News
Basil downy mildew minor use control OK’d

May 25, 2012, Guelph, Ont. — The Pest Management Regulatory Agency
(PMRA) has approved  emergency use registrations for Confine fungicide
(potassium salts of phosphorous  acid) and Revus fungicide
(mandipropamid) for control of an outbreak of basil downy mildew on
greenhouse and field grown basil in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.

May 25, 2012, Guelph, Ont. — The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has approved  emergency use registrations for Confine fungicide (potassium salts of phosphorous  acid) and Revus fungicide (mandipropamid) for control of an outbreak of basil downy mildew on greenhouse and field grown basil in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.
 
Both Confine and  Revus fungicides are already labelled in Canada for control of diseases on several crops.

Furthermore a complete minor use submission is underway with the Agriculture & Agri-Food  Canada, Pest Management Centre (AAFC–PMC) minor use program and U.S. IR-4 program to  seek eventual, full registration of Revus for control of basil downy mildew in Canada and the U.S.   

Basil downy mildew has been increasing in severity across North America in the past several  years and has reached epidemic proportions in many regions including Canada.

Infection with  downy mildew can destroy an entire commercial basil crop in a few weeks. In fact, many homeowners who have purchased basil plants have also experienced severe losses. At present  there are no fungicides currently registered on basil in Canada, rendering the crop completely  unprotected against this devastating disease.   

The emergency use registrations of Confine and Revus fungicides will help to manage basil downy mildew; however management of this disease still requires a comprehensive IPM and  resistance management program with access to all available tools and strategies.

The following  is provided as general information only. Users should consult the complete product labels before  using Confine and Revus fungicides.   

• Confine and Revus fungicides can be used for control of basil downy mildew in Ontario,  Quebec and Alberta until Dec. 31st, 2012 only.

• Confine and Revus fungicides can be used in rotation or in tank-mix for management of basil downy mildew.   

• Confine fungicide can be applied at a rate of 3 – 7 L per hectare in a minimum of 100 L water per hectare. A maximum of 5 applications per year are permitted. Do not apply  Confine at less than three day intervals and follow the pre-harvest interval (PHI) of 1 day.   

• Revus fungicide can be applied at a rate of 584 mL per hectare in 95 – 280 L water per hectare. A maximum of four applications per year are permitted. A minimum application  interval of seven days is recommended. Do not make sequential applications of Revus  fungicide and follow the pre-harvest interval (PHI) of one day.   

CAREFULLY FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS ON THE LABELS

Follow all other precautions and directions for use on the Confine and Revus fungicides  label carefully.   

Confine and Revus fungicides should be used in an IPM program and in rotation with  other management strategies to adequately manage resistance.   

We wish to thank Melanie Filotas, Sean Westerveld, Wayne Brown (OMAFRA), Jim Broatch  (Alberta Agric.), Luc Urbain (MAPAQ) and Dr. Mirza Mohyuddin (AGGA) for preparing the  rationale documents on behalf of Ontario, Quebec and Alberta basil producers.

We also wish to  thank the personnel of the respective provincial ministries of environment in Ontario, Quebec and  Alberta as well as Syngenta Crop Protection Canada Inc. and Agronomy Company of  Canada for their support of these registrations, and the personnel of the Pest Management  Regulatory Agency for evaluating and approving these important pest management tools.