Syngenta has launched a new nozzle for sprays, specifically designed to improve the performance of potato blight fungicides, insecticides and crop desiccation.

The Syngenta Potato Nozzle has an angled design and can increase the total spray retention of blight fungicides on potato plants by 30 per cent.

Application specialist Tim Scott warned that blight infection can attack any green material not adequately protected by fungicide - either new growth or where the protection from previous applications has worn off.

Blight spores landing on the leaf surface in wet weather or irrigated crops can be washed down and attack lower stems. In addition to this, any latent blight infection within the plant can break out in unprotected growth when weather conditions are conducive.

Scott said: 'The micro-climate beneath the crop canopy can be several degrees warmer than air temperatures and extremely humid following irrigation or rain. These are ideal conditions in which blight can proliferate. Growers must ensure the lower leaves and stems are targeted with fungicide protection.' The nozzle has been designed to deliver the optimum droplet pattern for the best results from blight fungicides. Scott concluded: 'Potato growers and specialist contractors can now use the one nozzle set-up right through the season. Further research work will evaluate the angles nozzle's advantages with the entire Syngenta Potato Portfolio and to provide practical application advice to growers.'