Dr Eugenia Banks is a respected potato specialist and also consultant for the Ontario Potato Board in Canada. In her email newsletter sent to grower subscribers earlier today, Dr Banks advises on chemical management solutions to suppress pink rot and Pythium leak.
Dr Banks wrote: Most of you probably know that Orondis Gold Potato, a co-pack containing Orondis and Ridomil, will be available in Canada this spring to suppress pink rot and Pythium leak. The registration is for in-furrow application, but pink rot usually develops at the end of the season. I was wondering if Orondis applied in the middle of May will still be active in September?
My colleagues in the US always do a good job evaluating fungicides before they are registered, so I asked two of them. Neil Gudmestad from North Dakota State University has done a lot of research on pink rot, and he said YES. Orondis is very effective against pink rot even if applied in-furrow in the spring.
Jeff Miller agrees with Neil. He tested Orondis last year and got very good control, not just suppression, of pink rot at harvest time. Jeff will be presenting at the upcoming Ontario Potato Conference; a good reason to attend! Also, Jeff hopes to present data of the effect of Orondis against Pythium leak.
Now, not so good news: If you use the co-pack in-furrow, you cannot use Orondis as a foliar spray against late blight. This is a resistance management strategy to keep single-site fungicides like Orondis effective for an extended period of time.
Dr Banks reminded folks that it’s time to register for the upcoming Ontario Potato Conference on March 6 – more information and the full programme can be found here. The Conference will feature a wide range of important potato topics. Andy McGuire from Washington State University will talk about increasing organic matter in sandy soils. He’s such a good speaker that the University of Guelph decided to “borrow” him for a seminar the day after the conference.
You can reach Dr Eugenia Banks at eugeniabanks@onpotato.ca for more information, or if you wish to subscribe to her email newsletter.
