Canada: Downy mildew fungicide approved for hort crops

A fungicide used in the U.S. for control for downy mildew in various vegetable and fruit crops and late blight in potatoes and tomatoes has successfully crossed the border. Ag chem firm Valent said Wednesday it's picked up Canadian registration for Presidio, billed as a "novel mode of action" containing 39.5 per cent fluopicolide, a Group 43 fungicide suspension. Being "in a new chemical class" allows Presidio to be billed as "a powerful tool to control tough diseases and ward off resistance issues... with preventative control and some curative reach-back action to help protect crop quality and grower profits."

The product is approved for control of downy mildew in brassica vegetables, including head-and-stem produce such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage, as well as root produce such as radishes and turnips; cucurbit vegetables, such as squashes, pumpkins and cucumber; leafy vegetables, such as spinach, swiss chard and lettuce; and grapes. It's also approved for control of late blight in potatoes, tomatoes and peppers, and of phytophthora blight and crown rot in cucurbit vegetables, as well as suppression of phytophthora blight in tomatoes and peppers. The product doesn't include any label claim for post-harvest or in-storage disease control, nor is it registered for use in greenhouses.

Must tank-mix

For fungicide resistance management, Valent requires Presidio to be tank mixed with another product that's registered for use against the diseases and crops listed on the Presidio label. That means producers will also need to follow the label of the tank-mix partner for rates, timing of application, recropping restrictions, grazing interval restrictions and directions for use, making sure to follow the more restrictive label, the company said. While Presidio does have some rotational restrictions in label crops, Valent noted that "unlike other fungicide products, Presidio has no known tank mix limitations with other fungicides or insecticides" and can be soil-applied or used as a foliar treatment, depending on the crop. The product will be handled in Canada by Engage Agro, a Guelph ag chem distributor that specializes in registering and marketing niche-market crop protection products.