New Zealand Food Safety has approved a new product that protects potato seed tubers from a variety of fungal diseases.
Vibrance Premium contains fungicides sedaxane and fludioxonil. It can be used to control black scurf, silver scurf, black dot, gangrene, and fusarium dry rot in potato seed tubers. It also suppresses common scab.
“Our growing potato industry is worth about $1.47 billion, so this broad-spectrum product will be a welcome option for growers,” says New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle.
“After receiving the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) approval and the necessary supporting information from the applicant, we approved the product within the 5-day statutory timeframe.”
New Zealand Food Safety has completed a thorough science-based assessment of Vibrance Premium and is satisfied that all risks to food safety, trade, animal welfare, plant safety, and biosecurity have been managed under the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) Act.
This follows the EPA approval of Vibrance Premium last week under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO) Act. Products cannot be registered under the ACVM Act until they have an approval under the HSNO Act.
“This is just one of the many products that New Zealand Food Safety has made available for farmers, growers and vets over the past 12 months,” says Mr Arbuckle
