Two CAAR supplier members have launched new products this fall, giving retailers and their customers more choices and tools to use in their crop production plans. Read more to learn about Saltro^TM, a seed treatment from Syngenta Canada to defend against blackleg, and CENTURO^®, a nitrogen stabilizer from Koch Agronomic Services that allows for earlier anhydrous ammonia applications.

Saltro Launches at the Syngenta Canada Blackleg Symposium

The Syngenta Canada Blackleg Symposium was held in Winnipeg in September. The half-day event featured presentations from Canadian and Australian experts who presented their research, information and experiences managing blackleg, and how Saltro^TM fits into a blackleg management plan.

“This is a seed treatment that is targeted toward reducing initial blackleg infection. As a scientist working on blackleg, I view the cotyledon into the 2-4 leaf stage as the most crucial stage to reducing infection,” said Dilantha Fernando, department of plant science, University of Manitoba.

From his team’s research, Dr. Fernando says Saltro^TM has potential to be very helpful in reducing inoculum, which will slow the adaptation of the pathogen and prevent current disease resistance genes from breaking down.

“The recent past has shown that as we know, genes may break down. This is an additional tool to slow that breakdown in a sustainable way,” he says.
Justine Cornelsen, blackleg specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, presented on the current state of blackleg in Canada and shared some words of wisdom for retailers looking to help their customers manage blackleg more efficiently.

“A producer has 50 or more big decisions to make, so one single blackleg decision may be very low on that list,” she said. “The more your agronomy team has done their homework on race testing and selecting varieties that group to a virulence gene in the field, the better the service to the producer. There are several layers of complexity to consider.”

Stay tuned for future issues of The Communicator magazine to learn more about how retailers are helping their customers to understand blackleg resistance and make the best product selections for their ROI.

CENTRUO Nitrogen Stabilizer Now Available in Canada

Koch Agronomic Services has launched its next-generation nitrification inhibitor for anhydrous ammonia and UAN in Canada as of September of this year.

“The primary reason growers will want to apply CENTURO^® is that it helps keep the nitrogen in the ammonium form three times longer than untreated ammonia,” said Dr. Rigas Karamanos, senior agronomist for Koch in Canada. “With such a narrow window for anhydrous applications, being able to apply fall anhydrous ammonia earlier can make a big difference for farmers.”

Koch says that with fall-applied anhydrous ammonia, the longer window of protection means growers can begin applying two to three weeks earlier than normal when soil temperatures are 15 degrees Celsius and dropping.

CENTURO^® also fits into 4R Nutrient Stewardship framework by keeping nitrogen in the right place where the crop can best utilize it.

“Our global team of chemists and agronomists working together with growers and university researchers have spent about a decade developing this technology to make growers’ nitrogen investments more efficient,” said Michael Berry, director of product marketing for Koch. “The operational efficiencies of CENTURO benefits both retailers and growers alike.”

Click here to read more about new product registration in The Communicator magazine, featuring input from Rigas Karamanos.