A new specific off-label approval for Rovral WG for the control of Botrytis in cabbages post-harvest has been welcomed by brassica growers ahead of this year’s harvest.

According to specialist agronomist Andy Richardson, who heads up the Allium and Brassica Centre cabbages left untreated against the damaging in-store disease can suffer up to 45 per cent crop loss. Botrytis (grey mould) is problematic during most seasons in stored cabbage crops.

Richardson said: “Grey mould is a really serious in-store disease in cabbages with significant crop losses or spoilage if left untreated.

“Cabbages may be stored for a long period of time, from harvest in mid-October right through to mid July. Grey mould is a problem which typically increases the longer the cabbage are stored, with long-term fridge and Controlled Atmosphere stores typically worse affected.

“The disease can be seen as a grey fluffy fungal mass on the outside of the cabbage and can progress to a brown soft rot that penetrates deeply into the head. Left untreated, Botrytis will cause major and costly spoilage of the crop and is disastrous for crops destined for processing. Two key ways of reducing losses to this disease are to minimise the damage to heads during harvest and to use a post-harvest drench of Rovral WG.”

Rovral WG, based on the active ingredient iprodione, is applied at a dose of 67 g/100 litres of water as a post-harvest drench to control Botrytis on stored crops of Dutch white cabbage and red cabbage. Treated cabbages must not be removed from store for at least eight weeks after treatment.

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