From Clemson Fruit Pathologist Dr. Guido Schnabel and UGA Fruit Pathologist Dr. Phil Brannen.
Unfortunately, there appears to be a shortage of Captan products this year. For our fruit crop producers this may result in a change of strategy if and when reserves run out. Strawberry growers fortunately have the option to use Thiram for basic gray mold and anthracnose control. The two products are basically equal in efficacy but thiram has a slight edge over captan for gray mold control, but it is a bit weaker against anthracnose.
Peach growers rely on captan for cover sprays. These early to mid-season applications manage green fruit rot and possibly anthracnose. Fortunately, during bloom and preharvest we use different chemistries at our disposal listed in the spray guide. As we mention often, we prefer to hold other chemical classes, those for which Monilinia fructicola (brown rot) is most likely to develop resistance, for use in the pre-harvest sprays. During captan shortage, we recommend application of two applications of a QoI/SDHI (FRAC 7+11) product, such as Luna Sensation, Merivon, Pristine or Quadris Top (FRAC 3+11), for cover sprays as needed this year. Along with any remaining captan products, we hope that this will help us to limp along till next year, while still providing excellent control of cover spray pathogens. Sulfur alone in cover sprays, though sufficient for scab control, is not efficacious for green fruit rot or other diseases; if using a QoI/SDHI (7+11) product, these will control scab as well as green fruit rot, so sulfur would not be necessary for these applications. As always, please contact your local extension agent should you have questions.
The South Carolina Grower 