News
Basil growers get downy mildew assist

July 18, 2011 — The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) recently
announced the approval of emergency use registrations to help control an outbreak of basil downy mildew on
greenhouse- and field-grown basil in Ontario and Alberta.

July 18, 2011 — The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) recently announced the approval of 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 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 Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada’s Pest Management Centre (AAFC–PMC) minor use program and the U.S. IR-4 program to seek eventual, full registration of Revus for control of basil downy mildew in both countries.

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 and Alberta until Dec. 31, 2011 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 five applications per year are permitted. Do not apply Confine at less than three-day intervals and follow the pre-harvest interval (PHI) of one 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.

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.) and Dr. Mirza Mohyuddin (AGGA) for preparing the rationale documents on behalf of Ontario and Alberta basil producers. We also wish to thank the personnel of the respective provincial ministries of Environment in Ontario and, 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.

Special thanks are expressed to the Fresh Vegetable Growers of Ontario and the Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association who generously covered the submission fees for these emergency use registrations.

For copies of the emergency use labels, contact:

• Melanie Filotas, OMAFRA IPM Specialist, Specialty Crops at Simcoe, 519-426-4434.

• Jim Chaput, OMAFRA, Guelph, 519-826-3539.

• Agronomy Co. of Canada, 519-461-9057 (Confine).

• Syngenta Crop Protection Canada at www.syngenta.ca (Revus).