California Ag TODAY: INNOVATION FOR CALIF. HORTICULTURE GROWERS

Bayer CropScience introduced Serenade® Optimum fungicide and bactericide, its newest innovation for horticulture growers in California, among other states, during the 39th Annual CAPCA Conference in Reno, Nevada, yesterday. It is part of a collection of biological fungicides and insecticides from Bayer CropScience that gives growers more options in their integrated disease management programs to help fight resistance and optimize the marketability of their crops.

Rob Schrick

“As a global market leader in crop protection, we continuously invest in innovations for new technologies that improve the health, quality and yield of horticulture crops,” said Rob Schrick, Strategic Business Management Lead – Horticulture, Bayer CropScience. “With the addition of Serenade Optimum, we further our commitment to delivering innovative solutions that aid growers in producing quality crops.”

Based on a unique patented strain of Bacillus subtilis, Serenade Optimum works in multiple ways to provide effective suppression of challenging fungal diseases, such as Botrytis and Sclerotinia, and bacterial diseases, such as Xanthomonas and Erwinia. The fungicide’s novel, multi-site mode-of-action makes it very difficult for diseases to develop resistance, empowering growers with a new tool to combat fungicide resistance and enhance existing integrated disease management programs.

Serenade Optimum is a flexible tank-mix option and is compatible with registered products such as copper, sulfur, micronutrients, insecticides and fungicides. Serenade Optimum has a four-hour re-entry interval and a zero-day pre-harvest interval, and is exempt from the requirements of residue tolerance.

Serenade Optimum is best used to suppress early season outbreaks, right after rain when pressures flare, or right up to and including the day of harvest to maintain tight harvest schedules, and has just a 4-hour re-entry interval and zero-day pre-harvest interval. Serenade Optimum is available for use on grapes, leafy and fruiting vegetables, strawberries and potatoes.

Bayer is a 150 year-old global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of agriculture, health care and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, is responsible for the agricultural business and is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control.