable when included with Amphore Plus applied with the 3D ninety nozzle.
All the plots of intrinsic treatments, blight programmes, new experimental products and application trials will continue to be assessed through to the end of the season, with some samples also assessed for tuber blight incidence, added Michael.
“Once all the data has been crunched and the trends fully assessed, the information and implications will be ready for Syngenta Potato Science Live meetings in January, along with providing growers and agronomists with advice for next season.”
