Paul’s Potato Update From the Field
01.02.2024
With mancozeb grabbing headlines in recent weeks, we catch up with BASF Specialities Business Development Manager, Paul Goddard, to find out what he thinks the product’s approval withdrawal will mean for the future of blight control.
“The current approval of mancozeb officially expires on 31st January 2024,” he says. “And while some expect there to be a short extension, as well as the ‘sell-out’ and ‘use-up’ periods, there’s little doubt that from next year we need to be preparing for programmes without this very useful active substance.”
With some potato crops still in the ground, Paul’s immediate concern is the amount of host material for any inoculum that has survived the winter.
“2023 was a quite a high-pressure blight year and there are potatoes that are yet to be harvested which, with the wet conditions this winter, could become volunteers or at least increase the burden from volunteers. If there is blight in the tubers, the pathogen will have a head start with an easy source to seed inoculum for the season ahead.”
“We saw a significant number of samples being submitted to the Fight Against Blight last year,” he notes. “And while that indicates the scale of the challenge growers are facing, it also highlights one of the potatoes industry’s greatest strengths – it’s ability to come together, with BASF sat alongside other parts of the growing chain in sponsorship of the project.”
“It’s proven a key tool in identifying resistant genotypes and tracking their migration, as we saw with EU_43_A1 emerging in Denmark and appearing in Ireland last year.” Looking ahead and the challenges facing the sector, this ability to join forces and recognise that some issues are bigger than individual people or companies, gives Paul confidence in the sector’s resilience.
Another source of inspiration is the new technology that’s reaching the market.
“BASF’s new late blight product Privest, is a great example,” he says. “It does have multiple modes of action in ametoctradin and potassium phosphonate, combining direct with indirect activity. Having modes of action not seen with any other actives, Privest is a particularly valuable product for resistance management with proven ‘top draw’ efficacy across all seasons tested. The non-clashing chemistry, suited for use early in the programme, ‘frees up’ other valuable products to be used elsewhere.”
