Switch to new chemistry addressing Sclerotinia issues in lettuce

The use of new chemistry has helped address Sclerotinia issues on the Bachmann property, at Lower Tent Hill in the Lockyer Valley of Queensland.

Connor Bachmann is part of a 300-acre family farm growing a range of crops including iceberg lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, potatoes and pumpkins.

Connor Bachmann, of Lower Tent Hill, in the Lockyer Valley, QLD, has seen virtually no Sclerotinia in lettuce since introducing Verpixo® Adavelt® active fungicide to the program.

“We work on a two-to-three-year rotation for our lettuce and pumpkins, and go from pumpkins, back to potatoes,” Mr Bachmann said.

“We do get Sclerotinia in our crops. With the two-to-three-year rotation there is always residue from Sclerotinia. It can decimate the crop. It can be very bad.”

The variable weather of the region often causes diseases such as Sclerotinia to emerge and cause damage.

“We start planting lettuce in February and finish the harvest in September,” Mr Bachmann said. “Heat affects us early and late in our season. We get down to the minuses a few times in the winter, and rain is another big factor. We can get 100 ml’s in a day on the south coast.”

In 2024 he saw Verpixo® Adavelt® active fungicide in a local trial and decided to incorporate it into their program shortly afterwards.

“We saw great results in the trials with all the other products lined up against Verpixo. It’s another tool in the toolkit to use.”

He said there was eight to nine weeks from transplant to harvest with lettuce on the property with Sclerotinia starting to appear in weeks six and seven, just as the head starts to form.

To prevent this, fungicide sprays are used as part of a program with Verpixo applied at week three to four followed by a second application later in the crop.

“We’ve seen great results,” Mr Bachmann said. “There has been virtually no Sclerotinia with just the two sprays per crop.”

It was mixed in the tank with insecticides, and foliar fertilisers.

Mr. Bachmann said Verpixo has also provided an opportunity to rotate away from chemistry groups they had been using for several years.

Verpixo is a Group 21 fungicide. Other options for disease control in lettuce include Groups 2, 7, 9, 11 and 12 so the introduction of a new mode of action provides growers with a real alternative.

As well as Sclerotinia, Verpixo controls grey mould, Septoria spot or late blight and Anthracnose.

It is also available for control of different fungal diseases in cucurbits, fruiting vegetables, strawberries, wine and table grapes.

Mr. Bachmann said quality was the key to their enterprise with produce sent across the eastern seaboard to markets in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

“Keeping quality is checking everything. Every day it changes. You could have disease one day or a hatching of Diamondback moth, and then your crop’s gone in the weekend. It's just a lot of checking.”

He said working on the family farm could be challenging but was also very rewarding.

“You can put something in the ground and then you have something to show for it at the end of the day.”

Additional Resources

Verpixo Leafy Veg Technote

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Verpixo Fruiting Veg Technote

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