Gowan appointed UK distributor for Nissan Chemical Company S.A.R.L.

Gowan recently announced that Gowan Crop Protection Ltd has been appointed the UK distributor for Nissan Chemical Company S.A.R.L.

This means they will be marketing three formulations of the graminicide, quizalofop-p-ethyl as Pilot Ultra 5% SC, Targa Super 5% EC and Targa Max 10% EC as well as the blight fungicide Shinkon (amisulbrom). The graminicide sector is a crowded sector but quizalafop has a good reputation for cost-effective grass and volunteer control in a number of crops including combining peas, field bean, fodder beet, linseed, mangel, oilseed rape, red beet, sugar beet and vining peas.

“We are really pleased to be officially appointed Nissan’s distributor in UK and Ireland and are intending to increase sales of their products in the market place, says Dominic. The blight market is also a very competitive one but in Shinkon we have the No 1 blight product as assessed by Euroblight last year. Mixed with a little mancozeb, it scored 4.5 out of 5, the highest rating for leaf blight and a 3.7 for tuber blight just behind cyazofamid with 3.8.

Discovered by Nissan, Shinkon gives outstanding activity on zoospores and exceptional tuber blight control. Shinkon, like every other blight fungicide, needs to be integrated into a full programme with tight spray intervals and should used when its benefits are fully optimised. “It is best placed to optimise its activity on zoospore germination. This means it can be positioned at the rosette, senescence or canopy complete stage. Normally Shinkon is used alone, but being a protectant with no kick-back activity, it may benefit from being mixed with cymoxanil, in particularly high blight pressure situations or when intervals are stretched.” says Dominic.

Shinkon can be sprayed at 7 to 10 day intervals, up to six applications per crop. As a resistance management measure, it should be used alternately with products with different modes of action and should not make up any more than 50% of the total blight control programme. It can be used up to 3 consecutive sprays followed by a minimum of 3 fungicides from a non Qil group.