By JOYCE KIMANI
January 20, 2017, Nairobi. In a bid to boost farmers’ yields Arysta LifeScience Kenya has introduced three new products in the country. Siapton 10 L, Fungaflor 100 EC and Metafur 900 EC are distributed by Elgon Kenya Limited. They are available in 5 litres, one litre and 20 litres respectively.
Siapton 10L
Siapton with a composition of natural hydrolyzed proteins is ideal for tropical fruits, citrus, tea, coffee, vegetable, industrial and ornamental crops, cereals, fertigation and rooting treatment of the cutting of trees. Speaking during the launch, Richard Gitonga, Product Development, Regulatory and Marketing EA, said the bio stimulant was ideal for rooting, flowering, fruit sizing, stress recovery and suppressesion of nematodes.
“It helps improve yield in quantity and quality with a great post transplanting starter effect. It also helps mitigate yield losses under stress conditions,” said Mr Gitonga adding that genes induced by stress conditions are boosted by Siapton for quicker recovery from stress. “It is composed of key enzymes involved in nitrogen metabolism which in turn leads to improved growth and yield.” He added.
Mr Gitonga said Siapton is ideal for organic farming as farmers had become keener to healthier and better crops. “It is applied either by foliar or root application at 7 – 15 days interval or during critical crop development stages including the rooting, flowering and fruit sizing. It can be done before and following stress situation of plants,” he said.
Mr Gitonga added that they had conducted test on various farms and Siapton did not present any observable crop injury to orchid plants at all tested dilution rates in the three trials conducted. Eric Mutua, from Everest Farm, said that they had carried out various tests using the stimulant and had experienced its benefits.
He added that the crop appearance was substantively affected by the different level and all the treatment plants resulted in higher percentage of flowering compared to the ones that were not. “We also had higher length of flowering shoot and a higher number of flowers. The bud size was also improved in some of the varieties,” he said.
Fungaflor 100EC
The introduction of Fungaflor, a fungicide with curative and protectant properties is also targeting flower growers in a bid to improve production by mitigating loses due to Powdery mildew and Botytis both at field level and through the cold chain.
Fungaflor is a high quality emulsifiable concentrate formulation that contains imazalil making it one of the best cures at the onset of the disease. Mr Gitonga said that it’s ideal for protection against botrytis and powdery mildew for roses in small and large scale farming. “It is also useful in the control of alternaria, downey mildew and rust as it is fully systemic. This means that all active ingredients will target all pant parts when sprayed,” he said.
He pointed out that it has no side effects on beneficial insects and bees.
According to Maurice Muok from Oserian Development Company which carried out the tests, the farm had witnessed the benefits of Fungaflor 100EC on plants. “Control against botrytis and Powdery mildew was amazing,” he said.
Metafur 900EC
Metafur is manufactured from bagasse, the fibre of sugarcane waste after sugar extraction. It is a powerful nematicide against a wide range of parasitic nematodes, it moves only within the root system. The product has flexible application patterns and it can be applied at planting and post planting phases of the crop cycle. “The greatest advantage is that it can be applied throughout the growing season and it’s also less toxic compared to the other common nematicides,” said Mr Gitonga.
It’s an organic and biodegradable product that leaves no harmful residue in the plant or in the soil. “The product is unique as multiple applications are possible,” he said.
