Synergistic Agents to Reduce Fungicide Resistance and Health Risks

The growth of agricultural productivity in the past century can be partly attributed to an intense focus on pest management, including the development of fungicides and bactericides. Agricultural history contains many examples of fungi or bacteria causing complete crop loss. The use of fungicides and bactericides can prevent such catastrophic losses and maximize yield, however, these benefits come with some risks. The early fungicides, developed in the 1950's and 1960's, have been associated with health risks to people and the environment, resulting in increased regulatory restrictions. The newer fungicides introduced during and after the 1970's have an improved safety profile, however, fungi resistance is threatening their long term viability. A similar resistance threat faces bactericides used to prevent bacterial diseases. We have identified formulations that show strong fungicidal and bactericidal efficacy alone and in combination with existing conventional fungicides. The benefit of these combined formulations is three-fold: (1) the older fungicides with more prominent health risks can be used at much lower concentrations, (2) the newer, safer fungicides can be enhanced to perform against the resistant strains and (3) the overall level of fungicide application can be reduced. Therefore, these combined formulations can mitigate the risks of fungicide use while maintaining performance.