“I can’t recall ever launching so many products in such a short period of time,” says John Yates, Syngenta campaign manager.
 

“It’s always great to have something new to talk about with growers and resellers. It’s why we enjoy working for a research based company like Syngenta, bringing real innovation to the market to help growers produce a better crop.”
 

The new products for 2017 include: Elatus Plus, a new SDHI fungicide offering superior control of septoria and rusts in wheat; Minecto Star, a combination insecticide for forage brassicas with IPM selectivity; Miravis, a new SDHI fungicide for early blight control in potatoes and powdery mildew control in grapes; and Timorex Gold, a biofungicide derived from tea tree oil for the control of powdery mildew in grapes and sclerotinia in kiwifruit.
 

The launch of Elatus Plus, Minecto Star and Miravis follows at least five years of extensive trial work by Syngenta in New Zealand to generate the efficacy, crop safety and residue data required for registration.
 

Timorex Gold was first registered in NZ by Grosafe, but is now sold exclusively by Syngenta in New Zealand and Australia under a distribution agreement with Stockton (Israel).
 

“Sales of Elatus Plus exceeded our expectations in the first year. In fact, we had to fly more product in from the UK to meet the demand,” John Yates says.
 

“The product really does deliver a step change in the level of disease control in wheat, which is what key growers and resellers observed in trials for at least two seasons before the product was launched. It’s one of those products where seeing is believing.”
 

Meantime, 2017 turned out to be a good year to launch a new broad spectrum IPM insecticide into forage brassicas, with the hot and dry weather in November causing insect numbers to increase rapidly. By combining a full rate of cyantraniliprole (the active in Exirel) with pymetrozine (a systemic aphicide), Minecto Star offers superior control of aphids with excellent activity also on caterpillars, leafminer and looper, he says.
 

“This product ticks the boxes with both broad spectrum activity on a wide range of pests and IPM selectivity.”

Syngenta is also very pleased to have gained access to Timorex Gold, a biofungicide with BioGro certification for use on grapes and kiwifruit.
 

Yates says this product looks to have great potential in both organic and conventional production systems. It is already registered for powdery mildew control in grapes and

sclerotinia in kiwifruit.
 

“We are generating further data to support the use of Timorex Gold to Syngenta standards and extend the label claims.”
 

Getting four new products registered in one year has been a real team effort for the Syngenta’s regulatory staff, and likewise the supply group has worked hard to get them landed in NZ on time, he says.
 

“Our sales and marketing people have also done a top job in priming the market, so growers and resellers understand the unique benefits of each product and have the confidence to use or recommend them.”
 

The registration of Miravis came through just prior to this issue of Agribusiness going to print. So it’s all hands to the pump at Syngenta, trying to get the product packed and into the county in time for early blight fungicide applications in potatoes.
 

For more information on these, and other Syngenta products, visit their new look website at www.syngenta.co.nz or phone 0800 333 336.