Research conducted of farmers and advisors by the company found that price ranked fifth on the list of features for blight fungicide with 30 per cent of respondents were purely cost conscious.
Product manager for Dow AgroSciences John Sellars said: “Farmers and advisors know how important it is to protect their crops from blight, and they are prepared to invest in the crop in order to provide protection. The cost a blight programme is small when compared to the risk of the disease and when you consider the overall costs of growing the crop.”
In the survey conducted, farmers were asked what they thought were the three main features of blight fungicide. The results from the surveyed farmers showed they concentrate on the best blight treatments (60 per cent), rainfast products (38 per cent), and persistent products (34 per cent).
Dow AgroSciences have recently trialed the mixture of protectant fungicide, Electis, with the curative fungicide, cymoxanil, as a treatment for early blight. “In a number of trial in Scotland, the Electis and cymoxanil treatments gave outstanding performance,” said company spokesman Paul Savage. A spray programme on fields including using the two fungicide ingredients produced a marketable yield of 49.7 tonnes/hectare compared to 27.7t/ha from untreated fields. Savage said: “In other trial by AgriSearch last year, when the untreated trials showed 99 per cent foliar blight infection, the Electis and cymoxanil programme was showing only one per cent blight when assessed last September. The treatment was keeping the blight out effectively; the trial data is very encouraging and the work will be repeated this year.”
For further information contact Paul Savage on 01609 781104
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