Combination of Albit with chemical fungicides and fungicidal seed treatment agents

Owing to its immunizing properties, Albit itself is able to protect plants from diseases. The biostimulant is effective, for example, against main diseases of flax, watery soft rot and head grey mould blight of sunflower, rusts and leaf spots, and especially against root rots of cereals (Biologicai efficiency is up to 100%). However, fungicidal effect of Albit is considerable only at low and moderate infestation of plants. At higher infestation level, Albit should be used in combination with chemical fungicides. In this case, one can use the minimal, or (in most cases) halved recommended application rate of fungicides, since, as it is described below, joint application with Albit reinforces activity of chemical fungicides.

When combined with chemical fungicides, Albit can increase their effectiveness. For example, biological effectiveness of a chemical fungicide is 60% due to the direct biocidal action. When Albit is used together with the fungicide, biological effectiveness reaches 100%. This occurs because of the additional immunization ensured by Albit. Thus, Albit works to secure the full protection of crops against diseases.

Summarized data of multiple (252) field trials which were carried out through 1999-2006, demonstrated high efficiency of joint application of biostimulant Albit with halved (decreased) rates of chemical fungicides and protectants based on mancozeb, dimethomorph, propiconazole, cyproconazole, triadimefon, thiabendazole, tebuconazole, flutriafol, carboxin, thiram, difenoconazole, carbendazim, sulphur, mancozeb, metalaxyl, copper compounds, oxadixyl, cymoxanil, epoxiconazole, mefenoxam, spiroxamine, triadimenol, benomyl, etc. (Table 13, Fig. 1).

Albit was combined both with fungicides used for presowing seed treatment (based on difenoconazole, carboxin, thiram, etc.) and with ones used for foliar spraying (based on propiconazole, cyproconazole, epoxiconazole, carbendazim, etc). Effectiveness of mixtures of Albit and fungicides was demonstrated for wide range of diseases (internal, soil, leaf infections, bacterial and seed infections) of different agricultures: vine, potatoe, flax, sunflower, millet, winter and spring wheat, barley, sugar beet, soybean, apple. Infection levels varied from low (prevalence of 2-10% in trials of All-Russia Institute of Vegetable Selection and Seed Breeding on soybean) to artificially high (92-95% in trials of All-Russia Institute of Leguminous and Groat Crops on millet). There was no cases of incompatability or decreased efficiency of fungicides used in combination with Albit. These facts are witness of Albit/fungicide combination universality (Table 13).

It is very important, that in majority of conducted trials the effectiveness (biological efficiency, yield increase) of combination of Albit with halved dose of a fungicide was not lower or even higher than efficiency of full fungicide dose (Fig. 1). Wantage of fungicide of direct action was compensated by immunizing effect of Albit.

Fig. 1. Biological efficacy of tank mix Albit + 1/2 fungicide, % from efficacy of full fungicide dose

This feature of Albit helps to decrease pesticidal load on crops and to reduce cost of treatments by 20-45% preserving protective effect. For example, using data of Table 12 one can compare cost of treatment with full dose of some fungicides and with halved dose of fungicides mixed with Albit (both kinds of treatment provide the same protective effect and yield increase). Decrease of treatment cost is a prerequisite of high economical efficiency of combination of Albit with decreased doses of fungicides. For example, in trial of Agricultural Scientific Institute of South-East on spring barley (2002), application of full dose of carbendazim based fungicide provided net profit of 1051 roubles/hectare, whereas combination of halved dose of the fungicide with Albit provided 1564 roubles/hectare. Analogously, treatment of winter wheat with decreased dose of thiram/tebuconazole based fungicide combined with Albit (trial of Kursk Regional Plant Protection Station) instead of full dose of the fungicide increased net profit from 450 roubles to 1299 roubles. Summarizing all obtained data, one can say that for majority of tested protectants and fungicides, joint application of Albit with reduced doses of the fungicides increases economical effectiveness of fungicidal treatments 1.5-2 fold (Table 12).

Trial results persuasively show advantages of Albit/fungicide combinations. It is necessary to note, that in the last years, 74 trials studying this phenomenon were carried out.

Results of all conducted experiments on combination of Albit with decreased application rates of fungicides are presented in summarizing table (Table 13). In this table you can see agricultural (influence on yield), biological (fungicidal) and economical (net profit obtained from one hectare) effectiveness of these combinations.

According to presented results of the trials, one can conclude, that application of combination of Albit and reduced dose of pesticide in comparison to full dose of the pesticide provides better protection of plants against diseases (by 30% in terms of biological efficiency) and provides yield increase of 7% while net profit is increased twice (data on efficiency of seed treatment agents against leaf infections were not taken into account).

Albit actually increases effectiveness of chemical fungicides. Here are mechanisms which are in charge of this phenomenon:

1) Most chemical fungicides cause more or less pronounced stress influence on plants, that are manifested in growth retardation, decreased germination, increased sensitivity of plants to diseases, pests, temperature jumps, etc. For example, the retarding influence of azole class of fungicides (tebuconazole, difenoconazol, diniconazole, etc.) towards germination is widely known. Fungicides of dimethyldithiocarbamate class (thiram) whose targets (oxidation of succinate in Krebs cycle) exist in cells of both pathogenic fungi and plant hosts, also is able to intoxicate plants. This problem is even more actual for pesticides of first generation which do not damage plants seriously just because they penetrate into pathogenic fungi faster than into the plant cells. As it was shown in our tests, fungicides might cause stress effect during whole period of plant growth (Table 14).

Albit is able to relieve stress effect of fungicides. According to data of Department of Agrochemistry of Moscow State University (2000), antistress (antidote) activity of Albit towards fungicides was 24.6% on average, in trials of All-Russia Institute of Plant Protection (2004) it varied from 7 to 62%. Demonstrable example of Albit-mediated relieving of growth retardation of barley caused by chemical fungicide is presented on Fig. 10. Owing to Albit, chemical fungicides can get rid of their collateral plant growth retarding effects while their fungicidal activity against pathogens remains intact. Therefore, even decreased doses of fungicides in presence of Albit are able to demonstrate more pronounced protective effect.

2) It is established, that Albit possesses pronounced immunogenic activity via inducing natural mechanisms of plant resistance to diseases (systematic acquired resistance, reaction of hypersensitivity). Due to this activity, Albit virtually compensates fungicidal activity of chemical pesticide decreased in result of application rate reduction. Immunization of plants is able to easily compensate considerable reduction of application rates of many fungicides, which are (in some cases) quite overrated.

3) Many fungicides visibly weaken plant immune status (ability to resist infections). They protect plants from diseases during their period of action, making plants more disease-sensitive after. For example, presowing seed treatment against root rots might make plants more sensitive to leaf infections. Being an active immunizer, Albit abolishes this effect.

4) High ecological compatibility of Albit is both its advantage and disadvantage. Since Albit consists of natural metabolites of soil bacteria, it is easily degraded by saprophyte non-pathogenic microflora living on surface of seeds and plant leaves (Penicillia, Aspergilli, yeasts, bacteria) and often do not has enough time to influence on plants properly. Therefore, even small amount of chemical fungicide, applied together with Albit, suppresses activity of microflora and protects Albit from degradation, that visibly increases Albit’s efficiency. Chemical fungicide acts in this case as a preservative. It is the reason why combinations of Albit with fungicides below 50% of their recommended application rate are quite effective sometimes.

For example, in trials carried out by Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms (2004) on spring barley, addition of even 10% of recommended dose of fungicides suppressed development of pathogenic microflora and increased biological efficiency of Albit against root rots from 36 to 100%. In field trials carried out by All-Russia Institute of Leguminous and Groat Crops on spring barley (2005), presowing seed treatment with combination of Albit and 13% of recommended dose of thiabendazole/flutriafol – based fungicide, provided yield increase of 32% over control, whereas treatment with full dose of the fungicide provided just 14% of yield increase; treatment with Albit only provided 11% of yield increase. Both Albit/fungicide and fungicide only treatments provided 100% protection from root rots of barley, but Albit/fungicide treated plants demonstrated visibly accelerated growth, see in details here.

Thus, joint application of chemical fungicides and Albit lead to synergism – mutual reinforcement of their fungicidal activity. This phenomenon might be presented schematically (Fig. 18).

Fig. 18. Schematic description of mutual reinforcement of jointly used Albit and chemical fungicides.

In some cases, when decrease of fungicide application rate is undesirable (smut infection, epiphytotic development of diseases, etc.), Albit might be used in combination with full application rate of fungicide. Such treatment relives stress caused by fungicides, that notably increases yield while fungicidal activity remains intact. However, even in this case one can use the minimum recommended rate.

Albit consists of purified active substances of microbal origin instead of living bacteria (like most other biostimulants). This important feature makes possible application of Albit without reduction of its activity even in combination with toxic chemical fungicides.

In other words, Albit as fungicide-immunizer complements and reinforces the effect of fungicides of direct biocidal action. For example, if biological efficacy of chemical fungicide against root rots is 60%, in variant with Albit, biological efficacy will be 100%. Moreover, adding of Albit to fungicide allows to obtain yield increase (12.0% over pure fungicide application). This is average mean according to data of a lot of field trials (Òable 3).

Table 3.  Results of field trials on combined application of Albit with full doses of fungicides and seed protectants

Albit Scientific and Industrial LLC managed to establish a partnership with regional dealers of leading agrochemical companies (Avgust, BASF, Syngenta, SAHO, Agrorus) in many regions of Russia. In the beginning, dealers were quite hostile to possibility of joint application of Albit with reduced rates of their chemical fungicides, but then they receive evidences, that possibility to combine chemicals with Albit, on the contrary, increases sales of chemicals. Farms that were too poor to buy full assortment of chemicals, now are buying minimal (and then increasing) amounts of chemicals to use them with Albit, that results in increase of total amounts of chemical fungicides sold. New resistant pathogenic strains of microorganisms were not detected in soil on fields, where Albit was applied with chemical products. Additionally, the phytosanitary situation of soil even improves, soil becomes healthier according to data of Ryazan’ and Saratov regional Plant Protection Stations.

By now, there are many examples of successful application of fungicide and plant growth stimulator combinations in agricultural practice. For example, addition of plant growth regulators to carboxin/thiram – based fungicide Vitavaks 200 lead to creation of new fungicidal seed treatment agent Vitavaks 200 FF which possesses additional plant growth stimulating effect. Possibly, producers of chemical pesticides should review inclusion of Albit into preparative forms of chemicals in manufacturing stage, that would simplify application technology of well reputated mixtures.

It is necessary to note in conclusion, that application of decreased rates of chemical fungicides has become a wide spread agricultural technique in the most agriculturally advanced regions of Russia (Krasnodar krai, Belgorod oblast, republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, etc.). Also, in countries of European Union farmers are additionally subsidized to decrease fungicidal load on fields. Analogous arrangements on decrease consumption of chemical fungicides are undertaken by governments of USA, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It is steady progressive tendency in world agriculture, which can be successfully realized with application of Albit.

Basing on data of long-term trials, All-Russia Institute of Biological Protection recommended to use plant growth regulators (including Albit) in combination with halved doses of chemical seed treatment agents and fungicides for protection of crops from main diseases. Analogous recommendations were issued by All-Russia Institute of Plant Protection, Flax Institute, and other institutes.

In conclusion, it is necessary to note, that combinations of Albit and chemical pesticides must be used strictly according to the application recommendations of corresponding pesticides and under guidance and collaboration of local representatives of manufacturers. Joint application of Albit and decreased rates of fungicides is reasonable only in absence of epiphytotic development of diseases, internal infections and under total infestation below 30%.

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