Nigel Bartels is a Horticultural Consultant with Serve-Ag in Huonville, Tasmania. Nigel’s beat spans multiple growing regions across Tasmania. An expert in pome- and stone-fruit crops, Nigel specialises in cherries and apples. 

“Cherries are a high value export crop,” says Nigel, “and we’re looking to produce the best and the cleanest product we can. So, the more options we can have in our arsenal to help grow the best cherries over a very long growing season, 16 weeks, which is twice as long as some areas on the mainland, the better.” 

New pre-emergent residual registrations for Valor® herbicide in fallows and prior to planting summer crops greatly broadens crop rotation flexibility and boosts efforts in combating herbicide resistance.

Sumitomo Chemical has announced that, starting June 1, it will begin the operations of its Chemistry Research Centre (“CRC”), a synthesis research building newly built on the premises of its Health & Crop Sciences Research Laboratory in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.

The CRC is intended to serve as Sumitomo Chemical's new global R&D base principally for discovery and innovation of crop protection chemicals and household & public hygiene insecticides. The CRC building was completed in April 2018 and has been in preparation for the start of its operation.

14 December 2017

Notice of Voluntary Recall: Motac 500 SC

Sumitomo Chemical Australia advises that effective immediately all batches of Motac 500 SC manufactured prior to August 2017 are voluntarily recalled.

This product conformed to manufacturing specifications at the time of manufacture, but it has since been discovered that over time the viscosity of the product has increased to the level where it may be difficult to pour, thus presenting some usability challenges.

 ‘In the past two years a number of growers have noticed a lot of soft stonefruit’, says Barry Kerr, Sumitomo Chemical regional manager for central Victoria and Tasmania. ‘Last year can largely be explained by the amount of rain we had through late August, September and October. This year the exact cause is harder to discern but certainly the amount of rain, possibly at the wrong time, has played a part. In addition, it seems that this year there is a heavy fruit load and if the thinning isn’t spot on we could see a lot of undersized fruit’.

Peter Cole, Sumitomo Chemical Australia’s Field Research and Development Biologist, was recently recognised with the Sector President Award. This international award recognises outstanding contributions from AgroSolutions Division staff and behaviours that are in keeping with the ‘Sumitomo Spirit’. Candidates for the award are nominated by region heads and then approved by senior global management.

It has been just over a year since Sumitomo Chemical Australia launched its renowned herbicide Valor® 500WG to cane growers. Valor can either be used with knockdown herbicides to improve broadleaved weed control, or at higher rates for residual control in sugar cane.

Intuity is a new Strobilurin fungicide from Sumitomo that provides excellent control of White Mould in green beans and lettuce, and for the control of Blossom Blight and Brown Rot in stone fruit . Intuity is a Group 11 fungicide, its active ingredient is Mandestrobin, a unique Strobilurn commercially developed by Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. Intuity has a non-scheduled SC formulation which makes it easier to use and handle. It also boasts a patented latex formulation specifically developed to aid with rainfastness.