May/June 2021 - 18

ADVERTISEMENT
Phosphite's double act
Potato growers may find more than one
opportunity to use phosphite, says David Booty,
Technical Development Manager for OMEX®
Agrifluids. It's not for nothing that it's known
as the 'missing link'.
Yes, that's phosphite, not phosphate. While
it's chemically similar to the widely used and
essential phosphate - the 'P' in the NPK fertilizer
mnemonic - phosphite (PO3
form' of phosphate (PO4
) is a 'reduced
). One less oxygen atom
makes all the difference: plants cannot access
phosphorus in its phosphite form.
Some growers will already be aware of phosphite's
role in a disease suppression program, where it
has shown remarkable activity against diseases
caused by oomycetes such as downy mildew and
late blight. In numerous trials, researchers and
agronomists have observed how phosphite, when
applied in combination with reduced fungicide
doses, was able to offer potato crops a similar
degree of protection against late blight as full-dose
fungicide treatments.
This has proved valuable in recent years, in the wake
of ever-tighter crop protection product legislation
that has curtailed the use of 'go-to' fungicide
actives such as mancozeb and chlorothalonil.
It's important to note that this is 'disease
suppression', rather than disease control.
Phosphites won't ever deliver 100 percent control,
nor will they act against 'true' fungal diseases like
Septoria in wheat. And scientists are still debating
the exact mode of action: it's thought to 'switch
on' certain key genes in the host plant (i.e. the
potato) that are instrumental in defense, but
other theories abound too.
What's also crucial - and where some growers
have come unstuck - is that not all phosphites

May/June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May/June 2021

May/June 2021 - 1
May/June 2021 - 2
May/June 2021 - 3
May/June 2021 - 4
May/June 2021 - 5
May/June 2021 - 6
May/June 2021 - 7
May/June 2021 - 8
May/June 2021 - 9
May/June 2021 - 10
May/June 2021 - 11
May/June 2021 - 12
May/June 2021 - 13
May/June 2021 - 14
May/June 2021 - 15
May/June 2021 - 16
May/June 2021 - 17
May/June 2021 - 18
May/June 2021 - 19
May/June 2021 - 20
May/June 2021 - 21
May/June 2021 - 22
May/June 2021 - 23
May/June 2021 - 24
May/June 2021 - 25
May/June 2021 - 26
May/June 2021 - 27
May/June 2021 - 28
May/June 2021 - 29
May/June 2021 - 30
May/June 2021 - 31
May/June 2021 - 32
May/June 2021 - 33
May/June 2021 - 34
May/June 2021 - 35
May/June 2021 - 36
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-november-december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-september-october-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-july-august-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-may-june-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-april-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-march-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-november-december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-september-october-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-july-august-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/may-june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/november-december-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/september-october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/july-august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/may-june-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/november-december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/september-october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/july-august-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/may-june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/november-december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/september-october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/july-august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/may-june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/basf-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2019
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com