A NEW cereals fungicide molecule from Dow AgroSciences is in the pipeline and is likely to be launched in 2019.

This new active is being trialled for the first time in the UK – the product, Inatreq, is not only a new active ingredient (fenpixoxamid) but has a novel target site which the company said will be a vital new tool in the box as growers fight a running battle with septoria resistance.

It will be the first completely new molecule to be added to the fungicide armoury in over a decade, according to William Corrigan, Dow’s fungicide product manager for the UK and Ireland.

He said: “Inatreq shows no cross-resistance to any of the existing cereal fungicide chemistries. This includes SDHIs, azoles and strobilurins, so we see it as being an essential new tool in UK growers’ anti-resistance strategies.”

This new class of chemistry, called the picolinamides, derives from a natural compound called UK-2A, which is produced by soil-borne streptomyces species.

It also inhibits fungal respiration in a new target site, differing in this respect from all other cereal fungicides.

Through extensive field trials, it has consistently demonstrated outstanding performance on septoria and a broad spectrum of activity on rusts and other key cereal diseases, said Mr Corrigan.

“It demonstrated strong performance at Dow’s Wellesbourne site, where leading distributors, researchers and agronomists have been visiting throughout June to see first hand how it performs.

“A number of growers in England and Scotland are also trialling it at field scale for the first time this year,” he added.

ADAS’ principal research scientist, Jonathan Blake, welcomed the new chemistry: “We’re in a constant arms race between pathogen and product. As we continue to bombard septoria with different modes of action, it’s finding its way around them by evolving and developing resistance.

“Having new modes available is essential and using them in conjunction with existing chemistry can slow the development of resistance in other groups.

“Inatreq is highly active on septoria and appears to be curative and preventative, which is a key attribute in the battle to control the most difficult pathogen we have in UK wheat crops.”

The company submitted its EU registration dossier for review in December, 2014 and expects active substance approval in 2018, for first use by cereal farmers in 2019-2020.