Ascra Xpro will be introduced to the Irish market in 2017. It is for wheat only and for use at the T2 timing. It contains a mixture of two different SDHI actives, plus prothioconazole.

The two SDHI actives are bixafen, which has been on the market for a number of years, and fluopyram, which is a new molecule to the market. Ascra Xpro contains prothioconazole (130 g/l), bixafen (65 g/l) and fluopyram (65 g/l). The application rate is 1.5l/ha and this supplies 195g of prothioconazole, plus 97.5g of bixafen and 97.5g of fluopyram. At the full rate Ascra applies slightly more prothioconazole and bixafen that Aviator.

Ascra Xpro is now registered for use on winter and spring wheat with PCS No. 05240. Bayer CropScience says that this new combination has given the best septoria control from a T2 fungicide in Bayer and independent trials.

It has also given excellent control of the other key diseases, such as yellow and brown rust, mildew, tan spot and suppression of fusarium inoculum.

Bayer says that bixafen and fluopyram are different types of SDHI, and that this could mean an ability to control different strains of mutated septoria.

However, they still have the same mode of action and therefore the combination cannot be considered as a resistance management strategy.

Bayer’s technical sales manager, James Byrne, said that the actives show complementary activity in that fluopyram distributes quickly through the leaf to add to curative control of latent disease, while bixafen and prothiconazole help provide long-lasting activity.

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