Fruit going into storage needs to be handled carefully to avoid injury.
Sanitation is a priority to minimise infection from pathogenic spores.
For the last 20-30 years packhouse managers have only had a small number of fungicides available for controlling storeage rots. This resulted in reduced sensitivity to these fungicides and resistance problems.
To add to this problem Carbendazim was removed from the market last year. This left a big void in post harvest options for disease control.
Scholar
The new fungicide Scholar became available on the market last year and has performed very well.
The active ingredient, Fludioxonil, in Scholar was discovered from a soil borne bacterium.
Scholar is in a different chemical group to the other main dipping fungicides and offers a different mode of action for controlling disease. Scholar reportedly has good residual activity for protecting fruit in storage.
Scholar can be a good option for packhouses looking to preserve the efficacy of fungicides and minimise the risk of developing resistance strains of fungi.
For maximum protection of apples in storage both Scholar and Rovral should be applied to fruit post harvest.
For information, images, tables and contact details, see the February 2012 Tree Fruit.
