BASF launches two new potato blight fungicides in crowded UK market

Potato growers in the United Kingdom have two additional blight fungicide choices this year after BASF launched two new products into an already crowded market.

Resplend and Decabane both contain Initium (ametoctradin), a new active ingredient offering both foliar and tuber blight activity.

BASF laboratory trials show that ametoctradin causes zoospores - the causal agents of tuber blight in potatoes - to burst within seconds of application and at very low concentrations.

Both products have been co-formulated with complementary active ingredients with different modes of action to offer a strong anti-resistance position, explains Rob Storer, potato product manager for BASF.

"They will be important new tools in the fight against both foliar and tuber blight, as well as in resistance management,"he says.