Syngenta and AMIA team up

Mango growers are set to benefit from a new collaboration between Syngenta and industry peak body the Australian Mango Industry Association (AMIA).

The agreement will help expand communication between the two organisations, enabling Syngenta to better understand the mango industry and develop the products and solutions that will help growers improve orchard management and fruit quality in a sustainable way.

AMIA chairman Peter Delis said he was excited the body had formalised a relationship with Syngenta.

“It has the ability to make a real difference to the productivity of mango growers,” he said.

He said the partnership would ensure Syngenta was focusing its resources on finding the solutions to provide the most immediate benefit to mango growers.

The first example of grower benefits came last year when growers needed an effective fungicide to combat post-harvest diseases.

Syngenta territory manager Charissa Rixon worked closely with AMIA to make Syngenta’s Scholar fungicide available to mango growers.

AMIA industry development manager Trevor Dunmall said growers endured a tough season last year and, without Scholar, many would have struggled to effectively control some post-harvest diseases.

Scholar is a post harvest fungicide that prevents diseases such as anthracnose, stem-end rot and dendritic spot from affecting mangoes.

It is also the only product currently able to control dendritic spot and stem-end rot, making it one of the most broad-spectrum fungicides ever developed for post harvest use. The formal agreement will include a structured program of scheduled meetings including quarterly reviews.