Mar 21, 2016

FRAC creates new group for Fracture fungicide

The Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC) has assigned Fracture fungicide from FMC to a newly created FRAC Group. When FMC launched Fracture fungicide in 2015, the broad spectrum, biological fungicide formulated with ProBLAD technology had such a unique mode of action that it could not be classified by current FRAC Group codes, the committee said.

FRAC codes are created by the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee to group fungicide active ingredients by modes and sites of action to prolong the effectiveness of at-risk fungicides and to limit crop losses should resistance occur. The FRAC codes also help growers and PCAs identify which products to rotate to maintain effective disease control and minimize resistance development.

The committee recently added the new FRAC Group M12 for Fracture fungicide and its active ingredient, the lupine extract called BLAD. Like other M group classifications, Fracture fungicide has “multi-site contact activity” and is considered a low risk for development of resistance, according to the FRAC publication.

Fracture fungicide works on contact by binding to the fungal cell and deforming the chitin, disrupting nutrient absorption and inhibiting fungal cell production, according to FRAC. This action tears a hole in the cell wall and ultimately destroys the fungal cell; within eight hours, the fungal cell is dead, the committee said.

Fracture fungicide is labeled for the prevention and control of powdery mildew, botrytis and brown rot blossom blight. It is a patented fungicide labeled for use in the United States on almonds, grapes, strawberries and tomatoes. With a one-day pre-harvest interval and a four-hour re-entry interval, Fracture fungicide can be applied up to five times per season, the committee said.

Ecotoxicology studies conducted to meet regulatory requirements have shown Fracture fungicide is nontoxic to adult bees, bee larvae, beneficial parasitic wasps and predatory mites, according to the committee.

To learn more about Fracture fungicide, visit the FMC website.