A NEW LINE OF DEFENCE FOR CUCURBITS AND FRUITING VEG

After proving its value in almond, apple and macadamia orchards and vineyards, Belanty® Fungicide from BASF is now also registered for use in cucurbits and fruiting vegetables.

New chemistry is always good news because extending the rotation helps so much with resistance management, and Belanty sets to help growers tackle some even more pressing needs too.

In particular, trials show that Belanty helps melon growers reduce the damage being done in many areas by gummy stem blight.

“Gummy stem blight has become a big issue in cucurbits all over the country,” says BASF Horticulture Technical Specialist Mark Dicks.

“Especially in rock melons and watermelons. Belanty has looked very promising in trials. We think growers who use it strategically are going to be impressed.”

Belanty is also newly registered to control powdery mildew in cucurbits and both target spot and powdery mildew in fruiting vegetables. All the registrations apply to both field and protected crops.

Mark says BASF are simply encouraging growers of all its registered crops to give Belanty a try and see for themselves what it can do. He cites its rapid acceptance in apple orchards as a good example of growers relying on first-hand experience in their own crops.

“Belanty’s registered for both black spot and powdery mildew in apples. Once growers saw Belanty in action on the crop it really took off and it’s been a big success ever since.”

Using Belanty doesn’t require much adjustment even though it's a significant step forward. The new fungicide belongs to a very well established class of chemistry: the Group 3 demethylation inhibitors or DMIs. Belanty can be used instead of any other Group 3 product at any stage from establishment to harvest as long as it is not applied more than twice consecutively and three times in total on any one crop.

Fruit and vegetable growers have been relying on DMIs for years, but some of the older compounds are no longer working as well as they used to. They have been used so extensively that disease pathogens have mutated and become less susceptible to them.

Belanty is a next-generation DMI that can restore the previous very high levels of control.

While Belanty shares the same basic mode of action as other DMIs, it is not just another triazole. It has a unique hybrid ‘isopropanol-azole’ molecule with a triazole ‘head’ sitting at the end of a slim, flexible isopropanol ‘neck’. The isopranol component folds to fit into the binding pocket of different strains of the black spot pathogen. That gamechanging flexibility allows the molecule to bind much more strongly to target enzymes than other DMIs.

Trials have shown that Belanty remains very effective against mutated pathogens which conventional triazoles cannot control.

“The whole Belanty package is very user-friendly and advantageous,” Mark says. “The plant uptake is fast and it also provides lasting residual control. As well as its superiority over other DMIs for resistance management, it has a better residue profile and very short withholding periods.”