Snowdrop cultivation advice

[Martin Baxendale]

http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/applicant_advice.asp?id=860


This website only shows uses for dipping fruit, but these products have many other crops spraying uses. Bavistin, at the top of the list, is the one most commonly available.

[Hans J]

Martin :

Bavistin is not longer aviable in Germany

Hans

[Martin Baxendale]

Googling carbendazim will find various trade names.

[Hans J]

Martin ,we have here in Germany only two pruducts with Carbendazim :

Aagrano UW 2000
Harvesan

both content Carbendazim -but are only available for farmers- not for private gardeners
Benomy ( Benlate ) is since long tim not aviable

[Martin Baxendale]

Martin ,we have here in Germany only two pruducts with Carbendazim :

Aagrano UW 2000
Harvesan

both content Carbendazim -but are only available for farmers- not for private gardeners
Benomy ( Benlate ) is since long tim not aviable

Hans, how good are you at pretending to be a farmer?

[Hans J]

Martin , sorry there is no chance here in Germany ....you have to fill out a lot of papers before you buy such things ....and this fungicides are only aviable in big packs !

I try in this time to get informations about figthing against Stagonospora - I have written a lot of mail to different offices ( p.e. University of Hohenheim , agrar culture ministerium and some others ....)
I have sent them a lot of questions together with Stagonospora pics from Mark ( with his agreement )
...now I wait !

[gote]

We certainly do live longer now. However, this is not necessarily due to the banning of some chemicals. These chemicals were unavailable in medieval times and we did not live very long in those days.

Why was Benlate replaced? low effect or believed toxicity?

Göte

[Martin Baxendale]

Why was Benlate replaced? low effect or believed toxicity?
Göte

I think it was less effective than carbendazim against a range of fungal diseases, so was superseded by carbendazim. Also, I recall there were problems with fungal diseases, especially botrytis, developing resistance to benlate as it had been used for so long and so extensively. There may also have been toxicity issues. I still can't get over the fact that carbendazim is considered okay to dip apples so they don't rot on their way to supermarkets, but not okay for selling to gardeners.

[gote]

Thank you Martin,
I have in the meantime done some research.
Benomyl works by converting to Karbendazim.
They work systemic meaning that it is possible to spray leaf and kill fungi at the roots.
Dupont invented benomyl and sold it as Benlate. One lot got contaminated with a weedkiller and this caused enormous litigation.
Later there were some birth defects that were blamed on the substance These were so rare that it was not possible to verify cause and effect.
Considering the enormous use of the product , the risk must have been extremely small if there indeed were any.
Benomyl is toxic to earthworms and normal agricultural use may reduce the population by half or so.
Finally Dupont gave up. The litigation cost more than the revenue from the product..
Benomyl is produced by 18 producers in China, 3 in India and 3 in Turkey.
I assume that in Turkey one can probably buy it over the counter
One brand is called Benokil and can be had in 400g packages containing 50% active substance. Wholesale price is 4:80 US$/kg
Wether it can be imported to and used in other countries is a different question.
Göte.

On a different angle:
Hunters usually need a hunting license. In these days this is not given without an examination. The Hunter to be must prove knowledge about existing laws, show minimum marksmanship etc.
The same is for boats over a certain size. A permit is needed and the skipper must show knowledge re laws, navigation etc.
It is of course the same for cars.
It would not be difficult to issue licenses that allowed the use of the chemicals in small amounts to those willing to take a course and a test.
What is needed is a will from authorities but some of these seem to be taken over by people who are enemies to human endeavour.
Göte   

[Hans J]

Göte ,

Here in Germany you must have a proof to buy some chemicals for gardening - it is so called :

Sachkundenachweis ( sorry I dont know the rigth translation )
(edit by M: Sachkundenachweis  would equate to "evidence of Expertise" in this context, I think )
If you have it not so you can buy only chemicals which are free aviable for all gardeners
 
To Benomyl : it is not against all fungus :
It works not against : Phytium, Alternaria, wrong meldew, Pythophtora.
It works well against : Botrytis,real meldew, Septoria, Colletotrichum, Rhizoctonia, Sclerotinia, Verticillium ....and many more
The real advantage from Benomyl was that it works systemic - the most of all other earler funcides works only protectiv or locosystemic - and this older fungicides was much more danger ( cupper , Quecksilber,) there was so nice things like Captan,TMTD,Dexon .....

Hans

[Alan_b]

Has anybody tried sulphur?  It is one of the few fungicides left that you can still buy.  I used to use a liquid spray of sulphur dissolved in fatty acids but I cannot find that anymore.  I would spray any bulbs I found that were damaged (eaten).  It certainly didn't harm my snowdrops, although I do not know if it did any good, because I only used it as a precautionary measure.

[mark smyth]

Alan some of the organic insecticides smell srongly of sulphur

[Susan Band]

Since we are still talking pesticides here, can I point out that anyone can get a pesticide certificate in this country by doing the appropriate 2 day course. It is not too difficult and can be done at most outdoor colleges and if there is quite a few of you  can get a private person in to take it. Draw back is that it costs about £150 each. This then legally allows you to buy pesticides, however there is still the problem of buying them in small quantities.
Bye the way, the weed killer paraquat was taken off the market in Europe in Dec. 2007.
Susan

[mark smyth]

I was told Vy-nil works gainst Narcissus fly grubs. Unfortunately it's due to be removed from sale also

[David Nicholson]

Just been given two full packets of sachets of Benlate by a neighbour who's moving away.