On 22/05/18 08:42, David Rance wrote:
In message , Jeff Layman
writes

On 21/05/18 20:54, David Rance wrote:

In message , Jeff Layman
writes

On 21/05/18 16:41, David Rance wrote:
Can anyone tell me if Mancozeb or Captan are still available or have
they been banned by the EU?
For the first time I seem to have a bad infection of anthracnose on
my
vines. Advice on treatment seems contradictory. Some say that sulphur
treatments work, others say they don't! Today I've sprayed with Bordeaux
Mixture but I'm not convinced of its efficacy.
David

Neither mancozeb nor captan are approved for home use.

But I always used Dithane which is 70% Mancozeb (according to the
empty
packet I have here).

Bordeaux Mixture is also not approved (was it an old container you
use?),

Bordeaux Mixture is still readily available here in France.

I forgot that you were in France. Of course, the French have always
interpreted EU law to suit themselves. I think you will find that
Bordeaux Mixture is not approved in the EU for *amateur* use. But it
still may be for professional growers, and I understand that there are
a few of those growing vines in France.

Yes, it has been banned but there was such an uproar from vine growers
that the last I heard was that they were going to rethink the ban. I
wouldn't be surprised if the same weren't true in Germany. I can well
remember staying in a wine area on the Mosel some years ago where they
had alerts for when mildews were about to strike and a light plane would
go back and forth along the banks of the river spraying Bordeaux
Mixture. Having suffered peronospora (downy mildew) myself on my tiny,
tiny vineyard I can testify to its destructive power where, if not
treated, one loses the whole crop.

I'm in Normandy which is not a wine growing area and so it was several
years before peronospora struck here. But if I were living in a wine
growing area I could be prosecuted for *not* spraying.

When you say "readily available", do you mean that in the sense of what
we would call a garden centre (or maybe supermarket) here, or is it an
agricultural merchant selling in larger quantities?

Both!

However, I'm now stuck with another disease which threatens my whole
crop and I have nothing left with which to fight it. Can you suggest a
substitute?

In case I've misdiagnosed, here is a photo of an affected leaf:

http://www.rance.org.uk/chameau/anthracnose.jpg

It does look like it, unfortunately.

I spent some time looking up the situation regarding Bordeaux Mixture in
the EU, and it is confusing to say the least! I came across this
newspaper article which goes some way to explaining the confusion:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/farming/18th-century-pesticide-survives-for-another-year-827084.html

The last few paragraphs sum up an EU "fudge" which seems only too common
with regard to chemical treatments. Mind you, I am a bit surprised to
see that of the two member states which voted against reapproval, one of
them was France!

If you search at that link I gave you for fungicides (dropdown in bottom
box) you will find quite a few hits, but unfortunately they are all for
use on ornamental plants, not those with an edible crop (other than the
Bayer copper oxychloride product). Of course, what you do with the
product once you have it is another thing entirely.

--

Jeff