Picture: Amistar - now officially approved for use against take-all, says Paul Varney of Syngenta
Cereal farmers have a new tool available for tackling take-all - after news that the Pesticide Safety Directorate (PSD) has just granted approval for use of the strobilurin fungicide Amistar (azoxystrobin) against take-all in wheat, barley, triticale and rye.
Affecting up to half a million hectares of wheat in the UK, with each affected hectare losing an average of two tonnes in yield, take-all has increased during recent years - due to a combination of early drilling, more second wheat in rotations and mild winters.
However according to Syngenta, Amistar is the first and currently the only foliar applied fungicide approved for such a use in cereals.
"The new approval gives growers the flexibility of an additional tool and timing for reducing the severity of this damaging disease in the growing crop," says Paul Varney, Amistar brand manager for Syngenta Crop Protection UK Ltd.
"In worst cases, take-all yield losses have been estimated at four tonnes per hectare. But until the recent launch of take-all seed treatments, growers had no chemical means for control. Now, Amistar provides a means of enhancing control from these seed treatments in-season or, if growers haven't used a seed treatment, tackling the disease at a later date.
"tThe greatest effect is from a 1.0 litre per hectare dose. Returns from this high dose stack up in terms of money back from the reduction in severity of take-all in the crop."
Independent research from 1998 onwards has shown that Amistar can reduce take-all infection levels by up to 62 percent and boost yield by up to 1.4 tonnes per hectare.
"Where take-all is present, controlling foliar disease can be irrelevant unless you tackle take-all at the same time," adds Mr Varney, "because it exerts such a stranglehold on crop yield. With Amistar you not only get control of foliar diseases, but a reduction in the severity of take-all as well."
Other benefits of Amistar use include no buffer zone restrictions, a wide range of flexible tank mix options and good crop safety, he adds.
Official wording on the product's label will say that '...Amistar applied at the first to second node stage of the crop can reduce the severity of Take-all infection....'.
