The seasons can be long and the opportunities to gather few and far between.
Rarer still, do viticulturists from across the breadth of Australia’s growing regions get the chance to meet face-to-face.
Syngenta coordinated such an occasion, in July, dedicated to them and in part to thank nearly 100 guests for taking a keen interest in three pipeline Syngenta fungicides.
Among the attendees was Michael Zerk, a viticulturalist with Nutrien Ag based in Padthaway in the southeast of South Australia. He said the day was a consolidation of several years of groundwork by Syngenta with its latest innovation, Seeker Duo fungicide, now available for early season control of powdery mildew.
“Syngenta’s Learning Centres, demonstration sites and technical training had already built great awareness leading up to registration of Seeker Duo. That lead time is really important for building confidence in new products,” Mr Zerk said.
He and his colleague Liz Bryson compile spray programs for around 1500ha of vineyards from Padthaway to Coonawarra and review and advise programs for a number of vineyards in the region.
“Seeker Duo fits easily into our spray programs for this season in blocks or varieties where we need something good early on for powdery mildew,” he said.
“We can do one early spray at the 5-8 leaf stage and the long residual activity is critical if we have frost sprinklers on, experience a run of dewy nights or its too wet to spray at shorter intervals.
To call the event a product launch might downplay the value Mr Zerk, and others, were able to derive from the day, given their professional curiosity and desire to know what’s coming next.
“Keybri Ultra will also slot right into our spray programs once registration comes through,” he adds.
“Biologicals such as Taegro take a bit more time to get market confidence, but having multiple targets on a label always helps. Biologicals are an important category for the industry.
“R&D companies like Syngenta are critical to our industry; Syngenta has always had leading technical staff and probably also lead the way in field demonstrations as well.
“I always like having a chat with Brandy [Syngenta Technical Services Lead, Dr Brandy Rawnsley] and I know if I’ve got technical questions there’s three or four people I can call within Syngenta. And it’s not just one product, we could build a complete spray program with Syngenta products. We’ve never had an issue with product quality either.”
Mr Zerk says the day felt like an industry event, with a whole range of resellers and corporates attending.
Helping to mark the occasion were also Syngenta ANZ managing director, David Van Ryswyk, and Syngenta Global Head of Crop Protection Marketing, Ioana Tudor, all the way from Basel, Switzerland. Their attendance was applauded, even if the stars of the show remained the local experts.
Viticulturalist with Elders at Roseworthy in South Australia Felicity Cox said technical staff are very knowledgeable and always very responsive to questions.
Mrs Cox looks after around 50 growers over 1000ha of vineyards in the Barossa and Adelaide Hills region.
“New products and new chemistry are always good for growers and Syngenta are great at building interest in and understanding of products before they hit the market,” she said.
“We’ve put Seeker Duo in this year’s spray programs. It’ll go on at about the 5-leaf stage and it’ll be important for robust early control – it’s priced perfectly in the market.
“Even though Keybri Ultra and Taegro aren’t registered in time for this season, they’ve still got a lot of people talking about those products.
“Syngenta is a fabulous company to work with. They really do a great job of taking you along on the journey with their products,” Mrs Cox adds.
