AgraQuest’s new soil fungicide received California approval

AgraQuest Inc. announced the registration of SERENADE SOIL by California Department of Pesticide Regulation, the first soil fungicide based on its patented active ingredient Bacillus subtilis strain QST 713. With the addition of California, SERENADE SOIL fungicide is now available in most US states for growers needing protection against profit-robbing soil diseases such as Rhizoctonia, Fusarium, Pythium and Phytophthora in potatoes, tomatoes and cucurbits.

Applied at planting, SERENADE SOIL quickly builds a disease protection zone around the seed. As the seedling grows, the beneficial bacteria in SERENADE SOIL continue to grow, attaching themselves to the roots of the plant, expanding the disease protection zone, resulting in higher-yielding fields and better quality fruits and vegetables.

Three years of investigation have demonstrated that plants treated with SERENADE SOIL fungicide are stronger and healthier, and deliver average yield increases of two to four tons of potatoes per acre. Similar results were shown in large-scale tomato trials, with growers averaging yield increases of six percent to thirteen percent over untreated fields.

The strong yield results delivered by SERENADE SOIL are based on the diverse and unique activities of the active ingredient B. subtilis strain QST 713 in the soil. When SERENADE SOIL is applied at planting, the beneficial bacteria quickly attack soil diseases, while rapidly colonizing the seedling and root. Once colonized, the bacteria produce compounds that not only continue attacking soil diseases, but also trigger metabolic pathways to activate the plants natural defenses and modulate growth.

Available in other states since January 2010, SERENADE SOIL has quickly gained acceptance among growers focused on increasing their yields and profits.

"SERENADE SOIL has quickly established itself as an essential tool for potato growers in the Pacific Northwest and Midwestern states. Early grower feedback indicates that in its first year of sale, approximately 40,000 acres of potatoes were treated with SERENADE SOIL in the 2010 planting season," said Ashish Malik, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing. "Historically about 80-90,000 acres of potatoes are treated across the country, so this is a terrific endorsement of the value adding performance of the product. We are happy to make the product available to growers in California where our data shows there is a strong fit in tomatoes and cucurbits in addition to potatoes."