One of the main methods of combating potato pathogens is the chemical protection of plants with the help of pesticides. However, it is not safe enough: pesticides are non-specific, often toxic to animals and humans, and can cause resistance, which forces plants to be treated more often.
Scientists from the Federal Research Center "Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences" and specialists from the Siberian Federal University have developed a long-acting fungicidal preparation to combat potato pathogens. It protects potatoes from dangerous diseases and increases yields. The preparations are fungicides placed in a degradable matrix of a biopolymer synthesized by microorganisms mixed with birch flour. Once in the soil, such a shell begins to slowly decompose and gradually release the drug. Dosed supply ensures environmentally safe introduction of fungicides into the soil, long-term protection of plants from phytopathogens and eliminates the need for multiple repetitions of treatments. The results of the study are published in journal Pest Management Science.
The most common potato diseases are infections caused by microorganisms and fungi. Therefore, the developed drug was tested on the most common and harmful potato pathogens that cause Alternaria, black scab and late blight.
Long-acting preparations were studied both on potatoes grown in the climatic chamber of the laboratory and in the field, where they were introduced into the soil when potatoes were planted. Fungicides showed a good antifungal effect, suppressing the development of colonies of the most harmful pathogens of potato diseases. In addition, the use of the drug led to earlier germination and more active growth of potatoes against the background of a decrease in the area of plant damage. As a result, this increased the yield by more than 70%. The researchers also note that the use of developed fungicides reduced the content of nitrates in tubers by 12%.
“The action of standard compounds begins immediately after they are introduced into the soil, and quickly weakens. In the case of the developed fungicides, it takes about two weeks for the active destruction of the polymer base to begin and the release of active substances into the soil. The gradual destruction of the polymer base provides a long-term release of active substances and their entry into plants, which suppresses phytopathogens throughout the growing season. The effectiveness of such fungicidal preparations is comparable to commercial preparations, but due to lower phytotoxicity, it has a positive effect on the germination, growth and development of potatoes and significantly increases yield. The developed preparations not only suppress the development of diseases and increase the yield of potatoes, but also eliminate sudden releases of pesticides, for example, during irrigation or rain, due to a targeted and gradual release into the soil. In addition, the newly developed formulations reduce the application rates and thereby the risk of spread and accumulation of pesticides in the biosphere,” said Evgeny Kiselev, a researcher at the Institute of Biophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Technical Sciences.