AgroPages-BASF’s fungicide Orkestra SC released for more crops in Brazil‏-Agricultural news

BASF's fungicide Orkestra SC was released for use in over 21 crops by Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply. Right now, other than soybeans, BASF has registration for citrus and fruit&vegetables (potato, onion, carrot, apple, mango, melon, cucumber, bell pepper, and tomato), oilseeds and grains (peanut, oven, kidney bean, sunflower, sorghum, corn, and wheat), and flowers (chrysanthemum and roses).

Orkestra SC is composed by the molecule F500(pyraclostrobin) , an exclusivity of BASF, and fluxapyroxad. According to the company, besides controlling important disease, the product contributes to obtain a better photosynthetic liquid rate, that is better assimilation of CO2, bringing an efficient use of water and greater absorption of nutrients.

These are some characteristics that are related to a 10% increase of productivity as well as the most sustainable use of the planted area. The major diseases to be treated on fruit&vegetableswill be Purple Blotch (Alternaria Porri on onions); Glomerella Leaf Spot, Glomerella singulata, or anthracnose, and the Scab disease, or Venturia Inaequalis (Apple), powdery mildew (melon, mango, and cucumber), anthracnose (mango), and Alternariosis (potato and tomato).

"We are the only company in Brazil to offer products based on carboxamide in this segment. We are very optimistic regarding the second generation of carboxamide with Orkestra SC, which will enable the company to strengthen in this market and will help farmers even more. It is notorious that the lack of specific products in this segment hurts fruit exports. It makes producers restrict competitiveness as they are not able to meet legal requirement of importing countries," affirms Adraino Abrahao, marketing manager for coffee and fruit&vegetables at BASF.

According to the company, the differential of Orkestra SC is its "wide action spectrum and high control performance on major fungal diseases s, including those which do not correspond effectively to the available products, contributing for the resistance management".

The release comes in consonance with the reformulation of a Normative Instruction (INC-01/2014). The new legislation simplifies the registration of new products to attend the "minor crops".