Corteva launches Zorvec Vinabel fungicide at Hortitec 2025

Corteva Agriscience announced the launch of the fungicide Zorvec Vinabel for downy mildew control in vineyards during Hortitec 2025. The 30th edition of the Technical Exhibition of Horticulture, Protected Cultivation, and Intensive Crops is taking place this week in Holambra, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, with  AgroPages reporting from the scene.

The new fungicide combines the benefits of two active ingredients: Zorvec™ + Zoxamide. According to Corteva Agriscience, this formulation mixture ″provides unparalleled control of downy mildew and, as a result, excellent harvest quality, even under challenging conditions.″

With this, Corteva states that Brazilian growers now have an effective management alternative for this disease. According to data presented by the multinational, downy mildew can cause economic losses of more than 70% in grape crops, negatively impacting productivity.

Zorvec Vinabel is part of Corteva’s Generation Z fungicides and features a unique mode of action. According to the Agriscience company, the new technology acts on a novel metabolic pathway, producing multiple effects on the life cycle of the oomycete with no cross-resistance to other fungicides on the market.

Thanks to its upward systemic behavior, said Corteva, the solution protects leaves as they grow and expand, ″offering protection even to new shoots that have not yet been treated.″

The product also has flexible application options, even under adverse weather conditions. The result is a reduction in the number of new applications needed after unexpected rains, providing ″maximum protection from the beginning of flowering to fruit set,″ notes Corteva.

Zorvec technology has earned international recognition for its efficacy, already observed in other countries where it is marketed, such as winning the Agrow Awards in 2012, 2014, and 2016 for its innovative chemistry, best formulation innovation, and best launch for disease control.

Included in the Zorvec technology portfolio are fungicides, such as Zorvec Entido, aimed at foliar sprays to control late blight in potatoes and tomatoes, and Zorvec Encantia, which delivers crop health at all stages of plant development, even under challenging conditions, focusing on potatoes and tomatoes, though registered for 17 additional crops.

″Corteva is a company with research and development in its DNA, continually investing in solutions that enable fruit and vegetable producers to achieve maximum productivity and profitability, in addition to top quality for the final product. The company’s presence at the sector’s leading trade show is proof that we are side by side with farmers to help meet the challenges of the field,″ said Guilherme Ogata, Portfolio Lead for Citrus, Coffee, and Horticulture at Corteva Agriscience.

Besides this launch, Corteva is highlighting the advantages of other fungicides, such as Curzate, which helps prevent and control diseases, such as downy mildew and late blight in potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and grapes. It can be applied from the start of crop development, minimizing resistance risk.

Another highlight is Equation, which offers ″high efficacy″ in controlling pathogens inside the plant, preventing disease and registered for 25 crops. Also prominent is Midas, supplied in water-dispersible granule form, recommended for the preventive control of fungal diseases. Finally, the systemic fungicide Acapela is Corteva’s recommendation for the management of black spot in potatoes and on display at Hortitec 2025.

Insect Control

For the management of the primary pests affecting fruit and vegetable crops, Corteva brings a robust portfolio to the 30th Hortitec. Highlighted is Fidele, a tool for the producer seeking productivity and profitability in potatoes, apples, and coffee. It contains two actives, Jemvelva™ Active—exclusively from Corteva with biological origin—and Metoxyfenozide, together providing two distinct modes of action for prolonged protection of crops, selectivity to beneficial insects, extended control period, and resistance to rain-washing.

Another innovation is Verter SC, registered for whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), psyllids, and aphids (Rhopalosiphum maidis), and is the only one with technology for the management of Unaspis citri (Greasy Scale) mealybugs. With systemic and translaminar action, the product has high knockdown and residual power, delivering immediate results in pest populations.

Corteva is also displaying Delegate, an insecticide recognized for the control of caterpillars, leafminers, moths, and various other pests in more than 70 fruit and vegetable crops. It is recognized as one of the most innovative and sustainable technologies in the world, earning the Green Chemistry award, endorsed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Other insecticides include: Success, recommended for various species of fruit flies from the Tephritidae family; and Tracer, effective against various species of caterpillars, thrips, leafminers (Liriomyza huidobrensis), moths, and, for coffee crops, highly efficient in repelling the coffee leaf miner (Leucoptera coffeella) and coffee borer (Hypothenemus hampei).

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)