Crop Production July 2011Magazine...Martin Rickatson Mick Roberts Design and Production Brooks...

Profitable crops through better management

Crop Production July 2011Magazine

Which implements are providing the best controlof blackgrass?

Which implements areproviding the best controlof blackgrass?

Page 6Page 66

An agronomic tool to reduce the grassweed

burden?

An agronomic tool to reduce the grassweed

burden?

Page 16

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http://www.totaloilseedcare.co.uk

Drill switch helpsto slash costs

One Lincs farmer believes thepurchase of a new drill has helpedmake the acquisition of his previously tenanted farm more viable.

Understanding wheatgenomics

The first batch of wheats to benefitfrom cutting-edge technology to boost genetic improvement is now a commercial reality. CPM examinesthe science and how growers stand

Mounted sprayers moveup in the world?

Technologically speaking, mountedsprayers have caught up with trailedand self-propelled machines in recentyears. CPM talks to two satisfied users.

Faster establishmentfor less cost?

Which way next for OSR establishment?CPM reports from a recent open day at NIAB-TAG’s Morley Research Farmin Norfolk.

Careful harvestplanning needed

Planning carefully pre-harvest canrepay handsomely in terms of tuberquality and the yield of saleable produce. CPM assesses the key areas to address.

Beet harvesting given a lift

A trio of new sugar beet harvesters are living up to their promise of increased output and improved efficiency.

Enthusiasm grows for traffic restrictions

Advances in machinery and technologymean that Controlled Traffic Farming,which is proven to increase yields andreduce costs, looks set to becomemore widely adopted.

Smith’s SoapboxViews and opinions from an Essexpeasant…..

Cultivating blackgrasscontrol choices

A new, in-depth trial by a leadingagronomy company is shedding newlight on how cultivations can be usedto help control blackgrass.

Spring wheat –– avaluable agronomictool?

Two new spring wheats that take yield and grain quality to a new level could persuade more late-drillers to switch from winter varieties, believe two plantbreeding companies.

OSR advice for oil barons

In a market as significant and well-established as rapeseed, thereshould arguably be more segmentation–– as well as healthy premiums for progressive growers. CPM explores the opportunities.

Liquid N switch freesup labour

A Lincs farm business’s move to liquidfor its nitrogen needs has meant oneman can now cover a total of 2,000haof work single-handed, while other staffcan focus on jobs more important thanferrying around fertiliser bags.

Centurion stands up to old guard

Two completely new drills headed the list of novel seeding options onshow at last month’s Cereals Event.CPM reports.

Store cleaning preventsrejections

Grain store preparation and cleaning is an irksome but important task asrecent data shows rejections due toinfestations and contamination are on the rise.

CPM Crop Production Magazine

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Publishing Editor Angus McKirdy

Sub Editor Charlotte Lord

Writers Charles AbelTom Allen-StevensGeoff AshcroftRobert HarrisRob JonesMartin RickatsonMick Roberts

Design and Production Brooks Design

Advertisement Sales Angus McKirdy

Advertisement Co-ordinator Peter Walker

Volume 13 Number 6

July 2011

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CPM Volume 13 No 6. Editorial, advertising and sales offices are atWhite House Barn, Hanwood, Shrewsbury SY5 8LP.

Tel: (01743) 861122. CPM is published nine times a year by CPM Ltd and is available free of charge to qualifying farmers

and farm managers in the United Kingdom.

In no way does CPM Ltd endorse, notarise or concur with any of the advice, recommendations or prescriptions reported in themagazine. If you are unsure about which recommendations to

follow, please consult a professional agronomist. Always read thelabel. Use pesticides safely. CPM Ltd is not responsible for loss or

damage to any unsolicited material, including photographs.

FeaturesFeatures

Crop Production Magazine –– July 2011 3

Cereals: wheat bulb fly control.71

4 Crop Production Magazine –– July 2011

Email your comments and ideas [email protected]

Agricultural localism?I’m sure it’s probably more to do withsmall mindedness than science but I’mone of those farmers who likes to thinkthat no field trials results can be trusteduntil they’ve been verified on my farm.

Like many other farmers, we like tothink this farm is uniquely special, withits own particular soil and climate, whichmeans that only we really understandhow to farm it, like we’re the keeper ofsome sort of scared agronomy scrollsthat have been handed down throughthe mists of time.

The fact that we’re growing similarcrops, using similar inputs to otherfarmers around the globe, is easily forgotten in the delusion that our littlepatch is in some way peculiar and special. That’s probably reflected in the fact that, if I ever come across varietal information on the likes of the HGCA Recommended List, I’m most comfortable with the page entitled‘Eastern Region’. If I had my own way, I’dalso have a page entitled ‘Smith Region’.

I suppose this parochialism stemsfrom the fact that us farmers are a fairlyfractious bunch. For instance, when itcomes to our regional identity, we canoften be so firmly rooted in our own little patch that our fellows in the nextcounty –– if not the neighbouring parish–– can be viewed as some sort of dodgyforeign tribe.

Somehow, in our weird farmer-world,bubbling streams like the Tamar or theWaveney become as un-crossable aswhite-water chasms –– seldom forded to see what might live on the other side.

For some men of the soil, a trip across a seemingly impassable mountain range,such as the Pennines or Cheviots, is tantamount to a sortie into enemy territory.

Even our tractor choice can helpdefine who we are and who we aren’t.There are some amongst us who wouldrather have their wives or mothers insulted than hear a derogatory remarkmade about the brand of tractor they drive.

I’ve come across farmers who will pre-judge the character of fellow farmersby the colour of their overalls or the logo on their caps. It’s almost like anagricultural version of the film ‘Gangs of New York’.

Anyway, back to field trials. Now we’ve established that the best ones areundoubtedly the trials on my own farm,when a certain agchem company askedif I’d like to host a blackgrass trial lookingat thirty different herbicide sequences, I couldn’t have been more delighted.

As you can see from the photo below,my farming skill managed to producesome very heavy blackgrass crops in theuntreated areas. In fact, where the plotswere left untreated, there was nothingthere apart from blackgrass.

The overall results show that the bestprogrammes –– which provided 95%+control –– were based on various pre-emcocktails, followed by Atlantis, with thebest one being Crystal plus DFF followedby Atlantis plus Picona.

This would concur with the rest of the field where we got similar levels of control from using Liberator plus

SMITH’S

SOAPBOX

Defy pre-em, followed by Atlantis post-emergence.

The other thing we learnt from the surrounding crop in the trial field wasthat we still achieved good control(85%+) using nothing but Atlantis. This prompts the question –– are pre-em treatments really cost-effectivewhen they only provide an extra 10%blackgrass control?

Quite rightly, brains better than minewould caution against relying solely on Atlantis because of encouraging abuild-up of resistance. The other factorto consider is that this autumn was agood one for Atlantis because of a good flush of blackgrass in October following the rain in September –– withthe weeds proving fairly easy to controlwhen you caught them small, but greenand lively.

In addition, the September rain madeit a good year for the residuals –– butwould they have worked so well in adroughtier September?

That leads me onto more generalquestions as to what we’re going to learn about varieties, fungicides and herbicides this harvest after the season’sespecially freaky weather. Then again, I seem to be developing something of an annual habit thinking this year’sweather was exceptional and next year’swill be back to normal.

I leave you with the startling fact thatthis spring, Argyllshire had 150 timesmore rain than Essex. Maybe thoseregional differences are extreme after all….

http://www.frontierag.co.uk

Cultivating blackgrasscontrol choices

A new, in-depth trial by a leading agronomy company is shedding new light on how

cultivations can be used to help control blackgrass.

By Mick Roberts

‘Controlling grassweeds is withoutdoubt one of the biggest challenges facing today’s

wheat growers.’

A new large-scale field trial is investigatinghow cultivations can be used as ‘treatments’to control blackgrass.

ith increasing resistance levelsand little new herbicide chemistryin the pipeline, cultural control

of blackgrass is becoming increasinglyimportant.

With that in mind, a new in-depth trial –– set-up jointly by Masstock andLemken last autumn –– was devised totake a fresh look at the influence that different establishment regimes can have on combating the weed.

Masstock originally approachedLemken UK with the idea for the trialbecause it wanted to discover how thecompany’s wide range of equipment –– including ploughs, and tine and disc cultivators –– could help with weedcontrol. A key element of the researchwas to assess the two-pass ‘Continentalapproach’ to weed control alongside theUK’s typical one-pass technique.

W


“Controlling grassweeds –– and blackgrass in particular –– is withoutdoubt one of the biggest challenges facing today’s wheat growers,” says Mark Ormond, Lemken UK’s generalmanager. “Cultivations need to be considered more closely, and they mustplay a bigger role in controlling weedsright from the start of the season

“That means farmers will need tochoose not only the correct implementsand combinations, but also how andwhen they should be used.”

There’s some research and a lot ofanecdotal evidence about how cultivationscan control blackgrass, and some of theresults are no surprise, he continues. “But by setting up this new and importantresearch project, we aim to provideaccurate advice –– based on solid scientific data –– which will take account s

http://www.syngenta-crop.co.uk

of not only the various treatments, butalso, uniquely, the interaction of usingdifferent pieces of cultivation equipmentover a 4-5 year period.

“We all know the plough is a tremendous implement for controllingblackgrass but we need to determinehow best to use it.” That may encourage

farmers to construct a plan for a ‘cultivations rotation’ in the same waythey’d plan a crop rotation, he adds.

The trial is located at Rookery Farm,Stow Longa, Cambs, on a site with a history of high blackgrass levels.Masstock’s research and developmentmanager, Colin Lloyd, is keen to pointout that this isn’t simply a demonstration,but a randomised, fully-replicated scientific experiment.

Weed pressure“We’ve been working on this site formore than 12 years now and with abackground count of 1,500 blackgrassplants/m2, we know that it will show clearly the effects of the various cultivation techniques.” Previous trialshave shown 100 ears/m2 of blackgrasscan reduce wheat yields by around1t/ha, he notes.

“The trial is surrounded by commercialfields of Hereward milling wheat andthese show how the host farmer is ableto grow good wheat crops, in spite of theweed pressure,” notes Steve Corbett, trials manager for Masstock. “But ifthe cultural and chemical controls are

“Blackgrass control is all about taking an integrated and cultural approach toremoving as many plants as possible earlyon,” says Colin Lloyd.


compromised in any way, there are hugechallenges in achieving good control indifficult seasons.

“To compound the problems here, the blackgrass is ‘triple R’ resistant toAtlantis (mesosulfuron+ iodosulfuron)and the best we can hope to achievefrom using the product alone is typicallyjust 50%.” With no new chemical activeingredients on the way, it confirms theimportance of the need for better culturalcontrol, he stresses.

Blackgrass produces around 70-80seeds/ear, so just ten plants remainingafter treatment can lead to up to 800new plants the following season, continues Steve Corbett.

“We’ve also dug profile pits to demonstrate the effect of the workingdepth and straw incorporation providedby each implement, and this hasexposed some blackgrass seed whichhas subsequently germinated.

“Seeds from these plants will be tested for resistance and if they also have triple R resistance, it will determine whether or not they’ve been deposited in their current position by the preceding cultivations.”

s

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http://www.opico.co.uk/he-va

http://www.bayercropscience.co.uk

The Heliodor/Topas is a disc and tinecombination –– a typical UK reducedtillage approach –– which creates aseedbed in a single pass before drilling.


Whilst the trial is essentially cultivation-based, it will also look carefully at thetiming of all field operations –– includingthe drilling date –– to evaluate the effect

these have on the level of weed control.“When you compare the results to

date (see table on p12), there arealready some significant differences ––with control levels of up to 98% from ploughing and using a stale seedbed,”says Steve Corbett. “But it’s important to note that the results are for just oneseason and that they don’t represent any conclusions.”

So can any initial conclusions bedrawn? “We don’t know as yet ––ploughing the same plot again next season is unlikely to provide such a high level of control simply because it’slikely to bring the blackgrass seeds backup to surface.

“But that’s why the trials are on-goingand in future years, we’ll be able toascertain the effect of the various

cultivation techniques –– used eitheryear-on-year or in rotation with differentimplements.”

Blackgrass control is very much anumbers game, confirms Colin Lloyd.“Taking an integrated and culturalapproach, it’s all about removing asmany plants as possible early in the season to reduce the pressure right from the start.

“That begins with choosing the rightvariety since some are more competitivethan others. Oakley, for example, stillaccounts for 12% of the UK wheat area because it’s proven to be very competitive in blackgrass situations and it will still hold onto its yield.

“Cultivations, and the timing of fieldoperations, are crucial as the resultsalready show –– you must provide asmuch time as possible to get a goodweed chit. By delaying the drilling dateslightly to let the blackgrass germinate in 2-3 flushes in a stale seedbed, it will have a dramatic effect on the blackgrass numbers.

“That means there’s less pressure onthe herbicide programme following theinitial cultural phase.”

Right tool, right timingSteve Corbett notes that direct drillingearly provided blackgrass control of just33%, whereas with ploughing, the levelof control rose to nearly 95%. “It’s clearlyimportant that growers use the right cultivation tool at the correct timing and that’s where this trial will providesome new and interesting information.”

All the equipment for the trials, apartfrom the direct drill, is supplied byLemken, but it still reflects the typicaltypes of machinery in use on UK farms.“Yet one of the systems in the trial isbased on the ‘Continental’ establishmentapproach,” says Mark Ormond.

“This is basically a two-pass cultivationregime –– the first is a shallow treatmentto encourage germination of weeds and volunteers to mix the straw and soil into an ‘aerobic’ layer to encouragedecomposition. The second, later pass is with a machine working deeper to mix in the remaining non-rotted residuesthrough the soil profile, and to repair anydamage at depth.

“Amongst other things, we’re interestedto see if there’s any merit in adopting theContinental system in the UK.”

But regardless of the cultivations thatfarmers are using as the first step in theirintegral grassweed control strategy, it’s s

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By exposing the soil at the working depth of each of the different cultivators, the trialis illustrating how blackgrass seed isdistributed within the soil profile.


important to have a clear focus onwhat they’re trying to achieve, says Steve Corbett. “The initial cultivationsmust be aimed at creating a grassseedbed, rather than one specifically forwheat, since a stale seedbed needs toencourage a high level of blackgrass seedgermination so it can be killed-off withglyphosate.” A wheat seedbed isn’twhat’s needed at this timing, he stresses.

“Chemical controls in combinationwith the cultivations are also being

investigated, but the results aren’t readyfor publication as yet.” The plan is toalso cost the various cultivation andchemical treatments to provide a comprehensive report, he adds.

The trial includes six main machinerycombinations or ‘treatments’ from thetraditional plough-and-press systemthrough to direct drilling (with one earlierand one later timing) –– as well as arange of disced and tined implementsworking shallower and deeper.

The results (see table, below) showblackgrass ear counts on 26 May. Theonly two common treatments were thatthe stubble across all the plots wassprayed-off with glyphosate at the end ofAugust, and all programmes received asecond glyphosate application 24 hoursprior to drilling.

All the plots were sown with the varietyHereward at a seed rate of 350 seed/m2

and all, apart from the direct drilledplots, were sown using a LemkenCompact Solitair pneumatic cultivatordrill on 12 Oct. The two direct drilledplots were sown with a Claydon drill ––one on 25 Sept and the other on 12 Oct.

Two-pass tillageOn 1 Sept, the two-pass tillage plot wascultivated using a Lemken Heliodor,which is essentially a compact disc harrow with a following packer roller. The machine was set to work about75mm deep to create a stale seedbed –– without any deeper working.

The weeds were left to germinate until18 Sept when they were sprayed-off withglyphosate. Two days later, the land was

cultivated with a Lemken Karat tine anddisc cultivator which loosened the soil toa depth of about 250mm.

“We subsequently recorded 102 blackgrass ears/m2 in the Mayassessments,” says Steve Corbett.“Digging down to cultivation depthallowed us to see where the blackgrassseed had been deposited –– most of itbeing in the top 50mm-75mm, which is ideal for the stale seedbed technique,allowing the blackgrass seeds to germinate evenly.

“Other seeds were found at the fullcultivation depth –– around 150-175mm–– and these seeds, which have beentaken down and mixed through the layers,have now been exposed to light and aregrowing in the bottom of the pits.

“We now need to consider whatapproach to take to prevent bringingthese up again. Previous trials haveshown that, if blackgrass seed is leftburied below 75-100mm for a period of3-5 years, its viability falls below 90%.”

Shallow one-pass tillageLike the others, this shallow till systemstarted off with glyphosate being appliedto the stubble. The land was then leftuntil 1 Sept when it was cultivated with a pass using the Lemken Heliodor. Theplot was left for 17 days after which itwas sprayed-off with glyphosate againprior to drilling.

The results show this system achievedvery similar control as the previous, two-pass deeper system explains Steve Corbett. “This system is followedby those working to the theory that

sCultivation tactics for controlling blackgrass in winter wheat Date Two pass – Shallow single Plough and One pass – Direct drill Direct drill

Heliodor discs, pass discs – press – Opal disc/tine – earlyKarat tines Heliodor 6 furrow, combination

trailed press Topas/Helidor

28 Aug Glyphosate* Glyphosate* Glyphosate* Glyphosate* Glyphosate* Glyphosate*

31 Aug Stubble rake Stubble rake

1 Sept Heliodor Heliodor

6 Sept Plough/press Topas/Heliodor

18 Sept Glyphosate Glyphosate Glyphosate

21 Sept Karat Heliodor

25 Sept Claydon direct drill

12 Oct Drill Compact Drill Compact Drill Compact Drill Compact Claydon drillSolitair Solitair Solitair Solitair stubble rake

Blackgrass ears** 102 108 5 27 72 199

Control % 65% 62% 98% 90% 75% 31%

* applied to stubbles; ** counted on 26 May 2011; all plots drilled at 350 seeds/m2

Source: Masstock/Lemken

restricting the cultivations to the surface 50-75mm will optimise the staleseedbeds technique.

“This year, we confirmedwhat’s already known butagain, we now want to learnwhat happens in the longerterm –– particularly whereanother cultivation method is used in another year.”

Plough-and-pressThe outstanding cleanliness of the plough-and-press plotstood out within the trial and itwas no surprise that it was theone established using a sixfurrow plough and trailedpress, he continues. “Thisoption was included becauseit’s long been regarded as thefailsafe weed control option.”

The sprayed-off stubble was ploughed-and-pressed on 6 Sept and left until 18 Septwhen it was sprayed againwith glyphosate. Three dayslater, the Heliodor cultivator(i.e. the shallow one-passtreatment) prepared aseedbed ahead of sowing with the cultivator drill. “Thisleft less than 5 ears/m2 ofblackgrass –– equivalent tonearly 98% control –– beforethe application of any pre- orpost-em herbicides.”

Yet keeping blackgrass within the top 75mm of soilcan create its own problems,explains Steve Corbett. “That’swhy a number of min-tillersrevert to ploughing –– oftenincluding it within their rotational cultivations plan.”The trials team deliberatelyavoided using a cultivator onthe stubble as their aim was to skim off the top ‘problemlayer’ containing the herbicideresistant blackgrass seed –– putting it down to at least150-175mm depth.

Lemken notes that to useploughing as an effectiveblackgrass treatment, it needsto be done correctly –– in this case by experiencedploughman, Rick Barnes. “We made sure the skimswere set at exactly the right

depth –– with the forwardspeed also critical to ensurethe top layer wasn’t distributedthrough the soil profile.”Moreover, the furrow shouldbe fully inverted and closed on the top, he adds.

Steve Corbett reckons thebest results are achievedwhen the working conditionsare just right. “Ideally, itshould look like the result of a match ploughing contest.

“It’ll be interesting next season to see the results following the plough comparedwith different cultivations techniques –– especiallybecause one plot will beplough-after-plough.”

There may be a case to recommend ploughing onlyareas of a field where theblackgrass infestation is its highest, he believes.“Ploughing in the right season and conditions –– with a full furrow inversion–– should be considered as a ‘treatment’ not as a cultivationwhere blackgrass is concerned.

“And as to the high costinvolved, it’s important thatthese are spread across therotation as a whole –– say five years –– because that’sprobably how long the effect is likely to last.”

One-pass tine and disc comboIn recent years, many arableunits have abandoned traditional plough-and-presscrop establishment in favourof a one-pass tine and disccombination, which is availablein many different guises.

In the Stow Longa trial,Masstock used the Topas/Heliodor, which is a combination of deeper loosening tines worked in conjunction with the samedisc cultivator similar in operation to that used onsome other plots. After thegeneral treatment of glyphosate,the stubble was left until

6 Sept, when the combowent through in a single pass. There were no further treatments before the final s

http://www.limagrain.co.uk/solstice

“Ploughing to control blackgrass should beregarded as a treatment, rather than simplya cultivation pass,” believes Steve Corbett.

glyphosate treatment was made 24hrsprior to drilling on 12 Oct.

The level of control from these operations alone was second only to the plough-and-press, which MarkOrmond admits is much better than he anticipated. “I really didn’t expect it to provide such a positive result –– particularly compared with the two-pass, shallow then deep system.

“But this is precisely why we’re conducting these trials –– we need thiskind of information on which to base our cultivation recommendations.”However, he acknowledges that this season’s result may simply have beendown to the season. “It was a wetautumn which produced a really goodflush of early blackgrass.”

Masstock’s Steve Corbett says this is a typical approach followed by manyUK farmers, with a stubble treatment ofglyphosate followed by a pass with the cultivator –– in this case on 6 Sept, the same day as the ploughed plot.

“The first spray caught plants that hadchitted in the stubble, and the cultivationsthen lost some blackgrass seed belowthe 50-75mm zone. This vigorous cultivation action mixes the seed rightthrough the profile, so the question is –– what do we follow this treatment with next year? And what effect willploughing again have on the level of blackgrass control?”

Direct drillingDirect drilling may not be the first option considered by growers in fields with high levels of resistant blackgrass, butthere’s a growing belief in the theory that cultivating just the areas of the fieldwhere the crop is sown is a good way tocontrol the weed –– leaving the weedseed undisturbed in-between the rowswhere it may fail to germinate.

Indeed, the commercial crops ofwheat surrounding this season’s trialillustrate good levels of blackgrass control –– all were established using the same Claydon drill which sowed thetwo direct drill plots. “The aim of the trialisn’t just to compare this simple approachwith more conventional cultivations, butto assess the effect delaying sowing hason blackgrass control in direct drilledcrops as well,” says Steve Corbett.

After the overall glyphosate treatment was made, a stubble rake was usedacross the plot on 31 Aug. There wereno further treatments until the glyphosateapplication was made 24hr prior todrilling on 12 Oct –– the same day as all but one of the other plots were sown.It was also stubble raked after drilling.

“The result was a blackgrass populationof 72 ears/m2 –– surprisingly slightly lessthan that achieved by the single and two-pass cultivation techniques.Moreover, the blackgrass does tend to appear more within the rows –– with very little in-between,” commentsSteve Corbett. “This could enable us to reduce the blackgrass population to a more manageable level –– similar to other systems.”

Direct drilling – earlyBut in the early-sown direct drilled plots,it’s a completely different story, he continues. “The level of the weed

s

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84Two-pass tillage (discs then tines)

Shallow one-passtillage (discs)

Plough & press One-pass tillage (tine/disc combination)

Early direct drillDirect drill

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Establishment methodUntreated

Blackgrass ear counts (26 May)

infestation has to be seen to be believed–– it’s almost impossible to pick out theears of wheat, struggling within theuntreated areas. The yield results arecertainly going to be illuminating….”

The only difference between this plotand the direct drilled plot next door isthe drilling date, he explains. After thesame background glyphosate treatment,the early-sown direct drilled plot wasraked on 31 Aug, but critically, it was

drilled three weeks earlier on 25 Sept, henotes. “Pre-harvest, the level of blackgrasswas approaching 200 ears/m2 placing thesystem under immense pressure.

“Of course, many farms will startdrilling wheat in September –– we’re certainly not advocating that all growersshould delay into October. But on farmswhere blackgrass levels, and moreimportantly, resistance to Atlantis are an issue, it’s important to consider

the vital cultural control component ofdelaying the drilling date to allow moreblackgrass to germinate for spraying-offprior to drilling.

“The second point with earlier drilling into this sort of blackgrass pressure isthat pre- and post-em herbicides have to be timed very precisely to obtain themaximum efficacy levels.

“If we get all of the cultural and chemical treatments right, then earlierdrilling will in many situations producehigher yield potential crops. But underthe level of blackgrass pressure that weface on this farm, if one element fails,you suffer the consequences in a bigway,” explains Steve Corbett.

This work shows that delaying drillingfrom the third week of Sept to the second week of Oct produces radicallydifferent results, simply because moreblackgrass emerged prior to the finalglyphosate application 24hrs beforedrilling –– a treatment that was commonto all cultivations, he concludes.

“We’ve seen differences before in ourdrilling date trials at Stow Longa over theyears and Colin Lloyd has been raisingthis point at many meetings.” n

http://www.ks-ukeire.co.uk

or years, spring wheat has beensomething of a Cinderella crop in the UK.

It’s often used as a last resort by growers who lift sugar beet or field vegetables late, preferring the insurance ofa wheat variety which has no vernalisationrequirement in case the sowing date is seriously delayed.

But even that role has come underpressure in recent years due to the development of Robigus-type winter varieties, which can still produce veryrespectable yields drilled as late as theend of February.

However, the arrival of two varieties onthe HGCA’s spring wheat RecommendedList, offering enhanced yields andimproved grain quality, could start to

Spring wheat – a valuableagronomic tool?

reverse the trend –– securing better grossmargins and persuading more farmers tomake room for a crop that probably hasn’tfeatured on-farm since Grandfather was in charge.

John Miles, product development manager at KWS, believes his firm’s latest offering, KWS Willow –– a Group 2variety suitable for blending into grists –– marks a significant step forward for the spring wheat sector. “We think springwheat is starting to stack-up quite well on some farms –– especially in the lateautumn slot.”

The newcomer boasts a treated yield of 108 of controls (100 = 8.7t/ha) on theHGCA late autumn-sown wheat RL, wheretrials are established after mid-November–– four points ahead of its nearest springrival, Tybalt. Its protein content is slightlydown as a result (at 11.7%), but aHagberg of 262 and a table-topping specific weight of 78.8kg/hl should seeKWS Willow achieve Group 2 premiums

Two new spring wheats that take yield and grainquality to a new level could persuade more late-drillers to switch from winter varieties,

believe two plant breeding companies.

By Robert Harris

‘When taken across the rotation as a whole, it really starts

to make sense.’

F

An aerial shot of KWS’s wheat breeding programme.

with no problem –– assuming the rightcrop nutrition programme is used, he claims.

Rust ratingsYellow and brown rust ratings of 9 and 7respectively, plus a 6 for Septoria tritici,should help growers to preserve the variety’s grain quality potential, he adds.

A gross margin analysis for a range ofvarieties favoured in the late autumn slot,based on RL figures and Nix, data showsKWS Willow is the best wheat to grow atthis timing, says John Miles (see table 1on p18).

“The nearest competitors apart fromGallant are stablemate winter variety, KWSSterling, and the spring Group 2, Tybalt,but the figures assume the Group 2s all achieve the same £15/t quality premium –– yet both of these varietiesare borderline on their specific weight.

“In fact, Tybalt comes in just underthe 76kg/hl minimum,” he notes.


“KWS Willow marks a significant step forwardfor the spring wheat sector,” believes John Miles.

Spring cropping is too often dismissed as a wayof helping to control resistant blackgrass onheavy land where the problem most oftenoccurs, says Stephen Moss of RothamstedResearch.

“Yet the effects can be dramatic. I knowsome farmers who grow spring crops everyyear on such land.”

Work at Rothamsted has shown untreatedblackgrass populations can fall by 80% inspring-sown wheat plots, compared withautumn-sown ones, he says. “Tillering is alsoreduced so each blackgrass plant producesfewer heads, resulting in an overall reduction inseed return of around 90%.”

However, good cultural control is vital beforedrilling as there’s only a limited herbicidearmoury to deal with survivors within the crop,warns Stephen Moss. “You need to remove allblackgrass that’s germinated in the autumn, soit would be advisable to spray-off over-winteredploughed land and stubbles using glyphosatebefore getting the ground ready to drill.”

He advises against sowing too early. “You’dexpect to lose some of the agronomic benefits if

you drilled in January or early February ascrops are slower to establish at that time.

“But once the crop’s in the ground, therearen’t many control options after that. You can use some ‘fop’ and ‘dim’ herbicides but you wouldn’t expect them to work very well. In ongoing trials this year, we’ve used 3 l/ha of Defy (prosulfocarb) plus 2 l/ha of Stomp(pendimethalin) under a specific off-labelapproval.

“But it’s been so dry that very little blackgrassemerged, so we’ve seen very little differencebetween the treated and untreated plots. It’ll be interesting to see how they perform in a damper spring.”

More independent trials are needed, hemaintains. “There’s still no information on theeffect of drilling date and seed rate, and the herbicide work has been very limited to date –– we certainly need to know more about blackgrass control in spring crops.

“If the efficacy of Atlantis (mesosulfuron+iodosulfuron) continues to slide, it could be anincreasingly important way of keeping on top of the problem.”

Rotational control of grassweeds

Paragon –– the current benchmark qualityspring wheat –– is very much eclipsed in grossmargin terms, he continues. “After 12 years onthe list, Paragon is becoming dated –– with ascore of 95, it’s now struggling on yield.”

So KWS Willow really does transform thegross margin picture, he notes.

But the real advantages only start to showafter mid-November drillings, continues John Miles. “Unlike a decade ago when

winter wheat yields started declining at theend of October, the advent of free-tillering, vigorous wheats, like Robigus, means theymaintain their optimum yield potential for afortnight longer.

“It’s the second half of November onwards,where sowing a spring wheat starts to make adifference, that you tend to see another step-upin terms of vigour and speed of development.As the UK beet area becomes more concentrated, many growers are pressured into lifting later and in this situation, they’d be well advised to consider KWS Willow.”

Strong pedigreeAnother newcomer that might tempt growers to switch is Mulika from Senova. Bred byBlackman Agriculture, it has a strong pedigree,with Paragon and a Tybalt/Robigus cross forparents. It’s the first Group 1 spring wheat for11 years and will be commercially released intime for autumn 2012 sowing.

“Its late-autumn rating of 101 is six pointsabove Paragon and one ahead of Solstice,”notes Jeremy Taylor, commercial director atSenova. “For true milling wheat growers, thevariety offers a real alternative to Solstice, andit’s therefore set to take Paragon’s crown.

“After three years of trials, nabim isdescribing its breadmaking qualities as similarto Paragon, which are rated as excellent.Assuming millers do take it on, it should proveto be a popular choice with growers. It has a


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http://www.kws-uk.com

Table 1: Autumn-sown wheat gross margins (£/ha) Mulika Paragon Solstice Gallant KWS Willow Tybalt Sterling Cordiale Oakley

Price (£/t)* 214 214 214 214 209 209 209 209 194

Yield (% of controls) 101 95 100 104 108 104 104 101 109

Yield (t/ha)** 8.79 8.27 8.70 9.05 9.40 9.05 9.05 8.79 9.48

Total output 1881 1770 1862 1937 1965 1891 1891 1837 1839

Total variable costs *** 469 469 469 469 469 469 469 469 466

Gross margin 1,412 1,301 1,393 1,468 1,496 1,422 1,422 1,368 1,373

* Assumes Group 1 premium of £20/t over feed, Group 2 premium of £15/t over feed (feed price = £194/t)** Based on RL UK-treated yield of 8.7t/ha*** Seed £49/ha; fertiliser £220/ha; sprays £200/ha

Table 2: Spring-sown wheat margins (£/ha) Mulika Paragon KWS Willow Tybalt Belvoir AC Barrie

Price (£/t)* 214 214 209 209 194 299

Yield (% of controls) 104 95 106 106 107 50

Yield (t/ha) 7.38 6.75 7.53 7.53 7.60 3.55

Total output 1579 1444 1574 1574 1474 1061

Total variable costs 304 304 304 304 304 304

Gross margin 1,275 1,140 1,270 1,270 1,170 757

* Assumes Group 1 premium of £20/t over feed, Group 2 premium of £15/t over feed (feed price of £194/t)** Based on RL UK-treated yield of 7.1t/ha*** Seed £66/ha; fertiliser £142/ha; sprays £96/ha

good protein content –– at 12.2%, it’sright up there with Solstice –– and it hasbetter Hagberg and specific weight scores(300 and 77kg/hl respectively) as well.”

It also gives Gallant a run for its money,he claims. “We have to assume thatGallant will take a bigger share of the overall market but its yield isn’t significantlyhigher from late autumn sowings.”

Mulika also has better disease resistancerating, scoring 9 for both yellow and brown

rust, compared with Solstice’s 4s for eachand Gallant’s 5 and 4, he notes. “Mulika’s7 for Septoria tritici is also two points higher than either winter variety, and it’sthe only Group 1 or Group 2 variety on the late-sown list to have orange wheatblossom midge resistance.

Late drilling challenge“Anyone likely to face the challenge oflate drilling can now seriously considerspring wheat,” believes Jeremy Taylor.“You can order as much seed as youneed, knowing that if things don’t go to plan, you have a 4-5 month sowing window ahead of you.

“I believe Mulika could give the opportunity for quite a bit of growth in this sector of the market.”

Farmers plagued with blackgrass haveshown a lot of interest in the new variety,and some may well consider switching to spring sowing on their worst affectedfields, he believes.

Mulika’s spring-sown fungicide-treatedyield of 104 (100 = 7.1t/ha) is well aboveParagon’s 95 and only two points behindKWS Willow and three behind Belvoir –– a gap deemed to be not significant on the current list, notes Jeremy Taylor.

Compared with other spring wheats, it produces a theoretical table-topping gross

“Nabim is describing Mulika’sbreadmaking qualities being as similar to Paragon,” says Jeremy Taylor.

margin of £1,275/ha (see table 2 below).“Of course, the lower yield from springsowing means it’s well behind autumn-sown Solstice with its gross margin ofaround £1,752/ha –– but the gap is likelyto narrow significantly where blackgrass isa serious threat.

“You also have to consider the high cost of blackgrass control once the weedbecomes a problem –– and it’s only goingto get worse. Switching to spring sowingon the worst-affected fields will becomepart of many growers’ blackgrass controlstrategy in future.

“When taken across the rotation as a whole, it really starts to make sense.”

John Miles agrees more spring wheat is being sown for this reason. “You canspend £120/ha on a serious blackgrassproblem before Christmas once you getinto complex herbicide mixes andsequences. But delaying drilling gives you a chance to create an effective stale seedbed to achieve good control pre-sowing.”

The spring option becomes even more attractive when spin-off benefitslike spreading workloads are taken into consideration, he comments. “Springwheats develop later than winter varieties,creating more spraying windows than with winter wheat –– allowing more timely


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“Autumn-sown spring wheats can become very leggy, so they really need a full PGRprogramme,” believes Jock Willmott.

Although spring wheats remain a minoritycrop in the UK, they still account for most of the world’s wheat, says John Miles.

“There are many different types and traits–– there’s a lot more genetic variation thanexists in our winter varieties. That provides a good source of improved qualities, such as better grain characteristics.

“We still import quite a lot of hard milling wheat from Canada and elsewhere,so if we could introduce some of these qualities into high-yielding UK spring varieties, we could create an attractivealternative market.”

Two further KWS varieties –– both RLcandidates –– will help to take the springcrop in the right direction, he believes.

Alderon scores 111 for yield, with 13%protein, 281 Hagberg and 76.9 specificweight, while Bittern scores a 104 for yield but has exceptional grain quality of14.1% protein, 300+ Hagberg and 78kg/hlspecific weight.

“In these two varieties, we’re looking atbig jump in yield –– and some seriouslygood grain quality,” concludes John Miles.

Breeding for the future

spray applications across the farm as a whole. “They also help to spread the harvest

workload so crops are more likely to be combined at their peak.”

Another benefit of sowing wheat in springis that, on kinder land, previous stubbles can

be left undisturbed –– thereby qualifying for120 points/ha under ELS and satisfying one ofthe Campaign for the Farmed Environment’svoluntary measures, he notes.

“It’s a great way of feeding farmland birds,and stubbles can be ploughed from 15 Febonwards, which on lighter and well-structuredsoils gives plenty of time to establish a goodspring crop,” says John Miles.

End of AprilGetting crops up and away quickly is the key to good yields, he believes. “Although KWS Willow can be sown up to the end ofApril, like any spring wheat, the earlier you can establish it the better.” He recommendssowing at 400-500 seeds/m2 –– towards theupper end on heavier land –– and adding a good dose of nitrogen early on.

Whilst admitting to being unfamiliar withKWS Willow and Mulika, agronomist JockWillmott of Strutt & Parker reckons both varieties appear interesting as late-autumn variety choices.

“The fact that they’re spring wheats isn’t anissue per se as they’ll ultimately be judged ontheir agronomic merits. Mulika’s 101 for yieldis comparable with Solstice in the later sowingslot and its quality is as good as anything else–– plus its high Hagberg suggests that it’s anearly finisher.

“Moreover, it seems to have the whole package when it comes to disease andmidge resistance. And KWS Willow’s yieldscore of 108 is phenomenal –– as good asOakley in the same late sowing slot, and withgood disease resistance as well.

“Both warrant further inspection although I’d like to see them grown on some sort of contract initially. But if they can perform liketheir RL trials credentials suggest, they lookvery useful subject to growers being able tomanage their long straw.

“They might fit well after late-lifted beet and on poorer land where the extra vigourmight be needed.”

However, a robust PGR programme will be essential, believes Jock Willmott. “Theirtreated RL figures of 96cm show these varieties have the potential to become veryleggy when they’re sown in the autumn. Until proven otherwise, they’ll need a fullgrowth regulator programme and careful nitrogen management.”

But when drilled in the spring, both Mulikaand KWS Willow have a more conventionaltreated height rating of 84cm, he notes. “That should hold no fears for growers, and the overall yield and grain quality improvements over their peers could certainly appeal to growers looking to alleviate serious blackgrass problems.” n



including sunflower oil. Moreover, it’s amarvellously efficient and environmentally-friendly stock for producing biodiesel –– afar finer fuel than its mineral equivalent.

In addition, it can produce a range ofnovel oils and agents for non-food usesand it’s the only oil the UK can producein rich abundance. So why don’t UKgrowers treat their rapeseed as a premium product on-farm?

“British rapeseed goes mainly into thefood supply chain but it’s also the feedstock of choice for EU biodiesel producers,”says Philip Kimber, an OSR trader atFrontier. “Both markets require the same specifications and therefore thecommodity becomes interchangeable.”

This makes it very difficult to carve out

ritish arable farmers aren’t somuch rapeseed growers as oilbarons. Every year, a typical

1,000ha unit will produce enough rapeseed for around 2,800 barrels of oil.

Nor is it crude oil either –– rapeseed oilis among the finest money can buy. It’slower in saturated fats than all other oils,

OSR advice for oil baronsIn a market as significant and well-established

as rapeseed, there should arguably be more segmentation –– as well as healthy premiums

for progressive growers. CPM explores the opportunities.

By Tom Allen-Stevens

B

a premium for a specific market sincegrowers rarely know when their rapeseedleaves the farm which market it will ultimately end up in. Biodiesel is a good example.

Rapeseed oil“Currently, 60% of EU rapeseed oil production goes into biodiesel,” says Philip Kimber. “But at the same time, the UK is focused mainly on food production having made significant investment in this sector in recent years.

“However, we do export seed and oilto continental Europe, and we haveaccess to biodiesel markets across theEU –– particularly Germany, which is the main biodiesel processor.”

The UK currently produces about2.1Mt of OSR per annum, with the market dominated by two processors ––with crushing plants in Erith, Liverpooland Hull. Around 200,000t is generallyexported as seed, with some being used as animal feed which is the main end-use for the crushing plants’rapemeal by-product.

Both EU and UK production havebeen increasing steadily in recent years,but demand is now outstripping supply.


‘It’s exposed how the interchangeable nature of the oilseed sector –– with

its lack of traceability and undefined markets –– can work against UK growers.’

“Any farmer supplying a biodiesel contract fromthis harvest may have to sign a sustainabilitydeclaration,” says John Thorpe.

Over the past five years, the EU has movedfrom being self-sufficient in rapeseed tobecoming a net importer of around 2.5Mt/year.

But it’s the world market that dictatesdemand –– and therefore the price. “The latestsurge in prices has come from uncertainty overthe size of current global oilseed crops, and

there’s been a strong pull from China this season,” notes Philip Kimber. “The economiesof the Far East continue to grow at a healthyrate –– helping to fuel demand –– and theweather continues to affect growing crops in Europe and North America.”

India and ChinaAs India and China move towards a morewesternised diet, demand for oil is likely torise further, notes John Thorpe of Openfield.“Average consumption in the US and Europeis about 44-48kg of oil per person per yearand in India, it’s currently 11.2kg and growing.

“Just a 2kg rise will add a lot to globaldemand. We had no problem exporting300,000t last harvest and the demand forthe crop from this harvest onwards is just as strong.”

Yet biofuels legislation in Germany maycause a challenge for some growers, hebelieves. “The way the Germans have interpreted the Renewable Energy Directivewill require any farmer who may be supplyinga biodiesel contract from 2011 harvest tosign a sustainability declaration.”

The move is meant to safeguard againstdeforestation in the more marginal parts ofthe world. “But it’s also exposed how theinterchangeable nature of the oilseed sector


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Remember when their poor performancemeant HEAR varieties were only ever grownon set-aside land?

“Well the yield gap has now closed thanks to the new hybrids which have comeon-stream,” reports NIAB oilseeds expert,Simon Kightley.

“For many years, we were in a relativelypoor position to advise on high erucic varieties. For example, Maplus and Martinahadn’t been through official trials in this country, and we had no idea about their relative yield and agronomic characters.

“But breeders have now put several newvarieties through two years of initial UK trials, and HGCA have given the more promising ones an extra year in trials alongside Recommended List double-lows. So we’re now in a much better position to talk to growers.”

Marcant is the current market leader with a95% combined yield. “It’s early flowering andearly maturing, and it’s a good all-rounder forlight leaf spot and stem canker. But it doeshave a clear yield deficit.

“However, that isn’t the case with Palmedorwhich has a 103% gross output and a very

high oil content” (i.e. 46.7%). Yet Palmedordoes have a weakness for stem canker,he adds.

At 47.5%, Eraton has an even higher oil content, continues Simon Kightley. “It’s incrediblyhigh in this respect and it has a better stemcanker score than Palmedor, so it looks like anice progression. I assume the breeder KWSwill be looking for it to lead the market.”

Some other breeders also have HEAR varieties in the pipeline –– notably Harponfrom LSPB. “It’s got a combined yield rating of100%, but initial indications are that its stemcanker resistance is quite poor.”

Still grown are the conventional varietiesHearty, Helico and Maplus, he notes. “Heartyand Helico are interesting because of theirhigh stem canker resistance –– but at 84%,there’s a hefty yield penalty involved.”

The hybrids have definitely moved the HEAR market onto the next level, confirms Julie Goult of KWS. “Treat them asyou would any other hybrid. They have goodvigour in the autumn and they’re not as shortas Excalibur. Yield-wise, they stack up as wellas anything else –– you certainly don’t see thepenalties you once did.”

HEAR about the new varieties?


–– with its lack of traceability andundefined markets –– can work againstUK growers.”

And even though a small proportion of the UK crop currently satisfies the


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biodiesel market, every rapeseed growermay have to sign a sustainability declarationin future since the German authoritiesare yet to accept the Red Tractor asmeeting the required standard.

“It continues to cause the industry no end of problems, and will add significantly to farmers’ and merchants’administration –– possibly leading to atwo-tier market consisting of ‘sustainable’and ‘non-sustainable’ crops,” believesJohn Thorpe.

Defined marketsHowever, some defined markets do nowexist. High erucic acid rape (HEAR) haslong been a niche market that growerscan readily satisfy, says Mark Askew,HEAR supply chain manager at Frontier.“If it wasn’t for the erucamide slip agentextracted from HEAR rapeseed, youwouldn’t be able to get the top off a plastic bottle or open a plastic bag.”

An exclusive contract with Frontierbrings 85-90% of the UK’s HEAR production to Croda –– a Humberside-based company that manufactures the slip agent, which has sourced the rawmaterials from UK growers for over 20 years. The erucimide is used all

across the world, applied in small quantities to polymers and also as a mould release agent.

The company’s commitment to the UKmarket for its raw materials, and recentexpansion into new markets, has secured a 25% increase in the UK contracted crop area to 16,000ha for 2011.

“We’re looking for a further 10% risefor 2012 and have just about satisfiedthat demand,” reports Mark Askew.Unlike other markets, only specific varieties can be grown to satisfy HEARcontracts, and for that reason, there arevarious on-farm conditions that must be met to minimise contamination withconventional rapeseed (see box on p21).

HEAR growers benefit from a £100/tpremium, with a significant new marketnow evolving for high oleic low linolenic(HOLL) rape –– and attracting a £45/t premium. “Both HOLL and HEAR varieties carry with them a slight yield lagand the cost of the seed is comparablewith conventional varieties,” he explains.“But the yield lag is now closing” (seebox, opposite).

HOLL contracts have been availablefrom Frontier for the past three years andalthough the market is still small –– only

Mark Askew is predicting a 10% rise in theUK HEAR crop for harvest 2012.

http://www.horstinefarmery.com

The main practical issue to bear in mind on-farm with both HOLL and HEAR varietiesis cross-contamination, notes Frontier national trials manager, Jim Carswell.

“HEAR crops must have a 50m exclusionzone between them and any double-low, or HOLL crops. So when planning your cropping, you need to talk to your neighbours to find out what’s going to be onthe fields adjacent to the edge of your farm.”

In contrast, there only needs to be a physical barrier, such as a farm track, hedge or ditch, between HOLL crops and double-low crops, he notes.

In-crop volunteers can also be a problem,and Monsanto recommends creating a staleseedbed prior to sowing a HOLL crop.Ploughing can bring-up volunteers, whileautocasting and direct-drilling should beavoided, says the company.

The danger is that a even small amountof double-low seed can raise the linolenicacid content of the HOLL rape, or lower theerucic acid content in HEAR, downgradingthe crop to conventional status.

In agronomic terms, they should be treated just like any other rape crop, advisesJim Carswell. “In our trials last season,Eraton seemed slightly earlier to mature

than Palmedor. Marcant has good resistanceto light leaf spot and stem canker, butPalmedor seemed better against light leafspot so may be better suited to the north.”

Vistive V161OL is early flowering andquicker to mature, he notes. “In our trials,Vistive’s hybrid candidate seemed very vigorous in autumn and early spring.Depending on the growing conditions, youmay have to use a fungicide with strongPGR activity, such as metconazole, to keepthe canopy manageable.”

Otherwise, he recommends using Prosaro(prothioconazole+ tebuconazole) at both theautumn and stem extension spray timings. “At flowering, I’d apply Tectura (metconazole+boscalid) for sclerotinia control.”

Cross-contamination should also be bornein mind at harvest, with HOLL and HEARvarieties being stored separately, stressesJim Carswell. “Monsanto provides Vistivegrowers with a 24-hour turnaround samplingservice which gives a full analysis of the fattyacid profile before the crop leaves the farmto prevent any rejections later on.”

A HOLL new set of rules on-farm

“Cross-contamination should be borne inmind at harvest, with HOLL and HEARvarieties being stored separately,” says Jim Carswell.

http://www.belchim.com

about 10-12,000t –– it’s now growing and has greatpotential, believes Mark Askew.“There are also still a few HOLL contracts available for harvest 2012.”

HOLL rapeseed is marketedunder the Vistive brand byMonsanto. “It’s a healthier vegetable oil, being lower in saturated fats and free of trans fatty acids,” says the company’s food marketdevelopment manager, Mark Buckingham.

Healthy alternative?“It’s particularly attractive forlarge food companies becauseit offers a healthier alternativeto the oils they’re currentlyusing and it can be used inblends.” He adds that 1ha of oilseed rape generally produces more oil, and uses less water, than 1ha of sunflowers.

McDonald’s and KFC nowfry with British HOLL oil, hecontinues. “It’s a smart moveas saturated fatty acids in fastfood, and their link with heartdisease, are coming underincreasing public scrutiny.

“Although standard rapeseedoil may be used by many consumers in their ownhomes, it breaks down tooquickly in commercial fryers–– unlike HOLL oil which ismore stable.”

But the market remains relatively small, admits MarkBuckingham. “Our aim overthe next two years, with theadvent of some new hybridvarieties, isto expand out ofthe niche and become moremainstream.”

This has been the crop’smain sticking point, confirmscolleague David Leaper, whodevelops the agronomy and quality-assurance for Vistivevarieties. “It’s a chicken-and-eggsituation. We can now deliversignificant volumes into themarket, but the yield lag holdsmany growers back.”

There are now three HOLLvarieties –– V141OL, V161OLand V140OL –– all conventional

types yielding about 90% compared with most double-lowvarieties. “But we now have twohybrids coming through whichwill bring yield parity with otherson the Recommended List. A limited amount of hybridseed will be available thisautumn, with a launch scheduled for next year.”

So in the meantime, whatvariety should the oil-baronrapeseed grower be favouring?“High oil is something we’vealways bred for,” says MikeMann of DSV. “Varieties likeLioness, Compass andDimension lead the List ontheir oil content, although notnecessarily gross output (yieldadjusted for oil).

“The oil content is reliableand relatively stable, while theseed yield depends on so manyother husbandry factors.”

However, Theo Labuda ofLSPB reckons growers shouldconsider other agronomic factors in addition to selectingfor oil. “Sesame is a better betfor that reason –– top of theRecommended List in theEast/West region for gross output with good, average disease scores.

Tighter rotations“With more rape being grownand tighter rotations, a focuson factors such as club rootand light leaf spot resistancewill come more to the fore. At the end of the day, the market opportunities could be limitless but there’s a limit on how much rapeseedwe can physically grow in the UK.”

This factor in itself couldskew the market, confirmsJohn Thorpe of Openfield.“Every day, there are 200,000more mouths to feed, and the urban population of China is rising by about 4-5% each year.

“The demand for oil willcontinue to rise but the question remains –– howmuch longer will people support the idea of growingfood for fuel?” n

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http://www.kochind.com

Liquid N switch frees up labour

A Lincs farm business’s move to liquid for itsnitrogen needs has meant one man can now cover

a total of 2,000ha of work single-handed, whileother staff can focus on jobs more important than

ferrying around fertiliser bags.

By Martin Rickatson

‘That saves a lot of time waitingaround for deliveries to arrive.’

ith a total of 1,800ha of croppingto cover –– including wheat,potatoes, sugar beet and

vining peas –– plus 200ha of additionalcontracting work, Worth Farms’ 4,000-litre24m Househam sprayer has a sizeableannual workload totalling nearly 12,000haof passes around the business’s threefarms in the Holbeach area.

Adding the task of spreading liquidfertiliser this season has not only provedwell within the capabilities of both themachine and its operator, it’s alsoreduced the machine’s running costs/haand cut the labour requirement for fertiliser application by half, according to farm manager, Simon Day.

“And that’s before taking into accountthe agronomic benefits, such as improvedapplication accuracy.”

On a nearby farm he managed previously, Simon Day had worked with

a liquid N set-up, so when he came toWorth Farms last season, he managed toconvince the farms director, Gary Naylor,that the system could bring a number of benefits to the business –– not least,freeing-up labour at a busy time of year.

“The idea complemented the way thebusiness was evolving,” says Gary Naylor.“With fertiliser prices rising, we were naturally keen to improve our applicationaccuracy but we also wanted staff to be more available to undertake work elsewhere during the busy spring period.”

Back in-handThe farm has recently taken its beetdrilling back in-hand having previouslyused a contractor, and although this hashelped spread the labour and machinerycosts better, it does place a further workload demand on the staff in thespring, he admits.

While there’s a sizeable chunk of winterwheat in the rotation –– Viscount for earlysowing, Duxford for the second wheat slot,Oakley for late sowing and Welford –– theextent of the spring cropping area at WorthFarms, with sugar beet and vining peas to drill and potatoes to plant, meansMarch and April are particularly busymonths, says Simon Day.

“When I first came here, there was –– and still is –– one man operating the sprayer full-time and his busy periodreally began in April. Yet when we were


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http://www.syngenta-crop.co.uk

Each of the three pairs of tanks at Worth Farms is linked meaning theoperator doesn’t need to change from one to the other.

Where one man was previously needed to haul and load fertiliser, he can nowcultivate 520ha of beet seedbeds in thesame time, says Simon Day.

applying fertiliser in March, the sprayeroperator was quiet and we’d need twomen on the fertiliser work, with one manon the spreader and one on a telehandlerloading bags.

“To get around the whole of our cerealarea, it would take the two-man team a fullweek with solid fertiliser, taking into accountthe time needed for loading trailers fromthe shed, taking fertiliser to the field andloading the spreader.” Moreover, it tooktime to tidy up and dispose of the bags, he adds.

“One of the big attractions of a liquidsystem is that there’s no need for additional labour or machines –– neithertelehandlers nor trailers –– and the sameis true when the fertiliser is delivered,”says Simon Day. “The drivers are giveninstructions on where to go, and there’s no need for any of the farm staff to be present.

“That saves a lot of time waitingaround for deliveries to arrive.

“Moreover, there’s no need for shedspace to be used for storing bags –– weused to have 880 under cover at thebeginning of the season and this spacecan now be used for machinery. Andlabour is no longer required for tidyingbags for disposal –– plus there are nofire risk or security issues.”

With the practical advantages of the system appearing to fit well within thefarm’s labour and cropping profiles,Messrs Day and Naylor set about negotiating with suppliers for nitrogendeals for the season just passed.

“We decided that as long as we couldbuy competitively, we would opt for thecheapest source, but we didn’t completelycommit to switching until we knew the

prices of the different products,” says Gary Naylor.

“With our KRM Bogballe spreader fullydepreciated on our books, we intendedto retain it anyway as it’s still required forapplying other products, such as baggedN and MOP on potatoes.”

A deal was subsequently done to switchto liquid –– negotiated against the currentAN price, he says.

“Competition is always good for negotiation, and although we only hadthree supply options, we were alreadyworking closely with Omex for our potatoand beet fertiliser requirements. We alsotalked with Yara and they set out clearlywhat the switch would involve.

“We were able to benchmark againstother farm businesses and knew thecostings compared favourably –– so we agreed a deal.”

Pipes, pumps and fittingsHe admits to having spent a little bit moreon the hardware –– pipes, pumps and fittings etc –– than expected at around£2,000, plus another £8,000 was neededfor work on the tank bunds and pads.“But overall, the investment seemed pretty reasonable.

“Our six tanks which are owned byYara, cost us a nominal amount to renteach year and this is factored into theagreement price.

A pairs of tanks was installed at each of the three farm locations, with one fillproviding a half-season’s supply. “Andalthough we had to have bunds builtaround each tank, we only needed toinstall one purpose-made base.

“We could’ve perhaps installed moretanks to cut travel time but I think itwould’ve actually created more of an issuethan it might have solved. We previouslystored our solid N at two locations wherethe shed space was available, but beingable to work from three tank sites is muchmore convenient, and it works very well.”

Instead of having a single pipe foreach tank pair, the two are linked via a75mm pipe with a tap on the bund wallso the operator can fill from just a singleoutlet, says Gary Naylor.

The main additions to the sprayerincluded a set of fertiliser dribble barsand a 75mm Honda pump mounted onthe front of the machine, which has sped filling time to around three minutes.Househam calibrated the sprayer’s controller according to the specific weight of the liquid N product.

“The sprayer is already equipped with

a GPS-based, auto shut-off section controller,” says Simon Day. “There havebeen no misses or overlap issues withheadland application –– and the flow isinstant when starting a new run.

In terms of the extra workload, sprayeroperator, Richard Halstead, was up for the challenge from the beginning. “Somedoubt did then creep in as to whether itwould be possible to get all of the N appliedon time, but he’s now very happy havingcompleted this first season.”

But what of the effect on the maintenance,depreciation and replacement policy for the sprayer, given its extra workload and the corrosive nature of liquid fertiliser?

Simon Day reckons that putting another2,000ha of work through the sprayer eachseason has reduced its running costs toaround £2.50/ha. “That’s based on12,000ha of work per season before it comes up for replacement.”

Surprisingly, the farm is planning toextend the planned life of the sprayer, rather than reducing it, in light of its additional workload.

“Our normal replacement policy means it would be renewed every three years butwe consulted with Househam over theeffect an extra year’s work might have on its resale value, and we decided to extendthe warranty option, as we’ve done withother major items of machinery.

“Although our fields are relatively small–– averaging around 12ha –– when our current sprayer is due for replacement in a year’s time, we’re looking to move to 36m tramlines, which will further reduce its operating costs –– cutting the number of passes by 50%, as well as fitting in well with our potato bed system.

“Our sprayer operator always takes good care of the machine –– it’s washed off every night, and we’ve noticed very fewissues resulting from this season’s extraworkload. Fertiliser can take its toll on


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Farm factsWorth FarmsHolbeachLincs

l Cropping: 725ha winter wheat (all Group 4 varieties), 195ha sugar beet, 260ha potatoes (pre-pack for QV Foods and Manor Fresh), 250ha vining peas for Holbeach Marsh Co-operative, 190ha veg land (cauliflowers and broccoli), 160ha salad crop land rented out

l Soils: Light-medium alluvial silts

l Staff: Nine, including a full-time sprayer operator, fitter and potato storeman

l Tractors: 2x Challenger MT765B, John Deere 8420T

l Combine: 10.5m Claas Lexion 600 TT

l Handlers: JCB Loadall 531-70 x2

l Sprayer: Househam 4,000-litre 24m self-propelled

l Spreader: KRM Bogballe 24m

l Drill: 6m Vaderstad Rapid

l Main cultivation equipment:6m Vaderstad TopDown, Religieux Freres 8m Preperator seedbed cultivator, 3x Lemken seven-furrow ploughs

l Potato equipment: Grimme Varitron 220 SP harvester, Mediema Structural 4x 90cm planter with 3.8m AVR G Force cultivator, 6m AVR G Force cultivator

For the switch to liquid fertiliser, mainadditions to the Househam sprayer were a Honda pump for faster fills...

....and a set of dribble bars for the machine’s24m boom. Scorch hasn’t been a problem ––despite the warm conditions in April.

a sprayer if it isn’t managed properly andalthough we’ve been careful, we probablyshould’ve protected the pipe fittings and vulnerable areas a bit better.”

Cereals receive an average of 186kgN/ha,with 220kgN/ha for second wheat and200kgN/ha for crops following sugar beet.Wheat after potatoes gets 170kgN/ha, with160kgN/ha being applied to post-veg crops.

“Our aim is to have all nitrogen applied by the end of the third week in April, and thelimited impact the weather has on liquid Napplication has helped in this respect,” says Simon Day.

“As long as the fertiliser stream is unbroken,wind generally isn’t an issue, and a goodbreeze can actually help protect against scorch when it’s as warm as it was this spring.We can cover around 100-150ha/day althoughit obviously depends on the rate being applied–– which varies from 100-280 l/ha accordingon the previous crop.”

A two-dose split is the norm, although onsome crops, the final dose was split into twoapplications this year, he adds.

“The dry spring has given us another reasonto believe that we made the right decision.Wheats are visibly greener than others in thearea which received solid N –– some of whichis probably due to uptake through the plantleaves, as well as through the roots.”

But one of the biggest pluses, given thecomplexity of the cropping at Worth Farms, isthe ability to redeploy labour to more importanttasks, believes Simon Day. “In the time itwould’ve taken to assist with the solid fertiliserapplication process, one man can now coveraround 520ha with our 8m seedbed cultivatorto prepare the land for drilling. And once thebeet land is sorted, he can switch to helpingwith the pea sowing.

“We still have our spreader and could easily


switch back to a solid system if we had to. ButI can’t think of many reasons why we would.

“Even if urea suddenly dropped in priceconsiderably, we’d lose too many other benefitsfrom switching to make up for any gains wemight make from buying a cheaper fertiliserproduct.” n

http://www.monsanto-ag.co.uk

Centurion stands up to old guardCenturion stands up to old guard

The Centurion cultivator drill has beendeveloped specifically for UK and European conditions.

Two completely new drills headed the list ofnovel seeding options on show at last month’s

Cereals Event. CPM reports.

By Mick Roberts

‘I was surprised to notice most existing European

drill designs drop the seed in from much higher.’

he acquisition of Simba by USAmanufacturer Great Plains and the subsequent departure of the

Horsch line-up of equipment left thecombined company without a cultivatordrill. But it’s certainly got one now!

The Simba Great Plains Centurion,which made its much anticipated debut at last month’s Cereals Event, not only fills the gap in the range butintroduces some novel and interestingdevelopments at the same time.

“The drill is the result of a combinationof the expertise of engineers from boththe UK and USA,” says managing director, Colin Adams. “As well as the design input from this team ofexperts, our other big contribution was providing a tight specification brief which summarised all of our customers’ requirements.


“A lot of thought went into the planning process, with the Great Plainsengineers coming here and talking to a wide range of European farmers –– visiting their farms to look at their crops,soils and growing conditions long beforewe even started on the design.”

Design teamKey players from the US team –– Mike McClure, head of the Great Plainsengineering division and Verne Hubalek,product engineer –– were on hand atCereals to explain the design. They werealso joined by Philip Wright of WrightResolutions, the man in the UK behindmany successful Simba designs.

Right from the start, the cultivationelement on the Centurion was alwaysgoing to be discs, admits Colin Adams.“That’s because of Simba’s experience

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http://www.johndeere.com

Double disc coulters similar to those on the Centurion have featuredon drills in the USA since 1994.

with discs and their abilityto work well within min-till andplough-based establishmentsystems, and in a wide rangeof conditions.

“But the key requirementsof the design were to providehigh drilling accuracy withconsistent seed placementand reliable depth control in different situations.”

Width optionsThe Centurion will be availableinitially in widths of 6m and4m, with a 3m model joiningthese later next year. The drillswill be either semi-mountedor fully trailed, with hydraulicand air braking optionsavailable.

Up-front is an extendabledrawbar, which leads to thetwo-rows of 460mm diameterscalloped discs, which make up the drill’s primarycultivation element. Rubbermounts attach the gangs tothe disc arms and behindthese is an optional levellingboard, which breaks up the clods and firms the soilahead of the large packerwheels, which are fitted withcleated tyres.

These wheels support themachine during the headlandturns, while the four which arefitted to walking beam axlescarry the drill for transportwhen the outer sections arefolded. An interesting designdetail to help speed-up the turns is a ‘half lift’ facility

which allows operators to sethow high the drill is raised onthe headlands. The lift heightfor transport is 180mm.

“We’ve also made it easy to remove the wheels, with aservice lift height of 400mm,”says Verne Hubalek. “Havingthe option to do this was mentioned time and again by the operators we spoke toduring our research.” Lockedin this high position, it allowsthe wheels to be easilyremoved –– providing easyaccess underneath, he adds.

In operation, the wheelsconsolidate the seedbedahead of the following disccoulters. “These are the onlyitems on the drill to come froman existing machine and havebeen proven in use on GreatPlains drills since 1994,” says Verne Hubalek.

The coulters offer row spacings of either 125mm or 167mm, with each of thelarge packer-wheels workingahead of four or three rowsrespectively. The coultersemploy a pair of 337mmdiameter discs –– set at anangle to form a ‘V’ –– with theinner disc trailing the otherone by about 6mm to createthe seeding slot.

“The seed exits the tubewell below the discs’ axle –– closer to the ground thanother designs,” he continues.“This provides more positiveseed placement, as well asreducing the risk of bounce

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http://www.kuhn.co.uk

The metal seed delivery tubes are dimpledto slow the air stream before the seed enters the distribution heads.

and increasing placement accuracyalong the rows.

“I was surprised to notice most existing European drill designs drop the seed in from much higher.”

Seed-to-soil contactA semi-pneumatic rubber tyre closes theslot opened by the discs and improvesthe seed-to-soil contact. Seeding depthcan be adjusted –– between 4mm and100mm –– by moving handles in a seriesof holes. Coulter pressure is appliedhydraulically through rams which attachthe coulter bar to the frame and can be set from 40-210kg. Moreover, thewhole machine weight can be transferred,if required.

Seed is held in a 4,100 litre capacityhopper (on the 6m demo model onshow), which is mounted on three weighcells linked to the controller. The latter is encased in slick new guards, whichcontain cabinets for all the hydraulicvalves on one side and the electronics on the other –– keeping the two separate to improve cleanliness and maintenance.

Seed is metered by a unit designedspecifically for the Centurion, which

employs a single fluted roller for all seedsfrom oilseeds and cereals through topeas and beans. This is made possibleby a wide speed range on the electricmotor drive.

As the seed exits the metering unit, it’s split 50:50 into the two delivery pipesand these deliver it through further200mm diameter metal pipes, which are stamped with dimples to slow the air speed and ‘randomise’ the seed,before it passes into parabola-shaped distribution heads.

The drill’s controller –– an ISObuscompatible Müller unit –– operates the entire machine and, thanks to theweigh cells, provides a huge amount ofinformation to the user, as well as easingthe workload for the operator.

A novel feature is the ability to program-in the timing for the progressivelifting and dropping of each of the working elements to ease entry into work and lifting at the headlands. It doesthis by lowering the cultivator, followedby the levelling board –– only startingseed delivery when the coulters touchthe ground.

The controller also provides content

alarms for the amount of seed left in thehopper –– with a warning message beingsent before it runs out. And if the drill isequipped with a GPS signal, it providesmapping and variable seed rate control s


http://www.mcconnel.com

Double disc coulters also feature on Kuhn’snew Sitera mechanical drill.

The Mzuri Pro-Til strip tillage drill isdesigned primarily for working on stubble.

–– even sending a message about itslocation and hopper seed content to the seed trailer driver.

The same unit can also provide guidance, and even auto-steering, on suitably-equipped tractors.

Fellow UK manufacturer, Mzuri, usedCereals as the launch pad for a secondnovel, 100% British-built drill. The Pro-Tilstrip tillage machine is designed primarilyfor work directly into stubble, but is saidto perform equally well on min-tilled andploughed land.

The strip till concept is simple ––direct drilling seeds into defined strips,reducing the requirement for power, timeand fuel. Trials show diesel savings of 106 l/ha are possible with total costsdown by £103/ha, compared with conventional techniques, says Mzuri.

The crops are also claimed to bestronger and healthier than those established by more traditional methods,with the system’s moisture-retaining ability proving to be particularly beneficialthis season.

At Cereals, Mzuri added 3m and 4mtrailed models, with an optional fertiliserplacement kit on the 3m mounted version –– widely previewed before theshow. All versions of the drill are basedon four main elements, with a wide stagger between the soil-engaging parts to encourage unobstructed soil andtrash movement through the machine.

Up-front is a row of tines fitted with‘winglets’ which are set 330mm apart to loosen the soil within the root zone –– usually working at 150-200mm deep.The tine action also has the effect of

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http://www.claydondrill.com

The 3m Claydon Hybrid drill is a lighterversion of existing units –– with a power

requirement of around 150hp.

clearing the surface trash above the sowing strip, while the ‘negative rake’ on the tines is designed to prevent clods and soil from being brought to the surface.

These are followed by 180mm widetractor-treaded pneumatic tyres which consolidate the surface strips that havebeen broken up by the tines. The consolidation tyres also help to breakdownany clods which may’ve come up.

Seed is sown via placement coulterswhich are attached to the main frame viaa parallelogram linkage. This is designedto maintain the sowing depth, which is set by adjusting nuts that alter theposition of following semi-pneumaticwheels on each individual coulter unit.

The wheels and tyres are also used to firm the soil around the seed, and the coulter pressure is set and adjustedby hydraulic rams connected in a balanced circuit.

The drill is controlled by an RDSArtemis terminal which provides monitoring, as well as offering the facility for variable seedrates.

Lighter Hybrid Claydon used Cereals to introduce a 3m fixed-width version of its successfulHybrid drill, which joins the 4m, 4.8mand 6m folding models already available.

The new Hybrid weighs about 1t lessthan the existing 3m SR drill, and has a power requirement of about 50hp/m.“This makes it ideally suited to farmswith less powerful tractors which don’thave the capacity to pull or lift the biggerdrills but still want to gain the benefits ofdirect drilling,” says Spencer Claydon.

Like the SR, it still uses the Sulky MSseeding unit, which uses individualmetering units that have proved to bevery accurate. The drill is also equippedwith the Ultron terminal that provides +/-10% seed rate adjustment on the move.

The same Hybrid working principlesapply to the new model, which has widely staggered tines for maximumtrash clearance and soil flow through the machine. “Plus there’s a new, solid‘C’ tine up-front that has less flex thanothers –– allowing it to skim through the soil with minimal soil throw.” Alsonew for the 3m fixed width drill is a single-piece coulter tine.

New mechanical drillFor farmers relying on more conventionalestablishment techniques, Kuhn

launched a new 3m Sitera mechanicaldrill which is designed for working incombination with its HRB 303, HR 100or HR 1000 series power harrows.

The drill is equipped with Seedflexdouble disc coulters which can be set at 125mm or 150mm spacings making it suitable for conventional ormin-till drilling, says the firm. A flexibletyred-press wheel behind each of thedisc units provides integral depth control –– firming the seed into the slot for better seed-to-soil contact, claims Kuhn. n

http://www.newholland.com/uk

Store cleaning preventsrejectionsStore cleaning preventsrejections

Grain store preparation and cleaning is an irksome but important task as recent data

shows rejections due to infestations and contamination are on the rise.

By Geoff Ashcroft

The store’s age dictates the timeand effort required to clean it.

fter spending all-year growing eachcrop –– investing large sums ofcash along the way –– surely it

makes sense to give the grain store a bit of spit and polish before filling it up?

Warwicks farmer, Lee Sutton, certainlybelieves that it does, making a significanteffort to ensure his store is spotless eachyear. For as long as he can remember,cleanliness and preparation have been a pre-harvest priority at Grendon HouseFarm, Atherstone.

The farm’s drying facilities currentlycentre on a tunnel installation in a brick-built store –– complete with under-floor laterals dating back to the ‘60s.

He admits that the building has nowprobably gone beyond its original intendedlife, with the store’s design complexitydemanding that he and his team spendaround three days prior to harvest eachyear cleaning and prepping.

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MG Sutton is one of three farms thatoperate in a group to focus on spreadingcosts by sharing their resources andlabour. That means pulling enough labourtogether for store cleaning ahead of harvest.

“We store and sell our grain regularlythrough to the end of May –– sometimeseven as late as the beginning of June eachyear. When the stores are empty, we thenfocus on cleaning the buildings for theforthcoming harvest.”

Lee Sutton’s drier shed is one of threeon-site stores, although the other two are simply storage areas –– hence theydon’t require the same degree of intensitywhen cleaning.

The group produces a total of 404haoilseed rape, 768ha wheat, 40ha springlinseed, 161ha beans and 60ha peas.

The main drying store is 48m long and 9m wide, with each 6m wide bay containing four underfloor laterals. Withan ability to accommodate up to 1,000t ofcrop, the facility uses a Rekord stirrer system which sits on top of the walls–– with a heater bank available to introduce warm air into the main tunnel,when required.

“The system has the ability to reducemoisture from 22% to 16% in just 14 days. It’s an extremely useful resource,but not having smooth concrete floors orpanelled walls, it’s a major pain in thebackside to clean it properly.”

But the effort is worthwhile, he believes,since he’s never had a load rejected dueto pest contamination.

‘No corners cut’The store’s age dictates the time and effortrequired to clean it, and Lee Sutton isn’tprepared to cut corners. “We use good,old-fashioned elbow grease employing atechnique instigated by my grandfather.”However, some operations have beenmechanised to speed things up, he adds.

The cleaning process is methodical, and leaves no element of the barn or its facilities untouched. After an initialsweep-up –– from the underside of thebarn roof working downwards over thewalls to remove cobwebs and dust –– thestore is given a thorough vacuuming toremove as much dust and debris fromeach surface, where possible.

“We use two vacuums –– a trusty oldHenry domestic vacuum and a largecapacity Big Brute model,” continues Lee Sutton. “But we also have a Stihlpetrol-powered leaf blower/vac that we can use to deal with tougher areas.”

A telehandler and man-basket affords a safe platform from which to work whendealing with the underside of the roof.“After we can see an element of initialcleanliness, we then set to work on the


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Grain store cleaning atGrendon House Farml Sweep the store

l Vacuum the floor and walls

l Vacuum the main tunnel

l Lift under-floor laterals to vacuum, then treat with Reldan

l Spray walls, floor and tunnel with Reldan

l Deploy Actellic smoke bombs immediately after spraying

l Sweep up prior to the grain being loaded into store

Reldan is used to spray the walls, floorand tunnels to kill-off mites.

“The 6m wide sprayer allows us to setthe booms in a vertical position to spray2.4m up the sides of the walls. Once we get to the doorway, we immediatelyfumigate the building with Actellic (pirimiphos-methyl) smoke bombs –– then close the doors to let the smoke do its work.”

After the fumigation process is complete, the cleanliness of the store is assessed. “At that point, we can seeexactly what we’ve killed and after that, it’s simply a case of sweeping the floorprior to filling the store.”

While some may judge this approach to be unnecessarily thorough, it’s worthbearing in mind that, if the first load out of the store was rejected as a result ofgrain mite infestation, it would make thegrain very difficult to sell?

“I’ve sometimes wondered whetherwe’re going a bit over the top –– somepeople would probably describe ourprocess as a touch obsessive –– butwhat price do you put on stopping yourgrain from being rejected because ofmites and pests?

“If we were to cut out just one part of the process, then experience a contamination issue, it would be a big problem when you consider the tonnages involved.”

The downsides of having loads rejectedwould be considerable, he believes. “It might be possible to treat infected grainin-store although you’d probably need a

Lee Sutton has adopted a particularlythorough approach to grain store cleaning.“We never get loads rejected because of mites.”

under-floor laterals. Every channel is thoroughly vacuumed, after which wemove inside the main air tunnel.”

When the vacuuming is finished, theunderfloor channels are sprayed withReldan (chlorpyriphos-methyl) –– a broad-spectrum insecticide for the controlof insects and mites. “The floor is putback down, then we spray the entire building –– roof, walls, tunnel and floor –– working our way towards the door.”

Knapsack sprayerIn a bid to improve productivity and torefine his grandfather’s original cleaningprocess, Lee Sutton has taken steps tomechanise the operation. “For example,we now use a boom fitted to the knapsacksprayer’s lance –– providing four nozzlesand a working width of 1.5m.”

He’s also converted an old tractor-mounted sprayer with a cut-down boomspecifically to work within the building.


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http://www.ragt.co.uk

A knapsack sprayer has been equippedwith a 1.5m, four-nozzle boom to speed upin-store spraying.

Cobwebs are swept off the roof with a little help from a work-platform on a telehandler.

gravity separator to properly clean-up any contaminated samples.

“And if the rejection is part of a contracted tonnage, the merchant willwant replacement goods and you’ll alsoneed to pay for the haulage charges thereand back to the farm –– plus you’ll still bestuck with goods that no other merchantwill touch.

Chinese whispers?“Once word gets around –– and merchants do talk to each other in thesame way farmers do –– no-one willcome near you all season. If it’s your first load out of the barn, having a wetharvest will seem like a joy, comparedwith dealing with rejected loads!”

So what cost does Lee Sutton put oncleaning and decontaminating the store?“Making sure we do the job properlymeans three men working three, sevenhour days.

“At a rate of £10/hour, that’s a cost of £630 in labour. Plus a small amount ofelectricity for the vacuum cleaners and abit of fuel for the blower-vac –– and thecost of spray chemicals and smoke bombs–– which gives a total of around £700.”

That equates to around 46p/t, with atotal of 1,500t of crop going through the

store each year, he estimates. “When youconsider the value of the crops involved–– could be as much as £300,000 –– thecleaning cost is negligible.”

Larger pests, such as rats and mice, aredealt with by a local pest control company,continues Lee Sutton. “We have monthlyvisits from the pest controllers who provideus with bait boxes and poison, so the trapsare closely monitored to establish whichrodents are present.

“We did have a fairly significant mouseproblem a few years ago, so we’vebecome much more vigilant as a result.”The £220/quarter he pays provides goodpeace of mind, he believes.


The entire cleaning process is documented, so the crop assuranceschemes and merchant customers get the benefit of traceability when it comes to store preparation. “I’ve asked a few of the merchants we deal with if their customers are expected to follow any specific requirements for cleaning grainstores, and they’ve told me that my cleaning process is satisfactory.

“It’s just not worth taking the risk of having an unclean grain store. And I reallycan’t see why anyone wouldn’t at the veryleast want to sweep, spray and brush upprior to loading their crop into store.” n

http://www.pestcontrol-expert.com

Drill switch helps to slash costs

One Lincs farmer believes the purchase of a newdrill has helped make the acquisition of his

previously tenanted farm more viable.

By Martin Rickatson

It provides just enough surfacemovement to trigger blackgrass

germination.

he opportunity to buy its once-tenanted farm was a key driverbehind one Lincs-based family

business’s switch to direct drilling –– withlower establishment costs contributing tothe viability of the overall purchase plan.

When Will Gilman and his family wereadvised two years ago that the owners oftheir 370ha farm wished to sell, theydecided to look into the possibility of buying the farm themselves.

“The sale was completely unexpectedbut we were obviously keen to investigatethe possibility of taking on the ownershipof the farm ourselves. However, in view of the various costs this would entail, welooked at all areas of the business to seewhere we could improve our operating efficiency, as well as trying to reduce ouroverall expenditure.

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“We’ve been gradually cutting our crop establishment costs over the pastdecade or so by moving from a plough-based system and a power harrow/drillcombination to a min-till system using aGregoire Besson Discordon –– and morerecently, a Horsch Terrano –– followed bya 6m Väderstad Rapid drill.

“At the same time, this meant we’vebeen gradually reducing our tillage depth,and hence sub-surface compaction in our soils.”

The main downside of the Rapid is that it “isn’t the lightest drill on the market” –– plus it needed a lot of horsepower up-front, says Will Gilman. “We were also finding that our yields had reached a plateau, so we decided to look again at our establishment system to try to further reduce soil compaction levels and unnecessary soil movement.

“In addition, we were having to useseparate systems for oilseed rape andbeans, with a different tine drill for thelatter and a subsoiler-mounted seeder for the former.”

Initially, Will Gilman and his fatherweren’t keen on the idea of furtherreducing the number of cultivation passesby switching to a direct drilling system.

“It wasn’t something we knew a greatdeal about,” he admits. “We were aware of some of the problems that people hadencountered previously with the system inthe ‘70s, and our agronomist had doubtsabout whether it would suit the farm.

Reduced costs“But the prospect of reducing our fuel,machinery and labour costs overall was very appealing in light of the imminentfarm purchase –– especially with theopportunity to eliminate the need for a heavy cultivations tractor.”

The farm employs two full-timers anddoesn’t rely on any additional harvestlabour. “It’s likely that we won’t take anyone else on when our current staffretire, so the labour savings of switching to direct drilling were also attractive.”

He felt that a disc coulter drill wouldn’tsuit the farm’s soils –– half of which is limestone brash and half clay. “Our mainconcern was that, should the weather turn wet after drilling, the seed could besitting in water at the bottom of the furrowcreated by the disc.

“In addition, the brash is only aroundsix inches deep, with a high stone content,which doesn’t suit discs.”

A tine coulter was therefore considered


The Gilmans aren’t convincedthat their current tracked tractoris well suited to direct drilling.

to be a better option, but whatthe Gilmans particularly soughtwas a drill incorporating a loosening element ahead of thecoulter to below seeding depth to remove surface compactionand improve drainage.

“That narrowed our choicedown further and we soonfound the Claydon Hybrid wasprobably the drill we wanted.”So early last year, he went tosee some Claydon-establishedcrops, and what struck him inparticular was that, despite theheavy land these were on, therewas little sign of waterlogging.

“Moreover, the crops lookedas good on the headlands asthey did in the middle of thefield –– and much of thisappeared to be because thetractor had been turning onfirm, undisturbed soil.”

The Gilmans, who grow combinable crops only ––Group 3 and 4 wheats, oilseedrape and some barley –– subsequently decided to selltheir combination drill andRapid, but kept the Terrano as it was already written-offon the farm’s books.

At the same time, a 6mClaydon Hybrid drill was delivered last spring –– thefirm’s widest and most recent,fully-mounted model. Initially,both of the farm’s mainline tractors were retained while the family decided which one would be best suited tooperating the new drill.

Although one tractor has now gone, they admit they’restill unsure whether or not to

switch the remaining unit.“We were running a 300hp

AGCO Challenger MT755B anda 290hp Massey Ferguson8480, with the crawler on thecultivator and the MF on thedrill,” explains Will Gilman.“Initially, we switched the tractor straight onto the Claydonbut it wasn’t really man enoughon some of our ground, so wedecided it would need to besold and the crawler would stay.

“The Challenger certainly has the power and traction thedrill needs but I’m not entirelyconvinced that a trackedmachine is best for this system–– particularly because of thescuffing caused while turningon the headlands. So when the crawler comes due forreplacement next season, we may look to replace it with a 360hp wheeled tractor.”

The drill was purchased aspart of a package, together witha Claydon straw rake and theGilmans are convinced of thenecessity of the latter as partof the direct drilling system as a whole.

‘Rake plays a part’“It definitely helps with slugcontrol,” says Will Gilman. “We apply 4kg/ha pellets whilstdrilling but the rake plays a big part in disturbing the slug environment. As a result,we’ve had no significant slugproblems, whereas we know ofothers who’ve had issues usingthe drill without the rake.

“In addition, the rake provides just enough surfacemovement to trigger blackgrassgermination.”

They rake all crops at leastonce, and as many as threetimes depending on the timeavailable. “It’s easy to do 300 acres (120ha) in a daywith a 150hp tractor, and it’s a much better tool for the job than the Terrano whichtends to redistribute the blackgrass seeds on the surface too deep.

“A shallow-rooted weed iswhat we want for our herbicidesto be most effective, and s

http://www.limagrain.co.uk/panorama

Kerb (propyzamide) has nailed blackgrass pretty well in our rape where the rake pass has ensured good weed germination.”

While the elimination of deep soil cultivation and themove to direct drilling is helping

to alleviate compaction on theGilmans’ land, the family hasmade further concessions inthis respect.

When the farm’s John Deere9880 STS combine came duefor replacement ahead of thecurrent harvest –– making wayfor a Massey Ferguson 9280Delta Hybrid –– the newmachine was specified with900mm tyres on the front axle,and powered rear wheels toreduce the chances of the frontwheels digging in and smearingon hilly or damp ground.

Only on headlands“We also only unload on the headlands,” explains Will Gilman. “Some peoplewould argue that this cuts ourcombine output, but with theprevious combine, we couldeasily cut 100 acres (40ha) in a day –– backed by two tractors and trailers, and oneman corn carting.

“It helps that all of our

OSR establishment on theheadlands has improvedconsiderably with direct drilling, says Will Gilman.

land is within a mile or two of one of our stores, so we’renot spending too much timecarting. It’s worth it to keep soildamage from tractors and trailers to a bare minimum.”

The corrugated effect left bydrilling in bands helps supportmachinery subsequently travelling across the land, he continues. “However, thatdoesn’t mean the ridges arecompacted and impenetrable.

“Just because they’re rigid, it doesn’t mean they aren’tporous,” he maintains. “In theclay in particular, the soil cracksthroughout its profile as it dries,helping drainage and root passage. And the old roots andfibres from previous stubbleshelp to break up the soil andincrease this effect –– added to which I drill at a 30° angle to the previous crop each year,which helps to break up the previous ridges.

“The need to let the plants dothis loosening, rather than tryingto do it mechanically, wasbrought home when I was initially trying to plant rape with the drill. I was putting theleading breaker tines in 6in(150mm) deep but kept breaking the shearbolts on them.

“I gradually reduced theworking depth until they weredown at 2in (50mm) and therape was going in at 1in (25mm)behind them, and the cropgrew just as well where it hadbeen planted deeper.

“It’s very easy to break cultivator points on this type of land, resulting in a lot ofdowntime and cost, so beingable to eliminate cultivationpasses has helped to bring ourwearing parts bills right down.

“The drill’s leading tines have done 1,000ha and willcomfortably do this year’srape ground before they needchanging.” The seed boots are expected to do around4,500ha, he adds.

Slug control is further aidedby the fact that around 90% of the business’s wheat straw is baled and sold to a merchantfriend, or used on-farm. But

the Gilmans are keen to progressively chop more andbale less –– the flipside beingthat slug control will move higher up the agenda.

“Our limestone brash has anorganic content of 7% which isgood for this type of soil, butincreasing the mulch on the soilsurface would help retain more moisture, which should againhelp our yields,” says WillGilman. “But we’ll have to keep a close eye on the slugs.”

Both wheat and rape aredrilled at 30cm row spacings in175mm bands, and despite theseemingly high potential forweed ingress, this hasn’t beenan issue to date, he confirms.

“There’s less oxidised nitrogen available to the plantsinitially because the groundhasn’t been cultivated, but conversely there’s more soil N still in the ground when theplant really begins to grow awayin the spring.

Crop competition“And as the root structuresexpand, they redistribute thesurface mulch above them intothe row spacings in-between ––aiding weed control –– and bythe end of March, the gapshave really filled out.” Moreover,there’s also less foliar diseasepressure because of theincreased air flow in-betweenthe rows, he notes.

“As for the land itself, there’s a clear benefit to the soil structure of the heavier claysoils in particular –– with morespring vigour and less puddlingimplying that they’re copingwith winter rainfall much better.

“And on the rape fields inparticular, reduced slug andcompaction damage havemeant the areas on the headlands where we’ve alwayshad problems in the past lookalmost as good as the mainbody of the field.

He admits that he’s learningall the time –– now heading into his third season using the system. “There are definitelya few things we wouldn’tdo again.

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http://www.opico.co.uk/he-va

Farm factsHP Gilman and PartnersPickworthnear StamfordLincs

l Farmed area: 945ha – 370ha owned with the remainder either contract farmed or whole farm contracted

l Cropping: Winter wheat, winter barley, spring barley, winter oilseed rape, stubble turnips

l Stock: 600 breeding ewes

l Soils: 50% thin limestone brash, 50% medium clay

l Tractors: AGCO Challenger MT755B, Massey Ferguson 6490 and 5475

l Combine: Massey Ferguson 9280 Delta Hybrid

l Labour: Two full-time employees plus Will Gilman and his father

Wheats is sown in 175mm bands using thesame 30cm row spacing as for rape.


“Firstly, it’s easy to keep going with thedrill when it starts to rain because you’renot working on bare soil –– but it doesn’tdo the ground any good and you need toknow when to stop.

Early start“Secondly, drilling needs to begin as earlyas possible –– our aim is to start sowingrape on 10 August wherever we can, with wheat drilling commencing exactlyone month later.” The wheat herbicideprogramme is based around Crystal (flufenacet+ pendimethalin) and DFF pre-emergence, followed by an autumnapplication of Atlantis (mesosulfuron+iodosulfuron) where possible, he says.

“The covering boards on the drill do agood job in the dry –– covering the seedwith tilth and ensuring less likelihood ofdamage from pre-em herbicides.”

This season’s OSR varieties are DK Cabernet, sown at 40 seeds/m2

(2kg/ha) and NK Grandia, sown at 50 seeds/m2 (3-3.5kg/ha) –– with lastyear’s conventionally-sown crop averaging4t/ha. The wheats –– Group 3 Zebedeeand Group 4 JB Diego, half of which issecond wheat –– average is around the 8-8.5t/ha mark, he adds.

“We initially began drilling our wheatsat a seedrate of 100kg/ha, but after talking with a neighbour who uses a similar system, we were a bit concernedthat we’d cut back a bit too far, so weupped the rate to 150kg/ha with the later-sown crops.” He believes there

may be more scope for rate cutting as hegains more confidence with the system.

“We’ve also direct drilled some wheatafter grass, and I have to admit I was a bit concerned about the effect of theorganic mat at the bottom of the old ley on the emergence of the crop –– but the plants grew through it without any problems.”

While the business is still in the earlystages of switching to direct drilling, Will Gilman’s initial calculation is that the move has so far resulted in a savingof £45-50,000 on fuel, machinery and labour.

“Around £30,000 of that is in fuelcosts alone –– and that’s without takinginto account the benefits from the sale of the tractor and drill.” n

http://www.dsv-uk.co.uk

nravelling the secrets of the geneticmake-up of wheat is helping plant breeders deliver more

reliable varieties with a desirable range of traits to meet the demands of modernfarming systems.

Until the announcement of the draftwheat genome map by scientists in2010, RAGT Seeds had the mostdetailed understanding of wheat geneticsof all the plant breeders, having inheritedthe work of Government-funded PlantBreeding International, claims SimonHowell, managing director of RAGTSeeds UK.

The company has since been puttingthat knowledge to good use, and is

Understanding wheatgenomics

The first batch of wheats to benefit from cutting-edge technology to boost genetic

improvement is now a commercial reality.CPM examines the science and how

growers stand to gain.

By Robert Harris

‘We can now stack 2-3 partialresistance genes into a variety.’

U

starting to deliver wheat varieties withnovel, clean and stable traits, he says.

“We aim to double the rates of geneticgain within these programs over the nextdecade. One of the big drivers is to lock-ingreater reliability of production underincreasingly variable climatic conditions,as well as improving yield and quality.”

Selection of varieties for breeding programmes now uses a combination of cutting-edge, marker-aided geneselection together with the century-oldpedigree approach, where the breederselects the best conventionally crossedlines by eye in the field.

The adoption of gene tracking reduces the time taken from the firstplant crosses to varieties being enteredinto Recommended List trials from 10 to just seven years.

More importantly for the grower, itenables better selection of robust traits


by enabling breeders to stack desirablegenes –– promising better yield gains,improved grain quality and robust disease resistance, as well as plants better able to cope with stress, maintainsSimon Howell.

0.5% per yearSo how does it work? Since the introduction of semi-dwarf wheats in the mid ‘70s, a genetic yield increase of about 0.5% per year has been maintained, says RAGT’s senior UKwheat breeder, Ed Flatman. However,rather than a constant upward trend,advances are usually made in steps, he explains.

“Exceptional landmark varieties, suchas Brigadier, Savannah and Oakley, takea clear 2% lead. Then others catch upover the next 3-4 years before another2% breakthrough occurs.

“We can now begin to explain some of this using our increasing knowledge of the underlying genetics. For example,we know now that it’s possible to findgenes which individually give a reliable1-2% yield increase.”

But to maintain the current annual0.5% increase over an 8-10 year breedingcycle, offspring from a cross made todaybetween the best available varieties willneed to be 4-5% higher yielding than its parents to succeed, he comments.

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http://www.agricentre.basf.co.uk

“By using marker-assisted breedingtechnology, it allows breeders to stackdesirable genes,” says Simon Howell.

Marker technology is allowing breeders toimplement more robust disease resistancestrategies through gene stacking.

“Traditional breeding for disease resistance involved looking for varietieswith good resistance and selecting linesthat looked clean,” says RAGT plantpathologist, Sarah Holdgate. “This produced varieties like Brigadier which had excellent resistance to diseases suchas yellow rust –– until the rust mutated and overcame that resistance.

“However, Brigadier wasn’t the only victim during these boom-and-bust cycles

–– other recent notables included Robigus,Solstice and Oakley.”

These cycles of rust resistance wereprincipally caused by the deployment of so-called ‘major genes’, she explains.“Major gene resistance is based on a single gene and it gives the appearance of complete immunity within the plant.However, it’s very susceptible to a rustmutation when we see a breakdown invarietal resistance.”

Adding partial resistance through minorgene selection is changing all that, sheclaims. “For example, it allows rust to infectthe host plant in a less severe way ––some partial resistances operate only duringthe later growth stages, or late in the season when temperatures start to climb.

“Individually, genes conferring this adult plant resistance don’t offer enoughprotection individually –– hence they haveto be stacked.”

Partial resistance can even work in tandem with a major gene, says SarahHoldgate. “Adding one partial resistancegene might mean the variety’s rating dropsfrom a 9 to say 5 or 6 in the event of majorresistance breakdown, rather than perhaps2 or 3.” Stacking a further partial resistancegene could mean the rating drops by just asingle point, she suggests.

This technique was used in breeding thecurrent candidate variety, Relay, which has

a 9 rating for yellow rust, she continues.“However, the resistance is protected by an additional minor gene to prevent it frombreaking-down completely in the field.

“Until the advent of molecular markers,this would’ve been impossible as the partialresistance gene’s effect would’ve beencompletely masked by the major gene.” A team of scientists at the company’s £3Mplant breeding centre at Ickleton, Cambs,screens material using different geneticmarkers, she adds.

“This can be done when the plants areat the seedling stage so we know whethera plant has a particular gene before the following generations even go out into the field. By using these markers, we can stack 2-3 partial resistance genes into a variety.”

Marker-assisted breeding also allowsbreeders to select out defeated genes tohelp improve varietal yields. These includemajor genes that have been overcome bydifferent races of brown rust, such as Lr1from Glasgow, Lr26 in varieties such asGladiator, and Lr37, which was linked tothe yellow rust gene Yr17 in Brigadier.

“These cause crops to use up energy asplants are constantly on red alert trying todefend themselves against pathogens thatmay or may not be present,” she explains.“So removing these genes could also helpto raise yields.”

Marker technology and disease resistance

“Linking partial with multi-gene resistanceshould help to make varieties more robustin future,” believes Sarah Holdgate.

Traditionally, breeders have selectedby eye for higher yielding visual characteristics like increases in ear

numbers, and bigger ears and/or grains.A 2% breakthrough yield on an ear of 50 grains is the equivalent of one extragrain increasing the thousand grainweight from 50 to 51 –– or an extra 10 ears resulting in a crop of 500 ears/m2.

Yield assessmentsTo discover the genes responsible forincreasing the yield, two of the highestyielding varieties originating from different parentages are inter-crossed.The yield of the progeny is then assessed–– requiring a few hundred fixed lines –– which are then multiplied and grownover a number of sites and years toassess both the yield potential and varietal stability.

“Using marker analysis, it’s then possible to identify the genes that are increasing the yield across the population as a whole,” says Ed Flatman.“In many cases, it’s been possible to findthe three or four genes that individuallygive a 1-2% increase.


“When added together, they can givethe required gain of 4-5% over a singlebreeding cycle.”

It’s important to try to understand themechanism of the gene to gauge itsworth, he continues. “There are basicallytwo types of yield gene –– the first isbased on a yield component, such as the harvest index (ratio of grain-to-straw)or larger grain size, and is probably themost beneficial as it will tend to have a generally positive effect across mostyears and locations.

“The second type is more related tostress resistance –– for example, maturityor plant height –– where a yield gainoccurs due to tolerance or avoidance ofa particular stress factor. By combiningboth gene types in a variety, a commercialcrop would benefit from this geneticmake-up –– particularly in a stress situation like we’ve seen this spring.”

However, this bi-parental approach isexpensive to run, and the shift towardshigher density gene mapping and new

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“It’s now possible to identify leads for new yield genes from many different varietysources,” says Ed Flatman.

The fruits of RAGT’s marker-assisted selectiontechnology are starting to appear all aroundthe country, notes Simon Howell.

“Warrior, a Group 3 variety with one of the strongest all-round disease resistancepackages on the Recommended List, was thefirst RAGT variety to come through the system–– first introduced in 2009. Tuxedo followedlast autumn, offering a step-up in yields andbroader marketing options, as well as a gooddisease resistance package.”

Simon Howell expects to achieve a thirdconsecutive year of success in the Group 3 category with the RL candidate, Torch. Its104.4 yield score is 2% higher than Tuxedo,and it measures up well against the barn-fillingGroup 4s, being just 1% behind Conquerorand 3% behind KWS Santiago. It also haspotential biscuit, distilling and export quality.

“This very much changes the dynamic ofthe Group 3 market,” he says. “Consort andRiband were grown not necessarily becausethey were Group 3s but because they hadhigh yields. Torch is similar –– it’ll deliver bigyields and the chance of earning a useful premium over soft Group 4s.”

The variety has good all-round diseaseresistance apart from mildew (rated 3) –– and it’s also a bit weaker on yellow rust thanall the other recommended (except Robigus)

and candidate Group 3 varieties (rated 6).The variety has already found favour with

a major end-user, with ADM Milling recentlyestablishing buy-back contracts with selectedgrowers to supply it to United Biscuits fromnext harvest.

The move follows concerns aired by UBover the continued erosion of Group 3 plantingsand reflects RAGT’s efforts to develop strongfood chain partnerships with millers, distillersand merchants, says Simon Howell. “All ofthese customers are key to our strategicbreeding decisions for the varieties we’redeveloping for the future.”

Mark Ringrose, trading manager at ADMMilling, says: “The Torch buy-back contract,supported by UB, confirms our view that wheat variety development is vital to providingend-users with a point of differentiation in flourperformance. At the same time, growers havethe opportunity to produce a high yieldingcrop, with an attractive buy-back option tosupply a major UK food manufacturer.”

Seed has already sold out for next season,but provided the variety receives a Group 3 recommendation, Simon Howell reckons support from another major end-user could help Torch achieve a 4-6% market share nextautumn when it will be launched commercially.

Torch to lead the way?

analytical tools is opening up alternativestrategies for yield discovery. “We’re nowanalysing the yields of hundreds of varietiesand breeding lines using yield data alreadycollected over many years of trials.

“Together with the high-density markerinformation, it’s now possible to identify leads for new yield genes from many different variety sources.”

Another reason for gaining an understandingof how individual yield genes work is to highlight the antagonistic effects impacting onother traits, he says. “For example, increasedyield is sometimes linked to a decrease inHagberg, and there are several exampleswhere a major disease susceptibility has beenmaintained while the yield has increased ––especially important when balancing resistanceto Septoria tritici and the rusts, for example.

“As the selection process becomes morecomplex, we can develop strategies for accumulating many more smaller yieldeffects –– balancing them up against any of the negatives for quality, disease or otheragronomic characters, and developing aselection index to drive further and morerapid yield gain.

“This initial intense marker selection can happen in the glasshouse at an early generation stage so that during the later fieldstages, we can be more focussed and criticalfor traits that still have a large environmentalinfluence –– and where measurement helps tofine-tune our selection for yield, Hagberg andother traits.” n


http://www.dekalb.co.uk

Mounted sprayers moveup in the world?

Technologically speaking, mounted sprayers havecaught up with trailed and self-propelled

machines in recent years. CPM talks to two satisfied users.

By Martin Rickatson

‘This provides extra security when travelling on the road.’

ime was when the choice for buyersrequiring a 2,000 litre sprayer wasrestricted to trailed or, for bigger

budgets, self-propelled machines. However, a new generation of

high-capacity mounted machines is changing all that.

While the capacity of many manufacturers’flagship trailed and self-propelled sprayershas doubled, and even tripled, in size overthe past couple of decades –– with thetechnology having evolved significantly atthe same time –– mounted machines havearguably received much less attention fromsprayer designers.

However, all that has changed inrecent years with some of the newestmounted sprayers on the market havingtank capacities close to 2,000 litres ––and technology matching that found onmany trailed and self-propelled machines.

For many mid-sized farms, the cost-savings from not having wheels,tyres and a tracking drawbar or steeringaxle to maintain –– plus the addedmanoeuvrability provided by mounted

machines –– means this is now anincreasingly attractive option.

When Worcs farmer David Lee’ssprayer came up for replacement threeyears ago, he decided to stick with amounted machine –– despite moving towider tramlines and needing a sprayerthat would have the capacity to cover a neighbour’s farm as well as his own.

And while David Lee runs his sprayerand spreader across the two farms, hisneighbour Kevin Wickens provides the drilland combining services on both units.

400ha plus contracting work“Between us, we farm just over 400ha–– with 120ha of my own and 280ha ofKevin’s.” The two men carry out someadditional contracting work as well.

“I’ve only been farming here for tenyears, and although the farm is relativelysmall, this type of task-sharing hasallowed me to justify and invest in highspec/ high capacity machines for thetasks I’m responsible for –– without having to worry about ‘big ticket’ itemslike the combine.”

The farm runs a pair of Fendt 820 tractors equipped with full auto-steeringsystems, but has no harvester or drill ofits own. So when David Lee’s sprayerand spreader came up for renewal three years ago, he was keen to go for machines wider than the existingmounted 18m Berthoud sprayer, as well as wanting one with more capacityand up-to-date technology.


T

“With no wheels, tyres or steering system to worry about, a big mounted sprayer isless complicated and costly to run than a trailed unit,” believes David Lee.

We wanted to move to a 24m system to reduce the number of spreading andspraying passes needed, but also to havea bigger tank so we’d be spending lesstime filling.” Moreover, the two men werekeen to move to a machine that wouldprovide full precision farming compatibility.

Yet with a larger, more hi-techmachine on their wish list, many buyersin the arable-dominated east would perhaps move to a trailed sprayer. But asDavid Lee points out, the topography ofwestern England places some constraintson machinery practicality.

“Aside from the extra cost and complication of the wheels, tyres andsteering axles or drawbars, we’re limitedsomewhat by the shapes and sizes of our fields, as well as by some very narrow lanes.”

The latter would make transporting atrailed machine difficult, while lots of theirfields are irregularly shaped, which meanshaving to back into corners when sprayingthe headlands. “But with a mountedsprayer, that’s relatively quick and easy.”

Moreover, some of the land is undulating which gave them some stability concerns with the thought of running a trailed sprayer.

With a number of manufacturers nowoffering machines around the 2,000 litremark, David Lee decided to stick with amounted sprayer. “Design changes suchas short platforms and tall tanks meanthese can now be used very effectivelyon higher-hp tractors –– partly because of their high lift capability.”

With the business already running an Amazone Ultra Hydro Profi S 24m

fertiliser spreader, the decision washelped by the appeal of commonalitybetween the two control boxes. As aresult, the spreader was joined threeyears ago by a 1,800 litre AmazoneUF1801 24m mounted sprayer.

“We bought one of the first machinesavailable after the range was launched,but I was confident in what I’d seen in terms of the sprayer’s design, andfrom detailed discussions I’d had withPaul Dodd of Amazone.”

Boom folding arrangementAnother criterion that was high up the list was the boom folding arrangement,admits David Lee. “I wanted somethingthat was completely tucked in at the rearof the tractor and not fouling the cab.”With lots of narrow lanes in his area, hewas also concerned the folded boomswould snag on the hedges.

“But on the UF1801, they tuck-in rightbehind the sprayer, within the width ofthe machine. This provides extra securitywhen travelling on the road.”

The machine is fully-specced, withfeatures including DUS pressure circulation and auto-boom levelling ––and independent Profi 2 boom folding.However, he concedes the latter has only been used on one field to its fulladvantage –– with all of the remainingareas dealt with comfortably using justdistance control on a rigid boom.

Seven-section boom shut-off is linkedto an in-cab GPS switch controller.

“When we’re next upgrading, I thinkI’ll probably specify the Comfort Packwhich includes auto-fill stop, auto-agitator

shut-off and auto-cleaning of the sprayline, tank and agitator.

“We could also easily add a front tank,taking our total capacity up to nearly3,000 litres for relatively little extra cost–– perhaps using the front tank for cleanwater or for a mixed load.”

While David Lee owns the machine,it’s Kevin Wickens who actually doesmost of the spraying –– with the machineusually mounted on one of the Fendt820s, and with coupling made easier viaan A-frame system and hydraulic top-link.

The set-up is backed by a purpose-built, farm-constructed 5,000 litre bowser which is based on a series of flatbed-mounted linked IBCs.

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http://www.bayercropscience.co.uk/killit

Based at St Columb Major near Newquay,family farming business P and MR Biddickchose to take their spraying requirementsback in-hand this season after contracting-out for some years.

The Biddick family specialises in contract cereal growing as a ‘break crop’on land owned by the area’s specialistpotato and cauliflower growers. The business has around 280ha of winterwheat, and winter and spring malting barley in the ground for this harvest.

“We were looking to regain some of ourindependence by no longer having to relyon a contractor,” explains Matthew Biddick.“With ever-larger mounted sprayers comingonto the market, it meant we could do so without have to buy a trailed machine,which wouldn’t really suit our fields or roads.”

Some of the lanes in the area are very narrow, and his biggest fields arejust 12ha.

“Although most of our land is within 5-6 miles of home, some of it is up to 15 miles away, which is why we run a JCB 2155 Fastrac and a Fendt 718

–– both of which are capable of 50km/hr on the road. But I think a mounted sprayeris much safer on the road than a trailedmachine.”

The choice ultimately came down tomachines from Lemken, Amazone andVicon/Rau –– but it was the distinctivetubular aluminium boom, plus the fact thatthe family had had good experiences withother machinery from Lemken, that sawthe company get the nod. They also ratetheir local dealer, Hamblys, very highly.

As a result, a 24m/1,860 litre Sirius 9was delivered to the farm in time for pre-emergence spraying last autumn.

“For the money we spent –– and it was the most expensive of the options we looked at –– we could’ve bought a second-hand trailed or self-propelledmachine. But second-hand trailed sprayerstend to have had a hard life, and the moneywe were spending would only have boughtus a pretty old self-propelled machine.

“So in effect, we got a new sprayer forthe cost of a second-hand trailed machine–– with all the latest technology.”

The farm runs a 4m drill, so the initialplan was to buy a 20m sprayer –– with this year’s crops being drilled on 20m tramlines. “But we looked closely at theresidual values of the machine, given thatthis was our first sprayer for a number ofyears, and found that 20m machines don’tretain their value as well as 24m sprayersgiven that fewer people run the system.”

So this year, the sprayer’s outer nozzles were switched off to account for the difference.

The sprayer is generally paired with theFendt, and the tractor usually runs back to the nearest farm base to refill –– with a bowser being used only when the work

is further from home. Low water rates (100 l/ha) and high spraying speeds areused where possible –– with a four-fungicidedisease control programme “a must” giventhe warm and damp local climate, he says.

“Our small fields mean a lot of foldingand unfolding, but this is pretty quick andeasy with the Sirius, and the lower waterrates we use help reduce the number oftrips back to the yard,” says MatthewBiddick. He particularly favours the tubularaluminium boom on the sprayer.

“I like the way the nozzles are protected, and it’s very stable –– there’svirtually no movement at the boom tips. It’s a lot more robust than the more usualtype of boom.”

So the sprayer can be coupled as closelyas possible to the tractor, yet still giving theoperator room to connect it to the tractor,Lemken has engineered into its headstock a unique top-link bracket, with a double pivotand an auto-locking mechanism.

First, the operator couples up thesprayer’s pto, hydraulics and electric/controlbox services, then the top-link. Next, theyreverse the tractor slightly to hook-up thelower links to allow the top-link lockingmechanism to click into place. To reverse theprocedure, the operator simply pulls on acable to unlatch the Quick Connect coupler.

“We can then unhook the lower linksand draw the tractor forward slightly, givingsufficient room to uncouple the pto shaftand hydraulic/electrical services.

“It works very well,” concludes MatthewBiddick. “There’s no need to squeeze-inbetween the tractor and sprayer, and themachine sits as close to the tractor as possible. That contributes a lot to its overallmanoeuvrability and stability.”

Mounted machine suits Cornish cereal grower

The Biddick family’s Sirius 9 featuresLemken’s trademark cylindricalaluminium booms.


http://www.grainseed.co.uk

A hydraulic top-link makes hooking-up theUF1801 a relatively simple job.

Farm factsl Area farmed: 120ha (plus neighbour’s

280ha)

l Soils: Silty clay loam

l Cropping: 120ha winter wheat plus neighbour’s 280ha winter wheat, winter oilseed rape and fodder beet and a variety of spring crops

l Staff: None employed full-time

l Tractors: x2 Fendt 820, John Deere 6400

l Combine: 6.8m Massey Ferguson 40RS

l Sprayer: 24m 1,800-litre Amazone UF1801

l Spreader: 24m Amazone Ultra Hydro Profi S

l Drill: 3m Lemken Solitair 9

l Cultivation equipment: 3m Amazone Cenius cultivator, 5-leg Opico He-Va subsoiler with seeder

“The sprayer has performed well, and it’s certainly a big step on from our previous machine. It’s handled everything we’ve asked of it –– the induction bowl does a particularly good job of ingesting the powderedmicronutrients we apply.

“Of equal importance, it’s proved tobe very reliable. The only fault we’vereally had with it in three seasons of usewas the can wash nozzle plunger which stuck on one occasion. But it’s never done it again.

“It’s a simple to use and well laid-outmachine, and the booms unfold quickly–– with the way they fold for transportbeing ideal for our narrow lanes. Moreover,the DUS circulation system and tank washout are very quick and efficient.

“It also travels well and the tall, close-coupled tank feels well-balanced

on the Fendt –– even when it’s full onun-even ground. We reckon the boomstability and ride is probably the bestcurrently available –– even with theDistance Control switched off.”

But where once the mounted sprayerwas a poorly-specced sibling to its trailedand self-propelled brothers, it’s the factthat such a machine is also now availablewith comparable technology which particularly appeals to David Lee.

GPS controlHis machine uses an Amatron+ rate controller and is GPS-controlled throughAgLeader’s InSight system drivingAmazone’s GPS-Switch section controllerto provide auto-section shut-off when theboom reaches already-sprayed areas.“This feature has had a notable impactin terms of reducing the total chemicalusage and improving work rates.

“I have my own RTK base station on the farm, and we broadcast the correctionsignal over the radio and internet viaNTRIP –– both as a backup for us, and as a primary correction signal for someneighbours who are also using RTK.

“I’m looking to upgrade the AgleaderInsight/Trimble 262 systems on ourFendts later this year to the AgLeaderParadyme/Integra, which will enable us to receive signals from the RussianGLONASS satellite network, in addition to the US GPS network.

“The Paradymes work better at highspeed on sprayers and spreaders wherea pendulum effect can be the result withsingle receiver systems. And Glonass will improve the reliability of the signal –– especially with the reception issueswe have in a rolling area like this, withbig trees and high hedges.

“The Integra will also give us fourcamera inputs which could be used

Ease of transport is one of the key benefitsof using a mounted sprayer.

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for monitoring the rear of the sprayer.“We auto-steer the tractors for all field

operations, including spraying andspreading, and the tramlines are putback in the same place every year. While these provide a straight path forthe tractor, auto-steering makes it mucheasier to concentrate on the sprayer andkeep an eye on the boom for obstaclesand blocked nozzles.

“With the boom close behind on amounted sprayer, that’s another big point in its favour.” n

http://www.grainseed.co.uk

Faster establishmentfor less cost?

Which way next for OSR establishment? CPMreports from a recent open day at NIAB-TAG’s

Morley Research Farm in Norfolk.

By Charles Abel

n increasing number of farmerswant to establish their oilseed rapefaster, for less cost and with a

higher degree of consistency –– and one agchem distributor believes that’s now possible.

In recent years, Agrovista has investigated various novel establishmentapproaches through its Grow Crop Gold OSR project, and the conclusionsare ever-clearer, according to trials co-ordinator, Niall Atkinson.

“Sowing fewer seeds further apart, andbacking that up with robust agronomy, not only cuts costs and speeds operations, but it can also lead to higher yields, less environmental impact and betterproduct stewardship.

“Initially, we used a precision drill toestablish the optimum plant populationand this showed a lot of promise –– using300mm row widths with 65mm in-betweenthe seeds.” This provided a yield boost of around 0.5-1t/ha, compared with conventional min-till and plough-basedtechniques, he said.

“But we’d be foolish to suggest peopleinvest in a precision drill to establishoilseed rape, so we’ve moved the concepton to look at achieving similar results usingmore conventional equipment.

“The trouble is that farmers have movedto reduced tillage systems to cut theirestablishment costs, and to speed up in-field operations, but this has often led to increased seed rates to compensate for poorer establishment, and anticipatedpigeon and rabbit damage.”

Many growers’ aim seems to be to“manage their crop backwards” in thespring by delaying or reducing their nitrogen inputs, and/or by using a PGR-type fungicide, continued NiallAtkinson. “But the damage has alreadybeen done by that stage.

“Oilseed rape sets its yield potential in November since that’s when floral initiation happens. So even if the plantpopulation is reduced in the spring, theover-crowding in the autumn has alreadystarted to limit the yield.”

Spindly plants, with pods limited to the

top of the canopy, and many plants andbranches carrying negligible pods but still competing for light and nutrients, aredestined to yield at a lower level thanstrong, well-branched plants carrying podsright down to the base of the stem, whichtend to make best use of the growingspace available, he said.

Seed rate comparisonsThis year’s trials are assessing seed rates of 15, 45 and 60 seeds/m2 sown in rows250, 500 and 750mm apart. The varietiesDK Cabernet, PR46W21 and the dwarftype, PR45D05, are each sown at sites on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, Cirencesterin Glos, Harper Adams in Shrops,Stoughton in Leics, Askham Bryan inYorks, Cockle Park in Northumberland and Morley in Norfolk.

Where just 15 seeds/m are sown alongthe row –– with the rows 750mm apart –– the resulting plants have stems “like tree trunks”, strong root systems and vigorous branching, with the pods extending further down the canopy thereby maximising the seed yield, said Niall Atkinson.

“Moreover, by establishing crop inbands, inputs can be targeted at the crop strips and withheld from the areas in-between the rows. One option is to apply the maximum permitted field rate to the rows only –– thereby saving on total nutrient input so more can be

A


s

http://www.newholland.com/uk

Cutting the carbon footprint of farm

commodities is a goal for many end-users

at present –– and malting barley is

no exception.

A new joint-initiative between maltster

Muntons, HGCA and NIAB-TAG is using

funding from Landskills East Anglia to draw

together a group of growers to identify

carbon-saving techniques and to facilitate

their uptake on-farm.

“Muntons has already done a lot to

prove its green credentials, investing over

£8M in this area over the past five years,”

said Pat Thornton of NIAB-TAG. “It’s seen

as a valuable branding opportunity and

now, the company is looking to be more

proactive with farmers too –– but in a

co-operative way, rather than by wielding

a big stick.”

An initial meeting near Newmarket in

Suffolk attracted a large farmer audience,

with 96% of attendees expressing an

interest to find out more. Muntons has

since produced a carbon calculator to help

growers estimate the carbon footprint

of their malting barley.

But David Jones, who grows Flagon

winter and Tipple spring malting barley

on NIAB-TAG’s Morley farm in Norfolk,

stressed that the key isn’t to push

everyone towards an arbitrary target,

but to encourage general reductions from

whatever their starting point might be.

“Farmers may feel anxious about their

actual carbon usage, but this is much

more to do with seeking ways to achieve

reductions. It’s the change that farmers

can achieve that counts.”

While fuel and fertiliser are the biggest

energy users in the malting barley growing

sector, yield remains the biggest driver

of carbon footprint, he noted. “Cutting

fertiliser or fuel use may reduce the carbon

footprint overall but if it cuts the yield as

well, the footprint per unit of production

rises –– so care is clearly needed.”

The project is therefore assessing

the scope for more judicious use of

inputs to boost crop yields. Pat Thornton

acknowledged that the lack of recent

agronomic research on the crop, and

it’s comparative “niche status” when it

comes to new product approvals and label

developments, means there’s probably

plenty of untapped potential for improving

malting barley agronomy.

“Improved energy efficiency, green

composts and cover crops could all have

roles to play –– and so too could diesel

savings from shallow cultivations.”

So will it mean a price premium at

harvest? “Probably not,” admitted Pat

Thornton. “But given that a farm’s carbon

footprint is so strongly linked to its energy

use, reductions in this area are likely to

mean cost savings. Moreover, it’ll be no

bad thing to promote farming to consumers

in this way either.”

Fancy a pint of green beer?

http://www.simba.co.uk

Niall Atkinson advocates using lower seedrates and wider row widths.

used in spring, without exceeding the ‘N Max’ rules.”

Alternatively, doubling the N rate in the band can give the crop an extraautumn boost –– without exceeding themaximum field rate, he suggested. “Eitherway, you’re putting the nutrient preciselywhere it’s needed and not feeding weedsin-between the rows.”

But with more open ground in-betweenrows in early autumn, good pre-em weedcontrol is vital, said technical colleague,Mark Hemmant. “However, using widerows may improve the stewardship of thekey oilseed rape herbicides, metazachlorand propyzamide.

‘Revokation threat’“If herbicide residues keep appearing in water, we could lose these productsaltogether which would make oilseedrape production impossible on manyfarms. But if they could be band-appliedto the crop rows –– with inter-row cultivation or glyphosate applied in-between the rows –– usage could be cut overall, improving the chances of keeping the products available.”

The same logic could be applied to metaldehyde slug pellets, which are currently under scrutiny by the regulatoryauthorities, he added.

The equipment used to sow the cropplots in bands was the Simba DTX withTurbojet Wizard and the VaderstadTopdown with Biodrill. The Yetter US strip tillage cultivator is also under evaluation at Morley with a view to cutting establishment costs even further.

But what about pigeons? “Extra attention is certainly required where the plant population is low,” said NiallAtkinson. “With fewer plants, it’s clearlymore important for every one of them tosurvive. But at the same time, big robustplants with strong root systems are betterequipped to survive pest attacks.

“They’re also more able to recover fromdamage, which is precisely what we saw inthe plots at Cockle Park that were hard hitlast year –– which went on to outyield thefarm’s conventionally-established crops.”

“We’d never advocate using just 20 seeds/m2 on-farm because too muchdepends on the individual field and sowing conditions –– and sowing in bands750mm apart is probably a bit extreme.But I do think farmers could do more toreduce their plant populations and boosttheir yields as a result.” For that reason,aiming for 20-30 plants/m2 in the springmakes very good sense, he concluded.


s

“It’s a higher risk strategy but it doesbring bigger rewards. With OSR at £350-400/t, can you afford not to push for the top yields?” n

http://www.dupont.co.uk

ew crops are as tricky to harvest wellas potatoes. Quality is everything intoday’s highly specialised markets,

but all the care and attention lavished on the crop can be quickly undonethrough mistimed or poorly executedhaulm destruction, or by using a badlyadjusted harvester.

Harvest begins with haulm destruction,and given the wide range of market outlets available nowadays, timing and desiccation strategies vary enormously from crop-to-crop. “Getting it right is therefore crucial,” says Reuben Morris, technical supportmanager at Frontier Agriculture.

“You need to stop the crop when itmeets the customer’s precise qualityspecifications and that’s not alwayseasy.” He anticipates more problemsthan usual with common scab this yeardue to the dry spring, but believes careful planning will provide the best

Careful harvest planningneededCareful harvest planningneeded

Pic

cou

rtes

y of

Man

or F

resh

Planning carefully pre-harvest can repay handsomely in terms of tuber quality and

the yield of saleable produce. CPM assesses the key areas to address.

By Robert Harris

‘Diquat rates need to be greatlyreduced when soils are dry to avoid vascular ring browning.’

F

chance of meeting the quality specrequirements.

“There are three key points to consider.Tuber size is the most obvious one, ensuring the optimum proportion of potatoes falls within desired size fractions.”He believes switching varieties can oftencatch people out in this respect.

“For example, Melody takes a longtime to bulk-up –– you have to leave it a lot longer than an earlier bulker likeMaris Piper.”

‘Beware of drought stress’Next, the dry matter must be right forprocessing varieties, continues ReubenMorris. “This must be checked routinelybut it can vary considerably during hotdays when crops are under moisturestress.” Dry matter readings can bemarkedly different at different times of the day, he adds.

Skin finish is also important ––especially for the supermarket pre-packmarket, he stresses. “It’s therefore bestto lift these crops as soon as possibleafter skin-set. However, some varietiesare susceptible to in-store soft-rots dueto poor skin-set, so it’s important to givethem time to set properly –– otherwiseyou’ll end up having storage problems.”

How the crop is stopped depends onthe market and variety in question, notesReuben Morris. “Seed crops will be


“Using a desiccant after flailing speeds upstolon detachment, compared with flailingalone,” says Reuben Morris.

harvested before they’ve begun tosenesce, whereas supermarket packersmight benefit from rapid burn-down with desiccant sequences to avoid development of black dot and other diseases that will affect long-term storage. Alternatively, crops near complete senescence may only need a single desiccant.

“Now that acid has gone, flailing and spraying has become a popular and highly effective alternative –– especially where the haulm is still growing vigorously. Moreover, it mightpay to use an all-in-one flailing andspraying machine if a local contractor is available.”

Flails should leave about 20cm of stem for the uptake of desiccant, andthey should move the flailed haulm off the stems and into the furrows, he advises. “If the tops aren’t movedeffectively, you should allow 2-3 dayswilting before spraying.”

Many growers still rely on desiccantsalone, he notes. “The soil conditionaffects which actives can be used –– anddiquat rates need to be greatly reducedwhen soils are dry to avoid vascular ring

browning, although this conditionremains fairly rare and can normally beovercome by using low-dose desiccantsequences.

Single application?“Very senesced canopies can beremoved with a single application, yetvigorous canopies will often need threesprays –– sequenced according to theiractivity.” Glufosinate and diquat are goodfor opening canopies up by removing theleaves, whereas carfentrazone is betterfor desiccating stems, he adds.

“Mixtures of desiccants can also helpwhere the wetter in one improves theactivity of the tank-mix partner. But take care with rates when tank-mixing –– especially if the soils are dry.”

Different desiccants also give varyinglevels of control of re-growth from desiccated stems, says Reuben Morris.“Carfentrazone seems to be pretty effective, so it’s good where vigorous topsmay try to grow back. There’s also someevidence that desiccants vary in theireffect on stolon detachment.

“I’ve found that using a desiccant after flailing certainly speeds up stolon

detachment, compared with flailing alone.”Blight programmes should be

maintained until all green tissue hasgone completely, he concludes. “Blightsprays formulated with wetters increasethe speed of activity of diquat and s


Using oversized tractor tyres is a commoncause of damage when lifting potatoes,says Barry Baker.

Once harvest has started, tubers should be checked regularly for damage.

“Nicks and cracks are obvious to see,and are often symptomatic of bruising,”believes Potato Council technical executive,Gary Collins.

The latter is much less obvious, andonly tends to come to light as bruisesdevelop over time, he says. “That oftentakes several days, by which time manyhundreds of tonnes of potatoes could’vebeen harvested –– and thousands ofpounds-worth of income lost.”

Many growers use ‘hot-boxes’ nowadaysto accelerate the bruising process.“Provided a few simple rules are followed,these provide a reliable indication of how

much bruising –– if any –– has occurredduring lifting.

“Ideally, you should hot-box once per dayto ensure potatoes are free from bruising,”believes Gary Collins. “Make a point of taking a sample first thing each morning and getting into a routine of doing so.”

Growers should pick 100 tubers of allsizes as they go into store to ensure thesample is truly representative, he advises.“Large and small potatoes will behave differently as they go through the harvester,where they’ll be potentially subjected to awide range of bruising forces.”

Tubers should then be put into the hot-box for 15-24 hours at 34-36°C, and at95-98% relative humidity. “But make sure

there’s good ventilation, otherwise potatoescan suffer from tissue breakdown whichlooks like bruising,” he says. “And alwaysleave samples in the hot-box for the samelength of time, and analyse the tubers assoon as they come out to ensure you’recomparing like with like.”

If a problem is detected, the harvestershould be stopped full of potatoes andtuber samples taken from each area of themachine, says Barry Baker. “Tubers on thegrading line should be tested first. Put allthe samples in the hot-box, first recordingwhich part of the machine they were takenfrom. This should help to diagnose whereany problems are occurring.

‘Hot-boxing’ provides valuable feedback


ridging bodies, and many toppers haven’tbeen adjusted accordingly.”

Taking too much top off can scalp the tubers, but removing too little canoverload the haulm rollers, he warns.“Clumps of haulm force the rollers toopen, and tubers get pinched as a result.This tends to be a real bruising hotspot.”

Flails should be set to run at the correct speed –– 1450 rpm on Grimmemodels –– to ensure the topper workseffectively, he says.

Using oversized tractor tyres is a common fault when lifting, continuesBarry Baker. “Some people never change them from field work, so it’sworth keeping a set specifically for thisjob. If the tyres compress the edge of the ridge, they can cause excessive clod formation which overloads the harvester and can lead to bruising.” It can also cause direct damage to potatoes, he adds.

“The same is true of incorrect wheel

possibly other desiccants too –– butagain, it’s important to take care withapplication rates.”

A poorly set-up harvester can quicklyundo all the hard work already investedin the crop, warns Barry Baker, salesdirector for Grimme UK. “Bruising does more than just damaging potatoes –– it can also put a huge hole in growers’ wallets.

s

In 2006, it was estimated to have costthe potato sector more than £100M inlost sales through downgrading andwaste –– and the figure is likely to beeven higher this season because of the weather.

“Every year, we carry out damageawareness workshops with the PotatoCouncil,” says Barry Baker. “To eliminatebruising completely, it’s critical that theharvester is maintained in good order,and that the trailer driver and harvesteroperator work together as a team.”

Maintenance checkThe job should begin when the harvestingequipment is still in the shed, he believes.“It should be checked systematicallyfrom front-to-back to ensure that it’s in a good state of repair.”

Where a haulm topper is to be used,check that the flails are set to the correctrow profile, stresses Barry Baker. “Modernplanters create a different row profile to

http://www.tuxedo-wheat.com

adjust the pitch rather than replacingthem, and this affects the feed into theharvester and can cause damage as thetubers drop onto the web bars –– theyshould feed in more or less level.”

Moreover, stone flaps on the back of the share are often badly worn ormissing, continues Barry Baker. “Checkthese or you risk damaging the web barsin stony conditions.”

Haulm feeding wheels can sometimesbe a problem in the wet, he admits.“They can jam or cause feeding issues,so make sure the tyres on them are ingood repair.” The gap between thewheels and the side of the machine must be wider at the back than the frontto prevent trash from jamming, he notes.

Webs should also be checked thoroughly, and bent bars straightened or replaced –– with the web speed beingchecked once harvesting gets underway,he advises. “It should match themachine’s forward speed so potatoesenter as gently as possible so it’s worthspending time getting it right.”

Agitation should be set to maintain acushion of soil on top of the main web

Running a manned harvester with nopickers on it is false economy, says thePotato Council.

track-settings so if you’re growing on72in beds, don’t leave the track width at74in. If tuber damage is to be avoided,near enough isn’t good enough.”

Moreover, the harvester chassis shouldbe parallel to the ground, he advises. “If the machine is pitched up or down,you won’t get the best feed into it.”

Spending time checking that alladjusters on the harvester are free and easy-to-turn is vital, he continues. “If they seize after harvest has started,chances are that they’ll stay that way andvital tweaks which can minimise bruisingsimply won’t be made.

“Disc coulters should be set correctlyrelative to the share –– usually leaving a gap of 19mm. Too wide and they

run on stones and clods in-between therows, and they won’t allow the shares topenetrate –– but too narrow, and they’llcut the tubers.”

Diablos should be set to the correctrow width, says Barry Baker. “If one sideor the other is running along the top of the ridge, it can bruise the tubersunderneath.” This can be a commonproblem where planters have beenchanged, he notes. “The Diablo sidesshould hug the ridge shoulders, so it can run flat along the row.”

Don’t adjust - replace!Share blades need to be at least 80%good at the start of the season, he notes.“Whenever they wear, people tend to

Potato Council harvesting tipsl Crop nutrition Nitrogen rates should

match crop needs as closely as possible. Not only is this good for the pocket but it will also ease the haulm destruction process ––especially with non-determinate varieties which can otherwise be difficult and expensive to burn-down.

l Flailing This can remove large amounts of haulm quickly, but swift defoliation can make tubers more susceptible to bruising, so extra care should be taken with all following operations. Consider the presence of blight when flailing as it will tend to spread the spores over the soil where they could easily be transmitted to the harvested tubers.

l Regrowth Reducing sugars can be affected when regrowth is extensive, which in turn can cause problems withprocessing potatoes. Regrowth can also encourage blight.

l Skin-set The rule of thumb is that skin-set will occur 2-3 weeks after haulm removal and if it’s very dry, or very wet, it can take a lot longer. One grower reportedly had to wait seven weeks for skin-set last season.

l Manpower Many growers own mannedharvesters but don’t put people on them. This is a false economy since running a manned harvester is a valuable opportunity to remove rotted and green tubers which would otherwise cost money to store.

l Cross compliance GEAC 3 has beenrelaxed from a harvesting point of view and growers no longer have to wait for a derogation when it gets wet.This could buy growers a bit of extra time and help maintain tuber quality –– but they should record in their soil protection review any damage caused during lifting and how they intend to remedy it. s


http://www.tuxedo-wheat.com

As the harvest rush begins, it’s easy to overlook health and safetyconsiderations –– which could havedire consequences. “Make sure allsafety guards, including the PTOguard, are correctly fitted when carrying out the pre-harvest check,”says Barry Baker. Grimme issues asafe harvesting DVD with every newand reconditioned Grimme machine itsells. Copies are available by [email protected]

Sowing a cover crop the winter beforepotatoes can cut surface run-off by up to 50% –– reducing nitrogen and phosphate losses.

That was the message from Dr MartynSilgram of ADAS, speaking at a recentWest Midlands Potato Day. “We observedirrigation and rainfall run-off losses of upto 18% from compacted stone rowsbetween the beds. Not only does compaction waste irrigation water, it alsowastes time and fuel associated withusing rain guns or boom systems.

“Moreover, it increases the risk of erosion and the loss of surface-appliedproducts, such as pesticides, and

waterlogging can result –– harming the yield and increasing the disease risk.”

Minimising these risks by reducing ormitigating soil compaction will promoteinfiltration of water into soils –– keepingirrigation water on fields where crops can fully use it, he noted. “That in turnreduces the need for irrigation, and conserves water and nutrients –– therebysaving money.

“With fertiliser prices having risen significantly since last year, it’s importantto minimise crop nutrition costs whereverpossible, without compromising the yieldor tuber quality.”

Minimising surface runoff can save £££

–– albeit not so much that it overloadsthe first separator. “This can be difficult indry conditions, so aim to keep soil therefor as long as possible.”

Haulm rollers need to be kept in goodrepair and should be run as gently aspossible –– the idea being to let haulmgo past before being dragged back.“That’s a lot more gentle on potatoes.”

Haulm deflector fingers should be covered in rubber and adjusted awayfrom the crop as much as possible, he adds.

Roller separators or Dahlman rollersshould also be checked carefully, advisesBarry Baker. “Plain rollers are oftenreplaced as damage is easy to spot, but spiral rollers tend to be overlooked.

s The speed and angle of operation of theseparators is also critical –– both shouldbe set to the minimum to do the job.”

The cart elevator should be in goodrepair, with no damaged pockets or web bars, and no missing straps on thebox-filling chute, he says. “Remove hardsoil in the cascade too.”

It’s also vital to minimise the dropwhen filling trailers, he notes. “Thatmeans putting the elevator into thetrailer, so consider keeping a skilled manon the job to minimise the chance of abent elevator occurring.” He suggestsusing less skilled labour to cart the potatoes back to the store. n


http://www.certiseurope.co.uk

Beet harvestinggiven a lift Beet harvestinggiven a lift

A trio of new sugar beet harvesters are living up to their promise of increased output

and improved efficiency.

By Rob Jones

‘Sugar beet contracting hasbecome so expensive and

advanced that you are either totally committed –– or out.’


hether you’re a contractor liftingover a thousand hectares ofsugar beet a season or a grower

with a fraction of that amount, an efficient harvesting operation is a must to maximise output within increasinglytight lifting windows.

No-one is more aware of this thanNorfolk contracting family, SW Witham and Sons, based in Erpingham nearAylsham. Brothers Alan and StephenWitham lift around 1,012ha of sugar beeteach year, and Grimme’s new Rexor 620self-propelled six-row sugar beet harvesterproved its worth last season.

The business is committed to improvingproduction efficiency and maximising

W

output for the customer, while minimisingthe impact on the following crop. Afterhaving previously used a series of differenttypes and makes of harvester –– includinga run of 10 Vervaets –– the brothers settled for the latest addition to Grimme’sbeet-harvesting portfolio for last season’scampaign. It weighs in at 26t, is 12.5mlong and can carry 22t of roots.

With a retail price tag of £350,000 itwas a big decision to make –– especiallyas it was the first of its type in the country.“But sugar beet contracting has becomeso expensive and technologicallyadvanced that you’re either totally committed or you’re out of the industry,”says Stephen Witham.

“It’s a big change for us, and wethought we would get more teething problems than we had. Grimme said wecould give the machine back at the end of the season if we didn’t like it –– nowthat’s confidence for you.”

Last season proved to be a stern test,

he continues. “Weather-wise, it was theworst we’ve ever experienced, with a wet start followed by frost. But we stillmanaged to lift more than we’ve ever harvested in a day with the new Rexorworking like a sewing machine.”

Big fuel savingsThe brothers are also noticing big fuel savings. “The harvester is powered by alow-revving Mercedes 12.8 litre engineproducing 490hp and the electronics aresuperb, with all the settings controlledfrom the cab,” says Alan Witham. “They’reinfinitely variable which allows us to workin virtually any lifting conditions. Moreover,the fuel saving is pretty good too –– thecomputer controls everything to run atmaximum efficiency. We really have madea huge saving on fuel costs.”

Other technological advances have also helped improve lifting and cleaningcapabilities on the machine, which can liftup to 1ha/hr. The topper incorporates topsback into the soil across the full workingwidth, which reduces striping in the following crops.

The new purchase is fitted withhydraulically adjusted Oppel wheels, whichcan be easily adjusted to suit the groundconditions. “We’re on mostly light soilshere in Norfolk, which suits the Oppel system perfectly. In the past, high wear s

http://www.syngenta-crop.co.uk/sugarbeet

Arable farmer, John Reynolds, and sonBrian of Bridge Farm, Northrepps, nearCromer also give Grimme’s softly-softlyapproach to lifting the thumbs up.

A new Maxtron 620 self-propelledsugar beet harvester, owned by farm contractor, Robin Baines and Co of nearby Hoveton was called in last

season to help with a lifting backlog.The Reynolds family grow 16ha of sugar

beet and about 57ha of spring malting barley in total, with the remainder of theland being let-out for growing potatoes.“We’re much better at maintaining the yieldnow we’ve dropped the acreage down tomeet quota,” says John Reynolds, who stilluses a 1982 Matrot, bought in 1995, to liftsome of the crop.

Using the six-row Maxtron, fitted with20t bunker, his output has gone up toabout 12ha/day. “And the beet come out of the ground as if they have beenhand-picked. There’s no damage at alland I class them as perfect, with a longtap root.

“You don’t even need tractors and trailers on the land as the bunker meansthe driver can easily get to the edge of the field to unload.”

Big output with a gentle touch

“Beet look as though they’ve been hand-picked,” says John Reynolds.

harvester, which was fitted with land-drivenOppel wheels.

“We considered the self-propelledoption but felt we couldn’t justify theinvestment unless buying second-hand,”says Tim Merrison. “The problem with thatis that it’s normally a contractor machine,which will have been worked hard. Also,the weight of the machine has to be carefully considered.”

He notes that a fully loaded self-propelledmachine can weigh up to 50t, which isn’tideal for travelling in fields in November or December.

“We saw the Rootster working andespecially liked the hydraulic Oppelwheels. Also, buying an ex-demo machineplus a trade-in for £110,000 was a muchbetter investment.”

Tim Merrison reckons the machine is easily capable of lifting 304ha in a season –– hence it makes economic sense for growers to club together, especially with contractors charging about £160/ha.

Switching from a Garford to a Rootster–– pulled by an 180hp John Deere –– hasallowed the farm to switch from 16in rowson a 72in bed to an 18in row system on the same bed allowing it to fit betterwith the potato operation. Running on 650 tyres has helped reduce the level of compaction.

Last year, Tim Merrison lifted all of hissugar beet by the end of November ––even though his last beet usually comesout of the ground in February. “Output has more than doubled to 25 acres/daywithout having to increase labour ormachinery support. We still use three tractors and trailers but they’re betterutilised now.”

The ploughing and drilling operation is also more efficient as a result of theswitch, he continues. “Rather than having only 3ha to go at after each day’slifting, there are now up to 10ha. That

With more beet and less trash in the clampand big savings on fuel, Stephen (left) andAlan Witham reckon their £350,000 wasmoney well spent.


and are hydraulically-operated to alter the aggressiveness of the cleaning, where required.

According to the Withams, staggeringthe turbines more than doubles the working efficiency of the cleaning system,compared with a conventional in-linearrangement.

“The cleaner loader technology in theRexor is now so advanced that a higherpercentage of the crop gets into theclamp, rather than being left in the field,with less soil and trash ending up in theclamp and bruising being significantlyreduced,” says Alan Witham.

Bruising was a huge problem acrossNorfolk last season, he recalls. “Heavyfrost at lifting resulted in many roots goingblack after just a couple of hours but the Rexor’s gentle lifting action meant wewere able to avoid the problem veryeffectively.”

Purchasing a six-row Grimme Rootster604 trailed sugar beet harvester hashelped farm manager, Tim Merrison, double the output for the same fuel cost,as well as making better use of existinglabour and machinery.

George Thompson Farms, based inHolbeach Hurn, operates a 1,214haarable enterprise across Lincs and Norfolkgrowing cereals, root and veg crops ––including 186ha of sugar beet.

The ex-demo machine, with 4t bunkerand hydraulically-driven Oppel wheels,replaces a four-row trailed Garford

and tear on shears worked out to beexpensive –– we had to replace them after a season.”

After the Oppel wheels comes a bed of six fully-reversible rollers to take out asmuch soil and trash as possible. A shorttransfer web then takes the beet into aseries of three large diameter turbineswhich are staggered, rather than in-line,

The Rootster’s hydraulically-driven Oppelwheels are easily adjusted and lift the wholeroot out of the ground –– maximisingreturns, says Tim Merrison.

s

Tim Merrison reckons harvesting outputhas doubled without having to increaselabour or machinery support.

means we can select the best days for lifting, rather than having to get on justbecause of a shortage of time.”

The Rootster’s 4t bunker has been a significant benefit because it allowsmuch more flexibility and manoeuvrabilityon the headlands, as well as making it easy to switch trailers without having to stop.

Simple design?“The simplicity of the design is whatattracted us to the machine,” says TimMerrison. “The hydraulically-poweredOppel lifting wheels ensure that the entireroot is lifted out of the ground. When youthink that up to 25% of the beet is in thebottom part of the root, making sure it gets into the clamp –– rather than beingsnapped off and left in the ground –– isfinancially critical.”

However, he notes that the land-drivenOppel wheels don’t work well in the wet.“Sledging can became a real issue creating a lot of downtime.”

Behind the Oppel wheels are a set of six fluted rollers which gently clean thecrop before a transfer web takes it to a second set of fluted contra-rotating

rollers, positioned at 90° to the first set.A circular lifting elevator takes the crop

into the bunker, with a final 4m long and 1m wide loading elevator ready for off-loading into a trailer to the side.

“We’re considering switching the rollersfor a turbine because we’re finding toomuch soil is being taken off the field at themoment –– and soil that finds its way intothe clamp can effect the ventilation,”believes Tim Merrison. “Rollers are okayon fine silt land but where the land isheavier, it can be a real problem.”

Whilst a turbine will increase the level ofloses, the Oppel wheels help to increasethe harvestable yield, he continues. “So assuming one more or less offsets the other, the Rootster is still boostingoutput by about 100%.”

He intends to employ the machine atthe Lincs end of the business, while anexisting two-row trailed Tim harvester willremain in Norfolk.

“We’re in the luxurious position havingtwo harvesters but will eventually use theRootster across the entire beet acreage.We’ll lift the early beet in Norfolk at thesame time as the potatoes are being harvested in Lincs. Then we’ll lift all the

sugar beet in Lincs so the land can bedrilled with wheat.

“Lastly, we’ll then return to Norfolk to lift the remainder of the sugar beet crop,which will be followed by forage maize.” n

http://www.bayercropscience.co.uk

Enthusiasm grows for traffic restrictionsAdvances in machinery and technology mean that

Controlled Traffic Farming, which is proven toincrease yields and reduce costs, looks set to

become more widely adopted.

By Martin Rickatson

The introduction of 12m wide combineheaders, such as this Claas Vario, is a bigstep forward in improving machinerycompatibility that adopting ControlledTraffic Farming often requires.

he number of farms adopting controlled traffic farming systems isgrowing as the equipment required

to enable all field operations to be carriedout in the same wheelings becomes morewidely available.

While the cost of utilising the sub-inchauto-steering accuracy offered by RTK(real time kinematic) GPS satellite signalswas originally considered justifiable onlyfor farms growing row-based crops suchas potatoes, greater interest in the effectsof soil compaction is changing thatthinking among a growing band of UKfarmers, says Tim Chamen, of theindependent information-sharing group,Controlled Traffic Farming Europe.

“The ability not only to put tramlinesback in exactly the same place each season, but also to move to controlled traffic and limit the area on whichmachinery travels outside of the tramlines, is something that can only beachieved with a non-plough form of cropestablishment and the precision offered by

RTK-corrected auto-steering,” points out Tim Chamen.

Major obstacle?“The major obstacle that has perhaps held back the wider adoption of the system has been the limited amount ofcompatible equipment on the market thatis available in working widths that canmatch up to create as small a tracked area as possible. It can be done with smaller machines, but the advent of 12mcombine cutterbars and the developmentof min-till/direct drills of the same size havebeen a big step forward.

“Although ideally all machines shouldhave the same track width, and all implements should be of the same working width, or whole number mulitipleof it, this is not essential. The percentagearea of the field that is trafficked can bereduced to 30-40 per cent even with twodifferent track and implement widths.

But there are some issues which stillneed machinery manufacturer support


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RTK correction signals provide not only the accuracy –– down to +/-2cm ––needed to keep on track, but also reliablerepeatability, which allows machines towork in the same tracks every year.

to overcome, says Tim Chamen, such as the precise working widths of combine cutterbars which fall a few centimetresshort of their actual stated cutting width.

“It may not sound like much, but a 4cmshortfall can make a significant differenceto the precise placement of wheelings,” he points out. “But the industry is movingtowards systems which are compatiblewith controlled traffic farming.”

Tim Chamen maintains that switching to a CTF system can result in a return of£50-100/ha in yield improvements andcost-savings.

“The latter comes primarily fromimproved field efficiency, reducedtillage and significant capital savings on machinery.”

CTF Europe, which is an organisation oflike-minded advisers and farmer membersacross the UK, Germany, the Netherlands,Denmark and Slovakia, offers advice toand on-farm consultations with farmsinterested in moving to a controlled traffic system.

In the UK, Tim Chamen offers two levelsof consultancy. Each begins with a farmsurvey designed to identify the farm’s particular needs, looking at its croppingand future plans. There follows an

examination of the farm’s soils and anassessment of its existing equipment, witha plan drawn up of how it might fit into orbe adapted for a controlled traffic system,and how it could be enhanced within a farm’s usual machinery replacement policy. The survey is followed with a reportoutlining potential courses of action.

Profit predictionThe higher level consultancy encompassesthe same package of assessment andadvice, but is enhanced with a full reportand action plan. The report summarisesexisting constraints and creates detailedplans for consideration. From these, a proposal, with detailed costs and expectedreturns is provided, and a predicted netchange in profit is calculated.

If changes in equipment are deemednecessary, machinery options are drawnup, and a list of requirements for an RTKpackage will be created to enable the client to assess suppliers. An illustration of the proposed system, together with anaction plan, is also provided. Telephoneand email support are also provided, withfurther guidance available by joining CTFEurope as a farmer member.

“The cost for a level one consultancy

is £800 plus expenses and VAT, while forthe higher level it’s £1,200,” explains Tim Chamen. “Put into context, the level two cost is less than the extra profit thatyou might expect every year on 25haunder a CTF regime.”

Beds-based LE Barnes and Sons, whorun a 260ha arable enterprise, with afurther 1,740ha of contracting work onsoils ranging from sands to boulder clays,made initial plans to adopt a 10m workingwidth CTF system, but eventually settled


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http://www.spaldings.co.uk

“The area of the field that is trafficked canbe reduced to 30%-40% even with twodifferent track and implement widths,”says Tim Chamen.

on a 12m system, the widest yetadopted in the UK. It allows 6mmachines, a size which still offers gooddemand and hence resale value, to beintegrated where necessary if a 12m version is unavailable or impractical.

“That’s been helped by the introductionof a 12m version of the John Dale Eco-Drill, which was developed and

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designed by Messrs Barnes and their staff,and a 12m cutterbar for the farm’s ClaasLexion 600 combine,” notes Mr Chamen.“But the need for absolute accuracymeans the system is actually basedaround a true working width of 11.66 m,and the combine, drill and the farm’s lightcultivator all work at this width, and a 12mSpearhead mulcher to deal with residueshas also been trialled.

Trimble base stations“The same is true of the farm’s 36m self-propelled sprayers, on which two nozzles have been removed from the boomouters to provide the required 3 x 11.66m(34.98m) coverage. The farm’s guidancesystem is based around two Trimble RTKbase stations, one on the home farm andthe other centred in the business’s contractcustomer area, backed by a repeater.”

The 12m drill has been probably thebiggest step forward in the whole system,believes Mr Chamen. Its development wasdriven by LE Barnes, and its creation wasa joint effort, with supply of componentsfrom John Dale Drills, additional designinput from Wright Resolutions, the firm set up by former Simba technical director Philip Wright, and much of

the construction undertaken on the farm.“The drill folds to 3m wide and 4m

high for road transport, so it can be easilymoved around,” notes Tim Chamen. “It’s a go-anywhere machine which means it can be used across Mr Barnes’s2,000 ha of contracted land.”

With RTK networks becoming morewidespread, and the likelihood that autosteer-readiness will be a standard featureon many mainline arable tractors in thenear future, the barriers to wider CTFadoption are falling, Tim Chamen believes.

“RTK networks with fixed base stationsand repeaters overcome some of theissues that can afflict in-field tripods and mobile phone-based systems, poorreception being the main issue with thelatter,” he suggests. “Farms that are largeenough may be able to justify their ownbase station, but there are other groupswho are installing their own systems andlooking for farmers to sign up with them,and this can only help to remove anotherof the hurdles to adopting a CTF system.”

But while the precision application benefits of RTK guidance –– reducedwastage of seed, fertiliser, agchems andfuel –– are becoming more apparent, howeasy is it to quickly see clear evidence of

http://www.cpm-magazine.co.uk

Beds-based LE Barnes and Sons, whorun an arable enterprise of 260ha andcontract across a further 1740ha on soils ranging from sands to boulderclays, made initial plans to adopt a 10m working width CTF system, beforeeventually settling on a 12m system –– the widest yet adopted in the UK.

This allows 6m wide machines –– asize which still offers good demand andhence resale value –– to be integratedwhere necessary if a 12m version isunavailable or impractical. “That’s beenhelped by the introduction of a 12m version of the John Dale drill and a 12m cutterbar for the farm’s ClaasLexion 600 combine,” notes TimChamen. “But the need for absoluteaccuracy means the system is actuallybased around a true working width of 11.66m, and the combine, drill and the farm’s light cultivator all work at this width. A 12m wide Spearheadmulcher to deal with residues has also been trialled.

This also applies to the farm’s 36m

wide self-propelled sprayers, on which two nozzles have been removed from the boom outers to provide the required 3 x 11.66m (34.98m) coverage. Thefarm’s guidance system is based arounda Topcon RTK set-up, a base station on the home farm being backed byrepeaters and a mobile phone RTK correction set-up for areas beyond their reach.

The 12m drill is probably the biggeststep forward in the whole system, believesTim Chamen. Its development was a jointeffort, with supply of components fromJohn Dale Drills, additional design inputfrom Philip Wright of Wright Resolutions,the former Simba technical director. Much of the construction was undertakenon the farm.

“The drill folds to 3m wide and 4m high for road transport, so it can be easilymoved around,” says Tim Chamen. “It’s a go-anywhere machine whichmeans it can be used across the farm’s2,000ha of contracted land.”

UK’s widest CTF system spans 12m

John Dale Drills developed this 12mwide model specifically for the Barnesoperation, it folds to within 3m wideand 4m high for road transport.

Tim Chamen of CTF Europe describes the 12m wide drill as probably thebiggest step forward in the system,particularly working in conjunctionwith the 12m wide combine cutterbar.

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the effects of CTF? And are there issuesover time with the permanently-traffickedwheeling paths?

“Greater rainfall infiltration rates fromimproved porosity are one of the majorimprovements soon noticed by many who have moved to controlled traffic,” says Tim Chamen. “Studies show that rates can be up to four times higher on non-trafficked areas under a CTFregime –– reducing the risk ofwaterlogging when rainfall is high.

“On some soils, trafficked paths may benefit from a surround light surface cultivation occasionally to fill them in, but

over time, not moving the soil underneathmeans they will support the field traffic better –– making this less of an issue.”

And having crops other than combinables in the rotation shouldn’t preclude farmers from considering a full-on CTF system, he says.

“We have farmer members who are operating controlled traffic systems despitehaving crops such as sugar beet, potatoesand onions in the rotation. There are limitations, particularly when harvestingthese crops, but it is possible to incorporatethem into a CTF system. Growers inTasmania are working with CTF despite

http://www.bayercropscience.co.uk/fillit

Typical CTF machinery costsOperation Cost/ha

Capital cost of auto-steer on combine £3.75

Subsoiling, levelling and rolling headlands (15% of area) £6.15

Shallow cultivations (70% of land)* £14

Drilling £25

Roll £11

Total £59.90

Source: John Dale Drills (*Shallow cultivations may not be necessary)

Min-till is the ideal establishment systemfor CTF, which does not suit ploughing.While not a prerequisite, many farmers inthe UK also shift to direct drilling, whichalso further cuts costs.

CTF planningl Review your cropping and

establishment systems

l Decide on the machinery required toadopt CTF

l Measure these machines and work out how they fit together

l Plan an appropriate CTF system that minimises the conversion costs and consider:- Guidance system to be used, e.g.

possibility to subscribe to an RTK network rather than outright purchase of dedicated system

- What machines need to be changed?

- What machines can be sold?

- Timescale and rotation entry points

- Field layout and traffic orientation, usually the same as existing tramlines

l Plan a long-term machinery policy that improves the initial CTF system by reducing the tracked area

Source: CTF Europe Ltd

having vegetable crops such as broccoliand roots including onions in their rotation.They have seen onion yields increase by 13 per cent, and a 16 per cent increase in gross return from the crop.”

But even on farms in a simpler all-combinable crop situation, the CTF system cannot be adopted overnight, andnot always as a whole farm switch from one season to the next, acknowledges Tim Chamen.

“There is no single correct way of moving to CTF, and every farm will be different in its circumstances andapproach. But it is a natural move on from minimum tillage or direct drilling with guidance, and I’ve yet to find a soiltype that it doesn’t suit.” n

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http://www.cropmonitor.co.uk

orecasts of high wheat bulb fly(WBF) pressure coming hard on the heels of significant pest damage

in this year’s crops suggest growersshouldn’t take any risks next season.

That means selecting the right seedtreatment for later sown, at-risk winterwheat crops –– drilling at sensible seedrates and monitoring for pest attacks inthe spring.

It appears as if a run of low pressureseasons had lulled many growers into a false sense of security. However, wheat bulb fly came back into crops with a vengeance last spring.

HGCA surveys last autumn suggestedthat egg numbers were at their highestfor 8-10 years –– but many growersalready had their seed treated by thisstage, generally without the necessaryinsecticide treatment.

As a result, later drilled crops in partsof the Fens and on light land soils acrossthe Eastern half of England –– fields thatwere already struggling with the effectsof the harsh winter –– were subject tosignificant pest attacks.

This led to significant tiller mortalityand loss of plants in the spring which,when compounded by two months

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Agronomy NotebookAgronomy Notebook

Managing wheat bulb fly of drought with little N-uptake to putcrops back on course, led to some very patchy fields.

While these crops are yet to be harvested, yields will probably be welldown as a result. What’s more, withmany patchy fields around and plenty of bare soil in which to lay eggs, WBFcould again be a widespread problemnext season.

My advice to growers is to recognisethe risks for next year, and to have aplan of action to deal with it.

First and foremost, it’s important toidentify the crops which are most likelyto come under attack –– including wheatdrilled from late November onwards. And if you don’t know right now exactlywhich fields are likely to be late drilledbecause of the unpredictable nature ofthe root or vegetable crop harvest, factorthis in when ordering the seed.

That means putting a proportion of the crop into varieties which have the‘get up and go’ needed when plantedlate. These should also be strong tilleringtypes to compensate for the loss in theplant population likely to result in theworst winter close-down.

Varieties like Conqueror will suit mainstream planting but come into their own in later drilled situations ––particularly on light land. The Group 4,

KWS Santiago, is particularly well-suitedto this slot having strong spring andsummer growth characteristics.

Invicta is the front runner of the Group 3s and for the milling wheat grower, Gallant or Cordiale should be the main selections. Milling wheats often make up for the loss of yield seen from later drilling because of their premium pay-back.

When ordering seed supplies, makesure you take into account the need forappropriate, higher seed rates in theselater drilled crops. Crops with less than200 plants/m2 are the most at risk, so a sowing rate of 300+ seeds/m2 is probably a safe precaution.

But above all else, the use of AustralPlus (tefluthrin+ fludioxonil) –– the onlyinsecticidal seed treatment available for controlling WBF –– is an essential element of the control strategy to minimise damage.

Tefluthrin is a non-systemic, soil-actingpyrethroid which repels and kills WBFlarvae. In effect, it provides a zone of protection around the seed during the critical establishment and earlyattack phase.

Co-formulated with fludioxonil, AustralPlus also gives the fungicidal coverageneeded against key seedling diseases –– notably bunt and fusarium in wheat.

Finally, make sure the seed isn’tdrilled too deep –– 2-4cm is probablyabout right. Any deeper than this andlate emerging seedlings could comeunder attack as they pass through thesurface soil layers, which tend to bemore likely to be outside the tefluthrinprotection zone.

But be warned –– the persistence of the tefluthrin may not provide thelong-lasting protection needed if egghatch is late (as it was this spring) andwhere this is the case, a follow-up egghatch spray will be required as well.

As a final point, seedbed consolidationwill help to maximise the level of insecticidal activity, improving pest control over a longer period. However,this may be difficult to achieve wheregrowers are drilling wheat late seasonafter roots.

Above all, heed the WBF warningsand be prepared by selecting the rightvariety –– and the right seed treatment –– from day one.

Lee Bennett is seed manager at Openfield


http://www.agricentre.basf.co.uk

Crop Production July 2011Magazine...Martin Rickatson Mick Roberts Design and Production Brooks...

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