The fungicide flutolanil, which has excellent activity against white mold (stem rot) and rhizoctonia limb rot on peanut, has been marketed under the Moncut trade name by Gowan Corp.

Beginning in the summer of 2008, this fungicide is now being sold under the trade name Convoy by Nichino America, Inc., and Moncut will eventually disappear.

Previously, flutolanil was available as a wettable powder and then a dry flowable product. Farmers have complained that both formulations were hard to keep in suspension and/or clogged nozzle screens. Since Convoy is a flowable formulation with 3.8 pounds of flutolanil per gallon of product, those problems should be solved.

Convoy is labeled for the control of white mold and rhizoctonia-incited limb and pod rot but not leafspot diseases and rust. So, a fungicide with activity against these diseases will also have to be applied to peanuts.

Convoy may be applied with a leafspot/rust fungicide tank-mix partner when application timing for both fungicides coincide.

Convoy has no activity for the control of cylindrocladium black rot (CBR). If numerous dead or dying plants with badly rotted pods are turned up at digging, check the plants for signs or symptoms of CBR as well as damage attributed to the peanut root knot nematode or tomato spotted wilt virus.

One to four broadcast applications of Convoy may be made per season for white mold and limb rot control in peanuts.

For optimal coverage of the limbs and soil surface, apply Convoy with ground equipment in 10 to 40 gallons and by air in 5 to 10 gallons of spray volume per acre. A maximum of 4 pints of Convoy per acre may be applied to peanuts per year. Do not apply Convoy within 40 days prior to the anticipated digging date.

Convoy also is labeled as an in-furrow treatment for the control of rhizoctonia-incited seed rot and seedling disease of peanuts. Use guidelines for in-furrow applications of Convoy will be included in the 2009 Peanut Pest Management Publication IPM-360.

While both formulations of Moncut have been evaluated for the control of white mold and other soil diseases of peanuts for many years, the new Convoy formulation was not tested on peanuts in Alabama field trials in 2007. Extensive testing of this product is, however, planned in 2008.

Convoy is the second formulation of flutolanil marketed for peanuts by Nichino America, Inc.

Artisan 3.6E is a combination of flutolanil and propiconazole. While propiconazole has good early leaf spot activity, this fungicide is not particularly effective in controlling either late leafspot or rust. On irrigated peanuts or locations where late leafspot and/or rust outbreaks are likely (i.e. Alabama Gulf Coast region), Artisan 3.6E should be tank-mixed with 1 pint per acre of a chlorothalonil fungicide.