Latest fungicide performance data includes new options for cereals

The latest fungicide performance data was released at the Agronomy Conference on Wednesday 11 December 2024. With a focus on the winter wheat trial series, Jason Pole explores some of the findings.

We have supported the fungicide performance trial series since 1994. Thirty years on, the project still delivers high-quality, independent information on the efficacy of fungicides against key diseases in wheat, barley and oilseed rape.

One strength of the trials is that they include an emphasis on active ingredients that have not yet reached the market. When products are under test, they are kept under wraps. When a product gets authorised and hits the market, we lift the lid and reveal how its efficacy compares with established fungicide products.

The latest release includes two new cereal products: one registered for use in wheat and barley, and another for barley – providing useful additional control options for next year.

We also tested several other unregistered products in 2024 (and more in previous years), which will hopefully deliver more options for disease control further down the line.

Disease pressures

The new data includes results from the latest season (2023–2024), which challenged commercial and trial crops in equal measure.

The particularly wet autumn, winter and spring weather, coupled with a mild winter (with few frosts), energised some major cereal pathogens – including septoria tritici and brown rust in winter wheat. Such a season keeps the fungicide performance team on its toes, because the trials are set up to encourage disease in any season (let alone in one that is conducive to it).

To help tease apart the disease and yield performance differences of the products, the cereal trial series uses:

• Relatively high-risk sites for the target disease
• Highly susceptible varieties to the target disease
• One spray timing

As you can imagine, disease can really get a grip on crops in such situations. Yes, this helps pull apart the performance of products, but non-target diseases can also run rife and muddy the water.

Just take brown rust, which was unusually high in some of our septoria tritici trials in 2024 (even though we used ‘cover sprays’ to try and keep on top of brown rust). As a result of this pressure, we produced fungicide performance curves from both brown rust ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ trials in the 2024 data set (with the impact on relative performance discussed at the Agronomy Conference).

Multi-year analysis

Because of the seasonal variation in disease pressure, we encourage people to look at the fungicide performance charts that are based on over-year and multi-site analyses as these provide the most accurate picture of the key trends.

Septoria tritici control in a protectant situation on winter wheat provides the best example of multiple analyses, with some charts drawing on data from 16 trials over three seasons (2022−2024) – see the example below.

For each product in the cereal trials, four doses are usually tested: quarter, half, full, and double the label recommended rate.

Based on the efficacy information, we generate a dose-response curve for each product based on its average performance (disease and yield responses) across sites, seasons and leaf layers.

We include the double rate to improve the ‘fit’ of the dose-response curve, but we do not include this part of the curve on the charts (although we do show it as part of the Agronomy Conference presentation).

Curves that fit the data points well and have clear separation are most likely to reflect real differences (in terms of field performance).

Example charts

Septoria tritici disease response (protectant) example

The charts show combined results for 2022–24 (16 trials).

Fungicide mixtures (chart on the left)

• Revystar XE – fluxapyroxad + mefentrifluconazole: an SDHI + DMI/azole
• Univoq – fenpicoxamid + prothioconazole: a QII + DMI/azole
• Ipresso [NEW] – isoflucypram + prothioconazole: an SDHI + DMI/azole

Fungicide straights (chart on the right)

• Myresa – mefentrifluconazole (revysol): a DMI/azole
• Peqtiga – fenpicoxamid (inatreq): a QII
• Vimoy – isoflucypram (iblon): an SDHI
• Miravis Plus – pydiflumetofen (adepidyn): an SDHI

Both charts

The charts include two products tested at full label dose:

• Arizona – folpet: a multi-site
• Proline 275 – prothioconazole: a DMI/azole

As we have tested these two products over many years, they provide a benchmark from which to compare the performance of other products.

Always check product labels prior to use. Use straights in mixtures with at least one other fungicide with an alternative mode of action that has efficacy against the target disease.

New products

At the Agronomy Conference in 2023, we released data for a new wheat SDHI fungicide, Vimoy, which contains the active ingredient isoflucypram and is marketed as Iblon (by Bayer).

We already had efficacy data for a product that combined isoflucypram with prothioconazole. However, as that product was not authorised at that time, we did not release it.

With authorisation now secured, we presented the data for the new product, Ipresso, at the 2024 conference. As it is authorised for use in wheat and barley, it was tested in both trial series. It is showing useful levels of control in trials and using it in conjunction with prothioconazole is a good resistance-management tactic.

Stuart Knight (NIAB) provided the latest update for cereal fungicides at the Agronomy Conference 2024. He said:

“Regulatory authorisation has also been recently awarded to Plaxium, a three-way formulation fungicide containing isoflucypram, prothioconazole and fluopyram. The product has been tested in previous years in the fungicide performance trials and we plan to issue efficacy data after the conference.”

Although no major shifts in fungicide sensitivity have been detected in septoria tritici pathogen populations in recent years, small sensitivity shifts continue to be observed at some sites, so it remains vital to follow resistance management guidelines.

The latest data release also features a new barley product, RevyPro, which is based on two DMIs (azoles) – mefentrifluconazole and prothioconazole. It offered useful control against rhynchosporium in the 2024 trials.

Earlier this year, we also issued fungicide performance data for another new SDHI product, Miravis Plus (Syngenta), which contains the active substance pydiflumetofen (also known as Adepidyn technology).

New web pages

For the first time, we have published the main over-year, over-site data on web pages, in addition to the usual downloadable PDF document (which contains the full data set – up to 100% dose).

The web pages also feature at-a-glance summaries of the main developments based on the fungicide performance charts.

Latest fungicide performance results for septoria tritici in winter wheat

Latest fungicide performance results for rusts and fusarium in winter wheat

Latest fungicide performance results for winter barley

Latest fungicide performance results for winter oilseed rape

Further information