PHOSGUARD CU

PHOSGUARD CU is the copper-carrying grade, a liquid that pairs phosphite with copper for crops facing the heaviest disease pressure. Copper complements the phosphite’s defence activity and, as a nutrient, corrects deficiency and supports the lignification that builds stronger tissue. The combination is aimed at vines, olives, citrus, and other woody and perennial crops where robust, systemic plant-health support is the priority. It integrates into foliar and fertigation programmes through the high-pressure parts of the season.

Key Benefits

• Strengthens the plant’s natural defences. Phosphite primes phytoalexin and phenolic synthesis and cell-wall reinforcement, so the crop meets pressure with its own strengthened responses.
• Reinforces resilience to oomycete pressure. The phosphite is directly unfavourable to organisms such as Phytophthora and the downy mildews, and the copper complements that defence profile.
• Corrects copper deficiency and supports cell-wall strength. Copper is supplied in available form to address shortfalls and, as a cofactor in lignin synthesis, to help build firmer, more rigid tissue.
• Moves systemically through the crop. Full translocation carries the activity to new shoots and tissues the spray never directly contacts.

How It Works

PHOSGUARD CU delivers phosphite, the phosphonate ion, which crops absorb quickly and move systemically through both xylem and phloem after a foliar spray or fertigation application. Inside the plant, phosphite acts in two complementary ways that depend on concentration. At higher local concentrations it is directly unfavourable to oomycete organisms such as Phytophthora, Pythium, and the downy mildews, slowing their growth and energy metabolism. At lower concentrations it primes the crop’s own defence system, triggering the synthesis of phytoalexins and other phenolic compounds, reinforcing cell walls with lignin and suberin, and raising the activity of defence-related enzymes. Because it is fully systemic, the protection reaches new growth and tissues the spray never directly contacted.

Copper contributes on two fronts. As a nutrient it is a cofactor in lignin synthesis, helping build stronger, more rigid cell walls, and it corrects copper deficiency in prone crops. Copper also complements the phosphite’s defence activity, which is why this grade is positioned for woody and perennial crops under heavy fungal and bacterial pressure.

When to Use PHOSGUARD CU

PHOSGUARD CU is built for the high-pressure parts of the season on woody and perennial crops.

• Apply PHOSGUARD CU preventively as disease pressure builds on vines, olives, citrus, and top fruit.
• Use PHOSGUARD CU where copper deficiency and strong defence support are both needed in one product.
• Include PHOSGUARD CU in foliar or fertigation programmes through the most demanding parts of the season.

Plants mount their strongest defences when they are healthy and unstressed; when a crop is under pressure those responses slow, which is exactly when systemic support earns its place. Applying ahead of and through high-pressure periods keeps the crop’s defences primed when it cannot fully prime them on its own.