When Luna® Sensation was registered mid-season last year, James Gaffney of Bon View Orchards in Officer didn’t hesitate to add it to his spray program.
“You’re always going to use new chemistry when you can,” he says.
By the time the new option was available, his regular early-season control program for black spot and powdery mildew had already been applied. “We came in late, held off the last two Pristine sprays and used Luna Sensation instead,” James explains.
Even though disease pressure was relatively low when the late spray went on, James was impressed. “I was very happy. It still worked; you could still see the difference. I think it’s better than Fontelis for powdery mildew – it completely destroyed that.”
The big bonus for James was how well Luna Sensation worked on alternaria in the orchard. The new product is registered for suppression rather than control of alternaria because trial results have been uneven, but it did that job at Bon View. “I was pretty rapt with it, to be honest. I’m happy enough to know I’ll use it again this year.”
Agronomist Tony Kundert of the 9mile group, who works with James and about 50 other affiliated growers, said Luna Sensation seems to do a good job. “Growers used it on an alternaria outbreak in January and it went well,” he said.
Tony has also been pleasantly surprised by how effective Luna Sensation is on powdery mildew. “I’ve had a few growers who used Luna over Pristine. They seem to feel that the Luna is doing a much better job.”
For information see Tree Fruit Dec 2016
