HGCA have funded many years of field experiments at independent research organisations to quantify fungicide activity against the major foliar diseases. Fungicides are subjected to severe testing. A single spray is applied at a range of doses on varieties which are highly susceptible to each major disease and at sites where disease pressure is high. At yellow rust sites the disease is artificially introduced to ensure high disease pressure.
Results from these experiments represent the performance that can be expected in commercial practice when disease pressure is high. The performance of individual active ingredients can be assessed by comparing dose-response curves. These show average performance measured across a range of sites, seasons, leaf layers and disease assessments.
For Septoria tritici, which has a long latent period, the information has been separated into situations:
- Where infection was established at the time of treatment (eradicant activity).
- Where significant infection had occurred (protectant activity).
Often a fungicide which is effective against one disease is less effective against others, so a tank mixture, or a formulated commercial product containing a mixture of active ingredients, may be needed to cover the range of diseases posing a risk.
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