Coming Soon Union™ Fungicide SC from PBI-Gordon: A Powerful Tool for Battling Turf Diseases

PBI-Gordon will soon bring a powerful new fungicide to market in Union™ Fungicide SC. We spoke with Jim Goodrich, Product Manager for Fungicides, Insecticides and Plant Growth Regulators at PBI-Gordon, to get all of the details about this new tool for controlling turf diseases.

What is Union™ Fungicide SC?

Union Fungicide SC is a broad-spectrum, flowable liquid formulation of two active ingredients. It’s currently being registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by PBI-Gordon. This product is proposed to preventatively control 21 turf diseases.

What are the active ingredients in Union?

Azoxystrobin for broad-spectrum performance, including excellent patch disease control, and cyazofamid, the active ingredient that gives Segway Fungicide SC unsurpassed Pythium disease control.

What are the modes of action in Union?

Union will feature two modes of action, derived from a proprietary combination of Quinone outside inhibitor (QoI) and Quinone inside inhibitor (QiI) chemistry in FRAC groups 11 and 21 – two FRAC groups with no known cross resistance.

What diseases will Union control?

Union will be effective in the preventative and curative treatment of Pythium diseases (including blight, damping off, root dysfunction, root rot), brown patch, anthracnose, cool-weather brown patch, yellow patch, fairy ring, gray leaf spot, red thread, summer patch, and rhizoctonia. In addition, other diseases will be listed on the product label.

On which grass species will Union be labeled for use?

Union is proposed to be labeled for use on all cool-season and warm-season turfgrasses, including Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescues, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, bentgrass, Bermudagrass (common or hybrid), Bahiagrass, Buffalograss, Centipedegrass, kikuyugrass, seashore paspalum, St. Augustinegrass (including improved varieties of St. Augustinegrass) and Zoysiagrass.

Where will Union be labeled for use?

Union is proposed to be labeled for use in the following areas:

• Golf greens, tees, fairways and roughs
• Sod farms
• Seed farms
• College and professional sports fields
• Athletic fields
• Residential lawns
• Commercial lawns
• Parks

At what rate will Union be applied?

The proposed use rate for Union runs from 2.9 fl. oz./1,000 sq. ft. to 5.75 fl. oz./1,000 sq. ft., which will deliver the full power of the two active ingredients.

What will be the maximum use rate for Union?

The maximum annual use rate for Union is 17.25 fl. oz. per 1,000 sq. ft. The proposed maximum application rate is 5.75 fl. oz. of product per 1,000 sq. ft. (which equates to 250 fl. oz. or 1.96 gal. of product per acre - that’s equivalent to 1 lb. cyazofamid active ingredient per acre and 0.55 lb. azoxystrobin active ingredient per acre).

There are two additional label restrictions that users need to be aware of:

• Do not apply more than 5 lb. of azoxystrobin ai/acre/year.
• Do not apply more than 3 lb. cyazofamid ai/acre/year.

How will Union be packaged?

Union will be available in a 2 X 2.5 gallon case.

Are there any temperature restrictions or range restrictions with Union?

No – there are no temperature restrictions on Segway/cyazofamid or azoxystrobin, the active ingredients in Union.

When will Union be available for sale?

We expect that Union will receive EPA registration and be available in 2020. Because its registration is still pending, Union is not yet available for use or sale.