EDN™ – First Soil fumigant approved by APVMA to tackle the outbreak of charcoal rot disease in Australia
January 25th, 2019 – In an another Australian first the Draslovka Services Group, with their Australian entity Draslovka Services Pty Ltd, is set to once again transform the Australian agricultural sector by arming Aussie farmers with an Australian Pesticide Veterinary Medicine Authority (APVMA) approved treatment against Charcoal Rot.
Charcoal rot disease is caused by the soil borne pathogen Macrophomina phaseolina. It is a serious disease of fruits, vegetable and field crops in Australia. In high-value crops like strawberry fruit, the disease is more prevalent, and it has caused plant losses up to 85% across the industry.
“The approval of EDN™ in the fight against charcoal rot by the APVMA is fantastic news for Australian fruit and vegetable growers who have been facing severe economic loss. It is a real step forward to have a treatment option available which is supported by robust data and officially recognised by the APVMA as an on-label treatment, and really differentiates EDN™ from other soil fumigants“ says Kade McConville, Group Director, Draslovka Services Group.
Ethanedinitrile (EDN™) (Australia Trade Name: EDN™ FUMIGAS) is the next generation, non-greenhouse gas with no ozone-depleting properties and broad-spectrum soil fumigant developed by CSIRO in 1996. At the beginning of 2018, EDN™ was approved in Australia to treat soil in order to control soil-borne diseases, nematodes and weeds and to increase yields of selected fruits, vegetable and ornamental crops.
Control of charcoal rot is problematic due to heat tolerance, and microsclerotia (fungal cell) remain in the soil and in the infected plant materials left over from the previous cropping cycle, reoccurring when the favourable condition prevails. The disease development is favoured by heat stress, soil water deficit, and host plant susceptibility. Identification of charcoal rot symptoms in the field is sometime difficult due to the overlap of similar symptoms caused by other soil-borne pathogen. The typical `charcoal rot’ symptoms include wilting, collapse and dark brown or reddish-brown necrotic areas in the cortex and along the vascular tissues of the crown.
EDN™ FUMIGAS is the only soil fumigant approved and available for controlling charcoal rot based on the robust scientific data package submitted to APVMA. The dose rate required is 50 g/m2 applied either through shank or drip application under low mass transfer coefficient film approved by Draslovka Services Private Limited. EDN™ has a lower boiling point and higher vapour pressure than methyl bromide hence it can extensively diffuse through the charcoal rot infected plant materials left over from the previous cropping cycle and provide maximum control.
“We are thrilled that the perseverance and determination of our researchers continues to result in a soil fumigant that will play a significant role in not only the ongoing success and longevity of Australian farmers but also farmers worldwide,” concludes Mr McConville.
The Draslovka Group is the sole global manufacturer and supplier of EDN™ FUMIGAS.
