Label change adds more crops

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has approved the addition of stone fruit and almonds to the label for Botector, according to Westbridge Agricultural Products.

The manufacturer said California registration now provides stone fruit and almond growers with a new tool in preventing blossom blight and brown rot, a disease that can significantly impact crop quality and yield.

Botector is an organic biofungicide that is also registered for the prevention of botrytis in grapes, tomatoes and berries, and for anthracnose, phomopsis and rhizopus rots of berries.

The active ingredient in Botector consists of two strains of Aureobasidium pullulans, a beneficial fungus commonly found on the surface of fruit and flowers. The manufacturer described Botector's mode of action as "competitive exclusion," whereby beneficial organisms outgrow disease pathogens, robbing them of essential nutrients and space for growth. Because A. pullulans has evolved on the surface of plants, it will survive through irrigation or rainstorms, Westbridge said.

Botector can be used in both conventional and organic crops, according to the manufacturer, which said the product has proven efficacy in more than six years of university and commercial trials under a variety of growing conditions.

Botector is exempt from maximum residue limits and there is no preharvest interval.

For more information, call 800-876-2767 or visit www.westbridge.com.