California approval for label expansion of Arysta LifeScience’s KASUMIN bactericide

A newly registered FRAC group 24 bactericide from Arysta LifeScience will provide California walnut and cherry growers with a powerful new bactericide to fight tough bacterial crop diseases while delivering an effective new resistance management tool. The state's Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) recently granted registration for KASUMIN Bactericide for control of Walnut blight in walnuts and Bacterial blast and Bacterial canker in cherries.

In January, the CDPR approved KASUMIN for control of Fire blight in apple and pear crops.

"Walnut and cherry growers need new tools to control these diseases, which can devastate their crops and orchards," said David Davies, U.S. Herbicides & Fungicides Marketing Manager, Arysta LifeScience. "KASUMIN will control copper-resistant bacterial strains in both crops and, as the only Group 24 bactericide, is an ideal rotational partner for resistance management."

Field testing has proven KASUMIN is active on a wide array of plant pathogenic bacteria. Its active ingredient, kasugamycin, has a unique site of activity and mode of action. Field testing has shown it can be easily tank-mixed with other classes of fungicides, such as copper and mancozeb, to increase the spectrum of disease control.

Bacterial canker in cherries is particularly difficult to control because of the pathogen's ability to colonize and move systemically in the trees under the right conditions. Symptoms of Bacterial canker include fruit spots, leaf spots, shothole, branch canker and blossom blast. KASUMIN is particularly effective because of its unique site of activity and its systemic activity in foliage and succulent tissue.

In walnuts, KASUMIN helps growers control Walnut blight before it can severely impact the crop. "Without adequate control, Walnut blight can take a heavy toll on nut production, particularly in warm, wet conditions and when inoculum is high," says Layne Wade, Senior Technical Service Manager, Arysta LifeScience.

KASUMIN is most effective when it is incorporated in a rotation program. The bactericide has no animal or human uses. The product shows no cross-resistance to other bactericides and features a 12-hour restricted-entry interval (REI) and 90-day pre-harvest interval (PHI).