Spudman March 2023 - 17

Sustainability and Profitability
Two sides of one well-managed coin
Sustainability is one of the biggest
priorities in agriculture today. Recognizing
that responsible management of resources
is critical to ensuring agriculture can meet
the world's food, feed, and fiber needs
today and tomorrow too, most farmers are
supportive of improving sustainability.
Where it gets tricky, however, is in
the 'how':
How can a potato producer best achieve
meaningful steps towards sustainability?
And how can they build sustainability
while remaining profitable too?
In fact, sustainability and profitability
are two sides of one coin: both are
outcomes of a high-functioning, wellmanaged
production system. That's
because the single fastest and most
effective way to improve both sustainability
and profitability is to focus on increasing
productivity. Afterall, the more productive
an acre of land, the smaller the
environmental footprint of each unit it
produces: the less inputs, emissions and
land required per pound of product.
Step one to increasing production is
effective management of soil-borne pests
and disease.
" Suppressing soil-borne disease is the
driver and the cornerstone that allows
for sustainable production systems, " says
Chad Hutchinson, global director of potato
research and market support for TriCal
Group. " While I applaud and encourage
all kinds of sustainability improvements,
growers will struggle to quickly make
meaningful impact without first achieving
effective soil-borne disease management. "
Managing soil-borne pests and disease
allows potato plants to develop healthy root
systems that function to their full capacity.
Roots that can effectively source the
macro- and micronutrient building blocks
for optimal growth are able to produce a
larger tuber set, ultimately improving both
returns and production sustainability.
Enter chloropicrin (the active ingredient
in Strike) and TELONE™.
Chloropicrin is a selective soil fumigant
that effectively manages a wide variety
of soil-borne diseases including early die
complex, rhizoctonia, black dot, common
scab, and some nematodes. TELONE™ is
a selective nematicidal soil fumigant that
manages key pests including root-knot,
lesion, stubby-root, dagger, ring and cyst
nematodes. Both products boost tired,
overworked, diseased soils, delivering
more yield, more profit and, ultimately,
more sustainability.
Chloropicrin manages most potato
producers' biggest soil-borne headache:
potato early die complex, which can
build to damaging levels within three to
four rotations and survive in soil for
10-15 years. Early die is caused primarily
by Verticillium dahlia and lesion nematode.
Typical control methods including seed
and soil treatments, crop rotation, and
biocontrol have little impact on the disease
and plant breeders have had limited
success in developing genetic resistance.
Fumigating with metam sodium, a less
selective product, is losing favor in
some areas.
Luckily, trials show chloropicrin has
real promise for managing key pathogen
contributors to potato early die complex
including verticillium.
" When applied at a high enough rate to
effectively treat an adequate volume of soil,
chloropicrin produces impressive results
against verticillium, " says Hutchinson.
" This is a really important step forward for
the industry, since farmers have until now
had such limited options for suppression. "
While research into chloropicrin's
impact on fusarium and rhizoctonia in
potato crops is limited to date, research
in other crop types consistently shows
chloropicrin's high efficacy against these
two diseases as well.
" We see good results in-field - such as
much less disease symptoms like damping
off - but until we have more research,
we can only infer its efficacy based on
what we see and how it performs in other
crops, " says Hutchinson.
Depending on its source, rhizoctonia
causes slightly different issues within the
plant. Rhizoctonia that comes in on the
seed piece will primarily run up the stem.
Rhizoctonia in the soil typically infects
daughter tubers, ultimately providing the
pathway to disease spread into new fields.
" While fumigation is effective at
suppressing rhizoctonia that's already in
a field, it doesn't offer residual control
so it won't control disease that enters the
field post-application. Therefore, while it
provides background suppression for the
existing pathogen, it remains necessary
to apply seed treatment to achieve earlyseason
suppression of the disease, "
says Hutchinson.
Chloropicrin has also proved effective
in countering black dot (Colletotrichum
coccodes) and common scab (Streptomyces
scabies).
What does effective soil-borne disease
management ultimately mean for
sustainability? More tons of potatoes per
acre, which means a farmer can farm
fewer total acres to meet their contract.
Farming fewer acres means lower inputs
and emissions per pound produced.
Increased efficiency means better economic
and environmental sustainability: a win
for all!
www.strikefumigants.com
Strike is a Federally Restricted Use Pesticide. TELONE™ is a Trademark of the Dow Chemical Company ( " Dow " ) or an affiliated company of Dow,
used under license. TELONE™ is a federally Restricted Use Pesticide. Always read and follow label directions.
ADVERTISEMENT | © 2023 TriCal Group, Inc.

http://www.strikefumigants.com

Spudman March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spudman March 2023