The Crop Protection Days are coming up again in the Netherlands, so the various manufacturers and suppliers are busy showing something beautiful at the World Horti Center. Caroline van den Hoek was one of them. The crop advisor at Syngenta will present a gerbera trial with different green strategies: biocontrols against powdery mildew.
"The theme of the crop protection days is greenhouse vegetables, but powdery mildew is really annoying at this time of year, and we would like to show that you can go very far in controlling it with different biocontrols. That's why I also want to show something new to the advisers in the form of a gerbera trial."
The remedy Inssimo is part of the trial. "It actually turns on the plant's natural defenses, which works through the SAR mechanism. So when you use it, the plant starts defending itself, for example, by strengthening the cell walls a bit. Mildew thus finds it harder to get nutrients or cannot grow inside."
Chair dance
If you combine Inssimo with Taegro, a cover fungicide, you ensure that mildew has no place to 'sit down.' Caroline, therefore, compares it to musical chairs: "If the Taegro is on the chairs first, the real mildew spores can no longer sit there. So it is a preventive approach."
The adjuvant Elasto G5 is also added to that preventive concept. "With the combination of Taegro and Elasto G5, we got better coverage, better efflux over the leaf. The leaf stays moist longer, so the live Taegro spores can continue to multiply. That can lead to as much as 15 percent more efficiency, trials have shown."
Extra push with Hicure
Also used is the biostimulant Hicure, which makes the plant just a little more vital, healthier, and less susceptible. "Actually a kind of vitamin for the plant, so it feels better and can cope with abiotic stress. In trials, such a combination of different agents has shown good results." Hicure has a systemic action and can be sprayed or co-administered in the feed water.
And some news: Syngenta is also working on an experimental biological agent, which is also part of the gerbera trial to tackle powdery mildew. Caroline will be happy to tell visitors to the Crop Protection Days all about that trial. Colleague Jelle Westerlaken is also present at the World Horti Centre and will explain more about the cucumber trial with powdery mildew, where various agents are also being used, including new biologicals and Taegro.
For more information:
Syngenta Crop Protection 
Caroline van den Hoek
Mob.: +31 (0)6 82 68 99 36
caroline.van_den_hoek@syngenta.com
www.syngenta.nl