In Brazil, more and more fungicides are used to prevent and control black spot of citrus. In this situation, Basf also introduced Tutor (active ingredient: copper hydroxide), which has both preventive and bactericidal effects.
The manufacturer said that the product is unique for containing copper hydroxide, which can control fungal spores and be used for resistance management. In addition, the product can also be used to control the pathogens of coffee stripe, potato late blight and tomato early blight.
Citrus black spot is caused by the pathogenic fungus Phytophthora. Although the disease will not affect the taste of fruit, it will cause black spots on the peel of fruit, affect the appearance of the product, depreciate the value of the product and affect the income of the growers.
Once pathogens are found, the best solution is to use chemicals to treat them and start using related crop protection products. Basf says Tutor aims to reduce the cost of treatment and possible chemical contamination, because the fungicide Tutor works in a preventive form, effectively avoiding the disease. Currently, citrus growers have been trying to reduce the use of chemical pesticides in orchards, which will reduce the use of pesticide products per hectare by half as much as 10 years ago.
