Is it better to wait for an infection to set in before treatment, or to prevent infection altogether? Most fungicides available today are built to handle the infection, and they can be incredibly effective. But there is still a strong argument to be made for tried-and-true multi-site fungicides built for prevention.

Because single-site fungicides attack only one metabolic pathway within a pathogen, it becomes easier for the pathogen to evolve a workaround. In short, it’s easier for a pathogen to build resistance to each of the multitude of single-site fungicides on the market. So there’s still a place — an important place — for multi-site fungicides in any resistance management program.

New challenges, classic solution

So there remains a seat at the table for the “old school” multi-site fungicide, and an important seat at that. Any resistance management program that doesn’t include a multi-site fungicide is likely to be faced with constant difficulty.

A good resistance management program delays development of resistant fungi strains rather than addressing them after they’ve become resistant. If the pathogen doesn’t get into the plant, it can’t develop resistance to the fungicide. The idea is to kill the spores before they grow, meaning the pathogen dies before it ever has a chance to develop and infect the plant. This line of defense makes it easier for the later single-site fungicides to do their jobs (if it comes to that).

Pathogens likely to develop resistance do so quickly; they don’t take long to generate, produce an abundance of spores and reproduce in multiple ways. The more often a crop in the field needs to be treated, the higher the chance a fungus will develop resistance. Better to nip those pathogens in the bud with a product that a) protects before the pathogen develops and b) inherently is harder to build resistance to.

Since multi-site fungicides from UPL are “contact” fungicides that stay on the surface of the plant, they act as a shield against fungal spores and keep pathogens guessing by attacking multiple proteins and enzymes. Tried-and-true solutions such as MANZATE^® PRO-STICK™ and ZIRAM^® 76DF prevent pathogenic organisms from adapting and mutating, meaning that even after decades of use, fungal strains have not developed resistance.

MANZATE PRO-STICK provides advanced formulation technology in the fight against key diseases such as dead arm and downy mildew. A market-leading, multi-site, protectant fungicide, MANZATE PRO-STICK has effectively been used for decades without a reported incidence of resistance, making it a standard in almost any disease management program.

ZIRAM 76DF is a multi-site fungicide used for powdery mildew and Phomopsis control. ZIRAM 76DF is a high-quality, non-phytotoxic formulation with excellent tank-mix characteristics designed to expand your disease control spectrum even further.

In addition to MANZATE PRO-STICK and ZIRAM 76DF, UPL is the manufacturer of other important multi-site fungicides for grape disease management including MANZATE^® MAX and PENNCOZEB^®.

An estimated one billion tons of food are lost every year specifically due to the mycotoxins created by fungi each year. It’s as big and important of a challenge for growers as bacterial infection, insects or weather. Cover your bases and implement a thorough fungicide program that includes resistance management strategies that start with multi-site fungicides.

For more information on how to combat disease in your vineyard using a multi-site fungicide, contact your local UPL sales representative or visit www.upl-ltd.com/us.

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