BASF's potato portfolio shines at Eurofins

Record-breaking hot, dry conditions during Spring and Summer 2025 had multi-faceted impacts on farmers across the country. Eurofins’ researchers felt the challenge too. Despite being inoculated and irrigated throughout the growing season, the organisation’s’ Potato Open Day had to be postponed due to a lack of blight pressure.

However, in less than a month that changed.

On 11th September, there were sufficient differences between the plots, and BASF’s potato team joined growers, agronomists, researchers, and other potato industry stakeholders at the site in Barrow Upon Trent, Derbyshire.

Blight pressure continued to evolve and, in the 24 hours between BASF arriving on site and leaving, the visual differences between blight programmes and individual products became even clearer. It was a reminder of how quickly and devastatingly blight can move through a crop, given the right conditions.

It also highlighted the strength of our products and programmes. Privest (ametoctradin + potassium phosphonates) demonstrated the superior control it’s become known for, particularly when applied early in programmes at rapid canopy development.

With other competitors showcasing future options containing potassium phosphonates, there was an opportunity to see the value of Privest’s formulation and the true synergy with Initium. Despite containing a common active, alternative co-formulations did not offer comparable control. It was Privest that delivered greater efficacy across the board, even against the latest late blight strain in the UK, EU46.

This market-leading product was accompanied by a preview of our latest late blight innovation (subject to approval). Ideally suited to stable canopy development, it is a valuable tool for later stages of fungicide programmes and performed exceptionally well in Eurofins trials.

Inevitably, conversations around the plots and on our stand pivoted around the impacts of the weather, the EU46 strain, and the loss of a stalwart of fungicide programmes, mancozeb.

With growers able to use the last of their on-farm stocks and the blight pressure remaining low this year, there was a consensus that we’ve not yet felt the real impact of the loss of this active ingredient. As a multi-site fungicide, it has played a key role in protecting other fungicides and, given the season, it’s perhaps unsurprising to hear that, as an industry, we may have undervalued its ability in controlling Alternaria.

Thankfully, BASF’s strong pipeline has delivered Belanty in recent years. Containing the highly effective fungicide active ingredient Revysol, it delivers protective and curative activity against Alternaria.