The Horticultural Development Company (HDC) has secured an extension of authorisation for the use of Rocket EC to control powdery mildew in protected cucumber crops.
The application reinstates an earlier 120-day emergency authorisation for the use of the active ingredient triflumizole on cucumber.
It is likely to be welcomed by growers as there are no suitable alternatives with a one day harvest interval that are available for the control of the disease.
The product can be used as both a preventative and curative measure but HDC points out growers should note that a maximum of three applications are permitted per crop. A minimum seven-day interval should elapse between applications. The product can only be applied
until November and must only be used on crops grown in isolated media.
Derek Hargreaves, technical officer at the Cucumber Growers Association lent his support to the application. He said: “This short-term approval will get us through to the end of 2011 and hopefully we will have a full approval for the start of 2012.”
