Pinion

We've used Pinion extensively this season on both export pepper crops and tobacco, with very positive results. This year brought extremely challenging weather conditions, creating significant disease pressure in our heirloom Capsicum chinense pepper varieties, which are genetically susceptible to bacterial leaf spot (Xanthomonas) as well as root and crown diseases associated with Phytophthora, Pythium, and Rhizoctonia. By the time we started using Pinion, I was honestly expecting to lose a significant portion of the crop. We began with two foliar applications at 1.75% v/v, followed by additional applications at 0.43% and later 0.23% v/v. Throughout the season, Pinion was tank mixed with various nutritional products including HaloPhos, Accelerate, CalGuard, MacroPak, Rebound Moly, Rebound Boron, Rebound Copper, and Rebound Iron. We maintained comparison blocks that received the same nutritional program but without Pinion. After approximately six weeks and six foliar applications, we observed what appeared to be complete suppression of bacterial leaf spot symptoms in treated areas. We also estimated an approximately 85% reduction in wilt associated with the Pythium, Rhizoctonia, and Phytophthora disease complex compared to untreated areas. On our tobacco crop, we experienced no significant fungal or bacterial issues throughout the season where Pinion was used. Interestingly, untreated areas developed aphid and beetle pressure, while treated areas remained largely free of insect issues, even in neighboring rows. We also observed consistently higher leaf Brix readings in treated plants versus controls, often ranging 20-50% higher depending on the block and timing of measurements. This suggests that beyond any antimicrobial effects, Pinion may also be contributing to improved plant vigor and photosynthetic performance under stressful growing conditions. We observed no foliar burn, phytotoxicity, or compatibility issues, even at the higher rates tested. Based on our experience, Pinion has become a valuable component of our crop management program. While this is only one season of experience and results will vary by operation, we believe it has helped improve plant health, reduce disease pressure, and increase crop resilience under exceptionally difficult weather conditions. We plan to continue using it and are particularly interested in evaluating drench applications next season for crown and root health management.

I used pinion in foliars on my loquats (along with other AEA nutrient products MacroPak, micropak) and the new growth came out beautiful and clean. The loquat trees had fire blight and all the new growth leaves had burned tips until the pinion applications. After about 5 weeks there was clean new growth on the treated trees. The untreated trees still had burned tips on new growth at that time. (Loquat isn’t an option under crops but I grow citrus too so I selected citrus)

Pinion is a newly registered product in California, and I assume most of the rest of the country, so most of the field trial results are going to be on a trial basis. I am a wine grape grower in Southern California I tested pinion in a Muscat vineyard with a history of consistent powdery mildew and Botrytis. I could not acquire a sample until later in the season when I already had high powdery mildew pressure. Out of a 1.5-acre vineyard we tested pinion on 6 rows spraying at the same time as pristine, which I consider a pretty aggressive synthetic fungicide. The reduction in powdery mildew was faster and more consistent than the chemical fungicides I used and out of the six rows it was hard to find any powdery mildew. The rest of the block needed to keep receiving additional powdery mildew treatments including Milstop, Serenade, Oxidate, and Pristine. Although it was a limited trial Pinion outperformed everything so consistently on initial application and had the longest residual efficacy of any product I have used. I was so impressed with the performance that I am expanding this year from six rows to 80 acres. Wish me luck and stay tuned if this works on the rest of the acreage as well as it did on this trial plot this will be a game changer. Greg Pennyroyal

I trialed Pinion on pumpkins late in the 2025 season under heavy powdery mildew pressure. At that stage, the crop was already declining, so I wasn’t expecting much response. The photos show progression from the day of application to 4 days and 11 days after treatment. While Pinion didn’t completely stop the infection, it significantly slowed disease progression—far exceeding expectations for that point in the season. What stood out most was how quickly it acted. Within 4 hours of application, the mildew shifted from a fluffy, white appearance to a grey, flattened state—an early indication of impact. I’m looking forward to applying Pinion earlier in the 2026 season, ahead of infection, to fully evaluate its preventative potential.

Pinion is easy to use and apply, stores well, and smells great. I'm still working on confirming results regarding if it's the primary factor in helping some native bushes bounce back from leaf spot, and if it'll help deter aphids at all, but can confirm the usability of the product is great.