Bayer Australia - Avocado farm tackling key diseases and achieving exceptional fruit quality with Serenade Prime

From the paddock to the packhouse, having high quality fruit is essential for Sunnyspot Packhouse in Ravensbourne, Queensland to remain a profitable farm and ensure their success in the avocado market.

As leading packing and marketing specialists with approximately 40 hectares of avocado trees, being able to tackle key diseases like anthracnose and stem end rot requires heavy reliance on a good fungicide program, and now with Serenade® Prime biofungicide in their rotation they are seeing exceptional results.

Photo caption: Serenade Prime provides good control on two of the main diseases of avocados - anthracnose and stem end rot.

Farm Manager Tyson Cross says they first came across the biological fungicide during Bayer’s trial process, and were impressed with what they saw after only one season.

″When we first trialled Serenade Prime the results were pretty good that season, and since then we have incorporated it pretty heavily into our program, and we are noticing some great results,″ Tyson says.

″Weather plays a big factor in the growing of avocados, and Serenade Prime is one of those tools that enable us to grow good quality fruit for us to put on the market.″ 

Sunnyspot Packhouse has traditionally used copper fungicides on-farm, but with the introduction of Serenade Prime their tree health and the quality of fruit leaving their packhouse has greatly improved.

″All we used previously were the main copper fungicides available for avocados, but now Serenade Prime has come onto the market and it has been an excellent tool,″ Tyson says. 

″It has good control on our two main diseases here, and it is a great rotation product for us which gives the trees a bit of a break from the constant use of the copper.″

Photo caption: Serenade Prime can be used as both a biological fungicide and soil ameliorant, which provides for higher yields and improved shelf life.

As well as experiencing excellent results, Tyson says the biological fungicide has a range of benefits which influenced their decision to incorporate Serenade Prime into their rotation. 

″Serenade Prime is very safe as far as workplace health and safety goes, when used as directed, and its tank mixing compatibility with other products is a big factor for us using it here at our operation, as it enables us to mix it with other products when applying it on the trees,″ Tyson says.

″The packaging it comes in makes it a very good product to handle when we are filling up the sprayer, and ultimately I think it is a softer type product, so the trees appear very healthy after a Serenade Prime application from my observations.″

Serenade Prime, which is organically certified, has no withholding period when used as directed, which is another major benefit for Sunnyspot farms. 

″Previous products we used for stem end rot have got quite lengthy withholding periods, whereas Serenade Prime gives us the opportunity to apply the product and harvest straight away if we need to, which is great,″ Tyson explains.

Photo caption: Serenade Prime’s tank mixing compatibility is one of the biggest benefits for Sunnyspot Packhouse.

As well as being used as a biological fungicide to arrest disease spore development, Serenade Prime is also a soil ameliorant to help with nutrient uptake to stimulate root growth. Together, the properties in this unique product result in higher yields, better crop uniformity, improved harvest crop quality and improved shelf life.

Based on the results they have experienced, Tyson believes Serenade Prime’s ability to improve tree health and fruit quality, along with its organic certification means it will have a promising future.

″From the tree to the packhouse after picking we have seen fantastic quality in our fruit with the use of Serenade Prime,″ Tyson says. 

″For that reason, Serenade Prime is here to stay in our operation. It is a great tool, it is a great rotation product and it fits in very well with insecticide spraying and everything we do here on-farm.″