Canada: New protection products coming from Syngenta

Registration of a new active ingredient is making it possible for Syngenta Canada to bring several fungicide products to the market with promise of improved disease control in wheat and canola, along with a wide range of other field and horticultural crops.

Adepidyn (which is the trade name for pydiflumetofen) is viewed as one of those game-changer products, says Syngenta. It is not easy or often in the crop protection research and development world to find new chemistry, Nancy Tout, head of Syngenta Canada R & D told several Canadian farm writers at a recent Syngenta North American Media Summit in Minneapolis, Minnesota. So to receive registration for chemistry that will provide farmers with more wrenches in the crop protection tool box, is a coup. Among the more than 50 fungicide classes, Apepidyn is among the SDHI mode of action class. (And for the technically inclined, SDHI stands for Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitor).

Adepidyn, which will be the key active ingredient behind several new brand name fungicides, provides very effective protection against a broad range of diseases in cereals, such as fusarium headblight and is a “step-change” improvement of control of leaf spots including septoria, says Tout. It has also been found to a very effective treatment across a range of fungal diseases in corn, soybean, vegetables, potatoes, grapes, fruit crops — controlling diseases such as leaf spots, powdery mildew, botrytis and sclerotinia. Depending on the crop and diseases, she says Adepidyn can be effective as a seed treatment with canola, for example, or as a foliar product used to control Fusarium head blight in wheat.

New products ahead

So here are some new fungicides to watch for over the coming year as products continue through the registration process:

In canola, Saltro, again built around Adepidyn, will be introduced as an improved seed treatment delivering “outstanding” disease control of early season blackleg, says Scott Ewert, head of Seedcare, Syngenta Canada. While there are seed treatments that help control soil borne blackleg disease, Saltro is the first to also help control air borne blackleg sphores. He says the goal is to get healthy and vigorously growing plants out of the ground to produce a uniform stand. Saltro can be used in combination with other seed treatments such as Maxim, Vibrance and Apron to help reduce the risk of fungicide resistance.

On the foliar fungicide front, watch for Miravis, another Adepidyn product, which also provides effective control of sclerotinia. Field research trials against competing products has shown it to produce consistent yield improvements.

On the cereal side, Miravis, whether used solo or in a tank mix has been found to provide “a new standard of control” for fusarium head blight, says Duane Johnson, head of Syngenta’s Western Commercial Unit.” Our research has shown Miravis to be very strong in the suppression fusarium head blight in cereal crops,” says Johnson. “Timing of application is critical — getting it applied just at flowering.” The fungicide has also been found to provide “significant” improved control of septoria tritici, a yield-limiting leaf spot disease in wheat. It is also highly active on powdery mildew, tan spot, and for those who farm in higher moisture regions, glume blotch.

Plant growth regulator

Aside from fungicides, Syngenta is also bringing a cereal plant growth regulator, Modus, to the market once it has cleared the registration process, says Tara McCaughey, head of Syngenta Canada technical services. Particularly in varieties prone to lodging, Modus controls the wheat plant growth hormone gibberellin, helping to thicken and strengthen wheat plant stem walls, and shorten the internode length and ultimately crop height.

While timing or crop staging is critical to PGR effectiveness, McCaughey says Modus has a window from the beginning of stem elongation to flag leaf stage (30 to 39) with the ideal timing between when the first and third node are detectable or 30 to 33 growth stage. A well-established product in other parts of the world, McCaughey says producers can use the PGR with confidence on grains destined for export.