The recent unsettled weather has brought increased disease pressure to the pea crop and, as flowering approaches, growers are being advised to inspect the lower leaves for any disease and be prepared to spray, according to BASF.
"A dry spring and summer usually means very little need to spray fungicides in peas, but this year with the recent episodes of wet weather, inoculum will be building and disease development could flare up quickly. Pea growers will need to act fast and apply a fungicide for the preventative control of the three most important diseases, which are leaf and pod spot (Mycosphaerella and Ascochyta) and grey mould (Botrytis). These diseases all affect the yield and quality of peas, particularly when it is damp and humid at flowering. PGRO report that yields can be affected by as much as 30%, so it will be well worth spraying," says Jonathan Ball, BASF Peas and Beans Product Manager.
BASF has two fungicides fully approved for use in peas – Walabi for combining peas and Caramba for combining and vining peas. "Walabi is the leading pulse fungicide in France and combines two complementary and effective fungicides, chlorothalonil and pyrimethanil. It can be regarded as a technical step-up and natural successor to straight chlorothalonil, resulting in superior disease control over a high dose-rate of straight chlorothalonil. Growers benefit from the strong protectant activity of chlorothalonil and get additional benefits from pyrimethanil. From a different fungicide group, the anilinopyrimidines, with a different mode of action, pyrimethanil has protectant, translaminar and vapour-phase activity throughout the canopy," explains Jonathan.
Recommended at 2 l/ha, Walabi can be applied to any combining pea variety. It should be used preventatively as the first (T1) spray at early flowering or first pod stage, before diseases become active. A second spray can be applied towards the end of flowering, providing there is a two week interval between the treatments.
Jonathan reminds pulse growers that Caramba (60 g/l metconazole) also offers disease reduction of Mycosphaerella pinodes, Aschochyta pisi and control of Botrytis and rust in both combining and vining peas. It is recommended at a dose rate of 1.2 l/ha and has a relatively short harvest interval of 14 days.
Both fungicides can be tank-mixed with a range of insecticides, including Contest, for the combined control of pea pests and diseases, a useful option if pea aphid populations increase.
Walabi contains 150 g/l pyrimethanil and 375 g/l chlorothalonil formulated as a suspension concentrate. It is approved as a protectant treatment against Botrytis cinerea, Ascochyta pisi, and Mycosphaerella pinodes in all varieties of combining peas. It is recommended at dose rates of between 1.5 to 2 l/ha and up to two applications can be made. Walabi has a harvest interval of 6 weeks in peas.
Caramba contains 60 g/l metconazole, formulated as a soluble concentrate and packed in a 5-litre pack. It is a broad-spectrum fungicide with curative and protectant activity. It reduces Mycosphaerella pinodes, Ascochyta pisi, and Botrytis in combining peas, vining peas and lupins as well as controlling rust in these crops and field beans at a dose rate of 1.2 l/ha. Up to two applications can be made, with a harvest interval of 14 days.
For further comment and information please contact Jonathan Ball, BASF on 0161 488 5785 or mobile 0771 7782768
