With an ever-diminishing number of crop protection products available to vegetable growers, Agrii has been screening potential alternatives.
Agrii set up trials in October 2023 to look at the potential to use the bio fungicide Botector (Aureobasidium pullulans), which is used as an effective control for Botrytis in fruit crops, to see if it could be used in stored white cabbage to control Botrytis in store.
The trial looked at the potential to use Botector as a foliar in field application, applied 14 days before harvest, and immediately post-harvest before going into store. Botector was compared to existing products as controls.
The crop was stored in a controlled environment store at the end of October for almost seven months until late May.
Results showed that Botector was highly effective both as a pre-harvest and post-harvest treatment. It is comparable to Serenade ASO post-harvest but offers greater flexibility by allowing in-field application.
Agrii has begun discussions to apply for an EAMU with the manufacturer.
Agrii has been working with the British Carrot Growers Association to identify potential control options to control crown rot in crops stored in the field over the winter under polythene and straw.
Crown rot is caused by a soil disease complex, which makes it particularly difficult to identify workable control solutions.
Agrii ran a screen of potential conventional fungicides and bio-fungicides with differing modes of action. The trial was applied with two applications in September before being strawed down in early October.
Cultural controls were also examined, including topping the foliage post-fungicide applications.
The trial was harvested on 18th April 2024 and showed two treatments to be most effective. One was a double application of Switch (cyprodinil + fludioxonil), which is the current standard for control. The other treatment that showed a comparable level of activity to Switch was Boni-protect, a bio fungicide based on Aureobasidium pullulans currently used to control storage rots but that can be used in open fields.
The trial proved beneficial in supporting the current control strategy and in identifying a potential product that could be used to support crown rot control in carrots. Discussions regarding the application for an EAMU for Boni-protect are ongoing with the manufacturer.
For more information on our vegetable trials work or to contact a member of the team, please email info@agrii.co.uk.
