Maximise fungicide performance with Crusade
With a changing blight population and even more aggressive genotypes, the anti-drift agent Crusade is an indispensable weapon for growers to maximise fungicide performance in the fight against blight.
Keeping late blight out of potato crops is a season long campaign for growers and one that seems to be getting tougher as the years go by, with seven day spray intervals now standard practice. With resistance to fluazinam now established in the blight populations and a continuing shift towards more aggressive P. infestans populations such as 36_A2 and 37_A2, a robust resistance management strategy is essential to safeguard crops and chemistry. SRUC specialist in blight epidemiology Dr. Ruairidh Bain, believes that spray coverage is one of the key factors of the blight control programme that needs to be improved to protect potato crops, with Crusade being a valuable addition to help maximise fungicide performance.
Download our Crusade product guide here
Key factors impacting fungicide performance:
- Aggressive blight strains exploit gaps
- Leaves are good collectors of fungicide spray, only in the upper canopy
- Challenging application conditions impact blight control
- Drift reducing nozzles reduce drift but also reduce spray coverage
Crusade benefits
Crusade is a specialist drift retardant designed specifically to maximise the performance of blight fungicides by removing the physical limitations on them to work at their best. It helps maximise fungicide dose and deposition on the potato crop and provides full canopy protection by modifying droplet size and distribution. This makes Crusade a vital addition to ensure fungicide sprays are both timely and targeted for maximum protection.
Maximum dose & deposition on the crop
Reduces drift and optimises droplet size
Crusade reduces the number of fine spray droplets, smaller than 100 microns, that are the most susceptible to drift. In turn, this effect increases the spray pattern uniformity at the nozzle, helping to ensure the correct dose is applied to the target.
Maximises coverage to the upper & lower canopy
Crusade optimises droplet size in the upper end of the spectrum that enables the spray droplets to penetrate the canopy lower down and be retained. The addition of Crusade to fungicide sprays therefore helps to optimise coverage to all parts of the crop canopy, preventing scattered infection.
Effective with flat fan & low drift nozzles
All nozzles produce a wide range of droplet sizes – different nozzle types and design can alter the small and large droplets and the proportion in each category. Crusade has been designed to reduce droplets at either end of the spray spectrum – it coalesces ultra-fine droplets into small droplets so they are less prone to drift, and it splits very coarse droplets (a feature of low drift nozzles) into smaller droplets so they are less prone to bounce or run-off from the leaf. The result is an ideal droplet that provides maximum coverage for maximum protection.
Full canopy protection
Proven performance in independent trials and on-farm
Crusade has been rigorously tested and proven in SRUC and Eurofins blight trials over the last 7 years with a range of fungicides, where it has been shown to improve blight control and blight free yield.
“A key feature of Crusade is the maximisation of blight control with a wide range of different fungicide active ingredients.” Dr. Ruairidh Bain, Specialist in blight epidemiology and control at SRUC
“Foliar blight control during stable canopy can be significantly improved through tank-mixing Crusade.” AHDB guidance on how the potato industry should respond to reduced fluazinam sensitivity in late blight populations.
Revus performance reinforced for third year in a row
“For the third consecutive year, independent blight field trials have shown the performance of Revus (mandipropamid) has been maximised with the addition of Crusade.”
Keeping blight out with help from Crusade
“I had an issue where I didn’t put Crusade in the mix and now regard it as more than the drift retardant, but also as a weather safener and an aid to canopy penetration.”
Preparing for changing pressures with Crusade
“Crusade certainly brings something to the party in terms of how it helps products reach the full canopy. I started using it two years ago and I’ve found that when you use a fungicide on its own, its not the same product as when it’s used with Crusade. There is a noticeable reduction in drift and better protection to all parts of the crop canopy”
Crusade kept us spraying
“With Crusade, the spray pattern was noticeably improved with less drift and better coverage to the whole crop. With the crop putting on new growth every week, it’s vital every part of it is protected and Crusade kept us spraying. There were many days where we couldn’t have sprayed if it wasn’t for Crusade. The drift reduction was really quite significant.”
Summary – why Crusade?
- Proven on farm with an extensive range of blight fungicides
- Compatible with a range of insecticides and foliar feeds
- Proven in independent and manufacturer field trials over the last 7 years
- Helps to maximise blight protection with low drift and flat fan nozzles
- Low dose and easy to use with no timing restrictions
- Useful resistance management tool
- Low cost, yet highly beneficial
For more information on Crusade, download our latest product guide here or get in touch with our Technical Manager below.
