With 50 growers and 1000 hectares of vines under her care across the Barossa and Adelaide Hills, Elders Viticulturist Felicity Cox makes a point of keeping tabs on the newest tools at every opportunity.
During the off-season Felicity attended an industry get together for some of Australia’s most passionate and dedicated viticulturists, hosted by global leaders in ag-tech, Syngenta.
Also attending the event was Syngenta's Global Head of Crop Protection Marketing, Ioana Tudor, alongside Syngenta ANZ Managing Director, David Van Ryswyk, Syngenta Product Lead for Viticulture, Scott Mathew and Syngenta Technical Services Lead Brandy Rawnsley.
“The technical staff like Brandy and Scott, are very knowledgeable and always very responsive to questions,” said Felicity.
“New products and new chemistry are always good for growers and Syngenta are great at building interest in and understanding of products before they hit the market.”
SEEKER® Duo fungicide has been used for the first time this season, applied early in the crop to help keep powdery mildew firmly under control before it starts.
“We’ve put SEEKER® Duo [fungicide] in this year’s spray programs,” Felicity said.
“From the five-leaf stage it’ll be important for robust early control. Its priced perfectly in the market.”
Also discussed were KEYBRI® Ultra fungicide, for robust and long-lasting control of downy mildew, and the biological TAEGRO® fungicide, for protection from botrytis and powdery mildew.
“Even though KEYBRI® Ultra and TAEGRO® aren’t registered in time for this season, they’ve still got a lot of people talking about those products,” Felicity said.
“Syngenta is a fabulous company to work with. They really do a great job of taking you along on the journey with their products.”
Dr Rawnsley said SEEKER® Duo fungicide is a great product for wine grape growers and their advisors to discuss.
“You’d be hard pressed to find a grape grower that does not apply fungicides in a spray program for powdery mildew control,” she said.
“With so many products on the market, growers need products that work and work well.
“The arrival of SEEKER® Duo provides advisors greater peace of mind, thanks to its robust, residual control for up to 21 days, while being highly rain fast.
“Coming from the same makers of MIRAVIS®, SWITCH® and THIOVIT® Jet, advisors and growers can also have confidence in the rigour in which SEEKER® Duo has been brought to market.”
SEEKER® Duo fungicide contains two active ingredients: 375 g/L fenpropidin, newly registered in Australia, and 100 g/L difenoconazole.
Proven difenoconazole, a Group 3 fungicide, or better known as a DMI (demethylation inhibitor), has excellent preventative and curative activity. It works by stopping sterol production in the fungus which is required for cell membrane and function.
Fenpropidin belongs to the Group 5 amines (morpholines) and also stops sterol synthesis in fungal membranes at a different site to Group 3 fungicides. It is considered low-risk of fungicide resistance development with no known cross-resistance to other chemistry groups.
Dr Rawnsley said the combination of these two actives in SEEKER® Duo fungicide has true synergistic activity to enhance efficacy, which is a real benefit to users. When applied early in the season, SEEKER® Duo provides critical post-flowering protection and peace of mind.
This article was written by Syngenta for Seasons magazine.
* Disclaimer – Important, please read:
The information contained in this article is given for general information purposes only, current at the time of first publication, and does not constitute professional advice. The article has been independently created by a human author using some degree of creativity through consultation with various third-party sources. Third party information has been sourced from means which Elders consider to be reliable. However, Elders has not independently verified the information and cannot guarantee its accuracy. Links or references to third party sources are provided for convenience only and do not constitute endorsement of material by third parties or any associated product or service offering. While Elders has exercised reasonable care, skill and diligence in preparation of this article, many factors including environmental/seasonal factors and market conditions can impact its accuracy and currency. The information should not be relied upon under any circumstances and, to the extent permitted by law, Elders disclaim liability for any loss or damage arising out of any reliance upon the information contained in this article. If you would like to speak to someone for tailored advice specific to your circumstances relating to any of the matters referred to in this article, please contact Elders.