Highly anticipated new multi-site grape fungicide ticks all boxes.

^{Clean grapes in the fungicide trail following application of the newly registered Folpan from ADAMA Australia}

Daniel Polson, market development manager - horticulture with ADAMA Australia, said it had been several decades since an alternate multi-site fungicide had been launched in Australia. 

He said some multi-site molecules had recently been banned in the European Union and other export markets, while others remained under review, which could limit the multisite fungicide options available for Australian producers.

“The good news is that folpet has recently been approved out to 2039 through the EU’s stringent assessment process, and it already has established export MRL (maximum residue limit) status in Australian export markets.” Polson said.

“Extensive wine fermentation and sensory studies have also been completed in Australia as part of the local trial work. 

“Folpan has the benefit of containing a new, unique active ingredient that acts across different cellular levels, which will help prolong the life of single site fungicide products when used strategically in combination across the growing season.”

He said Folpan would be a cost-effective option for growers early in the season to protect against powdery and downy mildew, and, with activity extending to botrytis as well, it would be used over flowering with minimal impact on key beneficial insects including honey bees, lacewing, parasitic wasps, predatory mites and ladybirds. 

^{Powdery mildew pressure in the untreated area of the fungicide trial}

Courtney Lean, horticultural agronomist with Nutrien at Berri in South Australia’s Riverland region, saw Folpan applied with low and high rates of sulphur at a trial site at Faraday in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges under high powdery mildew pressure and was impressed with its performance at the lower sulphur rates.

Courtney said numerous Riverland growers have used high rates of sulphur in their programs in recent seasons as an affordable option against powdery mildew and its impact on beneficial insects may have contributed to higher populations of mealybug and scale.

She said the ability to use lower rates of sulphur with Folpan could be a potential option to help reduce the impact of sulphur on beneficial insects in crop canopies whilst maintaining strong control of powdery mildew. 

“The information presented at Faraday included the low impact of the product on beneficial arthropods.” Lean said.

She said hot conditions in the Riverland in recent years also resulted in some late-season sulphur burn on sensitive varieties, so the option to use Folpan and reduce sulphur rates to prevent damage associated with phytotoxicity, particularly in high-value white varieties, could be a major benefit.

^{Powdery mildew shown on the leaves in the fungicide trial}

Adrian Utter, horticultural agronomist with Muirs in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, said the differences between the untreated area and the Folpan applications at the Faraday trial were strong.

Utter said high rainfall and humidity in the Yarra Valley region can often result in high powdery mildew and downy mildew pressure, and, hence, a new mode of action, multi-site fungicide such as Folpan, which can help reduce resistance development to important systemic and curative fungicides, would be appealing.

“We definitely see a fit for mixing an affordable multi-site fungicide, that’s not going to build-up resistance, into our programs.” Utter said.