A fungicide active ingredient has recently been classified as having a unique mode of action in cereal crops, thus offering a potential boost for managing resistance concerns. CPM investigates this and some of the other pipeline prospects heading on-farm soon.
“In wheat trials, Gilboa delivered superior septoria control compared with existing solutions.” BEN MILES
By Janine Adamson
Agriculture is a long-term game, and when a new active ingredient or plant protection product finally lands in the marketplace, it’s often been years in the making. Subsequently, when such a launch is officially revealed to growers and agronomists, any element of surprise has undoubtedly been quashed in the meantime.
Although in some ways this could dull a product’s celebratory fanfare, providing a glimpse of what’s to come could also be perceived as reassuring – that the R&D pipeline has promising solutions on its way, albeit subject to regulatory approval.
With this in mind, Great Britain is set to become the first territory to access a novel fungicide active ingredient – flumetylsulforim – which offers a unique mode of action for cereal crops.
Marketed as Gilboa by Adama, flumetylsulforim was recently classified as Group 32 by the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC). This novel mode of action targets nucleic acid metabolism, a biochemical pathway that hasn’t previously been utilised in cereal fungicides, explains the firm’s Jonny Oosthuizen.
According to Jonny, Adama is focusing on positioning Gilboa initially in wheat, based around its activity against septoria. “It’s widely recognised that septoria is a key, target disease which most fungicide programmes are built around. Although pressure from other foliar diseases may come and go, for example rust, the threat of septoria will remain,” he says.
It’s expected the active ingredient may also offer a viable solution for combatting ramularia in barley and sclerotinia in oilseed rape. But regardless, as a new mode of action, Gilboa represents a major step forward in fungicide innovation, providing growers with a new way to combat fungal pathogens, believes managing director Ben Miles.
“Its novel mode of action, along with its compatibility with existing fungicides, makes it a vital addition to disease management strategies. Gilboa should provide much-required diversity in disease control, which is especially critical as all recent cereal fungicide launches have been of similar modes of action,” he points out.
However, beyond this, the development work continues. To build a robust knowledge base of the molecule and how it can best contribute to sustainable septoria management in wheat, Gilboa is being evaluated through an extensive series of UK trials, explains Jonny.
“We have clear evidence of the exciting levels of septoria control that Gilboa can offer and continue to work to best position the active in fungicide programmes. The UK is an agronomist-led market and we want to be a piece of that story. Therefore, we’ll be driven by its performance in the field, and steered by the outcomes of those trials,” he comments.
So far, the data suggests a promising outcome, adds Ben. “In wheat trials, Gilboa delivered superior septoria control compared with existing solutions. It also provided extended disease control, with a lasting effect of up to 35 days after final application.
“Trials have also revealed that more than 70% of the flag leaf area remained green for a longer period after the last treatment,” he says.
Gilboa was submitted for registration in 2023 and is expected to receive approval in Great Britain in 2027, in the EU in 2029, and with further registrations planned for additional territories. “And while we’re still a little way off bringing Gilboa to the GB market, new modes of action don’t occur very often at all. We’re confident this one will be worth waiting for,” says Jonny.
In the meantime, this season is all about capturing data while showcasing Gilboa to as many individuals as possible, he adds. “This is the first year of our ‘Adama in action’ field events initiative – where we manage five trial sites across England and Scotland.
“As well as demonstrating our wider fungicide portfolio in-field, this will also prove an opportunity to see Gilboa. Aimed at agronomists and other interested parties, anyone interested in attending should contact their regional agronomy manager as soon as possible.”
However, Gilboa isn’t the only new fungicide product in the pipeline – UK growers should also have the option of two new solutions from R&D company, Sumitomo Chemical.
Indiflin (inpyrffluxam) is currently undergoing review by the Chemicals Regulation Division (CRD), explains the firm’s Ruth Stanley. “This SDHI is already available overseas, for example, targeting rust in soya beans in Latin America. But for the UK market, it would be targeted at T1 or T2 applications in wheat for yellow and brown rust control.”
Ruth adds that Indiflin is indicating high efficacy in UK trials, even when up against the severe brown rust infections that many growers experienced during the 2024 season.
Then also on the horizon, is new fungicide Pavecto (metyltetraprole). “This disruptive QoI fungicide is highly effective for the control of a broad range of diseases including septoria leaf blotch in wheat and net blotch and ramularia in barley. We’re confident Pavecto will play an important role in resistance management,” suggests Ruth.
She believes with the potential to lose some existing chemistry from the UK market during the next few years, new products, particularly those with alternative modes of action, will be of even greater importance. “This gives growers more choice and more tools to prevent disease development in the future.”
This article was taken from the latest issue of CPM. Read the article in full here.
For more articles like this, subscribe here.
Sign up for Crop Production Magazine’s FREE e-newsletter here.
