Apex is a combination of two active ingredients, pyrimethanil and fluazinam.
 

The company says both have a great track record of disease control in stand-alone forms but until now have not been formulated

together into one convenient product.
 

The pyrimethanil component is systemic so is able to penetrate into the bunch and flower debris to stop botrytis formation at

its source. Fluazinam is a contact protectant with multisite activity.
 

“One of the key benefits of this mixture is for disease resistance management. In recent years in New Zealand we have started to see the effectiveness of some products diminish.
 

“This is due to an increased tolerance of the pathogen population to the active ingredients they have been exposed too,” Zelam says.
 

Pyrimethanil is from the anilinopyrimidine (AP) group of fungicides. AP fungicides have been documented overseas as becoming less effective against botrytis with overuse.
 

“In order to maintain the longevity of this molecule, the industry has put out some guidelines on its use. One of the key directives

is that AP chemistry should always be used in conjunction with another effective botryticide.
 

“Apex containing fluazinam as well in the formulation provides this resistance management strategy in the one product eliminating the need for tank mixing.”
 

The new fungicide also features on the updated version of the Zelam rate calculator app launched last year for the key botrytis

products Nexus and Pinnacle.
 

The app allows field staff and end-users to easily work out the correct rate of product for their particular vineyard, eliminating under or over dosing, Zelam says.
 

It is available for Apple, Android, or Windows based smartphones, and can be reached using the QR code.