July 2018

04

AGROCHEMICAL

agchem@woldmarsh.com

Gemini Agriculture are a UK based manufacturing and marketing business offering reliable and quality generic agrochemicals who are slowly increasing their portfolio of products to UK growers.

They have an increasingly important range of autumn herbicides, however detailed below is a new formulation of maleic hydrazide that may be of interest to potato growers. For pricing and availability details contact James in the Agchem team.

NEW LIQUID FORMULATION OF MALEIC HYDRAZIDE

Maleic hydrazide in now available in the UK as an easy-to-use liquid formulation, registered as Itcan SL 270 , this soluble concentrate is registered for use in onion and potato crops. 2,997gai/ha (the same as Fazor at 5kg/ha) providing sprout suppression and volunteer control in following crops. For onion crops, the maximum recommended dose is 8.9 l/ ha, delivering 2,403 gai/ha. Volunteer potatoes are becoming an increasing issue and their control starts in the growing crop. With around 2,000 growers planting the UK’s 120,000ha (approx.) of potatoes, there’s a huge dependency on rented land but growers still need to take responsibility for volunteers, especially if rented fields form part of their rotation. Volunteer potatoes in successive crops play host to PCN, compounding future problems if left uncontrolled, as well as being a primary source of blight inoculum for nearby potato crops. Failure to control volunteer The maximum label rate for use on potatoes is 11.1 l/ha which delivers

the tubers. Itcan SL should not be applied to drought stressed crops or during the heat of the day. Timing is key but ensure treatment is early enough – application is recommended when the smallest saleable tuber is just 25ml in size. James Kennedy, commercial director of Gemini Agriculture, believes the liquid formulation of Itcan will make the spraying operation a much easier one: “Itcan is available in a number of different pack sizes,15 litre drums and 600 & 1000 litre IBCs, so will suit different scales of enterprises. IBCs are delivered with a pump and flow meter to allow easy and accurate dosing and have the added benefits of reducing operator exposure and waste disposal issues. Use of Itcan is already well established in Europe, with an increasing market share, growers can feel assured the liquid formulation offers the same efficacy as market alternatives.”

potatoes in rented land leaves a legacy of problems during the intervening years between rotations. Furthermore, with the UK weather pattern becoming more varied, this spring being a clear example, maleic hydrazide can prevent adverse growth conditions that may cause point of sale quality issues. Dry conditions with sporadic rainfall leave some varieties at a high risk of either secondary growths or chain tuberisation. Itcan SL works by stopping cell division, therefore preventing these unwanted developments. When it comes to storage, with the increased regulatory pressure on CIPC, Itcan SL is part of a toolbox available to growers, allowing them to store potatoes effectively. With CIPC limited to a maximum total dose of 36g/tonne, an application of Itcan SL in the standing crop eases the pressure on store loading and can delay the first application of CIPC. This may result in using one less CIPC application during the storage season. To maximise Itcan SL efficacy, crops must be actively growing to allow translocation of the maleic hydrazide to

For more information contact James Kennedy, Gemini Agriculture on 07900 276217 or visit www.geminiag.com.

James Allis / Colin Smith / Max Forman