Last week at the 2016 Commodity Classic in New Orleans, DuPont announced plans to add Lumisena fungicide seed treatment to its Lumigen seed sense portfolio to, pending EPA registration. The fungicide would provide a new mode of action to help control key pests in both soybeans and sunflowers.

"Oxathiapiprolin, the active ingredient in Lumisena fungicide controls key pests including Phytophthora sojae and Plasmopara halstedii, for soybeans and sunflowers respectively," says Alex Cochran, director of R&D for DuPont's seed treatment enterprise. "This technology impacts both of these fungi at all life stages. Its high intrinsic activity is a key differentiating aspect of this fungicide."

Last week at the 2016 Commodity Classic, DuPont announced plans to add Lumisena fungicide treatment to its Lumigen seed sense portfolio. "Oxathiapiprolin, the active ingredient in Lumisena fungicide controls key pests including Phytophthora sojae and Plasmopara halstedii, for soybeans and sunflowers respectively," says Alex Cochran. "This technology impacts both of these fungi at all life stages. Its high intrinsic activity is a key differentiating aspect of this fungicide."

A key pest for soybean growers
A recent study led by Dr. J. Allen Wrather at the University of Missouri and published by the United Soybean Board found over 300 million bushels of soybeans have been lost to Phytophthora in the past ten years.

According to Anne E. Dorrance, professor of plant pathology at the Ohio State University, "Phytophthora has re-emerged as a soybean pathogen."

Phytopthora sojae is a soil-borne plant disease that develops under heavy wet poorly drained soils, surviving many years as an oospore, until it comes into proximity with a plant host. Then the oospore germinates, produces zoospores that infect the root and grow into and among the root cells of the plant.

DuPont research trails across four growing seasons has shown seed treated with Lumisena had up to 32% reduced incidence of Phytophthora sojae compared to untreated seed.

Controlling downy mildew in sunflowers
Oxathiapiprolin also controls Plasmopara halstedii, the causal agent in downy mildew, and a devastating disease for sunflower growers. The pathogen can impact the plant in cool, wet conditions that are typical of early planting, and often causes death of the plant. Symptoms include delayed or lack of emergence to severe stunting to seedling death. Plants that survive are underdeveloped and often have white-cottony spores on the underside of the leaves.

"When young sunflower plants are infected with downy mildew they will nearly always die. In wet spots in the fields, yield loss to downy mildew can be 100%," according to Sam Markell Extension plant pathologist and associate professor at North Dakota State University.

DuPont trials have shown seed treated with Lumisena had 76% to 96% less incidence of downy mildew compared to untreated seed.

Registration anticipated in 2017
In addition to providing a new mode of action, Lumisena has no cross resistance to existing fungicides, and is expected to have a favorable environmental profile given its ability to be used at extremely low rates and still be highly effective.

DuPont anticipates registration in 2017, and expects Lumisena to become commercially available on 2018.