Provost Silver fungicide manages tough peanut diseases - New fungicide from Bayer opens door to higher yield opportunities

Provost^® Silver fungicide from Bayer is now widely available to peanut growers in the southern United States. With an increased amount of prothioconazole, as compared to Provost^® Opti fungicide, Provost Silver fungicide is the most efficacious demethylation inhibitor (DMI) product against key peanut diseases on the market, opening the door to higher yield opportunities. In university trials across the southeast, fields treated with Provost Silver fungicide yielded an average of 1,600 lb/A more than fields treated with chlorothalonil and an average of 200 lb/A more than fields treated with Provost Opti fungicide (Figure below).


With systemic activity, Provost Silver fungicide protects peanuts from a broad spectrum of soilborne and foliar diseases.

“Most peanut fungicides are good either on white mold or leaf spot, but not both,” said Keith Rucker, technical development representative at Bayer. “In the case of Provost Silver, we have good activity on both diseases, so it is a complete fungicide.”

In university trials, Provost Silver fungicide demonstrated proven performance, providing better control of both leaf spot and white mold, compared to fields treated with chlorothalonil or Provost Opti (Figures below).


In addition to white mold and leaf spot, Provost Silver fungicide is also effective against rust, rhizoctonia and Cylindrocladium black rot (CBR), among other diseases.

Peanut growers Lanier Raulerson and his son, Daniel Raulerson of Douglas, Ga., included Provost Silver applications in their peanut disease prescription program the past two growing seasons.

“We had heavy white mold pressure in 2018, and Provost Silver controlled it,” Daniel Raulerson said, noting that plant health was high.

“I was impressed with Provost Silver. We saw little to no disease,” said Lanier Raulerson. “I don’t usually make big changes with a new product. We’re putting Provost Silver on all our peanuts this year (2019).”

In addition to broad spectrum disease protection, Provost Silver fungicide serves as a tool for resistance management. Its differentiated mode of action helps preserve the longevity of disease management tools needed for future seasons, making Provost Silver fungicide a worthwhile choice to include in a peanut disease prescription program.

“Provost Silver is a very good rotational partner with other modes of action that are commonly used in peanuts. Right now, a lot of growers are relying very heavily, if not exclusively, on the SHDI class of chemistries,” said Rucker. “By not rotating to different modes of action, growers are risking developing resistance to that mode of action. Because of that, Provost Silver becomes an excellent option to use in a rotation, with the other chemistries, while still giving excellent disease control.”