Vegetable & Salad Crop Management

VEGETABLE AND SALAD CROPS

BASF subscribes to best practice, and this is particularly important for vegetable and salad crops. Attention to detail in all aspects of production and economic performance such as good irrigation practices, planning, environmental awareness and economic performance are essential for profitable vegetable and salad growing. Also important is ensuring that you use the best crop protection products available to achieve this.

BASF through its continued investment into research and development has strived to drive up yield and quality and improve targeting by ensuring that there is a pipeline of novel products coming into the market to support our existing product port-folio and give both growers, and their crops, the best crop product solutions, products such as Signum® and Fungazil 100 SL. 

Target organisms for Signum® in brassicas are ringspot (Mycosphaerella brassici-cola), dark leaf spot (Alternaria brassicae) and white blister (Albugo candida).

The three diseases mentioned above are capable of causing infection in a wide range of brassica crops. Ringspot and dark leaf spot can attack all aerial parts of plants, but first symptoms are normally on lower levels. Ringspot is common and frequently severe on leaves and buttons of Brussels sprouts and leaves of cabbage and cauliflower. Dark leaf spot is important on seed crops, forage and ware brassica crops, especially summer cabbage.

White blister normally affects wild and cultivated cruciferous plants, especially cabbage and Brussels sprouts. White blister produces pustules of variable size and shapes and occurs mainly on the underside of leaves, stems and inflorescences. Marked swelling and distortion of the attacked parts affect quality and produce. Even relatively small levels of white blister infection on buttons of Brussels sprouts can result in severe losses of marketable yield.

All diseases can reduce yields and more importantly affect quality of produce. Yield of brassica crops is very closely linked to quality, as any blemish on leaves, or buttons in the case of Brussels Sprouts, can result in produce rejection by supermarkets and other retail outlets.

Signum® has broad spectrum activity against all the main foliar diseases of brassicas, and gives all round protection as well as improved quality produce .

Carrots

In both independent and BASF trials Signum® has outperformed azoxystrobin and tebuconazole for control of the major carrot diseases Sclerotinia, Alternaria and Powdery Mildew.

Signum® contains both boscalid and pyraclostrobin

The key to successful use of Signum® in carrots is timing. Both the active ingredients are excellent protectants, but both need to be placed at the base of the crop where infections like Sclerotina start. Signum® has outperformed its competitors for the control of the major carrot diseases, Sclerotinia, Alternaria and Mildew. 

BASF studies clearly demonstrate that Signum® outperforms azoxystrobin, difenoconazole and tebuconazole in controlling common carrot diseases like Alternaria and mildew. Dead leaf tissue caused by these diseases become the food source for the damaging disease Sclerotinia.

The carrot plant becomes susceptible once the crop canopy closes over creating a micro climate favourable for disease development.
Timely application of Signum® ensures protection of the old leaves before infection can take place.

BASF/ADAS monitoring studies in 2006 showed that sclerotia had already started to germinate in March plantings of carrots. These provide the source of infection within the crop.

Lettuce

Signum® is fully approved for use on outdoor and protected lettuce for the control of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Rhizoctonia solani and Botrytis cinerea.

Follow FRAC guidelines.

Alternate Signum® with fungicides from different chemical groups.

PRODUCTS RECOMMENDED FOR USE IN VEGETABLE AND SALAD CROPS

Refer to product labels for full details.

Information on SOLAs (Specific Off Label Approvals) is available to view and download from the Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) website: https://secure.pesticides.gov.uk/offlabels/search.asp