Managing disease pressure in Tasmania
Strawberry crops in Tasmania come under considerable disease pressure. Picking lasts six to seven months of the year and the battle against powdery mildew and Botrytis lasts just as long.
“When you add growing the crop under tunnels it means the disease pressure from powdery mildew and Botrytis is high” said local Syngenta Territory Sales Manager, Wayne Richardson.
“MIRAVIS® Prime fungicide was first used last season and the results were excellent. The growers I have spoken to will definitely be using it in this season’s disease management program” said Mr Richardson.
Stuart Doyle is an independent agronomist, and his company AgVista Australia is based out of Launceston, Tasmania. He has clients growing all four main berry crops, and last season found that Botrytis and powdery mildew were equally bad in strawberries, with Botrytis a consistent issue across all berry crops.
Several of his clients used MIRAVIS® Prime fungicide in strawberries and raspberries:
“MIRAVIS® Prime performed to expectations and definitely out-performed non-systemic protectant products” said Mr Doyle.
“MIRAVIS® Prime is a low-withholding period (WHP) product, so there’s definitely an operational benefit. I will very happily put MIRAVIS® Prime into our fungicide rotations this season.”
Mr Doyle also emphasised the importance of good stewardship of new products that come into the market.
“Soft fruits are a high rotation crop and they are pushing many fungicides to breaking point” said Mr Doyle.
“With not a lot of new actives coming into the market, we need to be careful with the stewardship of these fungicides to get life out of these new products.”
MIRAVIS® Prime fungicide incorporates the powerful active pydiflumetofen with the proven performance of fludioxonil. Pydiflumetofen is a new fungicide developed by Syngenta that belongs to the carboxamide chemical group (Group 7). It diffuses rapidly into the waxy layer of plants, where it accumulates then moves slowly into the leaf tissue via translaminar movement. Fludioxonil (Group 12) is a contact fungicide that adheres to the waxy cuticle of plants to form a protective barrier.
When used preventatively, the two actives in MIRAVIS® Prime fungicide inhibit fungal infection at four stages of disease development – effectively breaking the disease cycle, while managing the onset of resistance.
With activity on Botrytis and powdery mildew in strawberries and a 1-day WHP, MIRAVIS® Prime fungicide can be applied at any stage of berry production, from flowering through to just prior to harvest. It is registered for use in field and protected cropping for all berry crops and is rainfast within one-hour.
Mr Richardson said these numerous benefits, and ease of use of MIRAVIS® Prime fungicide, would assist advisors, agronomists and growers when it comes to recommendations and use on-farm.
“MIRAVIS® Prime is tank mix compatible with a lot of other products, so growers can do most things in one pass,” he said.
Another big bonus of MIRAVIS® Prime fungicide is that it is soft on beneficial insects.
“Unlike some other products out there for powdery mildew or Botrytis, MIRAVIS® Prime fungicide is compatible with IPM programs, which for some is a huge bonus.”
For more information about MIRAVIS® Prime speak to your local Syngenta representative or visit www.syngenta.com/miravis-prime.
ENDS
About Syngenta Australia
Syngenta is a leading agriculture company helping to improve global food security by enabling millions of farmers to make better use of available resources. Through world class science and innovative crop solutions, our 28,000 people in over 90 countries are working to transform how crops are grown. We are committed to drive positive change in agriculture and embed sustainability across all aspects of our business.
