BASF’s presence at one of the industry’s leading events, Potatoes in Practice last month, underpinned its commitment to this critical crop and gave the opportunity to exchange thoughts on the current season, showcase innovative fungicides, and share insights on their exciting product pipeline.
The annual event held at Balruddery Farm near Dundee, hosted by The James Hutton Institute, SRUC, and Agrii, brings together cutting-edge research, trade exhibits, and demonstrations. The focus is to facilitate the adoption of practices and solutions which improve sustainability and resilience in farming.
It was also a chance for BASF to demonstrate their support for the Hutton’s Fight Against Blight (FAB), a vital tool for the sector, identifying and mapping potato late blight pathogen populations since 2006, with up to 1,500 field samples from across Britain.
Scott Milne, BASF Agronomy Manager, reflected on the event
“We enjoyed welcoming growers and advisors from across the potato growing and processing chain, exchanging insights on the current season and demonstrating the performance of our two fungicides, Honesty and ALLSTAR.
Honesty®: Tuber Treatment Innovation
“Honesty is a liquid tuber treatment containing Xemium, available in partner packs with an application enhancer. It has strong activity on Rhizoctonia, silver scurf, and black dot, with incidental activity against dry rot and gangrene. These diseases can have a significant impact on the yield and marketability of potato crops.
“Honesty also brings physiological benefits, giving more stolon initiation, leading to more uniform potatoes and higher marketable yield, as seen from the tubers dug up from the plot.”
ALLSTAR®: In-Furrow Fungicide
ALLSTAR is another Xemium-containing protectant fungicide, applied as an in-furrow treatment at planting, which gives moderate control of black scurf caused by soil-borne Rhizoctonia solani. With in-furrow application, the soil around the planted potato is treated, rather than the potato itself.
“We could see from the potatoes in the plots that using ALLSTAR produces clean, uniform, and bright-looking potatoes.
“ALLSTAR reduces Rhizoctonia symptoms such as misshapes, growth cracks, elephant hide, and irregular skin setting, and helps crops develop faster and produce more potatoes.
Aphid management
“Our final plot contained a beneficials nectar mix, which is designed for integrated pest management, and provides food for natural predators that help control aphids,” explained Scott.
Aphid borne viruses affect both ware and seed growers and can cause significant economic losses. According to a seminar given on site by Dr Adrian Fox of Fera Science Ltd, Potato leafroll virus is a re-emerging threat to potato production in the UK and has in recent years become the main virus intercepted in seed certification inspections.
New blight solutions
Late blight was a common topic of conversation on the BASF stand as Phytophthora infestans has developed resistance to two key fungicide active ingredients, bringing exceptional pressure to late blight management strategies across Europe.
Scott said, “Privest (Initium + potassium phosphonates) works systemically and has activity against all late blight genotypes with no resistance issues. Privest’s very strong efficacy, proven in the field, helps to build a sustainable programme for current crops and future crops. We also have another stand-alone protectant late blight fungicide coming to market soon (subject to approval) which will give growers another option in the ongoing fight against this disease.
Industry knowledge sharing
“The huge amount of expert knowledge at Potatoes in Practice, one of the UK’s premier field-based potato events, will help those involved in this vital industry make informed decisions for this and future seasons,” concluded Scott.