Keeping on keeping key diseases at bay

For a high percentage of vegetable growers, BASF's Filan fungicide is the very epitome of reliability. Filan has gone from being a gamechanger when it was first launched to being a very dependable industry standard. One of those trusted tools that keep being used year in, year out. It contains a highly effective active ingredient in a unique proprietary formulation that has been producing excellent results for two decades.

"It's a great thing that Filan has kept proving its value for so many seasons and earned so much grower loyalty," said horticulture technical specialist at BASF, Mark Dicks.

Filan introduced boscalid as an active ingredient 20 years ago this May. It was the first Group 7 (SDHI) fungicide of its type - a pyridine carboxamide.

"One of the handy characteristics of Filan is its mobility within the plant," Mark explained.

"The active ingredient is distributed through both translaminar and acropetal movement, so it can provide very high levels of long-lasting protection."

Filan was specifically developed to get the most out of those advantages and maximise boscalid's effectiveness as a preventive treatment. Growers know they can trust the entire formulation, not just the active ingredient, to keep performing as consistently in the future as it has since 2004.

"When R&D innovator companies like BASF develop a new product, we invest a huge amount in resources ensuring that the active ingredient can perform at its optimum," Mark said.

"Many different formulations containing combinations of the active ingredient and proprietary adjuvants are tested against each other in a whole range of application and environmental conditions.

"The preferred final formulation will often have advantages like easy mixing, better distribution of the active and better retention of the spray droplets on the leaf."

Two decades after its optimised boscalid formulation was developed, Filan is still setting the standard for sclerotinia control in potatoes, lettuces, brassicas and green beans. In potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, eggplants and peppers it's also a preferred option for preventing early blight. Many onion growers rely on it for excellent neck rot control, and table grape growers take full advantage of being able to use it against both botrytis and powdery mildew.

"After so long in the market, most growers know how to get the best out of Filan," Mark said.

"It should be applied early and used preventatively as it binds very strongly to the waxy cuticle in the leaf and provides extended residual protection with high levels of crop safety.

"Filan still very much deserves to hold its place as the preferred SDHI in vulnerable crops. It's been delivering great results for 20 years and continues to deliver excellent value as well as strong, long-lasting control of key diseases."

This article was written by BASF for Seasons magazine.

^{Please note: this article contains information of a general nature, and does not take into account your personal objectives, situation or needs. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of the information provided, and seek advice on whether it is fit for your circumstances.}

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