Priaxor fungicide is effective on cereal diseases, helps boost yield potentials

As the 2012 growing season approaches, cereal growers looking to plan ahead to control diseases will have a new option in Priaxor™ fungicide . BASF today announced research results that indicate Priaxor can effectively control some of the most troubling diseases in winter wheat and barley while also helping to boost yield potentials. Priaxor is expected to receive U.S. EPA registration in 2012.

Priaxor is a premix that contains two active ingredients, pyraclostrobin, the same active ingredient found in Headline® fungicide, and Xemium® fungicide (fluxapyroxad), a new active ingredient in the carboxamide family. Headline, which contains the active ingredient pyraclostrobin, provides effective disease control and Plant Health benefits.

"This latest collection of research on Priaxor again shows that it is effective at controlling diseases and helping to increase yield potentials,” said Chris Wharam, BASF Business Representative. “Incidence of diseases such as scald in barley and powdery mildew in winter wheat was lower on Priaxor-treated crops in 2011 research trials versus those treated by products currently on the market – and significantly lower compared to crops left untreated.”

Priaxor studies were conducted across the United States over three years, from 2009 through 2011. Research was on the effects of early application timing on winter
wheat and barley compared to other products currently on the market, as well as the impact of sequential applications with complementary fungicides.

Studies of Priaxor applied to winter wheat show that application at flag leaf bumped yields to almost 66 bu/A, an increase of 4 bu/A over untreated winter wheat.

Overall, Priaxor showed effective disease control of diseases such as powdery mildew and Septoria leaf and glume blotch (Septoria tritici; Septoria nodorum ) in winter wheat. For example:

• In the 2011 research, Priaxor-treated winter wheat showed as little as 15 percent severity of Septoria tritici 37 days after flag leaf treatment. By comparison, untreated winter wheat showed as much as 48.8 percent severity.

• 31 days after being treated with Priaxor, winter wheat showed 1.4 percent severity of Septoria nodorum, compared to more than 13 percent severity when left untreated.

• Priaxor -treated winter wheat showed roughly 15 percent incidence of powdery mildew, while untreated winter wheat showed more than 35 percent incidence of the yield-robbing disease.

In 2011 barley research, Priaxor-treated crops showed as little as 23.5 percent incidence of scald – compared to 86.7 percent incidence in untreated crops.

"Research indicates Priaxor should be an important tool to help prevent a broad spectrum of winter wheat and barley diseases that negatively impact yield,” Wharam said. “As this research shows, the combination of the active ingredient Xemium, and the same active ingredient as in Headline, should help Priaxor to provide a new level of disease control resulting in higher yield potentials.”