Bayer CropScience today unveiled two new products – Infinito, a mid- to late season blight fungicide, and Biscaya, a foliar insecticide – developed to provide potato growers with unprecedented levels of crop protection. Both fit with Integrated Crop Management and meet the expectations of the food chain.
Infinito is based on a new active ingredient fluopicolide, discovered in the UK and differing from any other chemistry currently available for keeping blight out of potato crops. Product manager Andy Albert explained that Infinito acts on foliar, stem and tuber blight and, uniquely, at all stages of the blight life cycle.
"Infinito gives growers great flexibility in terms of dose rate and timing, so that control programmes can be tailored to deal precisely with the disease pressure present," he stated. "Applied after the rapid growth phase when the canopy is stable, up to four or five sprays can be applied, dependent on the dose selected."
According to the label, Infinito can be applied from 1.2 to 1.6L/ha. Using 1.2L with seven-day spray intervals or 1.6L with 10-day intervals, if the disease pressure is moderate, and at 1.6L/ha every 7 days if the pressure is high. Maximum usage in a season is 6.4L. There are no LERAP or buffer zone restrictions, allowing significantly greater sprayer efficiency.
"There are no varietal restrictions with Infinito," Mr Albert added, "and it can be used on all crops – seed, processing and pre-packing. It is also compatible with insecticides, desiccants and foliar nutrients and is rainfast in one hour.
Bayer CropScience development manager Eileen Bardsley said Infinito’s great strength lies in its strong translaminar and preventative activity. "And, with its anti-sporulant activity, it blocks the source of tuber infection, giving 100 per cent spore inhibition and also offers kick-back activity. It has provided robust control of foliar blight over many trials and consistently out-performed existing blight products. Averaging in excess of 90 per cent control at the 1.6L/ha rate and just under 90 per cent at the lower rate, it exceeded performance of the next best existing standard by 10 per cent."
Patrick Mitton, food industry stewardship manager at Bayer CropScience, said the new technology in Infinito is meeting the food chain’s expectations. "It is non-toxic to birds, bees, fish and other aquatic organisms, and in 12 trials over two years, no residues whatsoever were detected. In addition, Infinito is on the Tesco ’Nature’s Choice’ 2006 Plant Protection Product List."
In Biscaya, claimed Bayer’s Dr Bill Lankford, the future of aphid control has arrived. "Biscaya controls all aphids, including MACE resistant species, by both its contact and systemic modes of action."
Central to Biscaya’s efficacy is new formulation technology developed by Bayer CropScience. Known as O-TEQ, it uses a sunflower oil-based product as an emulsifier, as opposed to a solvent.
"It greatly improves retention on the leaf," Dr Lankford explained. "The oil forms a film after the water has evaporated, enhancing penetration of the active ingredient, thiacloprid, into the leaf, thereby prolonging activity. More than 40 per cent has penetrated beyond the cuticle within the first two hours following application, rising to more than 80 per cent after 72 hours.
"Biscaya provides the same degree of efficacy in the mid-leaves of the potato plant as on the upper leaves. Within 2 to 4 days, 84 per cent aphid control is achieved, 93 per cent after 6 to 10 days and 94 per cent after 11 to 14 days. It starts high and stays high."
The recommended rate for Biscaya is 0.4L/ha in a single application for ware crops, with a second spray allowed on seed crops.
Dr Lankford went on to say that "some very promising data" had been gathered on Biscaya’s ability to protect crops against viruses, such as PLRV and PVY – a significant bonus for seed growers.
Like Infinito, Biscaya’s environmental profile is very reassuring. "Detailed field research and studies of realistic exposure conditions have revealed its low toxicity to fish and other aquatic organisms," Dr Lankford said, "while we have also seen that it has no impact on honey bees." There are no detectable residues – even when used three times at the label rate, he added. Again, like Infinito, no LERAP restrictions have been applied to Biscaya.
In the case of both Infinito and Biscaya, the UK is the first country in the world to approve their commercial use.
