Infinito

A protectant and systemic fungicide used to control late blight in potatoes.

Product Profile

Important Information

* Infinito also has a wide range of EAMUs (See When and how to apply)

Restrictions

To protect ground water do not apply this or any other product containing fluopicolide at a rate of more than 400 g/ha in any three year period.

The decreased sensitivity of aggressive blight strain 37_A2 to fluazinam and the spread of the more aggressive 36_A2 has brought resistance management into sharp focus for potato agronomists.

Understanding modes of action, using mixtures, alternating products/mixes through the programme and targeting products to appropriate growth stages are some of the key principles of resistance management being espoused.

With 13 modes of action available for late blight control in the UK this might not seem too challenging. However, only three are considered to have good activity against zoospores and therefore against tuber blight. Fluazinam is one, but for those who don’t want to run the risk of insensitivity there are just two: Quinone inside Inhibitors (QiI), belonging to FRAC code 21, and the pyridinylmethyl-benzamide group containing fluopicolide, belonging to FRAC code 43.

As the active substances of Shinkon/Gachinko (amisulbron) and Ranman Top (cyazofamid) are both QiI fungicides they should not be used in alternation or mixtures with each other as part of an effective fungicide resistance management strategy. Furthermore, guidelines from the Fungicide Resistance Action Group (FRAG UK) stipulate that QiI products should not form more than 50% of the intended programme.

The use of amisulbrom- and cyazofamid-containing products and Infinito – maximum four applications of 1.6 L/ha – therefore need to be planned carefully to ensure that sufficient fungicides with tuber blight activity are retained for when they are needed. This is particularly important for those who may want to deploy Infinito for its foliar activity and systemic mobility during the rapid canopy growth phase.

Tubers are at risk of infection from the point of initiation, which depending on variety, is around the end of the rapid growth phase and the beginning of the stable canopy phase. A grower wanting to protect tubers from this point onwards will need to alternate between QiIs and Infinito.

Whether this is possible will depend on the number of QiI and Infinito sprays used during the rapid growth phase, hence the importance of planning an appropriate strategy across the entire fungicide programme which will protect foliage and tubers from late blight, and provide good resistance management.

Acknowledgement

The above is based on information contained in a 2018 report written by Ruairidh Bain (SRUC), Faye Ritchie (ADAS) and Neil Paveley (ADAS) entitled ‘Guidance on how the potato industry should respond to reduced fluazinam sensitivity in late blight populations’. It is available on the AHDB Potatoes website.

%MCEPASTEBIN%

Infinito is a co-formulation of fluopicolide and propamocarb; active substances which work hand-in-hand to protect every part of the potato plant – leaves, stems, tips and tubers – and attack the late blight pathogen at every stage of its life cycle. As a result, it has premier league Euroblight ratings for effectiveness against foliar blight, tuber blight and anti-sporulant efficacy.

Fluopicolide is a strong protectant fungicide and has translaminar mobility. It works by disorganising the pathogen’s cell structure, disrupting the formation of spectrin like proteins, believed to play a vital role in maintaining the pathogen’s cytoskeleton stability. This novel mode of action is highly effective at all stages in the pathogen’s life cycle. Fluopicolide’s activity against motile zoospores is dramatic. Under the microscope, it is seen to halt their movement immediately on contact and in less than a minute they burst.

Propamocarb is also a strong protectant fungicide and has systemic mobility. It disrupts the formation of fungal cell walls by interfering with phospholipid and fatty acid synthesis. This mode of action attacks several stages in the life cycle and crucially pushes the pathogen into direct germination which limits spore production to a tenth of its potential.

With the highly aggressive blight strains now dominating, every opportunity must be taken to block the pathogen’s development at all stages of its the life cycle. Infinito is effective at all stages: sporulation, zoospore and cyst formation, zoospore mobility, cyst germination and mycelial growth.

Activity on both direct and indirect germination of sporangia provides strong and reliable action against the disease, regardless of temperature. Its power to control mycelial growth also blocks the pathogen’s sexual reproduction route by preventing the mycelia of different mating types from meeting.

Diseases controlled

When used as part of a full blight protection programme of correctly timed sprays, Infinito gives control of late blight (Phytophthora infestans) in potatoes.

Infinito will protect tubers from the risk of late blight infection after harvest and reduce tuber blight incidence when used as part of a full blight protection programme from full canopy development to haulm desiccation.

Application

Applications must be made preventively as part of a blight control programme with regard to blight infection periods or local blight warnings. In the absence of any warnings, applications should commence when the crop meets along the row.

Apply Infinito only to dry foliage. Do not apply if rainfall or irrigation is imminent. Infinito is rainfast in 1 hour providing the spray has dried on the leaf.

Apply Infinito at 1.2 to 1.6 L/ha on a 7 to 10-day spray interval, depending on disease pressure. As disease pressure and the risk of late blight infection increases, the dose should be increased, and the interval shortened. Irrigated crops should be treated as high risk.

Infinito may be applied at a shorter interval than indicated above should there be an agronomic need as long as all other conditions of use are followed, particularly the maximum number of treatments, maximum total dose and the latest timing.

Infinito should be applied as a protectant treatment. Do not apply as a curative treatment when blight is present in the crop. When blight has become readily visible (1% leaf area destroyed), fungicides have little effect on subsequent development. Stop using Infinito under these conditions.

Varieties

Infinito may be used on all varieties of potato and crops grown for seed.

Planning blight programmes

In the fight against late blight, Infinito is widely considered as a ‘must have’ product of any blight strategy. To get the most from its foliar and tuber blight efficacy and anti-sporulant mobility it is best used through the stage of crop growth when the risk of foliar blight is high and/or when conditions are conducive to tuber infection. Generally, this means from canopy compete onwards.

A sound strategy is to plan to incorporate sprays of Infinito in alternation with complimentary fungicides from canopy complete until complete haulm destruction (see diagram). Not all Infinito sprays need be aimed at high-risk periods. It has been recognised that tuber protection is optimised by building it up from shortly after tuber initiation.

This approach is far more effective than waiting until blight is active in the canopy and spores are being washed down to the soil below before introducing fungicides with tuber blight activity. Using Infinito from canopy complete onwards in this way will build in the strongest possible level of tuber protection.

To obtain the best protection against all strains of late blight use Infinito at 1.6 L/ha at 7-day spray intervals in programmes with fungicides from different chemical classes. Once the maximum dose of 6.4 L/ha per crop has been used, switch to other products with tuber blight activity to complete the programme.


EAMU – broccoli/calabrese, Brussels sprout, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collard

This Extension of Authorisation relates to the use of Infinito to control downy mildew (Peronospora spp.) on protected and outdoor broccoli / calabrese, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and collards.

Applications should be made using conventional hydraulic spray equipment at a maximum application rate of 1.6 litres product / ha in a minimum water volume of 200 litres/ha. Applications made at BBCH 40 or later must use a minimum water volume of 500 litres/ha.

Only one application is to be made indoor (greenhouse) prior to transplanting, with the latest timing of application of BBCH 14 (before 4 true leaves).

Only one application is to be made outdoors between BBCH 20 and BBCH 49 and should be applied no later than 14 days before harvest.

Applications must only be made between 1 April and 31 October. Growers are advised to test a small area of crop prior to wider commercial use.

Neither the efficacy nor the phytotoxicity of the product for which this extension of authorisation has been granted has been assessed and, as such, the user bears the risk in respect of failures concerning its efficacy and phytotoxicity.

EAMU – bulb onion, shallot, garlic, leek and salad onion

This Extension of Authorisation relates to the use of Infinito to control downy mildew on bulb onion, shallot, garlic, leek and salad onion and white tip (Phytophthora porri) in leek.

Applications to be made using conventional hydraulic spray equipment in a minimum water volume of 200 litres.

A maximum of 1 application per year in the same area of land must not be exceeded. Growers are advised to test a small area of crop prior to wider commercial use.

Neither the efficacy nor the phytotoxicity of the product for which this extension of authorisation has been granted has been assessed and, as such, the user bears the risk in respect of failures concerning its efficacy and phytotoxicity.

EAMU – Radish

This Extension of Authorisation relates to the use of Infinito on outdoor radish for the control of downy mildew (Peronospora parasitica) and Soil rot (Pythium aphanidermatum).

Applications to be made using a horizontal boom sprayer in a minimum of 200 litres/ha on outdoor crops.

A maximum of 1 application per year in the same area of land must not be exceeded.

Applications must only be made between growth stages BBCH 10 and BBCH 49.

Neither the efficacy nor the phytotoxicity of the product for which this extension of authorisation has been granted has been assessed and, as such, the user bears the risk in respect of failures concerning its efficacy and phytotoxicity.

EAMU – Outdoor lettuce, leaf crops and herbs

This Extension of Authorisation relates to the use of Infinito’ to control downy mildew (Bremia lactucae) on lettuce, and downy mildew (Peronospora spp.) on sage, mint, parsley and basil. See EAMU for full list of crops/situations.

Applications to be made using conventional hydraulic spray equipment in a minimum water volume of 200 litres/ha.

Applications must only be made between growth stages BBCH 10 and BBCH 49.

A maximum of 1 application per year in the same area of land must not be exceeded. Growers are advised to test a small area of crop prior to wider commercial use.

Neither the efficacy nor the phytotoxicity of the product for which this extension of authorisation has been granted has been assessed and, as such, the user bears the risk in respect of failures concerning its efficacy and phytotoxicity.

To reduce the incidence of resistance developing, Infinito should be used in single or block applications in alternation with fungicides from a different cross-resistance group. For the latest guidelines refer to the FRAG-UK website where the 2018 publication 'Fungicide resistance management in potato late blight' is available to download.

Certain diseases may develop resistance to Bayer's products. Since such circumstances are beyond our control, Bayer can accept no liability for any loss or damage whatsoever.