MAPA approves Syngenta's Graduate A + fungicide for use on fruit crops in Brazil

By Leonardo Gottems, Reporter for AgroPages

The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) approved, this month, the registration of the fungicide, Graduate A + (Fludioxonil + Azoxystrobin), from Syngenta for the post-harvest treatment of fruit crops. 

Graduate A + can replace the active ingredient, prochloraz, which was prohibited by the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) in early 2016.

The approval meets a request made in 2017 by the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CAN) and the Brazilian Association of Fruit and Derivative Producers (ABRAFRUTAS). According to Luiz Roberto Barcelos (President of the CNA's National Fruit Committee), the product will be a good alternative for exported fruits for efficient post-harvest control, and will guarantee the quality of these products until their final destination.

“This is good news for fruit growers who do not have any efficient products for the post-harvest treatment of crops such as papaya and mango, which are also widely exported,” Barcelos said. Both Fludioxonil and Azoxystrobina were already registered molecules in Brazil, but Graduate A +, formulated by Syngenta, only just obtained approval in the country.

Eduardo Brandão (Executive Director of Abrafrutas), who was directly involved in the negotiations for the product’s approval, stated that this post-harvest fungicide provides an alternative for fruit growers. “The banning of prochloraz brought considerable losses to Brazil’s fruit exports. Therefore, we asked ANVISA and the Ministry of Agriculture, with the support of CNA, to register this fungicide, which was developed in an effective and efficient way to control post-harvest fungi,” Brandão said.