Beijing, China
April 14, 2008
At the
3rd Global Initiative on
Late Blight (GILB) in Beijing, China, 3-5 April 2008,
Bayer CropScience
presented its novel fungicide Infinito® (active ingredient
fluopicolide). Bayer CropScience is committed to the potato crop
and has urged scientific research. "Innovative products and new
control technologies will provide the basis for the successful
control of the pathogen Phytophthora infestans in the future",
said Albert Schirring, Teamleader Potato and Vegetable
Fungicides at Bayer CropScience. As a sponsor of the conference,
Bayer CropScience hosted a stand at the GILB and contributed
with several lectures from company experts. Bayer´s scientists
presented the field performance of Infinito® against late blight
(Phytophthora infestans) on potatoes and tomatoes indicating the
robustness and high level of control.
The product was successfully launched 2006 in China and the
company is obtaining key registrations in all major potato
growing areas around the world. Infinito® stands out for its
remarkable consistency and provides a particularly high-level of
protection against downy mildew diseases, with a long-lasting
action.
Phytophthora infestans: major problem in the global potato
production
Late blight, a fungal disease caused by the pathogen
Phytophthora infestans, originated in the central highlands of
Mexico. Transported across the Atlantic on ships about 160 years
ago, the pathogen spread rapidly throughout Europe, Asia and
Africa. It is still the main cause of considerable harvest
losses in many regions of the world. Late blight can cause yield
losses of between 20 and 80 percent, depending on varietal
susceptibility and environmental conditions. In addition
infected tubers are lost during storage as a consequence of rot.
At the GILB conference recent findings on late blight control
were presented. Breeders and research institutes introduced the
results of breeding programs with new resistance genes to
control late blight. Many researchers contributed to the genomic
characterization of this disease based on nuclear and
mitochondrial DNA analysis. Plant pathologists reported the
rapid spread of the A2 mating type of Phytophthora infestans and
increased levels of resistance versus the fungicide metalaxyl.
The Phytophthora population in the US has meanwhile completely
changed to mating type A2. A few years ago, only mating type A1
was present in Europe.
A new A2 isolate, called blue 13 with metalaxyl resistance was
recently confirmed to take over a dominant position in the
Phytophthora population in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and
France. These new Phytophthora isolates are more aggressive
compared to the old A1 population: they have a shorter latent
period, are growing quicker and they produce more spores.
Researchers also
found out, that the late blight fungus has been able to adapt by
developing virulence versus all major resistance genes present
in the commercial potato cultivars.
The potato, one of the most important crops in the world
The potato crop is the number 4 staple crop in the world after
wheat, rice and corn. Global potato production increased from
about 260 million tons in 1991 to some 320 million tons in 2007.
China is now the biggest potato producer. Almost one third of
all potatoes is harvested in two countries: China and India. The
increased productivity is mainly contributed to by the
successful implementation of new production techniques in the
developing countries. In 2005 developing countries produced more
than half the total global potato production.
The conference on the control of late blight was held in
cooperation with International Potato Center (CIP), Lima, Peru,
and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAC) as part
of the initiative on the International Year of the Potato,
initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO). More than 40 countries were represented by 150
participants. Further topics discussed on the conference include
e.g. the implementation of effective integrated control
strategies, the combination of modern plant breeding
technologies, new fungicides with modern agricultural practices.
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the
fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer
CropScience AG, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of
about EUR 5.8 billion (2007), is one of the world’s leading
innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop
protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant
biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of
products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable
agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer
CropScience has a global workforce of about 17,300 and is
represented in more than 120 countries. |
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