Cuprous oxide for disease control in vineyards

摘要

American Chemet, the US manufacturer of agricultural fungicides, continues to research and develop novel formulations of cuprous oxide that are custom-designed to combat crop disease problems faced by farmers' world wide. Alongside the established Chem Copp 50, a WP (wettable powder) formulation containing 50 percent active copper, they produce a high copper WP formulation, AG Copp 75 (75 percent active copper), for extra versatility in dosage and spray frequency for and enhanced cost effectivenessright along the distribution and user chain. Chem Copp 50 and AG Copp 75 are recommended for control of a wide range of fungal and bacterial diseases of tomato. Copper applied to grapes by Millardet in France over 100 years ago was the birth of modem crop protection. A copper concoction spread on ripening grapes to deter pilfering was seen to control downy mildew. But this was copper sulphate a highly soluble and phytotoxic copper salt 'slowed down' by addition of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) to form a sparingly soluble and safer complex. The introduction of the 'fixed' copper compounds as agricultural fungicides changed forever the application of copper fungicide.