Kenya’s rose growers have a reason for big smile now. Bayer CropScience has launched Infinito, one of the newest products in the company’s fungicides portfolio, in Kenya. It is termed as the ultimate rose protection against downy mildew, a fungal disease that has been a menace in the flower industry.
Infinito is a combination of an active ingredient fluopicolide and the established compound propamocarb (a potato fungicide which provides reliable protection against late blight (Phytophthora infestans). Fluopicolide’s novel and unique mechanism of action leads to rapid destabilization of fungal cell structures. “Unlike other fungicides, Infinito starts it works much earlier before the germination of spores,” says Bayer CropScience Senior Crop Manager, Joseph Murungi.
It provides particularly long-lasting protection for the plant, and its efficacy remains constant under all weather conditions. It controls all stages of the downy mildew pathogen lifecycle, as well as providing long-lasting control that maximises yield and quality in roses.
With its two unique modes of action, mitosis and cell division, Infinito has a systematic, protectant and translaminar activity against downy mildew. It has a high-level consistence in protection of leaves and stems.
Murungi says Infinito will uninterruptedly work along with biological controls hence the best that fungicide that farmers can get. He adds that it is fast taken up by crops but warn the farmers to apply it early enough for maximum effects.
Farmers are advised to use 1.2-1.5 litres per hectare in 1500 litres of water. They should apply preventively at 5-7 day intervals depending on the disease pressure. They are also advised to repeat this for up to a maximum of 3 consecutive applications per flush cycle.
The new product will be available through the authorised distributor at packagings of 1 litre and half litres. “It is an affordable and would urge farmers who are serious with their roses to try it,” Murungi emphasised during the launch.
Although the crop protection expert has been in the market long enough, it still has challenges introducing new products into the market. It is not its failure in research, but the bureaucratic process of registration by the Kenya authorities. Due to this, players in the industry estimate that over 10 per cent of crop protection products in the Kenyan market are counterfeits.