REGINA – Organic and fungicide are two terms that usually aren’t used together. But since last month, it’s OK to use the term in Canada, says the Pest Management Regulatory Agency in its recent label expansion of Serenade or bacillus subtilis strain QST 713.
The label now includes canola and pulse crops for sclerotinia and downy mildew control.
The product has received approvals from the Organic Materials Review Institute and the United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Program.
It is approved for use on products imported to Japan and under the JAS, and the Washington State Department of Agriculture provides it with their organic certification.
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UAP’s new biofungicide is derived from a soil bacterium that, when concentrated, provides tiny rod-shaped particles that puncture fungus cells, leaving plant tissues unharmed.
The fungus cell walls leak the life-sustaining moisture required for fungal survival and the disease dies.
Serenade contains three groups of lipopeptides that create this opportunity to control fungi in crops.
In horticulture Serenade is used to suppress sclerotinia, downy mildew, powdery mildew, white mould, early blight and leaf spot diseases, among other fungal infections.
Garth Render of UAP in Oak Bluff, Man., said the product is unique because of its mode of action against fungal disease and its organic certification.
“I think lots of growers will be happy to have it as an alternative to other fungicides that are available,” he said.
While the product has some advantages, the volume required to mix with water isn’t one of them. With an application rate of 1.5 to 1.6 litres per acre and no tote-sized container available, loading the sprayer is the main downside for prairie producers used to highly concentrated products or large volume containers.
The 9.46 litre jugs cover about 13 acres and will be priced to compete with the other fungicides on the market.
“The efficacy is as high as any other fungicide, except this one is organic,” Render said.
The first form of the bacterium was found in 1835, has many uses as an industrial product and was popular as an immunostimulant for the treatment of stomach ailments in humans, such as rotavirus and shigella in the years before modern antibiotics were available.
The product still acts to stimulate plant immune systems when not controlling fungi.
American Environmental Protection Agency analysis of the product has shown that it has no non-target organism effects, but it may cause a mild skin rash in humans.
Health Canada’s evaluation of the Agraquest/UAP product found that it provided no risks that weren’t already present from other strains of the micro-organism in Canada.
The PMRA recommends that to obtain maximum value from Serenade and other fungicides, producers should rotate it with other chemicals to ensure that pathogen resistance is avoided.
It was first registered for sale in the United States nine years ago for horticultural crops. Registration for those crops in Canada came in 2007.
It stops fungal spores from germinating, disrupts the germ tubes and mycelial growth and inhibits attachment of the plant pathogen to leaves. This type of disease control makes it difficult for diseases to develop resistance.
Render said the company is now looking for registration of Serenade for control of microsporella in peas.
“The product seems to have some other plant health benefits that come as a result of applying it. Despite being benign, plants don’t know that. They respond by charging their immune systems to defend against a bacterial threat,” he said.
