Switch® 62.5 WG fungicide has received approval from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) for new crop usages on vegetables and herbs. Switch is now registered for use in California on leafy vegetables (except spinach), beans (dry and succulent except cowpeas), all berries (including raspberries), herbs (dried and fresh), and Swiss chard. Switch protects these crops from a wide array of diseases including Sclerotinia rot, Alternaria blight, Anthracnose, Botrytis fruit rot and gray mold.

Additional changes to the Switch label approved by the CDPR include a 30-day plant-back-interval on crops not registered for use with Switch. “The 30-day plant-back-interval will provide growers with increased flexibility when it comes to making their planting decisions,” said David Laird, fungicide brand manager for Syngenta. Previously, growers were restricted to a one year plant-back-interval.

“The California registration of Switch on leafy vegetables, especially lettuce, is welcome news for growers,” said Laird. “Leafy vegetable growers now have an important new tool for disease control, which will help increase their crop’s quality and yield.” Switch will help protect leafy vegetables from Alternaria leaf spot, basal rot, gray mold, Sclerotinia rot and Septoria leaf spot while also suppressing powdery mildew.

A new application method has also been approved for onions and garlic. The CDPR approved the use of in-furrow application on onions and garlic.

Switch is a prepack mixture of two active ingredients, cyprodinil and fludioxonil. Cyprodinil has systemic action and is taken up into the cuticle and waxy layers of leaves and fruit and distributed to other parts of the plant. Fludioxonil, the residual component of Switch, stays on the leaf and fruit surfaces to provide contact activity. Switch attacks pathogens at four different stages in the pathogen life-cycle, providing long-lasting disease control.

Switch provides growers with effective disease control in an environmentally compatible, easy-to-use formulation. Switch has demonstrated no cross-resistance among pathogen strains, allowing it to fit well in integrated pest management programs. It is compatible with most commonly used fungicides and insecticides. For more information about Switch fungicide, contact your local Syngenta sales representative or visit Syngenta at www.syngentacropprotection.com or www.farmassist.com.

Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Sales in 2005 were approximately $8.1 billion. Syngenta employs some 19,000 people in over 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT). Further information is available at www.syngenta.com.

Switch® and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company.