With Revystar^® XE, curativity returns to tank mixes

Weather conditions in April had been drier than average before rain fell right at the end of the month. Steve Dennis, BASF, Head of Business Development UK said, “When applying T2, curativity on leaf 2 will be important as many growers would have applied their T1 sprays before the rain, under drought conditions, so they may have been a bit light on some of the T1s.

The rain at the end of April will have moved the disease, so leaf 3 and even leaf 2 could have Septoria infection on them but it won’t be visible as symptoms appear after a 14-28 day latent period.

Our new fungicide Revystar® XE contains the leading SDHI, Xemium® and the first isopropanol-azole Revysol® which brings a much-needed new azole to the market, and, when added to T2 tank-mixes, will deliver much needed curativity, even where latent infections, undetectable to the human eye, are present.

Cura Crop analysis, carried out over 3 years, found that 60% of growers thought their crop was disease free, based on pre-T2 visual assessments of leaf two, but DNA analysis showed there was actually 75-90% infection in leaves three and four and as much as 50 – 65% infection in leaves one and two.”

Dr Julie Smith, Principal Crop Pathology Researcher ADAS, carried out independent technical trials to explore Revysol®’s capabilities. As part of the trials, DNA assessments were made to determine the efficacy of Revysol® treatments. Dr Smith said, “The results showed that even where there was no visible sign of infection on flag leaves, the untreated and prothioconazole treated leaves had much higher levels of Septoria than the Revysol® treated crops, when fungicide was applied 15 days after the optimal T2 timing (GS 39).”

Agronomists and growers, like Robin Aird, Wiltshire, are concerned by the slide in efficacy of conventional azoles. He said, “I think the ability of diseases to adapt is the biggest challenge for disease control going forward.” Dr Smith’s trials found Revysol® protected the plant under all disease pressures and from DMI adapted (azole insensitive) strains of Septoria. She said, “As disease pressure increases, the performance of Revysol® also increases, even under disease pressure akin to a nuclear strike to the plant.”

Yield is still king and ADAS recorded a yield difference of 1t/ha from GS39 applications of Revysol® versus prothioconazole treated plots across five UK sites and over two seasons. Trevor Needham, Nottinghamshire, carried out pre-market trials of Revysol® on his farm last year, he said, “Revysol® gave us more protection and curativity than any other product we’re currently using.”

However, by choosing Revystar® XE, farmers not only gain highly effective Septoria protection, as Ben Freer, BASF Business Development Manager explains, “Revystar® XE is not a one-trick pony. Revysol® on its own controls both rusts and mildew in wheat and barley, combined with the tried and tested power of Xemium® in Revystar® XE, it gives excellent control of both rusts.”

“The continued hot weather favours the development of brown rust in particular. In a comprehensive European study of 78 trials over 4 years we found that Revysol® outperformed prothioconazole dramatically, providing a better control of brown rust (21% of extra efficacy on average). AHDB testing of Revystar® XE in 2019 has also confirmed its efficacy on brown rust.”

The combination of Revysol® and Xemium® is extremely complementary in terms of disease spectrum, leading to a broad range of activity against the most important pathogens in all cereals.

Revystar® XE, Revysol® and Xemium® are registered trademarks of BASF. Revystar® XE contains Revysol® and Xemium®. Revysol® contains mefentrifluconazole. Xemium® contains fluxapyroxad. Always read the label and product information before use. For further product information including warning phrases and symbols, you can refer to agricentre.basf.co.uk.