For peaches, Pristine (Pyraclostrobin and Boscalid) was another I was looking at. It seems attractive to me with preharvest interval (PHI) of 0 days and a restricted entry interval (REI) of 12 hours.
Any word of wisdom on Pristine?
Thanks
From the tables posted it looks like Indar 2F for the win. I think iâll stick to what is working here in our site. Especially since PLC is a non-issue and probably treated best as dormant sprays anyways.
Also from the table you posted Rally (myclobutanil) also Immunox sold at home improvements stores, is as good or better where indar 2f is not. Mainly on rust spot / powdery mildew. So for me I will continue to use both.
I reseached this last year and it was basicly the same conclusion I came to but not so clearly as seeing it in a table. It sure would have been nice to have these tables then. Which would have saved me many hours of research.
I appricate you all further educating me.
Iâm kind of disappointed that our relience peach tree is a Belle of Georgia (white flesh). My wife really likes the Belle of Georgia sweet taste. So much so, She voluntold me she wants a row of them. I have 4 grafted on lovell this spring so o thatâs a start. I bought it as a #5 potted tree at tractor supply, labeled as relience but its clearly not a reliece.
The odd thing is my favorite daughter in law, went out to the orchard with my wife and I to see if we could find some tree ripe peaches doesnt like peaches at all but she really liked Belle of Georgia. Oh well i suppose if the ladies like bell of georgia, iâll plant a row of them. I have zero recorse on this tractor supply purchased peach.
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Pristine works well for me, but itâs very expensive and only one of its two ingredients works well against brown rot- although the other works against scab.
Hereâs a quick search from CHAT which I found interesting. Indar is no longer the the most affective compound as assessed here. Iâve been aware of Lunar Sensation for a while but never priced it. Unfortunately, not only are the new products significantly more expensive than Indar but you cannot buy them without a license.
Are their any new products as or nearly as effective as Indar- of any class?
ChatGPT said:
Yes â several newer fungicides match or even exceed the effectiveness of Indar (fenbuconazole, a Group 3 sterol inhibitor) against brown rot on stone fruit. These often include modern SDHIâQoI mixture products that offer powerful control even where Indar is less effective.
Top-performing alternatives to Indar
Merivon (fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin â FRAC 7+11)
- A premium premix combining an SDHI and a strobilurin.
- Has demonstrated excellent control of brown rot in trials even on SI-resistant Monilinia isolates cfgrower.com+10canr.msu.edu+10fruit.wisc.edu+10canr.msu.edu+2growingproduce.com+2fff.hort.purdue.edu+2.
- Often rated âExcellentâ, better than Indarâs âgoodâ level in some studies growingfruit.org.
Luna Sensation (fluopyram + trifloxystrobin â FRAC 7+11)
- Another high-performing SDHI + QoI premix labeled for stone fruit.
- Demonstrated control comparable or superior to Indar in field results canr.msu.eduplant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edugrowingproduce.com.
- Proven effective even in orchards with reduced sensitivity to Group 3 fungicides reddit.com+7canr.msu.edu+7onfruit.ca+7.
Miravis Duo / Luna Flex / Quadris Top (FRAC 3+7 or 3+11 premixes)
- Combines DMI (Group 3) fungicides with newer MOA groups:
- Miravis Duo: difenoconazole + pydiflumetofen (3+7)
- Luna Flex: difenoconazole + fluopyram (3+7)
- Quadris Top: difenoconazole + azoxystrobin (3+11)
- Offers strong efficacy comparable to Indar, especially when rotated properly within a spray program canr.msu.edu+6growingproduce.com+6fruit.wisc.edu+6.
Cevya (mefentrifluconazole â FRAC 3)
- A newer-generation DMI (Group 3) that has shown similar control to traditional SI fungicides, even in resistant situations when used at high rates onfruit.cafff.hort.purdue.edu.
At-a-glance comparison
| Fungicide / Product | Mode of Action | Brown Rot Efficacy | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indar (fenbuconazole) | FRAC 3 DMI | Good to very good | Standard SI weâre comparing against |
| Merivon | FRAC 7+11 SDHI+QoI | Excellent | Superior residual control, effective on SI-resistant strains |
| Luna Sensation | FRAC 7+11 SDHI+QoI | Excellent | Similar performance, low PHI |
| Miravis Duo / Luna Flex / Quadris Top | FRAC 3+7 or 3+11 | Very good to excellent | Flexible rotation mixes including a DMI |
| Cevya (mefentrifluconazole) | FRAC 3 DMI | Good to very good (at recommended high rate) | Newer SI with robust performance |
However, those results are in the commercial realm where resistance to SIâs is common. In home orchards, resistance is likely much slower to develop. To be safe and to get excellent results, it is best to tank mix Indar with Captan.
Summary Comparison
| Combo | Efficacy (Brown Rot) | Best Use | Resistance Risk | Cost (per acre) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indar alone | ModerateâGood | Low-pressure years | Medium (FRAC 3) | ~$15 |
| Indar + Captan | GoodâVery Good | Blossom + fruit stages | LowâModerate | ~$25â30 |
| Indar + Topsin M | Very Good (early stages) | Blossom blight control | High (FRAC 1) | ~$25â30 |
| Indar + Captan + Topsin M | Excellent if no resistance | Full-season control | Manageable in backyard | ~$35â40 |
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I should add that university guidelines for rating fungicides is extremely biased to commercial production where resistance heavily influences such ratings, while in most home orchard situations, resistance hasnât become a problem for most fungicides.
Iâm thinking that the ratings you posted about superior effectiveness of the most recently introduced materials is highly weighted by the resistance issue. Am I correct? Meaning that the evaluations are inaccurate for home orchard sites far away from commercial orchards and their resistant strains of brown rot.
ChatGPT said:
Yes â your thinking is exactly right.
The âsuperiorâ ratings for the latest fungicides in most university and extension charts are heavily influenced by the widespread DMI (Group 3) and MBC (Group 1) resistance in Monilinia populations from commercial orchard regions.
In a home orchard far from commercial production, the picture is very different:
Why new fungicides look âsuperiorâ in trials
- Indar (fenbuconazole) and Topsin M (thiophanate-methyl) used to be considered top-tier for brown rot.
- In commercial regions with repeated use for 20+ years:
- Widespread resistance to Topsin M (FRAC 1)
- Partial resistance to Indar and other DMIs (FRAC 3)
- University trials now automatically downgrade these products because they fail in those resistant orchards.
Meanwhile, newer SDHI+QoI premixes (Merivon, Luna Sensation, Pristine) have:
- No cross-resistance to older DMIs or MBCs
- Excellent residual activity and broad-spectrum coverage
- They shine in commercial orchards where the old standards are failing
Why home orchard ratings are different
- If your orchard is isolated and historically low-spray, local Monilinia likely remains fully sensitive to:
- Indar (fenbuconazole)
- Topsin M (thiophanate-methyl)
- Even propiconazole or tebuconazole
- In that situation:
- Indar + Captan or Indar + Topsin M can perform as well as Luna Sensation or Merivon
- Newer products mainly add resistance insurance, longer residual, and sometimes shorter PHIs, but not necessarily raw efficacy in your context
Cost & practical impact
- For a home orchard:
- $25â30/acre with Indar + Captan/Topsin can be as protective as $60+/acre Merivon or Luna Sensation.
- You only need 2â3 wellâtimed sprays for brown rot in most home scenarios.
- The main advantage of new materials would be:
- Convenience (fewer sprays if timing is poor)
- Resistance insurance (not critical in your setting)
Bottom line
You are correct:
- Most of the perceived superiority of modern premixes is because older chemistries are failing in commercial regions due to resistance.
- In a wellâmanaged home orchard, Indar + Captan or Indar + Topsin M still offers nearâtop efficacy at a fraction of the cost.
- Resistanceâdriven efficacy charts are not directly applicable to isolated, lowâspray home settings.
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I would add to the fungicide part that make sure the chemical is recently formulated. I bought Luna Sensation 2 years ago through the mail. It was stamped January 2017 production. A Google search will tell you that liquid pesticides are considered good for 2 years. I am still using it with success but if I was growing commercially, I would be using recent jugs of any chemicals.
Who sold it to you? Nutrien Ag Solutions and other commercial suppliers are going to have a quick turnover. NAS will ship, at least my branch does. They have multiple outlets over much of the country. Thereâs another big company that Olpea uses that has a little better prices.
2 Contender Peaches picked yesterday morning (August 1). Excellent flavor! Really sweet with a hint of acid to finish. My wife and both daughters said this was their favorite peach so far.
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Contender was my favorite so far also. I see a little scab, ours would have had scab a whole lot worse. If I wouldnt have sprayed our peaches, we wouldnât have any peaches, thatâs how bad.
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Topsin M - no restrictions in any state.
Greenbook is the first site I look at when investigating a new to me fungicide. It provides a good overview for me.
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When a fungicide begins to be resisted by fungus in commercial orchards the price drops, and, seemingly, so do restrictions. At any rate, Topsin M was a bit like the original Indar in being locally systemic helping to avoid wash off. I shouldnât be surprised if home growers who mixed it with Captan got as good a results as with Indar. It comes in smaller packaging.
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These were sprayed with Immunox/Sevin from shuck split until it got hot.
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Here is a good source for Topsin M AKA Talaris. Topsin 70 WSB Fungicide ( Talaris 70WSB ) - Martin's Produce Supplies
In the last couple weeks brown rot has shown up. Turns out it was just a couple weeks delayed and didnât magically disappear. Still, Iâm only losing most of the fruit to it, not ALL the fruit like I have the last couple years. Last pic below is the number of infected fruit and drops I picked up this morning.
Since Iâm only interested in fresh eating itâs still far more than I need.
I think Iâm going to try again next year. Do some dormant sprays, pony up for some indar and see what happens.
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If anyone is in Washington between i-5 exit 163 to 101, and willing to sell peaches, please let me know 
I only have a few this year from my couple year trees and for some reason, peaches and plums are the only things i feel like eating after surgery.
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Thanks Alan, I ordered from martinâs produce and will give it a try next year. I suspose iâll be going the indar + captan + topsin route for peaches anyways.
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Currious is you sprayed anything? If not that peach scab aint no where near as bad as what I have to treat for here.
If you are growing apples, Topsin isnât all that great at controlling any summer issues. Iâm usually spraying mixed fruit orchards, and although its legal for me to spray apples with a mix containing TM, it doesnât thrill me that if isnât very useful for what Iâm gunning for in apples.
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