Luna Fungicide Scores Top Marks Against Powdery Mildew and Botrytis

Performance boosts vine health for better quality this season and beyond

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Nov 05, 2019, 15:31 ET

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As the most common fungi in orchards and vineyards, powdery mildew and Botrytis both thrive in climates where grapes are grown. The Luna^® family of fungicides from Bayer continues to offer excellent protection at bloom from powdery mildew and Botrytis. Luna fungicides are well-proven, broad-spectrum solutions and great tools for resistance management.

When used at bloom, Luna fungicides help to boost vine health for higher quality fruit. It moves systemically to protect shoots and leaves to reduce dockage and wine off-flavoring. Luna protects against overwintering and later-season vine problems in wine, raisin and table grapes.

Both powdery mildew and Botrytis can be reduced through methods such as proactive leaf removal, which provides better air flow, light penetration and acts as a natural dehumidifier. However, these practices can only provide for approximately 50 percent of disease control. The remaining control comes from fungicidal support. Luna Experience fungicide outperformed the standard fungicide treatment in a field trial conducted in San Luis Obispo in 2019, as shown in the chart.

	Bayer treatment	Standard treatment
Bloom	Luna^® Experience 8.6 oz	Pristine^® 12.5 oz
Pre close	Aframe™ 15.5 oz	Quintec^® 6.6 oz
Bunch closure	Luna^® Experience 8.6 oz	Pristine^® 12.5 oz
Post-bunch closure	Aframe™ 15.5 oz	Quintec^® 6.6 oz
Pre veraison	Luna^® Experience 8.6 oz	Vivando^® 15.4 oz
Veraison	Aframe™ 15.5 oz	Inspire Super^® 20 oz

The Bayer treatment held final cluster numbers to 2.8 percent severity compared to 32.1 percent in the standard treatment.

Luna fungicide also fights storability diseases, thereby safeguarding crops after harvest by controlling pathogens that commonly cause these losses. Because the Luna family offers two formulations for rotational flexibility, growers can choose which fits best into their IPM program.

"We're really proud of the Luna family as a force against powdery mildew and Botrytis," said Svea Boettcher, product manager. "It is a well-proven and continuously high-performing brand. At Bayer we are focused on supporting our growers and ensuring that they have the tools they need, such as Luna, to maintain vineyard health."

To learn more about powdery mildew and Botrytis management with the Luna family of fungicides, please contact your Bayer CropScience representative or visit https://www.cropscience.bayer.us/products/fungicides/luna.

Bayer is committed to bringing new technology and solutions for agriculture and non-agricultural uses. For questions concerning the availability and use of products, contact a local Bayer representative, or visit Crop Science, a division of Bayer, online at www.cropscience.bayer.us.

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About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2018, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of 39.6 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.6 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.us.

Contact:

Bayer Media Hotline, 1-862-404-5118, or

Tyler Schwertner
Crop Science, a division of Bayer
Email: [email protected]

Elizabeth Smith
Rhea + Kaiser
Tel: (630) 955-2601
Email: [email protected]

Find more information at www.cropscience.bayer.us.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

© 2019 Bayer Group. Always read and follow label instructions. Bayer, the Bayer Cross, Luna and Luna Experience are registered trademarks of Bayer. Luna is not registered in all states. Pristine and Vivando are registered trademarks of BASF. Quintec is registered trademark of Dow. Aframe and Inspire Super are trademarks of Syngenta. For additional product information, call toll-free 1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937) or visit our website at www.cropscience.bayer.us. Bayer CropScience LP, 800 North Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63167.

SOURCE Bayer