Blossom Protect, Botector get EPA OK to increase storage time

Vista, California-based Westbridge Agricultural Products’ has received Environmental Protection Agency approval for an extended storage period on the Blossom Protect and Botector product labels. The new labels extend the storage time from 10 months to 18 months at room temperature (47° F to 68° F) and from 24 months to 30 months at cold temperature (34° F to 46 °F).

This extended shelf life gives growers more control and flexibility with application timings to effectively control disease. “Blossom Protect and Botector contain highly effective live microorganisms,” said Tina Koenemann, president of Westbridge. “If a grower misses an application window or is growing multiple crops with different application timings, this extended period allows for them to continue to use the products longer, and still deliver effective and consistent results.”

Blossom Protect is a biopesticide used to control fire blight in pome fruit, and walnut blight in walnuts. Botector is a biofungicide approved for use in the control of botrytis in grapes, berries and tomatoes, anthracnose, phomopsis and rhizopus rots in berries, Eastern filbert blight in hazelnuts, and blossom blight and brown rot in stone fruit and almonds.

The mode of action for Blossom Protect and Botector is competitive exclusion. Beneficial microorganisms out-compete disease pathogens for space and nutrients, robbing them of essential nutrients and space needed for growth. These beneficial microorganisms prevent disease pathogens from entering the plant by effectively colonizing plant surfaces and creating a protective barrier between the plant and potential disease.

Botector and Blossom Protect can be used in both organic and conventional programs. They are essential tools for Integrated Pest Management programs because when used in rotation with other chemicals, they reduce the potential for resistance to develop. Both products contain naturally occurring ubiquitous microorganisms exempt from maximum residue levels, making them ideal products to use when pesticide residues are a concern.

Botector and Blossom Protect are manufactured by bio-ferm GmbH of Tulln, Austria, and are exclusively distributed in the United States by Westbridge Agricultural Products.

Westbridge his a manufacturer and distributor of plant nutrients and crop protection products since 1982.

For questions about Botector, Blossom Protect or the Westbridge product line, call (800) 876-2767 or visit www.westbridge.com.