Viticulture

Viticulture event brings industry together
Syngenta Viticulture Dinner 2024
From left, Syngenta Technical Services Lead, Dr Brandy Rawnsley; Georgia Brennan, Muirs, Huonville; Felicity Cox, Elders, Roseworthy; and Rose Beyer, Elders Pakenham, at the Syngenta viticulture dinner in Adelaide.

The seasons can be long and the opportunities to gather few and far between. Rarer still, do viticulturists from across the breadth of Australia’s growing regions get the chance to meet face-to-face. Syngenta coordinated such an occasion, in July, dedicated to them and in part to thank nearly 100 guests for taking a keen interest in three pipeline Syngenta fungicides.

Among the attendees was Michael Zerk, a viticulturalist with Nutrien Ag based in Padthaway in the southeast of South Australia. He said the day was a consolidation of several years of groundwork by Syngenta with their latest innovation, SEEKER® Duo fungicide, now available for early season control of powdery mildew.

“Syngenta’s Learning Centres, demonstration sites and technical training had already built great awareness leading up to registration of SEEKER® Duo. That lead time is really important for building confidence in new products,” said Mr Zerk.  

Syngenta Viticulture Dinner 2024
Michael Zerk (centre), Nutrien Ag Solutions, Padthaway, was one of almost a hundred viticulturalists from across Australia who enjoyed the hospitality from Syngenta. The wines served at the National Wine Centre were crafted from the very grapes many of the viticulturists in the room had taken from budburst to harvest with the utmost of care. 

Mr Zerk and his colleague Liz Bryson compile spray programs for around 1,500 ha of vineyards from Padthaway to Coonawarra and review and advise programs for a number of vineyards in the region.

“SEEKER® Duo fits easily into our spray programs for this season in blocks or varieties where we need something good early on for powdery mildew,” he said.

“We can do one early spray at the 5-8 leaf stage and the long residual activity is critical if we have frost sprinklers on, experience a run of dewy nights or its too wet to spray at shorter intervals.

To call the event a product launch might downplay the value Mr Zerk, and others, were able to derive from the day, given their professional curiosity and desire to know what’s coming next.  

“KEYBRI® Ultra will also slot right into our spray programs once registration comes through.”

“Biologicals like TAEGRO® take a bit more time to get market confidence, but having multiple targets on a label always helps. Biologicals are an important category for the industry.”

“R&D companies like Syngenta are critical to our industry; Syngenta has always had leading technical staff and probably also lead the way in field demonstrations as well.”

“I always like having a chat with Brandy [Syngenta Technical Services Lead, Dr Brandy Rawnsley] and I know if I’ve got technical questions there’s three or four people I can call within Syngenta. And it’s not just one product, we could build a complete spray program with Syngenta products. We’ve never had an issue with product quality either.”

Mr Zerk said the day felt like an industry event, with a whole range of resellers and corporates attending.

Helping to mark the occasion were also Syngenta ANZ Managing Director, David Van Ryswyk, and Syngenta Global Head of Crop Protection Marketing, Ioana Tudor, all the way from Basel, Switzerland. Their attendance was applauded, even if the stars of the show remained the local experts. 

“The technical staff like Brandy and Scott [Syngenta Portfolio Lead, Mr Scott Mathew], are very knowledgeable and always very responsive to questions,” said Felicity Cox, a viticulturalist with Elders at Roseworthy in South Australia.

Mrs Cox looks after around 50 growers over 1000 ha of vineyards in the Barossa and Adelaide Hills region.

“New products and new chemistry are always good for growers and Syngenta are great at building interest in and understanding of products before they hit the market,” said Mrs Cox. 
“We’ve put SEEKER® Duo in this year’s spray programs. It’ll go on at about the 5-leaf stage and it’ll be important for robust early control. Its priced perfectly in the market.”

“Even though KEYBRI® Ultra and TAEGRO® aren’t registered in time for this season they’ve still got a lot of people talking about those products.”

“Syngenta are a fabulous company to work with. They really do a great job of taking you along on the journey with their products,” said Mrs Cox.

For more information about SEEKER® Duo fungicide, speak with your local Syngenta representative or visit syngenta.com.au/seeker-duo

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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.

KEYBRI® Ultra and TAEGRO® are not registered. Applications have been submitted to the APVMA.
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