Growers looking to protect vegetable and other field crops this summer with broad spectrum fungicide tebuconazole, have the option of a newly formulated version of the active featuring a higher, 430g/litre concentration for reliable disease control.
Toledo, launched by agrochemical manufacturer Rotam last year, is the only version of tebuconazole available to UK growers at 430g/litre, providing easier spraying management.
Chris Bean, technical manager of leading distributor company UAP, says that the company first looked at Toledo last season across a range of crops. "We tried both tebuconazole formulations that Rotam has available – 430g/l (Toledo) and 250g/l (Odin) – in cereals, oilseed rape and vegetables, and both have performed very well," he says.
"The 430g/l option is quite interesting," he continues. "With a 0.6 litres/ha maximum individual dose, it means less tank filling and reduced turnaround times, less washing out and fewer empty chemical containers to deal with.
"It has certainly struck a chord with growers," he adds.
Chris Bean says that prior to trying the product for the first time last season, Rotam provided UAP with full label and (off label) SOLA uses, giving UAP’s technical team a comprehensive idea of the range of crops the formulation could be used across.
"We applied it in some T0 sprays at the start of this season in low cost mix with chlorothalonil, to keep yellow rust at bay in particular, and it was also used as a T3 top up for ear fusarium.
In addition to disease control in a variety of brassica crops, salad onions and oilseed rape in the spring, winter and spring beans will shortly get their second application of Toledo for control of chocolate spot and rusts, says Chris Bean.
"The issue around tebuconazole is its ’sprayability’, in that it is a difficult active to formulate," he explains. "And, in the past, some off-patent versions of the fungicide have caused crystallisation in the body of spray nozzles.
"However, Toledo is performing as it should do and this is as good as anything we have tried," he says.
Rotam’s James Anderdon believes that the 430g/l formulation of tebuconazole is living up to expectations. "Our experience of Toledo, not just in the UK but right across Europe this season, confirms that the product’s efficacy, handling and crop safety is spot on.
"We know that some other formulations of tebuconazole have caused a lot of problems when put through the sprayer, but Toledo shows that our formulation is working, and is proving to be a reliable disease control option for growers across a broad range of crops."
