A brand new mode-of-action fungicide for controlling costly diseases in cereals and oilseed rape could be available to UK farmers in just over two years’ time.

Adama, the company developing the new molecule Gilboa, has submitted it to the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee, where it is expected to be assigned a new mode-of-action group in cereals.

The company says the new fungicide provides protection against a range of diseases including septoria in wheat, ramularia in barley and sclerotinia in oilseed rape.

See also: How farmers will benefit from new SDHI wheat fungicide at T2

“In addition to protecting crops against several key diseases, Gilboa also offers growers a valuable resistance-management tool to safeguard the ongoing efficacy of existing fungicides,” explains Ben Miles, managing director of Adama UK.

UK and EU approval

It is hoped that the active, which was submitted for registration in 2023, will receive approval for use in Great Britain in 2027 and the EU in 2029.

“In the past five years, farmers throughout the EU and Great Britain have lost access to 68 pesticide active ingredients due to regulatory changes,” Ben continues.

“At the same time, new molecules which target septoria in wheat, ramularia in barley, or sclerotinia in oilseed rape have been few and far between, leaving growers with fewer and fewer crop-protection options.

“This now gives growers and agronomists hope of an additional and innovative way of tackling serious fungal diseases.”

Unlike existing solutions, many of which are based on SDHI and DMI chemistries, the new active targets a different pathway within pathogens, with extensive field trials also showing that its inclusion in crop protection programmes, either as a replacement for, or alongside other modes of action, can enhance crop quality and yield.

“We expect Gilboa to be a standout solution to the disease challenges faced by arable crops in the UK and beyond.”