Long-awaited wheat fungicide wins approval for 2024

Wheat growers will be able to use a new fungicide next spring which will be a top performer against yellow rust and as effective against septoria as the current leading products.

New active isoflucypram is an SDHI fungicide produced by the world’s biggest agrochemicals group, Bayer, and will be marketed as Vimoy.

It will be available in a co-pack with the azole prothioconazole (Proline) to ensure sound resistance management, and will be marketed as ‘Ion Iblon’.

The approval from UK authorities marks the first fungicide to be given the green light after Brexit, and means British growers will be the first in Europe to be able to use the new fungicide, and the second in the world, after New Zealand.

Iblon will be limited to a single application each year per crop of wheat.

The product is set to compete with other leading wheat fungicide products such as Revystar, Univoq and Elatus Era in the spring fungicide season of 2024.

See also: Cereals 2023: Wide spectrum wheat fungicide set for 2024

Septoria and yellow rust  

In multiple trials in 2021 and 2022 looking at septoria control, the new fungicide was on a par with Revystar and Univoq and far better than Bayer’s own Ascra, as well as Solatenol products such as Elatus Era.

In a University of Nottingham trial in 2021 it gave better control of yellow rust than top-performing Solatenol.

The UK approval was welcomed by crop protection professionals. Jonathan Blake, fungicide expert at crop consultant Adas, said the flexibility to use Iblon against either rust or septoria, depending on the season, will be appreciated by growers.

“Iblon is excellent on both yellow and brown rust and very good on septoria. It is a more active SDHI on septoria than existing standards, and the flexibility it will add to programmes will make it a valuable addition at either the T1 or T2 timing,” he added.

Dr Paul Fogg, crop production technical lead at agronomy group Frontier, said on wheat varieties that need a high level of input, Iblon looked to be a real standout solution for growers ahead of the 2024 season.

“What really stood out this year was that it was a season of two halves, with septoria early on and then yellow rust. The broad-spectrum activity of Iblon came to the fore as part of a programme,” he said.

Grower benefits

Patrick Stephenson, committee member at the Association of Independent Crop Consultants (AICC), said the new fungicide would bring efficacy and stewardship benefits to growers.

“Iblon brings another frontline piece of chemistry to the fungicide armoury that we can use in disease control strategies.

“Its authorisation will help us maintain efficacy and provide additional protection to all our chemistry options,” he said.

Rosalind O’Hare, Bayer’s campaign manager for combinable fungicides, said in addition to septoria and yellow rust, Iblon delivers excellent protection against brown rust and useful activity against eyespot.

“In combination with Proline, its activity against eyespot is further improved and its spectrum of activity extended to include fusarium and mildew,” she added.

Wheat crops treated with the new product also showed it prolonged green leaf retention, which benefits yield.

Research by the University of Reading found that for every day past crop flowering the green leaf area is maintained at 37% or above, wheat yield increases by up to 0.15t/ha.

An Adas trial from 2019 found that Iblon applied at T2 prolonged green leaf area retention above the 37% threshold for eight days over an untreated crop and three days over Ascra.

This resulted in a yield gain of 1.31t/ha over the untreated crop and 0.46t/ha over Ascra, said Rosalind.