Pesticide Shortage Updates
Hi everyone,
I want to provide a quick update about the pesticide shortage
issue, especially for herbicides as the industry is in a critical time for fall
weed management. I am sure most of you realize
the issue of the shortage of some key herbicides in the market right now, which
can be stressful and are likely to distract your regular weed management program
and other farming activities.
I am sure the questions you will ask are: “why don’t
they have those products? Why can’t they make more right away?”. Simply
because the company doesn’t have sufficient raw materials to make those products!
A lot of raw materials are produced outside of Canada and there are many
reasons why those raw materials can not be produced and shipped to manufacturers
on time to meet the demand (you all know the reasons why, and this is not the
discussion point for today).
The purpose of this post is to provide some updates on
some key products we use in wild blueberries and some tips to help address this
issue.
Updates on Products
*Things can change quickly so please still
check with your retailer to know the most up-to-date information about the
products you need!
Herbicides:
· Ignite,
Chateau, Kerb and Venture are four products which are completely out this fall.
There are chances they will be back next spring, but we don’t know that for
sure! Please contact your retailer and make your orders as needed!
· Sinbar
is out
· Chikara
is in good supply
· Callisto
is available
· Poast
Ultra is available (an alternative product of Venture)
· Option
is available
Fungicides:
The industry doesn’t need fungicides until next spring
and fungicides are in a better situation than herbicides. A simple reason for
that is that herbicides require more different kinds of raw materials to formulate
the final products. However, we still encourage you to plan and make orders
with your retailer as needed.
Quick tips
Here are a couple of quick tips to help growers. Those
tips are not going to be as effective as chemicals, but sometimes, they might
and could save you some money!
· Scouting
your fields and understanding your weed composition. This information will help
you to make a better weed management program. You have your regular spraying
program each time, but the lack of some regular products you used in the past
could cause panic. We don’t want you to feel you absolutely need a product just
because you use it before! A good example is Kerb. Do you really need it? Can you
use other alternative products?
· I
also encourage you to read Perennia’s Pest Management Guide where we list all available
pesticides for the wild blueberry industry. The list can give you some
alternative products to use: https://www.perennia.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Wild-Blueberry-Pest-Guide-2022_FINAL.pdf.
· Proactive
planning and frequent communication with ag retail sales staff will be critical.
Call your retailer to get updates on the products you need! They are the best
person to contact and growers working closely with their ag retailer continue
to be the way that the available supply can be where it needs to be when it
needs to be there! If you are being as precise on quantities as you can be,
then this is important so the product can be allocated and supplied
appropriately! Sometimes you might be lucky as someone might return a couple of
jars to the store but that’s not always the case! Especially for spring
management (diseases and weeds), we are also going fight with unknown spring
weather and disease pressure. So please plan, know what you need and contact
your retailer and let them know how many you need!
· Lastly,
we are here to help you! If you need me to go to your fields and help you identify
the pest issues so you know better what to order, I am happy to do so. Contact
me if you need it before it is too late! Hugh Lyu, Wild Blueberry Specialist, hlyu@perennia.ca; 902-890-0472.
Have a great weekend!
Hugh