Wet conditions put new banana disease chemistry to the test

Ian Saunderson with son Brock.

Fast forward two years, and according to the Chief Pilot of Peak Aviation Services at Innisfail in north Queensland, Ian Saunderson, the stewardship program has been such a success, it should be considered a blueprint for management of other chemistry in the future.

The stewardship program for Luna Privilege, which is the only Group 7 fungicide product available to control key banana leaf diseases such as yellow Sigatoka, leaf speckle and cordana leaf spot, includes guidance around the maximum number of sprays and being applied only by air.

“If you compare the Luna Privilege stewardship program to that of some of the strobilurins when they came out, I think the management of it has been very successful,” Mr Saunderson explains.

“I'm not just saying that because as aerial spray operators, we've been like a gatekeeper, but the stewardship program means we don't get people over-using the product, as it's very controlled in what goes out.

“I think that can only be a benefit for the long-term efficacy of the chemical and resistance management strategies.”

While 2017 did produce some dry weather in north Queensland, Mr Saunderson says Luna Privilege has been put to the test by wet conditions over the two seasons since its launch in 2015.

“We've had some fairly wet conditions over the last few years actually - earlier this year, in January 2017, we had around 1.2 metres of rain, which really tried Luna Privilege out,” he says.

“I know some of the other chemistries have really come under a lot of pressure due to the climatic conditions, and they haven't performed as well, so it's really good to see Luna Privilege hold its own.

“Talking to agronomists and growers using Luna Privilege, they are very glad that they didn't swap over to chlorothalonil, and are pretty happy with the way Luna Privilege has performed over the last two years since it's been introduced.”

While there is still room for the uptake of Luna Privilege to grow in the north Queensland market, Mr Saunderson says currently around 40 per cent of his work involves this product.

“Those using it have seen results over the last two years to warrant still applying it – Luna Privilege is a good product as it’s the only Group 7 chemistry available, so the different mode of action is having an impact,” he says.

“It's really good to see Bayer going ahead in developing new, effective chemistry – they’re doing some really good R&D and we're very supportive of the direction they’re going.”