The weather usually dictates the use of fungicides in combining peas, with damp and humid conditions at flowering and pod set encouraging rapid development of disease. So growers will need to act fast and apply Walabi for the preventative control of the three most important diseases in the crop, namely, leaf and pod spot (Mycosphaerella and Ascochyta) and grey mould (Botrytis), according to BASF.
Walabi was approved for use in combining peas last year, but it was already the standard fungicide treatment in France, because of its excellent performance and broad disease spectrum. "In trials it has given over 90% control of Mycosphaerella and close to 90% for Ascochyta. In PGRO trials, Walabi gave control of Botrytis equivalent to the commercial standards," reports John Young, BASF Peas and Beans Product Manager.
"This better performance is down to the two active ingredients in Walabi acting together in a complementary way. Chlorothalonil is an effective and strong protectant fungicide, with pyrimethanil being protectant, translaminar and redistributed in the vapour phase through the crop's canopy. This results in good all round disease protection."
Mycosphaerella pinodes, Ascochyta pisi and Botrytis cinerea all affect the yield and quality of combining peas, particularly when it is damp and humid at flowering. PGRO report that these diseases can reduce yields by as much as 30%. "A series of ten trials demonstrates this yield penalty; with a treatment of Walabi giving an extra yield of 0.84 t/ha over the untreated," says John.
There is normally very little time between risk assessment of diseases in peas and the need to apply the fungicide. BASF advise growers to monitor the weather when the crops are flowering and if it is wet and changeable, be ready to apply a fungicide treatment. Walabi is recommended at a dose rate of 2 l/ha and can be applied to any combining pea variety. It should be used as the first 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. It can be tank-mixed with a range of insecticides, including Contest, for the combined control of pea pests and diseases.
Walabi contains 150 g/l pyrimethanil and 375 g/l chlorothalonil and is approved for the control of Ascochyta pisi, Botrytis cinerea and Mycosphaerella pinodes in all varieties of combining peas. In addition it has some effect on powdery mildew and Sclerotinia. It is recommended at a dose rate of 2 l/ha and up to two applications can be made. Walabi has a harvest interval of 6 weeks and is also approved for the control of chocolate spot and early rust in field beans.
