Gowan Comércio, the new owner of the active ingredient zoxamide, has reported that Electis has one of the highest ratings for the control of Alternaria in potatoes, as well as one of the best ratings for protectant activity and a very acceptable rating for tuber blight.
John Edmonds, European technical manager for Gowan Comércio, said: “There has been a lot of talk about the increased threat of Alternaria, or early blight, in potatoes in some varieties this season in the UK, but this disease rarely, if ever, appears in isolation. “Growers tackling this new problem will need a fungicide that is not only active on Alternaria but also active on foliar and tuber blight. Growers on the European continent have been used to this multiple disease threat and have been using Electis very successfully against both early and late blight for many years.
“In the Euroblight, ratings Electis has a 2.5 star (out of three) efficacy rating for Alternaria solani and Alternaria alternata, above all other mancozeb containing products on the market.”
Edmonds said that although Electis does not have approval for Alternaria in the UK yet, it does have full label approval in some European countries including France and the Netherlands where this disease has been a significant disease for many years.
He reports that trials in Germany, the Netherlands and Northern France have given excellent results with Electis and in particular six trials in Spain resulted in more than 70 per cent control of Alternaria.
“The continental climate favours early blight caused by Alternaria over late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans and, if our temperatures continue to rise with global warming, we are likely to see more Alternaria in our crop,” said Edmonds.
No comments yet