Fruits and Vegetables

Protecting Your Favorite Vintage From Fungal Diseases

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Several Glasses of Wine

“Hints of cherry, notes of oak—and an oily mouthfeel.” This is certainly not the taste profile any winemaker or connoisseur is going for, but when fungi like powdery mildew get into grapes, the result can be a barrel spoiled with bad flavors.

Fungal diseases are a costly—and unappetizing—threat to many of our favorite foods. These diseases spoil crops in the field, can continue to attack them after harvest (decreasing their freshness life), and can affect their taste, even when foods are processed like the grapes used in wine and juice.

One study found that powdery mildew in grapes affected several aspects of flavor in resulting juices and wines, and reduced fruit yield. The study found even small amounts of this fungus had a negative effect on taste. Researchers have also shown that once grapes are infected with powdery mildew, they can also become susceptible to other microbes, like yeast and bacteria, that lead to spoilage.1

Aside from the damage they do in vineyards, fungal diseases are estimated to destroy almost a third of crops worldwide each year and can be a major issue for crops grown in warm, tropical climates.2 If we want to maintain a variety of produce on our tables and in our glasses, controlling these diseases is vital.

New fungicide options help farmers get control over powdery mildews, Botrytis sp., and other common fungal diseases that attack the berries, peppers, grapes, and other fruits and vegetables we all enjoy. New products also help farmers combat resistance—a growing issue with fungal diseases. Adavelt™ active, which launches in key countries in 2023, will protect more than 30 types of crops and in some cases can be applied at lower use rates compared with other fungicides. Adavelt works on many of the most significant and damaging fungal diseases, and because it works on a very specific receptor site within target fungal pathogens, it doesn’t show anycross-resistance with other modes of action used against these same diseases. That makes Adavelt a good rotation partner with other fungicides and compatible with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy.

New fungicide solutions like Adavelt help farmers reduce resistance risks, decrease the amount of active ingredient needed in their fields and still protect a delicious harvest—something to which we can all raise a glass.

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Powdery mildew on grapes can affect yield and flavor. Wines made from grapes affected by powdery mildew can take on a mushroom flavor and have an oily mouthfeel.

Learn more about Adavelt active

1 Belinda E. Stummer, et al. “Effects of Powdery Mildew on the Sensory Properties and Composition of Chardonnay Juice and Wine When Grape Sugar Ripeness Is Standardised.” Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 11, no. 1 (June 2008): 66–76. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755 0238.2005. tb00280.x.

2Almeida, Fausto, Marcio L. Rodrigues, and Carolina Coelho. “The Still Underestimated Problem of Fungal Diseases Worldwide.” Frontiers in Microbiology 10 (February 12, 2019). https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00214.

Registrations for products containing Adavelt have not yet received regulatory approvals; approvals are pending. The information presented here is not an offer for sale.