In this issue - cpm magazine...In this issue... Believe in barley pages 18 & 56 ... to change its...

In this issue...Believe in barley pages 18 & 56The agronomy and the inside view on hybrids

Rust distrust page 26

New way to spray page 32Switch over to the precision path

Blight essentials page 80

SPECIAL

Quality

Wheat

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inside

3crop production magazine april 2016

Volume 18 Number 3April 2016

*the claim ‘best read specialist arable journal’ is based on independent reader research, conducted by the

National Farm Research Unit 2014

Editorial & advertising salesWhite House Barn, Hanwood, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY5 8LP

Tel: (01743) 861122 E-mail: [email protected]

Reader registration hotline 01743 861122Advertising copy

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CPM Volume 18 No 3. Editorial, advertising and sales offices are at White House Barn, Hanwood, Shrewsbury SY5 8LP.

Tel: (01743) 861122. CPM is published ten 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 the magazine.

If you are unsure about which recommendations to follow, please consult a professional agronomist. Always read the label. Use pesticides safely.

CPM Ltd is not responsible for loss or damage to any unsolicited material,including photographs.

EditorTom Allen-Stevens

Technical EditorLucy de la Pasture

Sub editorCharlotte Lord

Writers

Design and ProductionBrooks Design

Advertisement co-ordinatorPeter Walker

PublisherAngus McKirdy

Business Development ManagerCharlotte Alexander

To claim two crop protection BASIS points, send an email [email protected], quoting reference CP/37178/1415/g.

Melanie JenkinsLucy de la Pasture

Mick Roberts

Tom Allen-StevensOlivia CooperTed Fleetwood

Nick Fone

TechnicalDisease control - Saving on fungicides not an optionAs the T1 timing approaches, programmes are likely to be geared as much to protect SDHI chemistry as to control disease.Theory to Field - Quest underway for resilient strategiesWhat will be the relative impact of resistance management strategies and how will septoria populations evolve? Barley agronomy - Treat barley varieties as individualsHybrid barleys may need you to tear up the rule book.Innovation Insight - The fungicide that earned its fanfareWhat gave BASF such confidence in Xemium and took it to market leader? Rust - Expect the unexpected as rust evolvesThe arrival of the Warrior race of yellow rust in 2011 was a game-changer and the pathogen is continuing to evolve.Oilseed rape - Yield benefit from keeping OSR greenWith disease levels in oilseed rape crops already high, the priority is now switching to late season management.

OpinionTalking Tilth – A word from the editor.

Smith’s Soapbox – Views and opinions from an Essex peasant…..

Last Word – A view from the field from CPM’s technical editor

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MachineryPrecision spraying - Nozzle control improves accuracyThe ability to switch output and classification instantly is just one of a number of benefits offered by advanced individual nozzle control systems.

Innovation Insight - The compatibility to mix and matchA truly transferable system between tractors that offers full operational control in has been something of a Holy Grail in precision farming.

On Farm Opinion - Sprayer tech hits the spotMoving from a self-propelled sprayer to a trailed rig has resulted in increased output and improved accuracy for one Sussex grower.

On Farm Opinion - Combination spreads the loadWhen the farm that hosts the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset came to change its sprayer, it was time for new technology.On Farm Opinion - Sole pass brings soil benefitsLow-disturbance drilling is being hailed as a wonder technique for tackling blackgrass and improving soil structure.

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FeaturesInsiders View - Sights set on RL top spotA look at what’s on offer from Syngenta’s new hybrid barleys.Insiders View - The Exception that makes the ruleDK ExceptionÕs solid performance and strong vigour is making it stand out.On-farm innovator - Crowd-sourced scienceA two-way knowledge exchange is how one Rothamsted Research scientistbelieves growers will make the most of integrated pest management.Pea grower profile - Putting “goodness” in the groundThe first year of growing marrowfat peas has been quite a learning experience for one grower in County Durham.

RootsPotatoes - Biofumigant crop complexitiesWith uncertainty over Vydate production, trials looking at biofumigant cover crops are proving their worth. Tech Talk - Exploitive and aggressive crop threatFollowing a wet and mild winter, potato blight will take advantage of any weakness in control programmes.

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desert, which is hardly ahealthy environment for the

GCN. The scientists wereinformed and they dulyrequested we make

holes in the fencing.But then this exposesthem again to the

mashing and thescooping.The absurd thing about

all this is that these poor creatures probably never wanted to end up in my quarryat all –– they were probablybasking around quite happily inone the other ponds on thefarm, went for a wander and fellinto the quarry. Now they’restuck, and probably desperatefor someone to move them to a kinder habitat. But we’re notallowed to because our lawsabout moving protectedspecies prohibit such measures.

What this highlights to me ishow little I know about thesehapless creatures. I just want to do what’s right, but I’m torn in different directions byauthorities and scientists withconflicting views, many ofwhich don’t seem to make any sense at all. I’m no newtspecialist and haven’t the timenor the inclination to becomeone, so I’m in no informed position to decide what to do.And that’s not great if historythen remembers me as thefarmer responsible for allowingOxon’s last colony of GCN towither and die.

So with such ecologicalapocalypses in mind, here atCPM, we’ve done our best thismonth to ensure our readerscan see through the technical

fuggle and conflicting viewsand make the informed decisions. In this issue, we’vedelved a little deeper into thescience behind some of thechallenges growers are facingat the moment, not because wewant CPM to appear clever andaloof, but because they are realchallenges –– there are presentthreats, and responding in thetime-honoured fashion may notjust be the wrong reaction, itcould have dire consequences.

Take septoria, for instance.We’ve drawn the latest advicefrom the field on how to protectcrops in the light of recent findings on resistance (see p8). But we’ve gone further,and talked to the scientistsevaluating the changes in thepathogen population (p14). Wealso have a full report on theUK Cereal Pathogen VirulenceSurvey for yellow rust (p26).

Prepare yourself for thesereports –– it’s a job to get yourhead round efflux pumps andthe virulence of Warrior 4 (red).You could argue, it’s a level ofdetail you don’t really need, butI’d dispute that –– as our TechTalk on blight this month (p80)shows, an understanding of theA1 and A2 genotypes is crucialfor potato growers building arobust spray programme. Yet a decade ago, before 13_A2came to prominence, few growers would have known the significance. How long will it be before CYP51 andSdhC variants become part of the cereal disease-controlvernacular?

When it comes to sprayapplication, automatic nozzle

I have a bit of an issue withgreat crested newts at themoment –– they’ve taken upresidence in a quarry we haveon the farm.

My issue isn’t with the creatures themselves –– I thinkthey’re great. If anything, I’mflattered my hospitality isappreciated so much theseendangered newts have decided to stick around –– I’mclearly doing something right.

The problem is with the science that surrounds them.It’s a working quarry, just reaching the end of its life, sovarious scientific surveys haveto be done to assess thiscolony of GCN and to makesure they’re safe.

The result of one of thesesurveys was to stick a load ofnewt-proof fencing round thesettling ponds in the quarry sothat no wandering reptile wouldget scooped up by a digger ormashed by a bulldozer.

That was all fine until mid-summer last year –– theseare settling ponds, so the firsthint of dry weather and theponds turned to a parched

Tom Allen-Stevens has a 170haarable farm in Oxon, and a number of great crested newts that may be looking for a newhome, if anyone’s [email protected]

selection is one advance offering significant benefits. Butyou’d be unlikely to appreciatethese without an understandingof the science that lies behindit, which is why our report (p32)goes into a fair bit of detail.

With variety choice, hybridbarley represents a technicalstep forward that again canoffer significant benefits. InInsiders View we’ve looked indetail at one of the newcomersto the AHDB Cereals andOilseeds Recommended List(p56). We’ve also delved intothe agronomy that’ll ensure you get the best from hybridvarieties (p18) –– prepare for arethink on some of the ‘rules’.

As farmers and land managers, we can’t be expected to be experts ateverything –– we rely on goodscience and good counsel from those we trust. It’s whenthat advice conflicts, when circumstances change, whenbroad-reaching regulation takes no account of local variation –– that’s when you’releft vulnerable and exposed.Those who have first-handknowledge of the technicaldetail are therefore the oneswho have the upper hand.

Do we need science?

One of the delights of holdingoffice in the NFU is the trainline from St. PancrasInternational to Le Gare du Midiin Brussels. It’s a very swiftservice and sometimes I’ve felta mere two hours to get fromthe centre of two capital citiesis rather short –– it can takelonger to find a parking place at Colchester station.

Being a bit of an agro-anorak,rather than doing my homeworkon the train by pawing my waythrough Eurocratic papersdesigned to make binary codelook relatively exciting, I’m usuallygawping out of the window casting an eye over the Frencharable agriculture as we speedthrough the Pas de Calais andbeyond. It’s always striking howthe landscape changes for theworse as you disappear down ahole in the beautiful Garden ofEngland in Kent and emerge on the other side in the dull featureless, grey countryside ofNorthern France. The differenceis striking so don’t let anyone tell you that British farmers aren’t good custodians of theirfarmscapes.

Trying to gain an in-depthunderstanding of the politicaleconomy of French agriculture isprobably not best done travellingthrough it at over 100mph, butthat doesn’t stop me concludingthat the French seem somehowto have been exempted from thegreening obligations of the CAP.The lack of hedges, margins and

trees seems very pronounced.But having said that, I’ve noticed

from my Eurostar seat thatrecently this might be

changing. Many of thelarge, featureless fieldsbetween Calais and Lille now have lines of

freshly planted young trees marching through them.

My guess is that this might be‘agro-forestry’, which some feel isthe future of farming while othersdismiss it as the latest fad theFrench government are wastingmoney on and French farmersare cashing in on.

I’m no expert of ‘agro-forestry’but, as readers will know, lack ofknowledge doesn’t usually stopme talking about a topic. Theprinciple seems to be that byfarming 20-50m wide strips ofcrops between rows of trees you create rich bio-spheres ofgenetic diversity which in turndeliver a greater abundance offood per ha. The biodiversity harboured by the trees helpskeep the crops clean of disease,pests and weeds and vice-versa.

There are also benefits for thesoil in that erosion is limited andleaf litter replenishes organicmatter. You also get more spraydays as lines of trees provideshelter from the wind. The presence of trees reduces overallcrop yield through physicallyoccupying space in the field but the harvest from the treeswhether it’s from wood or fruitcompensates for this. The argument is you’re making moreuse of the environment throughtree height and deeper rootingwhereas simple arable croppingonly exploits the meter above theground and the meter below.

This is all very interesting, ifnot a little perverse for a man of my generation, who canremember as a boy that widespread and common farmactivity that was called hedgegrubbing. Around my parts ofEssex it largely took place in the1960s, so it’s in my boyhoodmemory banks along with JFK,

Hedging your bets

Email your comments and ideas to [email protected]

Guy Smith grows 500ha ofcombinable crops on thenorth east Essex coast,namely St. Osyth Marsh ––officially the driest spot inthe British Isles. Despitespurious claims from othersthat their farms are actuallydrier, he points out that hisfarm is in the Guinness Book of Records, whereasothers aren’t. End of.

Bobby Charlton, Jimi Hendrixand Neil Armstrong. The principlebehind hedge grubbing was thatthe larger the field the better thecropping. Suddenly, 50 years on it now seems to be the otherway round.

But as someone who hasnever actually grubbed a hedgebut has planted a few I recogniseit’s actually a bit more complicatedthan the larger the field the betterthe profits. For starters newhedges can be planted in geometric patterns that betterallows the use of modern agricultural machinery –– whichwas the prime reason whyhedges were taken out fifty years ago. The spider webs ofsmall fields could be turned intocomprehensive manageableblocks. Today when we planthedges things are done instraight lines rather than in theway they seem to have beendone during the enclosures whenthey weaved their convolutedway around medieval rights ofway and a myriad other legalcomplications.

Despite the hedge grubbing of the 1960s and 70s, Englandremains the most hedged landscape in the world with half a million miles of hedges. So thequestion is: does the presenceand proximity of the hedge suggest advantages you mightget from agroforestry?

My experience suggests thecloser you get to the hedge thelower the yield. It’s usually wherethe rabbit damage is greatestand in most years the hedgetends to drought the land bydrawing moisture. There’s alsothe expense of maintenance. Butthen again there’s no incomecontribution from the hedgeunless you’re into selling sloes or blackberries. The main incomeI get from my hedges is by virtueof their greening contribution tomy BPS obligations. Which brings me back to the changinglandscape of Northern France.You suspect it’s governmentschemes and payments that’sdriving agroforestry rather thanscientifically proven advantagesfrom combining arable agricultureand silviculture cheek by jowl.

6 crop production magazine april 2016

Will silvoarable agriculture draw more interest from farmers, or simply drawmore rabbits onto arable land and moisture away from crops?

Saving on fungicides not an option

It would be foolish not to

employ the best tools for the job.”

“

With grain prices low, it’s a kneejerk reaction to cut back on inputs. In a lowdisease season, it could be argued that triazoles applied alone, with multisiteinhibitors or as azole mixtures could bethe way to save money, particularly withwheat at £100/t or thereabouts, says independent agronomist, Sean Sparling.

“But this is definitely not a low disease-pressure season,” he counters. “The growth of crops and diseases alikehave carried on almost uninterrupted sincelast autumn, with septoria very easy to findand widespread within the canopies of most varieties.

“It comes as no surprise that the sameresistant septoria mutation discovered inIreland has now arrived in the UK –– it was always just a matter of time before it blew downwind to us. Which is whyit’s even more important to protect the SDHI

chemistry we have available and which isworking well –– for the time being at least,”he adds.

“The combination of the discovery ofthese new resistant strains and the high disease pressure, means it would be foolish not to employ the best tools for the job –– SDHI, triazole and multisite fungicide mixtures,” he believes.

Total failureHutchinson’s Dr David Ellerton agrees growers should adopt anti-resistance strategies now so that they don’t get into the position of total failure that happenedwith the strobilurins.

“SDHIs are crucial to our fungicide programmes and it’s vital to protect theiractivity. It’s important not to overuse them inorder to reduce selection pressure and toapply them at a rate appropriate to the disease pressure.

“Ideally growers should adopt a timely,preventative approach to keep on top of

septoria and avoid the disease gettingestablished. But in high disease-pressure situations, such as experienced so far thisseason, higher rates of more expensiveproducts such as SDHIs will be needed,even though this increases selection pressure on the SDHI chemistry,” he explains.

Clare Bend of Agrii says fungicides arearguably the most cost effective input and can make or break the profitability of a crop.

“Work carried out in the past by plant

As T1 timing approaches,programmes are likely to be

geared as much to protectSDHI chemistry as to control

disease. CPM gathers agronomists thoughts

on T1 and T2 fungicide applications.

By Lucy de la Pasture

TechnicalDisease control


The growth of crops and diseases alike havecarried on almost uninterrupted since lastautumn, says Sean Sparling.


David Ellerton says adopt anti-resistancestrategies now to avoid total failure of the SDHI chemistry.

Cutting back on fungicide spend in most yearswill reduce yield and increase cost/t, believesClare Bend.

pathologists has confirmed that the optimumdose rate of a fungicide is affected little bygrain price until you get to the extremely low levels of £60-70/t. With grain prices wherethey are, the driver to reducing cost/t is yield. We’ve analysed our trials and the best fungicide programmes drive cost/t of production down, while maximizing margin over fungicide cost,” she advises.

“Agrii has been advising growers to move away from very septoria-susceptiblevarieties to those with better ratings, toreduce pressure on chemistry and cashflow,” she adds.

Independent consultant Niall Atkinsonreckons the present economics of wheatproduction require a much greater emphasison all round cost control, with every potentialinput from a cultivation to spray applicationscrutinised.

“Choice of varieties becomes ever more important as growers look for better inherent septoria resistance,” he believes,adding that careful variety choice forms thestart of disease control programmes.

“I’ll be looking to tailor disease controlmore specifically to varieties in the groundcoupled with weather information and thegrowers’ ability to react and cover theground quickly.”

So when it comes to what’s going in thetank, is the backdrop of possible septoriainsensitivity and low grain prices going tomake a difference?

David Jones of CCC Agronomy doesn’tthink so. “It’s easy to panic about the discovery of septoria isolates with reducedsensitivity to SDHI fungicides in Ireland and recently in the UK, but it shouldn’t make any difference to our approach to septoria control.”

Explaining his reasoning, he says, “We’veknown since the strobilurins were introduced

in the late 90s, that single-site modes ofaction are very vulnerable to resistance, and this is why as an industry we’ve had astrong focus on minimising this risk throughsensible advice on fungicide use.”

Worst case scenarioHe agrees we should all be following theFRAC guidelines to try to prevent, or at least delay, the worst case scenario ofwidespread SDHI resistance. Using differentmodes of action, such as chlorothalonil(CTL) and triazoles with SDHI chemistry,keeping dose rates appropriate and, if at all possible, using fungicides in protectantsituations will all help.

“SDHIs will continue to form the cornerstone of my fungicide programs at the T2timing. But with more septoria-resistant varieties, such as Skyfall and Crusoe, I’ll be

looking to use much less of the newgeneration SDHIs at T1 this year, if diseasepressure allows,” says David Jones. s

Disease control

Niall Atkinson will be tailoring hisdisease control more specifically tovarieties in the ground.

Early disease prevention will be vital this year to manageseptoria effectively, believes Dr Paul Fogg of Frontier. “Toachieve this, we’ve advised careful variety choice to reducedisease risk, which will now be followed by a ‘front-loaded’programme to gain control early on but which can also beadapted later should diseasepressure fall,” he says.

Robust levels“T0 sprays were built around CTL and, given the rust pressurecommon in many varieties, a triazole is also likely to have beenincluded. Timpani, for example,delivers robust levels of CTL and tebuconazole.”

ProCam trials show using triazoles with CTL at T0 is a good foundation for the programme, says Dr TudorDawkins, ProCam technicaldirector. “Even the inclusion ofcyflufenamid, where mildew is present, has helped controlseptoria as a side benefit.”

An important part of earlyProcam advice was selecting the right triazoles to use at T0. “It’s essential to ensure wedon’t ‘condition’ the septoria population to adverse selectionpressure to the azoles we want to use later,” he explains.

“Both tebuconazole andprochloraz have a role to play at T0 in association with CTL.

In years of high disease pressure, like 2014, we saw anextra 1t/ha of yield from thisapproach and this year looksvery similar so far.”

The starting point for SteveCook of Hampshire ArableSystems, was multisite CTL at T0, applied when leaf four was emerged. Explaining hisrationale, he stresses the need to adopt a protectant strategy.“Septoria races have changedrapidly in the past few years toreach a point where triazoles no longer give reliable curativeactivity. The only real curativeactivity we have is from SDHIchemistry.

“The situation which will lead to the largest selection pressure for resistance is applying an SDHI in curative situations, because no othermode of action will help eradicate disease, so effectivelyit’s an SDHI on its own. The bestway to protect SDHI chemistry isto try to keep control protectant.”

Sean Sparling believes strobilurins may still have a role to play in programmes. “I included CTL with a strobilurinrather than a triazole at T0,because reduced doses of triazoles, even at the T0 timing,can increase the frequency ofresistant strains. I’ll also beadding CTL to my T1 to furtherprotect the new growth of thecanopy, as well as giving addedprotection to the triazole andSDHI T1 base.”

There’s general agreementthat strobilurins, and pyraclostrobin in particular,is still giving some help on septoria in a protectant situation,as well as good rust activity.Paul Fogg says, “While strobilurins no longer have astrategic role in controlling septoria, we consistently see that the pyrclostrobin in Ceriaxadds to the levels of controldelivered by fluxapyroxad+epoxiconazole (as in Adexar) on its own. One possible explanation for this may be thegerm-tube suppression affordedby pyraclostrobin as reported byKildea et al. 2010.”

Sean Sparling plans to useSDHI plus triazole at T1 and T2this season, the driver behind thedecision being the high level ofseptoria in the field, but he

s

Paul Fogg advocates a ’front-loaded’programme to gain control early on,which can also be adapted latershould disease pressure fall.

That’s the sort of approachNiall Atkinson concurs with. “Ifconditions at T1 are favourabletowards septoria deveopmentand timings are compromised,then robust rates of SDHI will berequired. But if conditions for disease development are lowand timely applications can be practiced, then cheaper azoles,at a robust rate, together withCTL will be an option givinggood protection through to T2.”

For Steve Cook, T1 applications will be timed at leafthree just fully emerged and will include an SDHI plus triazoleand CTL. “Triazoles will be important in the program to keepthe protectant element as high aspossible. I’m considering CTL onleaf two because this is the leafwhich will be most vulnerable,possibly relying on eradicantactivity to keep it clean, so a protectant added when leaf twois just emerged will help,” hereckons.

“There’s also evidence thatCTL will reduce eradicant activity of the SDHI, so movingthe CTL to an earlier timing couldhelp. This may mean an extrapass but could fit with a lategrowth regulation application,” he suggests.

In Clare Bend’s opinion, strategies should be a mixture oftwo or three modes of action atT1, depending on risk. “At T1,inclusion of an SDHI is importantwhere disease risk is high, asomitting a T1 SDHI only exposesthe T2 SDHI to greater curativepressures,” she reasons.

“At T2 inclusion of an SDHI is

David Jones doesn’t believe thediscovery of SDHI resistant septoriaisolates should make any differenceto the approach to septoria control.

emphasises that full considerationmust be given to protecting bothfungicide groups.

Leading azoles“That means applying a minimum 75-80% triazole dose,using one of the leading azolessuch as prothioconazole or epoxiconazole with therecommended dosage of SDHIplus a multisite,” he says.

Frontier programmes are alsolikely based on SDHIs at T1 andT2 given the amount of diseasepotentially threatening yields,reckons Paul Fogg. “T1 optionswill be either penthiopyrad(Vertisan) plus Manitoba (epoxiconazole+ folpet), orCeriax plus CTL. The Vertisanmix works well, as the straightSDHI gives us some dose rateflexibility based on disease pressure at this stage andManitoba adds the essentialmulti-site, as well as an 80%dose of epoxiconazole.”

David Jones believes Keystone(epoxiconazole+ isopyrazam)could have a useful role at T1 in more septoria susceptible varieties in a protectant situation this season, offeringcost-effective protection with arobust dose of both SDHI andtriazole. Where he judges

disease pressure doesn’t justifythe expense, a minimum of a75% dose of epoxiconazole and1 l/ha of CTL will form the basisfor T1 septoria protection.Boscalid and strobilurins will bebrought in where eyespot andrusts are also a risk.

s

Select the right triazoles to use at T0, points outTudor Dawkins, to ensure the septoria populationisn’t ‘conditioned’ to the azoles you want to use later.

essential, with the top three SDHIs, basedon our data, being fluxapyroxad, bixafen andpenthiopyrad. Adding multi-sites –– bothfolpet and chlorothalonil as each hasstrengths and weaknesses –– will be at thecore of strategies,” she explains.

These should be applied two or threetimes in the season, depending on diseasethreat, but most particularly at T0 and T1.“We’re reluctant to include CTL at T2 if bixafen (in Aviator Xpro) is to be included asthe SDHI of choice, because of antagonism,although the extent of this appears to varybetween formulations, while folpet seemsfine as a mixer. Imtrex (fluxapyroxad) with CTL doesn’t seem to be an issue,” she notes.

According to Agrii trials, formulation is asimportant as selection of the rate of activeingredient applied, and can make a big difference, believes Clare Bend. “Leaves are difficult to penetrate and, unless you can get the active ingredient to the targetsite effectively, you won’t get the most fromthe products you’re applying.”

Good formulationImtrex is a particularly good formulation, she adds, and when put with a good triazoleformulation, such as Brutus (epoxiconazole+metconazole), easily and consistently outperforms Adexar.

“Some formulations can be improved by using a separate adjuvant, especiallywhere the target is challenging. Ear disease,brown rust low in the canopy and high application speeds are examples,” she suggests.

Using an SDHI plus azole at T2 is a given,with every agronomist believing there wouldhave to be a particularly good justification foromitting the combination at this timing. Butwhat about how the azole should be usedwithin the program?

Clare Bend says that Agrii adviseboth stacking and alternating triazoles as strategies. “With the plethora of azole-resistant strains out there, susceptibleto a greater or lesser degree to differentazoles, keeping septoria guessing must bethe name of the game,” she says. “We knowthat continued use of the same azole in aprogramme effectively selects a populationresistant to that azole.”

“Triazole formulation is important too –– the yield benefit of stacked azoles such as Kestrel/Prosaro (prothioconazole + tebuconazole) and Brutus were backed up by HGCA AFD data when the productswere first introduced. What we’ve found isthat the benefits over single azoles haveincreased over time, from +0.2t/ha in the mid2000s to +0.8t/ha now. We think part of thisis the better formulations but also becausewe’re hitting septoria with a blend of twoazoles. Switching from one azole mix toanother at each fungicide timing is important,” she stresses.

But David Jones doesn’t completely buyinto that approach. “I’m less convinced by azole mixtures; having reviewed the

Disease control

s

science from a range of researchers over the winter and from the AICC own trials data, I believe that mixing triazoles neitherreduces resistance risk or markedly improvesdisease control –– however key triazole (epoxiconazole/prothioconazole) rotation within a T1/T2 programme is potentially a sensible strategy,” he believes.

Frontiers achieve this by basing T2 sprays on either robust rates of Skyway Xpro(bixafen+ prothioconazole+ tebuconazole) orCeriax (fluxapyroxad+ epoxiconazole), with orwithout CTL (depending on what was used atT1), explains Paul Fogg. “Using Skyway meanswe can alternate SDHI activities and alsobrings in a further triazole in the form of prothioconazole.”

Tudor Dawkins emphasises that protectionis the name of the game and T2 mixtures mustbe designed to protect yield-generatingleaves. “ProCam trials have again demonstratedthe benefits of using triazoles, strobilurins and SDHIs in combination, to achieve this. If disease pressure is less, as in 2015, it’s better to fine tune doses at this stage ratherthan drop actives from the programme altogether,” he adds.

Steve Cook says his T2 fungicides will be SDHI plus triazole again and maybe a further CTL addition if well timed. But if it’sdelayed, the CTL will be left out and doses ofSDHI increased. “T3 fungicides will be timedfor fusarium protection and will include furthertriazole to top up septoria protection.”

Sean Sparling sums up the danger toSDHIs: “Overuse, reduced rates and poor protection of the SDHIs will lead to a rapid rise in resistant isolates in the field, so no morethan two SDHIs should be applied in any one growing season. We may be fightinga losing battle with resistance, but while theseproducts are still working, we have to look after and protect them for as long as we can–– hindsight is no good to anyone.” n

Paul Gosling says an extra £30,000 of AHDBfunding will go towards research specifically tomonitor the new sdh mutation.

clear that resistance must be taken seriously–– azole sensitivity is going in only one direction, and it’s the intensity of azole usethat’s driving it,” stresses Paul Gosling.

A new project, part funded by BASF, isnow underway that aims to quantify how cultural control techniques, such as choiceof variety, can contribute to overall diseasemanagement. “The previous project hasshown they make a difference, although it’sstill relatively small –– there’s not muchscope in the resistance of current varieties.

Quest underway forresilient strategies Growers

are spending moneythey don’t need tospend and driving

resistance at the same

time.”

“

The Pesticide Usage Survey for 2015 suggests the highest ever number of fungicide treatments were applied towheat crops last year. Nearly all of themreceived four applications, with thebiggest rise being seen in the number of sprays applied at the T0 timing.

And yet septoria levels in crops last yearwere the lowest recorded in recent times.

This has served to increase concern thatfungicide applications are not matched tothe actual in-season disease risk faced bywheat crops, notes Dr Paul Gosling of AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds. “Growers arespending money they don’t need to spendand driving resistance up at the same time. So this a double whammy that threatens the profitability of growing wheat

Guidance on how to use SDHI fungicides may be

clear, but what will be therelative impact of resistancemanagement strategies and

how will septoria populationsevolve? CPM asks key

scientists for an update.

By Tom Allen-Stevens

in both the short and medium term.”What cements the worry is the finding,

announced in Feb, of a key mutation with the potential to confer high levels of SDHIresistance in UK septoria populations, detected at a field site in southern England,and discovered as part of an AHDB monitoring project, led by RothamstedResearch.

This could have implications for SDHI fungicide efficacy, he points out. “It’s difficultto say at the moment just how significant thisfinding is. We don’t think the effect will be asdramatic as the spread of septoria resistanceto strobilurin fungicides, and believe themutation may carry a fitness cost that will limit how fast the isolates develop within the population.”

AHDB has now approved an extra£30,000 of research specifically to monitor

this new mutation. “This will allow 48 sites tobe sampled over the season and will build up a good picture of how this isolate hasspread, and the speed with which it is developing,” he reports.

“But this is quite specific and will be carried out alongside ongoing research into azole sensitivity.”

Meanwhile, a significant industry-fundedproject looking at the consequences of intensive fungicide use is now drawing to a conclusion (see panel on page 17). “It’s



To limit the spread of septoria resistance to SDHI fungicides, growers should:1. Follow the statutory requirement to limit

the number of applications to two SDHI fungicide-containing sprays.

2. Always use SDHI fungicides in mixture with at least one fungicide from an alternative mode of action group which has comparable efficacy against the target pathogen(s).

3. Not tank-mix two SDHI fungicides – this is not an anti-resistance strategy.

Follow the FRAG guidelines

What researchers don’t yet know is whether theresistant isolates carry a fitness penalty.

Bart Fraaije has identified strains combining allthree resistance mechanisms: CYP51 mutations,CYP51 overexpression and increased efflux pump activity.

But the two new wheats on the AHDBCereals and Oilseeds Recommended Listwith a rating of 7 for septoria is a step in theright direction. If the SDH mutation does turn out to be significant, as with herbicideresistance, cultural control will play more of a role and growers will need reliable information so they can plan how to use varietal resistance to best effect.”

The use of multi-site fungicides shouldalso remain the backbone of disease control programmes, he adds. “They arepowerful resistant-management tools. It’s clear growers are shifting the start of fungicide programmes to earlier in the season, which is where multi-sites fit in well. But a straight azole at T0 and T3 is a very unwise choice.”

Last year, around 1200 septoria isolatesfrom wheat leaf samples taken at 16 sites across the UK were analysed byresearchers at Rothamsted. The main purpose was to monitor changes in theCYP51 protein that bring reduced sensitivityto azole fungicides, explains lead researcherDr Bart Fraaije.

“We’ve stepped up the monitoring andincluded four samples from France and twofrom Germany to improve our understandingof new azole-resistance mechanisms andCYP51 mutations that resistant isolates mayhave developed.”

Efflux pumpAmong these is increased efflux pump activity, often due to overexpressing of thetransporter MgMFS1, whereby the pathogencells develop the ability to expel chemicals.Whether that’s an azole, QoI (strobilurin) orSDHI, the fungicide is pumped out before ithas the chance to reach the target.

This could increase resistance by up to ten times, depending on the fungicidebeing used. Another worrying developmentis the identification of strains combining allthree resistance mechanisms: CYP51

mutations, CYP51 overexpression andincreased efflux pump activity.

“The incidence of increased efflux pumpactivity is still low in septoria populations –– currently at 0-6% across most UK andFrench locations sampled last season ––although in a sample from Scotland and one site in N Germany, 20-33% of isolatesdisplayed this property at the start of theseason,” reports Bart Fraaije.

“Increased efflux pump activity is found indifferent CYP51 variants and the impact onfitness needs further investigation. Withregard to CYP51 mutations, no new variantswere found in 2015.”

What researchers did find, however, couldbe far more sinister as far as SDHI sensitivityis concerned. “Three of the 195 late seasonisolates tested from one site in southernEngland showed medium to high resistanceto SDHI fungicides.”

They’ve been on the look-out for the tell-tale mutations and have identified a range of different mutations in lab experiments that can confer resistance, he explains. “SDHIs work on three differentsub units of the succinate dehydrogenaseprotein (SdhA, B and C), and you have tosequence all three genes to establish if target site changes confer resistance. Oneof the mutations we’re particularly interestedin is the one causing C-H152R (amino acidhistidine replaced by arginine at position 152 of the SdhC protein).

“The alarming thing about this target sitechange is that it gives the pathogen a muchhigher resistance capability. That’s the keymutation we’ve now identified from the fieldsample, and this was also reported inIreland. In addition to C-H152R, seven otherSdh mutations conferring lower levels ofresistance were also found for the first timein the UK in 2015.”

What they don’t yet know is whether themutations carry a fitness cost. “The reasonQoI resistance was so dramatic was that themutation that conferred it (cytochrome bG143A) was associated with very high levelsof resistance and didn’t affect the pathogen’sability to survive and reproduce in any way.Whether the C-H152R mutation affects SDHIperformance and carries a fitness penalty is exactly what we hope to find out throughthe extra monitoring and testing this year,”he notes.

Sampling at both the start and end of theseason at 48 locations, mostly carried out by NIAB TAG, SRUC, ADAS and Teagasc in Ireland, will build up a picture of how this new threat is evolving. “We’ve alsodeveloped in-field diagnostic tests forCYP51 and MgMFS1 over-expressing

strains, and hope to be able to demonstratethem at a future Cereals event.”

But the point about finding resistance is that it shouldn’t, in itself, change yourapproach in the field, according to Dr NeilPaveley of ADAS. “The strategies that aremost effective at slowing resistance beforeyou find it are also the most effective atkeeping its spread minimised. So the key objective is to find out what these strategies are.”

That’s been the aim of a four-year projectled by ADAS that draws to a conclusion thisyear. Four different fungicide treatmentregimes have been applied to three wheatvarieties, with a low, moderate and high septoria-resistance rating. Selection forazole-insensitive and efflux strains of septoria has been tracked and the economicresponse of the varieties to the fungicideregimes compared.

The surprise finding of the trials is just how well a low-intensity fungicide programme has performed financially, evenin a high disease year such as 2014, notesNeil Paveley. “The startling result from the2015 season was the strong performance of the untreated plots, albeit on varietieswhere yellow rust was not much of an issue(see chart on p16).

“But that’s all with the benefit of hindsight.Growers started their 2015 fungicide

Theory to Fields

Velcourt technical director Keith Norman reckonsit was only a matter of time before septoria isolates with resistance to SDHI were detectedin the UK. “We’ve been doing our own samplingwork across our trials sites and have picked up another isolate this time in Suffolk with a different mutation to the one found in southernEngland earlier this year,” he reports.

“SDHIs have a similar protection mechanismto strobilurins, so this development wasinevitable. However, the newer chemistry workson three sub units within the pathogen, ratherthan just the one site targeted by strobs, soresistance is not black-and-white, and I thinkwe’ll see a slower degradation.”

It will be crucial for growers and agronomiststo be kept informed of how the resistance picture evolves, however. “The AHDB-fundedwork in this area is vital, and it’s good news that extra resources have been allocated tomonitor this new development –– we need atruly independent system. But I’d like to seemore monitoring and wider sampling on anational basis, and feel government fundsshould be used for such an approach,”

maintains Keith Norman.“We need the extra strength of SDHIs

–– there’s no doubt about it, as when the chips are down as they were in 2012 and 2014, it was clear that the azoles just don’thave the edge you could once rely on. But weshould be wary of overuse –– if your crop isclean at T1, why not save the Rolls Royce chemistry for just one application at the T2timing, for example?”

Overuse of azoles will also drive resistance,he points out, although use must be appropriateto the individual situation. “This puts the emphasis on better monitoring ––adopting apragmatic approach, where you regularly checkon disease levels will help tailor a programmeand identify where, for example, justchlorothalonil at T0 would suffice.”

Current AHDB-funded research will helpgrowers and agronomists choose the right prescription of inputs for a given set of circumstances, he believes. “But what’s stilllacking is a smarter approach to forecasting.There are technologies such as in-field tests anddrone-mounted spectral photography that hold

Keith Norman would like to see governmentfunds spent on more monitoring and widersampling on a national basis.

some promise in how they can help here, whichmay ensure the chemistry is better used to besteffect in future.”

Smarter approach needed as resistance evolves

The surprise finding of the trials is just how well a low-intensity fungicide programme hasperformed financially, notes Neil Paveley.

Source: ADAS; mean of five trials per year; wheat price £100/t

Economic response of varieties to different fungicide strategies

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0Untreated Low Moderate High

Mar

gin

ove

r fu

ngic

ide

(£/h

a)Fungicide intensity

Crusoe

Cubanita

Conqueror

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0Untreated Low Moderate High

Mar

gin

ove

r fu

ngic

ide

(£/h

a)

Cougar

Zulu

Gallant

programmes with the high disease pressureof the previous year in mind. Although theseverity of septoria does not relate to theseverity in the previous season, few wouldhave risked a low-intensity programme.”

High gross marginsBut more disease resistant varieties producehigh gross margins and reduce the risk associated with lower intensity fungicide programmes, points out Neil Paveley.“Because disease epidemics grow moreslowly on less susceptible varieties, diseaseforecasting works better, to match inputs tothe season. The project has shown that

Theory to Field

2014

2015

s


AHDB project 2012-3800, Consequences ofintensive fungicide use or integrated diseasemanagement for fungicide resistance and sustainable control, runs from Jan 2013 to Sept 2016. Its aim is to quantify the effect of integrated disease management on selection offungicide-resistant pathogen strains, translate thisinto implications for the effective life of fungicides,and interpret the implications. Its total cost is£691,546, and the project has industry partnersAdama, BASF, Bayer CropScience, CRD, Defra,DuPont, Limagrain and Syngenta. AHDB fundingamounts to £40,000, with the research carriedout by ADAS and Rothamsted Research.AHDB project 2140003105, Combining agronomy, variety and chemistry to maintain

control of Septoria tritici in wheat, runs from Aug2015 to March 2019. Its aim is to compare thevalue of cultural control measures as part of a disease management programme, specifically sowing date and disease-resistant varieties and toquantify this in terms of yield, disease control andmargin over fungicide cost. Led by ADAS, its totalcost is £359,163, funded by AHDB Cereals andOilseeds, BASF and Teagasc.AHDB project 2009-3713, Identification and characterisation of azole sensitivity shifts in Irish and UK populations of Mycosphaerella graminicola (Zymoseptoria tritici) sampled fromAHDB fungicide performance winter wheat trials,runs from April 2011 to March 2019. Its aim is toidentify changes to the CYP51 gene targeted by

Research round-up

The new project is very farmer-focused and will givegrowers a clear picture on how to adapt strategies.

the combination of resistant varieties andappropriate fungicide inputs does slow down fungicide insensitivity.”

Most growers would want some reliablefacts and figures on which to base anychange in strategy, however, argues CatrionaWalker of ADAS. That’s the aim of a new set oftrials that’ll run over the next three years onfour sites across the UK plus one in Ireland.

“The aim is to deliver direct information onhow cultural control techniques interact withdifferent fungicide programmes –– it’s a veryfarmer-focused project that will give growers avery clear picture on how to adapt strategies.In the event septoria develops significantresistance to SDHIs, we hope we can helpgrowers adopt financially proportionate fungicide programmes,” she says.

Three varieties –– KWS Santiago, JB Diegoand Revelation –– have been planted at mid-to-late Sept and mid-to-late Oct drillingdates at high and low seed rates. Four fungicide treatments, from untreated to highintensity, will be applied. “It will build into aregional picture on best economic return for fungicide use. But importantly it shouldequip growers with information how to optimise control, however septoria populationsdevelop.” n

Theory to Field

azoles in field populations of septoria leaf blotch,to link these to field applications of fungicide treatments, and to establish if alternative resistancemechanisms are evolving. Its initial cost was£60,000 funded by AHDB. An additional £30,000has been granted to monitor septoria isolates withthe SDH C-H152R mutation. The research is led byRothamsted Research, with partners ADAS, NIABTAG, SRUC and Teagasc providing samples.AHDB Information Sheets 48 and 49 have been updated with the latest fungicide activity and performance in wheat and barley.To download them, go to cereals.ahdb.org.uk/publications and search publications for IS48(wheat) or IS49 (barley).

When it comes to barley varieties, they’re definitely

not all the same. Hybridsactually need you to tear upthe rule book when it comes

to fungicide timings. CPMseeks guidance.


TechnicalBarley agronomy

Treat barleyvarieties as individuals

According to the AHDB early-bird forecast,the winter barley area is estimated to bedown this year, in contrast to last year’strend. But within that area, hybrid barleyvarieties have increased their share to capture about a fifth of the planted area.Barley’s no longer the poor relation towheat and it’s increasingly important to getthe agronomy right to make the most of itsinclusion in the rotation.

According to Iain Hamilton, Syngenta fieldtechnical manager, historically there’s been atendency to treat all barley varieties in thesame way but to get the most out of themthere’s scope for tailoring inputs.

One of the fundamental differencesbetween barley and wheat is that in barley,the lower leaves and stem make an important contribution to yield, he points out.

“In barley successive leaves diminish insize, with the area of the flag leaf being halfthat of leaf two and a quarter of leaf five inconventional varieties. As a result, as muchas 30% of the yield contribution comes fromleaves four and five so it’s very important to protect these lower leaves and start fungicide programmes early, with a T0 spray often justifiable.

“We talk a lot about diseases in winterwheat and matching fungicide programmesto varietal strengths and weaknesses, butexactly the same applies for barley,” he says.“Equally, using mixtures and sequences ofactive ingredients from different chemical


It’s very important to protect these

lower leaves and start fungicide programmes

early.”

“

s

groups as part of a resistance managementstrategy is paramount.”

Varieties can be broadly grouped according to their RL ratings for the main barley diseases; net blotch, rhynchosporiumand brown rust. “You can then tailor fungicideprogrammes to the risk of disease in yourlocality, with ramularia much more significant inthe north of the country and rhynchosporiumpredominant in the wetter western counties,”reckons Iain Hamilton.

Careful management“Net blotch is increasingly requiring morecareful management, with the strobilurin groupof chemistry not always fully effective againstthe disease because of resistance. The resistance mutation isn’t as absolute as withseptoria resistance in wheat, but there’s still a very marked reduction in efficacy,”he explains.

Iain Hamilton recommends using an SDHI at both T1 and T2 timings, adding that Cebara (cyprodinil+ isopyrazam) consistently performs well in trials, particularly on net blotch. It has the addedbenefit of containing a partner product with a unique mode of action supporting the SDHI,without over reliance on the azole group ofchemistry, he points out.

“Where rhynchosporium is the main problem, adding prothioconazole (PTZ) to any SDHI programme is advisable.Ramularia requires the addition ofchlorothalonil to the tank mix to help protectagainst the pathogen, with T2 being the keytiming for ramularia control,” he adds.

When it comes to timing fungicide applications on the hybrid varieties of winter barley –– Bazooka, Belfry and Volume –– they’re a completely different kettle

Not all barley is the same, advises Iain Hamilton – fungicides should be tailored to variety anddisease risk.

Unlike in conventional varieties, T2 is equally asimportant as T1 because hybrids have a biggerflag leaf and canopy.

climate. It’s too warm and wet, fuelling disease andoften limiting crop potential.

“Some of my fields have water on three sidesand even a moderate net blotch infection can take20% of crop yield, which can be critical for cropgoing for feed use. But well managed crops will stillachieve 7t/ha, justifying the higher disease-controlspend.

“And when we do get those seasons where theweather is favourable, then yields typically hit the8t/ha mark and with careful N applications, there’sthe bonus of better premium market opportunities.”

Another agronomist who shares his concernabout net blotch is Steve Cook of Hampshire ArableSystems. He has seen more evidence of the diseasein the autumn but feels the situation is under control. He agrees that it’s increasing prevalence isdue to cycles of favourable weather throughout theyear and a resulting build-up of inoculum ahead ofthe following season.

He’s turned to two applications of an SDHI, butfeels Fandango (prothioconazole+ fluoxastrobin) stillhas a place. “T1 is a good opportunity to get on topof the disease, so we go down the SDHI route atearly stem extension, especially as spring cropsdon’t get a T0 and there are other targets such asmildew, rusts and rhynchosporium. Good diseasecontrol at T1 gives you a bit of flexibility at T2 andthe chance to use prothioconazole with alternativemodes of action,” he points out.

Bayer’s Tim Nicholson feels part of the net blotchproblem could be rhynchosporium. He says growerscan be forced into going too early at T1, extending

The days of a “cheap’n’cheerful” approach tospring barley disease control may be over, believesDevon agronomist, Arthur Marshall. He’s beenforced to increase his winter barley disease controlprogramme to help manage the threat of net blotchin spring barley crops.

A series of recent mild winters has seen a surgein the disease and his spring barley programme isnow a three-spray strategy, with SDHIs at the core.With few cultural options to help quell the disease,he feels he has little choice but to rely on morerobust foliar programmes.

“Variety choice is driven by markets, yield reliability and straw. In my area Propino and Sanettedominate. Both have reasonable resistance to rhynchosporium but appear a little susceptible tonet blotch. Clearly there are varieties that are a bitmore resilient against the disease but they don’tprovide the same opportunity for growers.”

Winter crops get two applications of Siltra Xpro(prothioconazole+ bixafen) following a cyprodinil atT0, a programme he is now extending to springcrops. “Early on, rhynchosporium is the main targetbut the T0 helps with net blotch too, plus it brings inan alternative mode of action. That’s importantbecause the level of net blotch pressure we’vebeen experiencing over the past two years is forcing us into using more potent chemistry,”he says.

The move to a more robust spring barleyprogramme doesn’t concern Arthur Marshall, evenwith the lack of sunlight restricting grain fill in many seasons. “The problem here is our maritime

Where rhynchosporium is the main problem, theaddition of prothioconazole to any SDHIprogramme is advisable.

Net blotch warrants robust approach in spring barley

the gap to T2. “I think the favourable weather hasresulted in higherrhynchosporium pressure earlier in the season for both winter and spring crops,resulting in T1 sprays being brought forward.

“But with growers trying to hold their T2 spraysuntil full awn emergence in spring crops, the gap isbecoming too stretched, letting in net blotch. Wheregrowers have to apply T1s early, the potency of anSDHI such as bixafen is invaluable. But even then,make sure the gap to T2 doesn’t get stretchedbeyond four weeks,” he warns.

Arthur Marshall agrees and also points out thatfor mixed farms other priorities may contribute too.“If you’re TB testing then it really can intensify thepressure on farm resources. Even though it’s ashort season for spring crops, application timing isstill critical. No product will work as well as it wasdesigned if it’s poorly timed, even more potentSDHIs,” he concludes.

of fish to conventional barleys, says James Marshall-Roberts, Syngenta’s technical crop expert for hybrid barley.

“The hybrids have much bigger flag leavesand a bigger canopy, so make much more ofa contribution to yield. Unlike in conventionalvarieties, T2 is equally as important as T1 andwe’re finding there’s a benefit from pushing thefungicide timings back a bit,” he comments.

“A Robust and persistent T1 should beapplied at GS32 following a T0 if it has beenrequired. If ramularia is a risk, applying a protectant fungicide, such as Bravo(chlorothalonil) with your GS37 application of

Terpal (mepiquat+ 2-chloroethylphosphonicacid), may be beneficial. The hybrids generally have good rhynchosporium resistance but may be susceptible to brownrust and net blotch, particularly the older varieties,” he says.

“In trials we’ve found using a Cebara(cyprodinil+ isopyrazam) plus PTZ programmeand delaying the T2 application to GS45-59,rather than the usual GS39-45, helps to retainGreen Leaf Area. This allows the Hyvido variety to absorb as much sunlight as possible. Clean ears and awns maximise grain set, all of which convert into yield andgood specific weights.”

Fungicide management also has an important role to play in preventing varietiesfrom brackling, believes James Marshall-Roberts. “Volume, in particular, has a tendencyto brackle in delayed harvest years and highrates of Cebara plus PTZ help prevent this.This is due to the greening effect of the SDHIwhich prolongs photosynthesis keeping theplant in good health and maintaining upperstem strength.” n

s


Disease Varieties RatingNet blotch Cassata 3

Flagon 4KWS TowerCavalier 5KWS InfinityKWS OrwellPearlSurge

Rhynchosporium SY Venture 4KWS CassiaRetrieverKWS Glacier 5PearlCalifornia

Brown rust Pearl 5CaliforniaSY Venture

Source: 2016/17 AHDB Cereals and OilseedsRecommended List

Barley varieties to keepa watch on

Barley agronomy

Xemium was launched withone of the biggest marketing

campaigns for a fungicideseen in recent years, but

what gave BASF such confidence in the product

which quickly became market leader in its sector?

CPM tells the story.


TechnicalInnovation Insight

When we took people into the field, what they saw

hit them between the eyes.”

“


The fungicide thatearned its fanfare

These days, an innovative addition to the chemistry toolkit is a relatively rareoccurrence. It makes the introduction of a new fungicide not only significant, buttruly a landmark event.

Xemium was launched with a marketingcampaign would have left few growers in anydoubt about its potential to be a leadingfungicide.

When BASF launched Xemium (fluxapyroxad) in Oct 2011, it was given the fanfare warranted by just such an innovation. A broad-spectrum SDHI fungicide, positioned at the main cereal timings, the potential market was huge and Xemium’s marketing campaign wouldhave left few growers in any doubt about its suitability.

“We were really very excited aboutXemium,” recalls BASF crop protection field sales manager Steve Dennis. “It wasclear early on that we had something quitespecial. Its potential wasn’t just big in salesterms –– Xemium had a real technical edge,and that sort of product doesn’t come roundvery often.”

What particularly excited the sales teamwas how well Xemium was performing inpre-launch trials. “It was doing something tothe crop that, at that point, you just couldn’texplain, but the difference over standardstrobilurin/triazole-based programmes wasvery obvious. Although we couldn’t revealtoo much about the material, we couldn’tresist taking people into plots to give them

a sneak preview, and they were equallyamazed.”

Xemium is now sold worldwide, withapprovals on over 100 different crops. In2013, it received the BASF Innovation Awardfor a product across the company’s businessthat has achieved outstanding results, and inthe same year BASF increased the peak

Innovation Insight


Variety choice and a robust fungicide treatmentform cornerstones of a strategy designed tokeep disease in check for Ron Gabain, whomanages the Stetchworth Estate nearNewmarket. “Septoria is always our primary target,together with rusts and eyespot,” he notes.

“Already we’re seeing both septoria and rustin the bottom of the crop this season, as aresult of the mild winter conditions, and weneed to make sure we keep on top of these diseases as they’re more difficult to cure andeasier to protect against.”

The Stetchworth Estate has 1200ha of arablecrops on soils split roughly one third heavy andtwo thirds medium, all over chalk. On the heavierchalky boulder clay, winter wheat, spring barley,linseed and beans are grown and on the lighterland sugar beet, spring wheat and peas comeinto the rotation

This year, Ron Gabain is growing 200ha ofwinter wheat and 100ha of spring wheat, someof which is late autumn drilled where conditionsallow. He chooses his varieties carefully so thatthey bring good disease tolerance into the strategy. “Otherwise you increase the risk of aserious disease outbreak if the weather breaksdown,” he notes. So Skyfall is one of the wheatvarieties grown, while Crusoe and KWS Lili alsohave a suitable disease profile, he says.

Following a mild winter with a lot of

over-wintering septoria inoculum, he’s concerned that warm wet conditions with rainsplash could cause the disease to spread rapidlyin the spring. “If you don’t keep on top of it,without a robust strategy in place you could befighting a losing battle.”

So he feels there’s a strong place for SDHIsin his fungicide programme and, while there area number of good SDHI products available, haschosen Xemium over the rest. “I think Librax andAdexar probably have the edge. The metconazolein Librax complements the Xemium and helps withthe rust, septoria and eyespot control.

“In particular metconazole has a good profileon rusts and I think it may be least affected ofthe triazoles by resistance in septoria. So thecombination of Xemium and metconazole inLibrax works well together.

“I use Adexar at T1 as it partners one of thebest SDHIs with one of the best triazoles,epoxiconazole, particularly against rusts. I findthat a low rate of a morpholine can be helpful in the control of rusts and mildew too.

“At the T1 timing I’d start with Adexar pluschlorothalonil, followed up approximately threeweeks later at T2 by Librax and chlorothalonilwith the objective of keeping septoria off the flag leaf.”

Ron Gabain is well aware of the SDHI septoriaresistance reported recently, but the way he uses

At the T1 timing Ron Gabain starts with Adexarplus chlorothalonil, following up at T2 with Libraxand chlorothalonil.

SDHIs in his programme is consistent with theFRAC guidelines of just two SDHI applications percrop and in coformulations and tank-mixes withmulti-site fungicide chlorothalonil.

The farm has hosted a number of independentand manufacturer’s trials over many years.This brings Ron Gabain, who does most of hisown field walking, valuable experience andknowledge of a range of products. “I’ve chosento use Xemium fungicides because I believethem to be one of the best performing. I’ve seenexcellent trials results and I expect the bestyields and the best disease control from Libraxand Adexar,” he adds.

Robust treatments needed against septoria and rust

For Steve Dennis, Xemium wasn’t just big insales terms – it had a real technical edge.

Markus Gewehr was convinced sdh inhibitorsheld great potential, and was part of the teamthat looked for a new active ingredient.

sales potential for Xemium by €200 million to more than €600 million.

In the UK, Adexar (fluxapyroxad+ epoxiconazole) is now established as thebiggest SDHI product applied to wheat atthe T2 spray timing. In independent trials

conducted by SRUC, NIAB TAG and ADAS, Adexar and Librax (fluxapyroxad+metconazole) have yielded an average ofmore than 0.2t/ha over Aviator (bixafen+ prothioconazole) across 73 comparisonsfrom 2014 and 2015, delivering an averagemargin benefit of £20/ha.

Original SDHISo where did this innovation originate? “The story for this group of chemistry startedsome decades ago,” explains MarkusGewehr, who led the research team forXemium at the BASF R&D headquarters in Limburgerhof, Germany.

“The carboxamide fungicide benodanilwas used as a seed treatment, while in2004, boscalid was introduced for use onoilseed rape, cereals and speciality crops.”The chemistry works by blocking the activityof the succinate dehydrogenase enzymewithin the mitochondria of the fungus. Theseare the fungal energy factories, and without the enzyme, the mitochondria can’t functionand the pathogen shuts down.

“Boscalid is good, but its activity is limitedin terms of the pathogens it will control.

But we were convinced there was greaterpotential to these SDH inhibitors, so in 2001,a new research project started looking for anew active ingredient. Our chief targets were s

Innovation Insight

The scientists realised it was Xemium’s unusualmobility that was delivering the molecule rapidlyto its target site with such efficacy.

They discovered a molecule with a far strongerperformance at the later stages of the septoriapathogen’s life cycle, which came initially as acomplete surprise.

Molecule mobility – Xemium adapts its conformation

septoria and Asian soybean rust,”he recalls.

More than 1100 analogues were synthesised by the research team and mostof these were taken to small pot tests in thelab and field trials. Sure enough, there wasone particular molecule that surfaced withoutstanding activity against septoria.

“It came initially as a complete surprise,”continues Markus Gewehr. “Previously ourwork with SDHIs had shown they were onlyactive at the very early stage of thepathogen’s life cycle, yet here we had a molecule with far stronger performance atthe later stages. We needed to know moreabout this remarkable discovery.”

There were hints that this novel efficacy

was down to mobility. “It was behaving differently to other SDHIs in how it reacted to different substrate within plant tissue.”

What they discovered was that themolecule changed its conformation (see

panel below). This depended on whether itwas moving in the wax layers of the leaf andthrough membranes of the fungi, requiring alipophilic conformation, or travelling throughthe water-based cells, walls and vascularsystem, where a hydrophilic combinationwas better.

Polar performance“The different conformations change themolecule’s polar properties. The most polarpart of the molecule is the amide group, andthis can be shielded by other parts of themolecule, making it lipophilic, or exposed,reducing the lipophilicity by around 100times,” explains Markus Gewehr.

“It means Xemium can move smoothlybetween lipophilic and hydrophilic environments within plants and fungi. This is unique, and we realised it was this mobilitythat was delivering the molecule rapidly to itstarget site with such efficiency.”

The next step was to develop a formulation to carry the active ingredient,notes BASF European technical managerDieter Strobel. “We’d made a lot of progress with the development of Brutus(epoxiconazole+ metconazole). This know-how we transferred into Xemium and the resulting formulation ensured quick

and complete coverage of the leaf surfaceand further improvements in mobility.”

The combination of its inherent mobilityand its formulation gives Xemium systemicmovement through the leaf, while itslipophilic property ensures it’s taken quicklyinto the leaf’s wax layer and is rainfast, headds. “However, we found 70% of theapplied active stays in the wax layer andforms crystal-like depots that prolong theactivity of the chemistry.”

The dossier for Xemium was submitted in 2009 –– just five years after the initial discovery was made –– and the product waslaunched in Oct 2011. “It normally takes tenyears to bring a new active to the market,but Xemium was developed in less thaneight years,” notes Dieter Strobel.

The plan was to introduce Xemium to themarket over several seasons prior to thelaunch in the UK, recalls Steve Dennis.“When we took people into the field, whatthey saw hit them between the eyes –– they were completely blown away by thestandard of disease control compared withwhat they’d seen from a strob-triazole mix.”

The trials results were also showing asolid performance, with 2011 wheat trials atTeagasc delivering a 0.6t/ha yield benefitover Aviator. In barley in ADAS trials it gave a 0.3t/ha advantage over Siltra (bixafen+ prothioconazole) where rhynchosporium was the target, and itequalled Siltra’s performance on net blotch.

“The yield responses were good, but itwas delivering these even in the absence ofdisease,” notes Steve Dennis. “We werekeen to explore some of the properties thatwe were seeing in the field –– what was thegreening doing to the plant? Was there a difference we could measure for nitrogenand water-use efficiency?”

BASF asked ADAS to investigate theseproperties –– a three-year project was led byJulie Smith. “I’d seen Xemium in trials, andwas aware this was a very strong product.

Source: BASF


s

Innovation Insight

BASF was were keen to explore some of theproperties seen in the field, such as greening andwater-use efficiency.

Initially Julie Smith was sceptical, but found the greening resulted in an additional yieldbenefit of around 1t/ha.

You shouldn’t underestimate what can beachieved with tweaks in formulation, notes Dieter Strobel.

CPM would like to thank BASF for kindlysponsoring this article, and for providing privileged access to staff and materialused to help put the article together.

Innovation Insight

But like any scientist, I was sceptical ofthese greening claims,” she says.

“We set about establishing first whetherthere were yield benefits above what couldbe explained through just disease control,and if there were, exactly what was goingon. To be robust, these effects had to beexpressed under field conditions.”

Trials were set up to measure healthy areaduration (HAD). Previous research hadestablished this as a robust method of quantifying the green leaf area over time,from ear emergence to canopy senescence,which could then be related to yield.

“We just looked at Xemium, comparedwith untreated, and wheat treated with epoxiconazole, boscalid and pyraclostrobin–– no other new SDHIs were tested. But wefound there was an additional yield benefit,

of around 1t/ha, which was a surprise.”Not only did the crop canopy stay greener

for longer, it was a deeper green, she adds–– a SPAD meter confirmed this. “Under themicroscope, we found there was less celldamage to plant tissue treated with Xemiumcompared with other treatments.”

Most striking resultsBut water use efficiency tests proved to be the most striking, she recalls. “Wemeasured stomatal conductance –– theamount of water vapour the leaf surfaceloses through its pores. Xemium-treatedcrops have a slightly lower stomatal conductance, and this result was very consistent. While an untreated crop needs380t of water per tonne of grain on average,one treated with Xemium needs just 300t.”

Further trials looked at the effect ofXemium on the pathogen. These showed ithad an effect on septoria at every stage ofits life cycle. “Significantly, this includesgood activity during the latent period. Thisresults in a longer latent period, potentiallyhaving the effect of slowing down resistance by reducing selection pressure,” notes Julie Smith.

“We also measured septoria ascosporepopulations in the winter between two successional wheat crops. Where the firstcrop was treated at both T1 and T2 withXemium, spore numbers were lower and disease severity was less in the followingcrop.”

Below ground, Xemium also appears tohave an effect on rooting. In trials carried out at Brooms Barn, wheat in polytunnelswas subjected to extreme drought. Thosetreated with Xemium had 50-60% more rootgrowth at 1m depth, and up to 10% morechlorophyll in leaves.

“We don’t fully understand why Xemiumhas this effect, and the result isn’t alwaysconsistent. But it does have a beneficialinfluence on a wheat crop and it’s an effectyou can measure,” concludes Julie Smith.

Meanwhile, Xemium has now been partnered with metconazole in Librax, aproduct that has equalled or even improvedon the control offered by Adexar in 2015AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds fungicide performance trials. Dieter Strobel puts thisdown to formulation, again. “We’ve had anextra two years to refine the formulation andthe result is a product in which the uptake ofthe metconazole is optimised –– the twoactives perform better together than they’deach contribute on their own.”

Librax fits well in the T2 spray slot, hesays, where the timing may have beendelayed bringing in the chance of disease,

particularly on the lower leaves. “The broadspectrum of Adexar, and its strength on eyespot make it a good choice for the T1 timing.”

There’s further innovation to come, heassures. BASF has recently unveiled a newtriazole Revysol. Although no new triazolehas been brought to market for over tenyears, the new fungicide, recently submittedfor registration, has been designed to meet both “the highest level of regulatorystandards and outstanding biological performance”, claims the company.

“Librax is far from the last product you’llsee from the Xemium family –– we have avery strong discovery pipeline and youshouldn’t underestimate what can beachieved with a targeted optimisation of thetweaks in formulation,” notes Dieter Strobel.

“What started as a quest for another SDHIevolved into the leading fungicide for cerealdisease control. Xemium’s set to retain thatposition for some time to come.” n


yellow rust worldwide, one of which waspresent mainly in Europe.

“The European group had low geneticdiversity despite the presence of manyraces, which generally emerged by mutation of existing ones. That meant theraces had a similar genetic background butdifferent virulence.

“In Europe, there was a massive change in yellow rust epidemiology between 2010-2011 when the Warrior andKranich races emerged. These are bothnon-European in origin, probably arriving by airborne spores over large areas, andthey represent a completely new geneticpackage.

“The new yellow rust population has higher genetic diversity and within a

year almost entirely replaced the oldpopulation of the pathogen. The

Warrior race is genetically mostsimilar to populations in theHimalayan area and the Kranichrace is also similar, but less so,”he says.

To make matters more complicated, the new races of

yellow rust, as well as being entirelydifferent to the old European

pathogens, contain large diversity withinthem. This means pathogens within thesame race can be highly related in terms ofgenetics and pathology but have differencevirulence on commercial varieties.

That’s a problem that UKCPVS’ Dr SarahHoldgate is encountering with the Warriorrace and has led to a reclassification within the group for 2016 to reflect theirgenetic sequencing data, provided by Dr Diane Saunders at the John Innes Centre,and their ability to cause disease.

“There are now three groups –– Warrior 1(pink), Warrior 3 (blue) and Warrior 4 (red) –– replacing the old system of Warrior group1-4 and Solstice,” she explains. A potentiallyconfusing anomaly of the new system is thatWarrior 4 (red), the main group in the UKrepresenting 65% of the isolates tested in2015, is avirulent or doesn’t cause disease in the variety Warrior.

One of the key findings was a pathotypewithin group 4, not previously observed inthe UK. Samples were taken from ‘unusual’sightings of yellow rust in Scotland, Essexand North Yorks, some of these sites wereRL untreated trials.

“Pathotyping results revealed virulence tothe genes Yr1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 17, 25 and 32,as well as virulence on varieties SpaldingsProlific, Robigus, Solstice, Cadenza andApache,” explains Sarah Holdgate.

“It’s too early to tell if this new pathotype

The arrival of the Warriorrace of yellow rust in 2011was a game-changer. CPM

finds out how the pathogen is continuing to evolve

and what that may meanto growers.


TechnicalRust

Expect theunexpected asrust evolves

”

“

Yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis f.sp.tritici or PST) has gone from being a relatively simple pathogen to a very complex one –– with a massive shift in terms of population genotypes andpathotypes in just a few years.

Fortunately for growers there’s no fungicide resistance, yet, so current chemistry is effective but the game is forever changing as the pathogen overcomes varietal resistances and new

races emerge. The Warrior race came to thefore in 2011 but the latest buzz has been allabout detection of the Kranich race in theUK during 2014.

Emerging pictureLast month, the UK Cereal PathogenVirulence Survey (UKCPVS) reported theirmost recent findings from analysis of samples of cereal diseases received during the 2015 season. Scientists fromother European countries also gave theirresults and the emerging picture seems to imply that PST is going to continue to prove to be a challenging pathogen as populations become even more diverse.According to French work, some strains now appear to be able to adapt to regionalclimatic conditions, significant because it’ssomething that hasn’t been identified beforein Europe.

Prof Mogens Hovmøller of the Global RustReference Centre at Aarhus University,Denmark, explains that until recently therewere at least six distinct genetic groups of


There’s so much genetic diversityout there, you can’t be

entirely sure what you’redealing with.

Rust


There was a massive change in yellow rustepidemiology when the Warrior and Kranich races emerged, says Mogens Hovmøller.

caused the high yellow rust levels but our adult plant tests this summer will helpprovide an answer. This shift in the pathogenpopulation doesn’t necessarily indicate achange in race but it’s possible that this iswhat’s happening.”

Another group of isolates appears to besimilar to the old Solstice race, dominant inthe UK population before the Warrior-typeraces, based on seedling tests in 2015.However, the visual symptoms and geneticsequences suggest that these isolates aren’tthe original Solstice race but are more closely resembling the Warrior race.However, further investigations are neededto resolve this issue.

Twist in the taleThis is clearly another twist in the tale but not altogether unexpected considering theresults of genetic data provided by JohnInnes Centre. It confirms that some of theisolates collected since 2013 with the oldSolstice pathotype should be assigned tothe Warrior 3 (blue) subgroup, says SarahHoldgate. “This group of isolates may alsobe behind some of the unusual yellow rustfindings in 2015. Once again, we’ll investigatethis in 2016 to provide a clearer picture.”

The subgroup, Warrior 1 (pink), closelyrelated to the original Warrior race, was present at high levels in 2011 but has sincedecreased significantly to just 3% of isolatestested, another indication of the speed atwhich things are changing.

It’s evident that even within each of the Warrior subgroups, there’s a lot of variation, reflecting the highly diverse nature of the current yellow rust pathogenpopulation, believes Sarah Holdgate. “Asreported in 2015, this diversity meansWarrior-type isolates affect varieties in different, and often unpredictable ways and close crop monitoring is essential.Reassuringly 19 out of the 36 current RLvarieties were resistant to all isolates testedin adult plant trials last year,” she adds.

Susceptibility to all of the isolates testedwas seen in KWS Kielder, Solstice, Gallant,the RL candidate variety Amplify and thecontrol variety Hobbit. Moderate levels of disease were seen in Skyfall and Cubanita when challenged with all of the isolates tested.

There’s been a lot of noise about theKranich race, detected in 2014 at a singlesite in Oxon. But in 2015, no new Kranichisolates were found in commercial crops.

“It’s probable that Kranich will be foundagain in the UK since it was found in Oxon,it’s likely to be present elsewhere but hasn’t been tested. A clearer picture is

likely to emerge this summer as results from adult plant tests are reported,” saysSarah Holdgate.

The significance of the Kranich race is that some of the varieties are more susceptible. New varieties, Spyder andGraham, both with excellent RL resistanceratings for yellow rust, show symptoms ofinfection when inoculated with the Kranichrace. Other varieties, Myriad and Evolution, also showed some symptoms though at low levels.

The Kranich race is virulent on host resistant genes Yr1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 25and 32 as well as varieties; Robigus,Solstice, Warrior, Ambition, KWS Sterling,Apache and Kranich. Notably Yr4 isn’taffected or Spaldings Prolific, a key determinant of the Warrior population.

So what does this all mean for growers

and advisors? NIAB technical director, Bill Clark, stresses that the new strains we’renow seeing are exotic, originating from outside Europe. “It means yellow rust isn’tthe same as it used to be and doesn’t

Rusts

Samples taken from ‘unusual’ sightings of yellowrust in Scotland, Essex and North Yorks revealeda new pathotype, reports Sarah Holdgate.

Bill Clark reckons yellow rust is set to become themost important disease we’re facing and needsto be taken seriously.

behave in the same way. It’s set tobecome the most important disease we’refacing and needs to be taken seriously.”

The rapidly developing population meansthat wheat varieties in the field may notbehave as expected according to their RLresistance ratings, he warns. Resistance ratings are likely to continue to change, with some varieties becoming more susceptible and others less so as thepathogen population continues to change.

“If cultivars with RL ratings for yellow rust of 8 or 9 start to show high levels of disease then a number of things could behappening. The variety may be seedlingsusceptible, meaning that the true adult

plant resistance hasn’t come into effect yet.There may be a new race or a change in virulence, or occasionally the variety isn’t theone you thought it was. In any case, it’simportant to react to what you’re seeing inthe field and control the disease.

“There’s a lot of yellow rust being reportedin crops at the moment. Some may growaway from attack and in some cases, adult resistance may kick in later. But that’snot something you can afford to rely on happening because there’s so much geneticdiversity out there, you can’t be entirely surewhat specific yellow rust pathotypes you’redealing with.”

Sarah Holdgate qualifies this adding,“There’s a good chance that the adult plantresistance may be more durable and standup to lots of different races of the disease,both now and in the future. We’ve no way ofpredicting which will last or which will beovercome by the next race change, so wehave to rely on monitoring to give us themost up-to-date information.”

In Denmark, the Global Rust ReferenceCentre are reporting two completely newraces. One affects triticale and possiblysome spring wheats. With virulence to Yr2,6, 7, 8 and 9, the new triticale race hasarrived with a high impact on triticale but not

winter wheat. Similar to the pattern forWarrior, it appeared in many countries for thefirst time in the beginning of just a season.

Perhaps of more interest to UK growers isthe discovery of a second unique pathotypewith virulence to Yr2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 25 and 32,termed the Hereford race, which has beenfound in Sweden.

“The varieties affected are three of the mostwidely grown wheat varieties in Sweden ––Hereford, Julius and Ellvis,” explains MogensHovmøller. “The significance to growers isthat Hereford is a variety that has been widelyused in many breeding programmes, even inthe UK.” n

Rust

s

The levels of LLS are worse than any seen overthe past ten years, says Faye Ritchie.

Yield benefit from keepingOSR green

Late N applications this seasonmay be crucial to keep

feeding canopies.”“

This season it’s all been about light leafspot (LLS). According to ADAS seniorresearch consultant, Dr Faye Ritchie, thelevels of LLS are worse than any seenover the past ten years.

“LLS isn’t inhibited by cold conditions butthe mild winter provided ideal conditions forit to keep cycling in and infecting the oilseedrape crop. Disease levels do vary widelyfrom field to field,” she says.

“Pod infection can cause yield loss, therefore further treatment may need to beconsidered before and during flowering ifthe LLS is present and weather remainsfavourable for disease development.”

ADAS plant pathologist, Julie Smith,believes we have a timing issue with LLSand compared with other OSR diseases, it’ssomething that’s not being well controlled.“Historically we’ve been very focused onphoma, where timings are easy to predictand good models are available. LLS isn’t as well targeted, it’s not always spotted in

the early stages and a threshold for treatment hasn’t been defined.

“There’s been an assumption that if you’ve applied a phoma spray then it’ll alsotake care of LLS. The trouble is that if LLSgets hold then it’s very difficult to treat in acurative situation,” she says. “With sclerotiniasprays just around the corner, it may be agood time to switch out of azole chemistryas part of a good resistance managementstrategy.”

Greening effectFungicides containing the SDHI, boscalid (in Pictor, Tectura, Filan) have long beennoted to sometimes produce a greeningeffect and it’s something else to bear in mindwhen considering sclerotinia treatment,believes Clare Tucker of BASF.

“We noticed that across our data set, generated from trials work over the past few years, there was consistently a yieldresponse of 0.28t/ha on average over 48 trials. What was interesting was that thisresponse was seen in trials where there wereno visible signs of foliar disease and Pictor(boscalid+ dimoxystrobin) was used as asclerotinia treatment. That indicated thatsomething other than disease control was responsible for the yield response,” she explains.

ADAS have been looking into this ‘unidentified effect’ further and have seen asimilar yield response of 0.23t/ha over the

past three years, also in the absence ofvisible disease. Julie Smith has been using

Healthy Area Duration (HAD) to look for physiological effects under normal field conditions that may explain the yield responses.

“HAD is an integral of green leaf area index(GLAI) over time so essentially is an indicatorof how large and green the crop is and forhow long it stays green. We measured GLAIover the critical period from mid-flowering togreen seed,” she explains, adding that it’s animportant distinction that they’re looking atleaves rather than the whole canopy.

“In 2014 there was a significant yieldincrease where crops were treated with Pictorat mid-flower and we weren’t unable toaccount for this through disease control. What we found was that a small increase in

TechnicalOilseed rape

With disease levels in oilseedrape crops already high,

the priority is now switchingto late season management.

CPM gathers some advice.


s


A small increase in GLAI equated to a 5%increase in intercepted light at the end offlowering and ultimately a yield response ofaround 0.3t/ha, says Julie Smith.

Fungicides containing the SDHI boscalid havelong been noted to sometimes produce agreening effect, notes Clare Tucker.

GLAI (0.2 units) equated to a 5% increasein intercepted light at the end of floweringand ultimately a yield response of approx.0.3t/ha.”

In the 2014 season, each unit of HADincreased yield by approx. 0.04t/ha showingthe effect of keeping the leaves greener forlonger so it can intercept more light. One ofthe effects noted when Pictor (boscalid+dimoxystrobin) was applied was an increasein water use efficiency which could potentiallyact as a buffer against some of the factorsthat might reduce yield, such as waterstress.

Clare Tucker explains that the OSR cropisn’t good at dealing with drought stress.“OSR plants under stress have poor stomatal control and tend to shut down,reducing photosynthesis. Leaf senescenceoccurs and ultimately there’ll be increased

pod loss and shatter.”Asked what the findings mean to him, Oxon

OSR grower James Price is impressedenough to give Pictor a try this season.Historically, sclerotinia treatments on the farm have been cheap and cheerful, based around Prosaro (prothioconazole+tebuconazole).

Protracted flowering“We usually apply one treatment at flowering unless it’s a season with a very protracted flowering period, when a secondsclerotinia spray will go on. Much of our soil is drought prone, so the possible bufferingeffects of Pictor is something I’m interestedin,” he explains.

“If we can help increase HAD and the plant can then withstand a degree of moisture stress without losing yield, then that would be of benefit to us –– particularlyas we tend to get a dry May and June. The only way to find out is to try it,” he says.

A further benefit of using Pictor at the sclerotinia timing this season is it has good efficacy on LLS, so is a useful top-uptreatment to prevent it from reaching the top of the pod canopy, adds Clare Tucker.

Yara agronomist, Ian Matts, agrees thatwhen it comes to the canopy, it’s not all aboutsize but about how long it lasts. The longerthe canopy remains green, the more energygoes into pod fill and ultimately yield.

“Late N applications this season may becrucial to keep feeding canopies, especiallywhere early N was significantly reducedbecause of canopy size. Where plant numbersare high and the canopy is dense, then there’s more competition between plants for N and a possibility that crops may run out ofsteam”, he explains. “We could see a moreexaggerated effect this season becausecrops were soforward into the spring.”

Unlike in cereals where late N doesn’tusually equate with increased yield responses,

Oilseed rape

s

Applying late N this season is likelyto pay dividends, advises Ian Matts.

Healthy Area Duration (HAD) is an integral of green leaf area index (GLAI) over time so essentiallyis an indicator of how large and green the crop is and for how long it stays green.Source: ADAS, 2014

Yield as a function of HAD

Yara trials have consistentlydemonstrated benefits of0.35t/ha from mid-flowering foliarapplications, according to IanMatts. “The only time we’ve seena detrimental effect on yield iswhen N applications were madewhen it was too hot and the cropwas stressed,” he clarifies.

“40-60 kgN/ha is the optimumdose for a late application, withthe higher dose likely to be necessary where N was restrictedin early spring to prevent thecanopy over-developing,” hesays. “N at this timing helps feedthe OSR plant, which can’tmobilise carbohydrates aroundthe plant as effectively as cerealsand isn’t as able to take up Nfrom the soil as efficiently aftermid-flowering.”

Historically, late N was timedat the end of the flowering periodto avoid coating petals with nitrogen that’ll then drop to theground and become unavailableto the plant. Recent trials indicatethere isn’t a stand-out timing andapplications during early, mid

If James Price can help increaseHAD and the plant can thenwithstand a degree of moisturestress without losing yield, then that would be of benefit.

and late flowering all give similarresults, meaning application can be timed from flowering onwards,reckons Ian Matts.

“That means you can timeapplication to mix in with thesclerotinia sprays and avoid having to make an extra passthrough the crop.”

But what if you’re getting closeto the N-max limit? Should youknock a bit of N off the springdose to allow room to put extra N on at flowering?

“In a normal season I wouldusually say no but this year myadvice is changing on this.Crops are growing under a completely different set of circumstances than in a morenormal season and applying late N this season is likely to paydividends. However, with the forward crops this year, the riskof breaching the N-max limit is reduced.” n


The ability to switch outputand classification instantly is just one of a number of

benefits offered by advancedindividual nozzle control

systems. CPM looks at what they can do.

By Mick Roberts

MachineryPrecision spraying

You can’t get the ideal applicationperformance by using the same nozzle for

everything.”

“

Nozzle control improvesapplication accuracy

While many sprayer operators are contentwith the economic and environmental savings auto-section control offers, anincreasing number of users are looking forultimate accuracy, down to 50cm or less,from individual nozzle control.

These systems, once occupying the realmof specialist retro-fit equipment, are nowbecoming available as factory-fit optionsfrom mainstream makers such as Amazone,Horsch, Tecnoma and others. The firms saythe developments are in response to anincreasing number of customer requestshere and abroad.

The main drivers for change are theincreasing number of application restrictions,which require operators to change dropletsize or classification to meet LERAPs andbuffer zone requirements, combined withwider booms. Nobody likes getting out to

Automatic spray controllers alter the pressure tomaintain the output, but this can mean nozzlesare working outside their pressure limits, saysClare Butler Ellis.

turn 72 holders on a 36m boom, knowingyou need to change them back in a few minutes, when you could do it at the flick ofa switch. Plus, operator contamination riskalso needs consideration.

Droplet classificationAfter fitting the systems, usually for one ofthe reasons above, operators soon discoverother benefits –– the biggest being the abilityto ensure the products are always beingapplied with the correct droplet classification.

“The best spray operators recognise that you can’t get the ideal application performance by using the same nozzle for everything,” says Dr Clare Butler Ellis ofSilsoe Spray Applications Unit.

“The ability to switch nozzles automatically–– particularly with wider booms –– is goingto make this easier and potentially improvework rates. What’s more, switching nozzlesduring an application –– for example to usea LERAP 3-star rated nozzle for the swathnearest a watercourse, and then revert to afiner spray to get the best efficacy for therest of the field –– becomes no problem.

“Automatic nozzle selection can also help with delivering a uniform dose over the whole field. All nozzles have a working pressure range. It’s worth noting that on most modern sprayers, with flowrate control systems, pressure is not constant,”she continues.

The output is regulated by changing thepressure. This will alter the droplet size, making sprays coarser when the machineslows and finer as the pressure rises tomatch higher speeds, she explains.

“It can also change the spray pattern, so low speeds can result in very poor

Advanced nozzle control systems allow operatorsto select different nozzles, from the cab, tocomply with LERAPs and other restrictions.

distribution of liquid under the boom if thepressure drops too low. So operators needto know and consider the working range and ensure they do not work outside thepressure limits.

“When it hits these limits there will be aneed to change nozzles to maintain the correct dose, and that’s where the moreadvanced control systems have a role toplay,” she explains. “And the best systemswill maintain spray quality too”

One for allIan Griffin of Horsch UK, says up to 90% ofall its sprayers are now sold with the optional25cm nozzle spacing and the MultiSelectsystem.

“This is because the narrower spacing,often using 80° nozzles, improves coverageand reduces drift. But the boom must be controlled at a lower height than the standard 50cm in order to achieve this,” he says.

“Smaller nozzles usually create a finerspray quality, which improves coverage significantly. The trade-off is potentially moredrift, so the boom needs to be run lower tocompensate. To allow this to be done safelyand accurately we offer Boom Control Pro, or Pro-Plus which automatically controls the boom height above the spray target,” he notes.

The optional MultiSelect system providesup to four nozzles at 50cm and two nozzlesat 25cm on a single sprayline, with the abilityto control each independently from the cab. Nozzles can be selected to spray individually, or in any combination, to suit therequired spray quality and application rate.

“By fitting the nozzles at the 25cm spacing and running the boom lower, we

can use smaller nozzles, such as 02 or 025to apply the same rates as an 04 or 05 at thenormal 50cm spacing,” he explains.

The MultiSelect system also allows for an ‘Auto Jump’ facility to be used, whichautomatically changes nozzles as speedincreases. This is being used to providegreater efficacy by maintaining the dropletsize required automatically.

“The target could be to apply 100 l/ha at 12km/h with 025 jets at 3 bar pressure.But if speed increases to 14km/h then thepressure will rise to 4 bar to achieve this, but

Changing nozzles manually of a wide boom canbe a chore, especially if you know you need tochange them back in a few minutes.

Precision sprayings

Amazone AmaSelect provides individualelectronic control of a four-way quad-nozzlecarrier, which enables the jets to be switchedon/off or over to another.

Nozzles at 25cm or 50cm spacing on Horschsprayers can be set to spray individually, or in anycombination, to suit the required spray qualityand application rate.

Precision spraying

When James Faulkner upgraded to anAmazone Pantera 4502 self-propelled sprayerwith 40m wide booms, he specified theAmaSelect option because he felt it wouldmake it easier to switch between applying liquid fertiliser and pesticides. But he’s sincediscovered many more benefits.

James Faulkner manages R Davidson andSon’s farms at Peldon, Colchester, Essex. Thisis right on the east coast and the 1500ha ofarable land is generally quite heavy, but alsohas some lighter soils. Cropping includes winterwheat, oilseed rape, marrowfat peas, sugarbeet and maize as well as land rented out for potatoes.

The Amazone sprayer replaced two, 24mwide Batemans and its purchase coincided witha switch to liquid nitrogen. “I wanted to usedribble bars because they reduce the risk ofscorch, and I also wanted to keep them onthroughout the spring. So, the AmaSelect system on the sprayer made sense,”he explains.

“With four nozzles, switchable from the cab, it means I don’t need to even get out tochange over, which would be quite a task on a 40m wide boom. I planned to fit the BFSAutoStreamer liquid nozzle and keep it in position all spring, even if that meant sacrificingone space for a standard size nozzle. Then Icould switch quickly from one job to another and even between nozzles for early grassweedor fungicides.

“But then I discovered I could still also fit four because the Defy angled nozzles will stillspray over the fertiliser dribble bars withoutinterrupting their pattern. So I can still have the choice of four different nozzles,” he says.

Having delivered the required fast change-over,he soon realised the ability to switch between fournozzles offered further flexibility. The system cannot only switch at the operator’s command, it canbe set to also do this automatically.

Currently he’s using the AutoStreamer, an 03 Defy, 03 Amistar and an 04 flat fan (or air-inclusion nozzle).

“I could be using, say an 03 Defy nozzle at 1-2 bar, but if conditions change move up to theair inclusion or another. But I can set the systemto change automatically up to the 04 if the pressure increases beyond the current nozzle’sworking range. Then if the sprayer slows down itwill go back to the 03. It’s also possible to runtwo nozzles at the same time, for example an 02 and 03 together to make an 05,” he says.

“Droplet size is also important. We’re in a difficult blackgrass area and the quality of theapplication will make a difference to control.We try to use a fine spray, but that can be difficult in some conditions if sea breezes get

up, but in this case it’s possible to switch to amore appropriate nozzle, without compromisingthe timeliness.”

It also helps when spraying products thatrequire buffer zones and with LERAPs restrictions.The operator can program the system to recognisethese areas and change to different or low driftnozzles on the outer sections at the widthrequired.

With AmaSelect the sprayer effectively has 80 sections, which with the auto-section controlhas greatly improved accuracy. “When we wentto 13-section control we saved 4% of the area.Now we have gained another 3% saving, whichgoes a long way to help pay for the system,”he says.

This is on top of the advantages that comefrom being able to quickly change between liquid fertiliser and pesticides, saving the time it actually takes to change and the ability toswitch between nozzles for best efficacy or environmental protection. “Plus, it reduces therisk of operator contamination from changingnozzles in the field,” he adds.

Essex farm manager, James Faulkner, quicklyappreciated the flexibility that the ability to switch between four nozzles provides.

The optimum pressure range is set for eachnozzle, and the system switches overautomatically when that limit is reached.

some operators won’t even notice ––because the 100 l/ha output will stay thesame. With AutoSelect the system can beset to change at, say 3.25 bar, up to a 03

nozzle and a lower working pressure,” he explains.

Amazone’s individual nozzle control system, called AmaSelect, is also now anoption for work at spacings of 25cm with 80° nozzles or 50cm with standard jets. Thesystem provides individual electronic controlof a four-way quad nozzle carrier, whichenables the jets to be switched on/off or over to another.

This provides the benefit of being able to switch over to any of the four nozzles from the cab. But it also offers the facility to do this automatically, explains the firm’sSimon Brown.

“All the operator needs to do is input theoptimum pressure range for each of the nozzles and the system switches over automatically when that limit is reached,” hesays. “This also includes the option to either

switch on another nozzle and use two tomaintain the desired output, or change toanother entirely.”


s

Essex farmer switches to higher accuracy

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) control is anothersystem for controlling droplet size and output,while retaining the nozzle’s spray pattern.

PWM has been used for years in the USAbut is still to take off in the UK. It’s ideal foroperating at lower pressures and providing high drift control to higher pressure with moreeffective smaller droplets, all with the same single nozzle.

TeeJet offers its DynaJet Flex, which usesPWM to enable one nozzle to provide a widerange of flow for different applications. It’sdesigned to be easy to retro-fit, without havingto change the entire spraying system. “It workswith all standard spray nozzles, apart from air-induction, because they use a venturi,”he adds.

Instead of switching between separate nozzles, PWM controls the flow to a single nozzle by using a solenoid to turn it on or off at 10 times/sec (indicated as Hertz, so 10Hz).

The switching is alternated between two nozzlesfitted side by side to prevent skips.

“Pulsing the output of the nozzles maintainsthe flowrate with only a very small variation inpressure. The output in the required litres/sec is maintained by the length of time the nozzlestays open –– varying this, instead of the pressure, maintains the output to match thespeed. At the same time, it maintains the dropletsize and does not affect the angle,” explainsTeeJet’s Martin Baxter. “This also means it preserves application accuracy when, for example, applying variable rates.”

Demand for individual nozzle switching is rising and TeeJet is working on the ability tocontrol up to 100 individual nozzles or sections.“But if you turn off just one nozzle, with a standard system you compromise the application–– you need a minimum of three for effective coverage –– because of the overlaps. A PWMnozzle can do this on its own,” he adds.

TeeJet is also working on ‘turn compensation’using PWM to regulate the nozzles on the innerand outer sections of wide booms. This willmaintain the proper application rate and coverage by compensating for the difference inspeed of the outer edge, which will be movingmuch faster than nozzles closer to the vehiclewhile turning.

Pulse Width Modulation systems turn the nozzleson/off, ten times/sec, which maintains the flowrateand spray quality.

Individual nozzles can also be grouped to form ‘sections’ of any working width. This enable operators to, for example, usedifferent, possibly low drift nozzles, on the

outer parts of the boom and the standardnozzle on the sections away from the headland.

Contractors operating a wide boom with

Precision spraying

AmaSelect can also work in narrower tramlines by simply configuring the boomto whatever is required. n

The pulse of change

that a number of manufacturers wanted to keep users within their own proprietarysystems. But for us, compatibility is crucial.”

This has been one of the leading objectives behind Agrosky. The precisionfarming technology was launched to UKusers just two years ago, at LAMMA 2014,and is now available across the Deutz-Fahr6, 7 and 9 Series tractors. But it’s based onsome of the most widely tested and trustedtechnology in the sector, and this ensurescompatibility with the implements of allrenowned manufacturers, says the company.

The path to Agrosky was set in motion atAgritechnica in 2011. “Same Deutz-Fahrdeveloped a partnership with TopCon to supply the precision farming hardwareacross the SDF range,” recalls GrahamBarnwell.

“TopCon is a global market leader in thistechnology –– the company has done ahuge amount of development in its hardwareand software, so it makes sense that weshould deal with the best operator in the sector.”

The roll-out of the system across the tractor range was held back, however.“TopCon was in the process of upgrading itsreceiver from the AGI 3 model to AGI 4. Oneof the major differences was that this wouldadd tilt correction to the unit, keeping implements on track as you traverse a slope.There were also improvements in speed ofreaction and consistency. AGI 3 was alreadya market-leading system, but technically AGI 4 was the one worth waiting for.”

The new receiver came on stream in2012. The other crucial piece of hardware is

A truly transferable systembetween tractors that offers full

operational control in the fieldhas been something of a Holy

Grail in precision farming. CPMfollows the story of Agrosky,

which is claimed to deliver it.


MachineryInnovation Insight


It’s an extremely

versatile piece of equipment.”“

Plug-and-play compatibility has been one of theleading objectives behind iMonitor2, to reducethe clutter of equipment needed to operateeffectively in the field.

The promise of plug-and-play technologyis that you can link up any implement tothe back of your tractor and operate allfunctions, from variable rate control toauto section shut-off, from just one console, and that’s the one that also operates all your tractor functions. The reality is rarely that straightforward,however.

“When ISOBUS was launched, it was supposed to herald a new era of plug-and-play compatibility,” says GrahamBarnwell, marketing manager for Deutz-Fahr UK. “What actually happened was

The compatibilityto mix and match

Innovation Insight


TopCon is a global market leader in precisionfarming technology, says Graham Barnwell, so itmakes sense to deal with the best operator in the sector.

The roll-out of the system was held back for thenew receiver that includes tilt correction andimprovements in speed of reaction andconsistency.

the console that sits in the tractor cab andacts as the interface between operator and allthe functions of both tractor and implement.

This is handled by the iMonitor2 –– a 12-inch slab of touchscreen, based onTopCon’s X30 console. “The iMonitor2 hasimmense capacity,” notes Deutz-Fahr UKproduct specialist Dave Jefferson.

“It puts you in easy reach of all the tractorfunctions, although this is only 10% of what it can do. The lay-out is intuitive and colour-coded and everything can be tailoredto the operator’s requirements. It’s also veryeasy to use – the X30 has a good reputationas a user-friendly device, and we’ve foundoperators feel completely at home with itafter just 30 minutes of use.”

Stipulate preferencesThe iMonitor2 provides the interface for theoperator to bring up all the tractor controls,he explains. “You can also stipulate preferences and recall previous settingsfrom last years work. This can include all the settings for a drill such as hydraulic flowrates, timings and operating speeds in conjunction with the headland managementsystem applicable to that machine. You canretrieve all this in a matter of seconds."

Plug an implement into the nine-pin ISO11783 socket and the iMonitor recognises it, populating the screen with operating information that would normally appear on aseparate implement control box. "You caneven assign a joystick control to operate afunction on an implement, where usuallyyou’d have to use a spool valve.”

This is ensured through the true ISOBUScompatibility of the system. Same Deutz-Fahr is one of the core members of theAgricultural Industry Electronics Foundation(AEF) –– the body set up in 2008 to resolvecompatibility problems and set up reliabletests to determine conformity to the ISOBUSstandard.

This means the iMonitor2 allows full functionality of implement controls includingauto section control and variable rate

control. “But there’s no expensive unlockingof the equipment to do –– the iMonitor2 isinstantly compatible,” notes Dave Jefferson.

Auto guidance is provided throughPerformance Steering, if the tractor is fittedwith the electronic Orbitrol unit. But AssistedSteering can be retro-fitted, replacing thesteering wheel with one that’s operatedthrough the iMonitor.

There are also three levels of accuracyfrom the basic, free EGNOS system to thesubscription Omnistar and RTK (Real TimeKinematic) level.

“There are different levels of Agroskyavailable, but rarely do customers go forlower than RTK and rarely less thanPerformance Steering.”

All new 7 and 9 Series tractors come with the iMonitor2 as standard and are

complete with the electronic Orbitrol unit.

The system is optional on the 6 Series tractor, although the entire range is ISOBUS compatible.

Along with its hardware partner,Deutz-Fahr UK has also teamed up with

Innovation Insights

The iMonitor2 – what can it do?

The intuitive and colour-coded iMonitor puts youin easy reach of all the tractor functions, notesDave Jefferson.

The latest developments in precision farmingfrom Deutz-Fahr’s Agrosky system are offeringsignificant benefits for farmer and contractorDavid Stephen, based at Kirkton of Forglen,Turriff, Aberdeenshire.

There’s a 160ha mixed-farming enterpriseon the home farm, plus 500ha of contractdrilling, harvesting and silage work. It’s a busyworkload, and efficiency is especially key in thespring, when most of the barley is establishedusing a one-pass system of an Amazonecombi-drill with front fertiliser hopper onploughed land.

“It’s a short season as we often don’t startdrilling until the first or second week in March,so the accuracy and ease of use offered by theguidance system saves a lot of time and is agreat help,” explains David Stephen.

In 2014, a Deutz-Fahr 7250 TTV tractor with

iMonitor precision farming console was purchased –– the fourth Deutz to work on thefarm and taking its place in the fleet alongside a Deutz 650 and three other power units.

“It’s the first time we’ve had a tractor withguidance, but everything we purchase from nowon will be at least guidance-ready, as it’s wherethe demand is and helps the second-handprice,” he comments.

David Stephen also specified a Topcon basestation giving a high precision RTK correctionsignal with 5-6mm accuracy, and crucially,all-day, every-day reliability.

“I’ve friends who use other satellite systemsbecause they thought that the RTK base stationwas too expensive, but I can’t afford to have towait for a signal. As long as the battery is keptcharged, the RTK base station gives an instant,accurate signal whenever I want it.”

In the cab of the Deutz-Fahr 7250 TTV, theiMonitor offers colour touch-screen control ofboth precision farming and tractor functions.

“As well as the guidance, the screen showsall the spool valve and pto settings, and itsexactly where you want it, integrated with thearmrest. We still have a separate control box forthe drill, but as it’s an ISOBUS terminal, if weupgrade to an ISOBUS-compatible drill in thefuture it could all be on the same screen.”

On the contracting side, David Stephen mapsthe land before he starts with a new customer,giving an accurate record of field size, so he canorder precisely the right amount of seed for the

following year. “There’s no wastage of fertiliser,seed or sprays as tramlines are exactly the widththey’re meant to be. Seed spacing is precise andthere’s no overlapping.”

He adds that the accuracy proved itself in the first season. “Having once set up the discspacing on the drill, we didn’t need to alter itdespite working on 11 different farms in all soiltypes from flat land to steep banks.”

Deutz-Fahr offers fully automated data management, and David Stephen reports somecustomer interest in job records, but sees thegreatest advantage from being able to downloadfield records and maps to the farm office pc viaa memory stick for use the following year.

“I load up the map, set the A-B line and gointo the field and the previous year’s map comesup on the monitor. Then I simply update the jobto the current date and start work. It does takesome time to map the field initially but once it’sdone, setting up is so much quicker.”

Installation and set-up of the system wasseamless, he reports,with support fromDeutz-Fahr dealer Mark Garrick and TopCon supplier LH-Agro –– the Deutz-FahrAgrosky precision farming partner.

“It’s very straightforward –– you need to allow some time to set the drill up but then it’s so much quicker. My father isn’t technologically-minded, but in our peak seasonhe did shifts on the drill and within a couple of fields he’d got to grips with the mapping,”he comments.

Precision farming accuracy proves key in busy drilling season

The accuracy and ease of use offered by theguidance system saves a lot of time and is agreat help to David Stephen.

LH-Agro to provide sales and technical support. The company has three decades of experience in precision farming and is the UK distributor for TopCon and its X30 console.

“Ten years ago it was all about satelliteguidance,” says managing director Richard

Innovation Insight


s

Plug an implement into the ISO 11783 socketand the iMonitor recognises it, populating thescreen with essential operating information.

All new Deutz-Fahr 7 and 9 Series tractors comewith the iMonitor2 as standard and are completewith the Orbitrol unit, including the 9340(pictured).

CPM would like to thank Deutz-Fahr forkindly sponsoring this article, and for providing privileged access to staff andmaterial used to help put the article together.

Innovation Insight

Reed, who set up the company in 1987.“Then it was Autosteer. The trend now is ‘what else will it do?’ People want variable rate control and more advancedapplications –– such as real-time scanningand applications in one single pass.”

Variants of the TopCon console are used by farmers wanting to adopt precision-farming techniques. “It’s anextremely versatile piece of equipment,”says Richard Reed.

Platform kits are available for almost any make and model of tractor, he says. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s Autosteerready or whether it requires a hydraulic valve to be installed –– or even whether it’s an electric steering wheel with a motor in thehub –– you can use it all the same.”

This has cost benefits to the farmer.“We’ve customers who probably have fourtractors but through financial constraints can only run one system. They can fit a kiton the tractors which means they can useone receiver and one screen between all vehicles.

“Farmers have a great mixture of allmakes and models of machines. They don’twant to be tied to one manufacturer. Theywant compatibility that enables them to mixand match.”

It isn’t always easy to quantify, but returnon investment is a crucial consideration,says Richard Reed. “These are not toys forthe boys or for wealthy farmers, they’re toolsthat can help farmers economise and makethe whole operation more efficient.”

Return on investmentIndividual requirements will vary, which willhave a bearing on payback. Variables suchas weather and soil compaction will allimpact on final crop yield, so return oninvestment can be hard to assess exactly.Typically, though, the transition from a manual-driven cultivation system to one onfull RTK will result in a save of about 15%, he suggests.

Savings in excess of 5% alone can bemade by adopting single-nozzle sectioncontrol and RTK on a 36m boom. “The overall return on investment can be substantial when you consider the agrochemical bill on a large farm. You canbe talking about payback within 12 months.”

Advanced recording systems allow operators to analyse everything from fuelburned to input usage. “If there’s an extremeamount of overlap when you’re doing fieldwork, it’s a waste. But precision-farmingeliminates all that,” says Richard Reed.

One relatively new aspect the system isset up for is Tractor Implement Management(TIM). It’s a neat configuration that works witha Krone baler, for example, and stops thetractor automatically when the right balediameter is reached and it’s time to startbinding. Height of the three-point linkage,pto control and other tractor functions canalso be taken over by smart implements

through the console.“Fault diagnostics and remote assistance

is handled through the iMonitor,” notes Dave Jefferson. “You can be in the middle of a field, and if you have a problem, a technician from Germany can remotelyaccess the system, trace the fault and set itright, with minimal downtime.”

The system is relatively future-proof, notesGraham Barnwell. “One unknown is oftenwhether a new implement will work with aconsole. But that’s up to the implement manufacturer to ensure the kit meets therequired standard, and there’s now a registerof all those that do.” n

Innovation Insight


Sprayer tech hits the spot

Will Tupper is a man focused on efficiency.Growing 650ha of arable cropping plus afurther 120ha of permanent pasture with500 ewes running across it, he’s keptpretty busy.

Although he has help on the livestockside of things, he does all the drilling andspraying himself so the pressure can mountat busy times of the year.

“There are certain pinch points when theworkload really starts to pile up,” he explains.

“Because of that I need to have kit that I can comfortably cover the ground with. Onpaper our machinery probably looks a bitover the top but it means we get things donein good time with minimal manpower.”

Extra outputUntil two years ago the spraying was doneby a 2007 Househam AR3000 with 24mbooms but with the loss of a member of staff and the consequent need for extraoutput, the decision was made to go towider tramlines.

“We’d been thinking about moving to 30m booms and switching from granular to liquid fertiliser.

“I also wanted to upgrade to the latesttechnology to improve accuracy and makesure we were making the most of chemicalefficacy.

“We’d been suffering in that departmentwith our old fixed-boom sprayer because we had to keep it high on our undulatingdownland to stop it clashing with the ground.That meant chemical wasn’t landing where it should and we weren’t getting the effectiveness we should –– we needed variable geometry and auto height control.”

So the search was on for a high-specbells-and-whistles machine that met theTupper criteria. However after a bit ofresearch it became apparent that anotherself-propelled machine was going to be hardto justify.

“Replacing the Househam like-for-like was going to cost a huge amount. We just

couldn’t stretch to it but we had to do something,” says Will Tupper.

“Searching for a more affordable option, I started to question why we needed a self-propelled machine. We’d had a Knightfront and rear tank setup previously and cropclearance wasn’t that much of a problemlater in the season but we needed morecapacity.

“We’d run a Chafer trailed machine as ourback-up for a while and I was happy withthat format but just wanted more capacityand extra spec.”

Moving from a self-propelledsprayer to a trailed rig might

be seen by some as a backward step. But for oneSussex grower it’s resulted

in increased output and improved accuracy.

CPM reports.

By Nick Fone

MachineryOn Farm Opinion

Will Tupper has seen output and accuracyimprove massively by swapping his self-propelledsprayer to an ultra high-tech trailed machine with“all the toys”.


So he started looking into the optionsmore closely. Having had John Deere tractors for several years, the Tupper familyhad plenty of experience of the back-upfrom local dealer Farols. Consequently it wasthe green giant’s sprayers that were first inthe firing line.

Tank size had to be 4000 litres to make asignificant contribution to increasing outputbut any bigger and the weight would causeissues on the farm’s steep banks for the210hp tractor that would act as tug for thenew rig.

“First we looked at John Deere’s 900-series sprayers but they were significantly heavier so we opted for the lighter weight M740i.

“Being an ‘i-spec’ machine it has virtuallyall the extras you can hope for –– criticallyincluding GPS section control which hasbeen upgraded to RTK –– but has a trackingdrawbar instead of steering axle.”

It was the integration of Deere’s GPSsteering and section switching that helped to

With an RTK-correction signal provided by themobile phone network, John Deere’s auto-steering system provides inch-perfect positioningpass after pass.

clinch the deal. The sprayer is controlled viaa Greenstar 2630 ISOBUS touchscreenwhich also takes the satellite position feedand uses a mobile network correction signalto provide RTK-level accuracy of between 2-5cm pass-to-pass. This means that notonly is the tractor kept on track, but theboom’s ten 3m sections are switched on andoff automatically as they pass over sprayedand un-sprayed areas of the field.

“The mobile RTK system has worked really well for us, especially as we’re now trying to run repeatable tramlines year-on-year,” says Will Tupper.

“Previously we were running with a lot of drill overlap but that’s no problem now. It can lose signal for up to 15 mins and

still maintains its accuracy so we haven’treally had any major problems with mobilereception.”

On Farm Opinion


I wanted to upgrade to the latest

technology to improveaccuracy and make sure

we were making the most of chemical

efficacy.”

“

s

Ultra sonic sensors on the boom monitor nozzleheight and lift/lower the frame accordingly – athird sensor in the centre section would improvethings, reckons Will Tupper.

Mounted high up on the central boom frame,a bolt-on Vapormatic camera system makesbacking up to trees and poles easier and travelon the road safer.

The high-level wagon hitch comes in over the topof the pto to couple with the tractor just below thetop-link bracket.

John Deere’s Greenstar 2630 touchscreenterminal sorts out all the GPS functions, such asauto-steering and section control.

It’s no full-on controlled traffic system butBignor Farms’ approach provides a practicalcompromise in minimising the impact ofcompaction from sprayers and spreaders.During harvest the Greenstar rig is movedover to the farm’s Claas Lexion 750 combinewhich works at 20° to the tramlines to spread the chaff evenly. Cultivations are thenperformed on the opposite 20° angle andthe drill then runs back up the original mark.

Although the Greenstar system hasworked well in providing automatic sectioncontrol and placing the tramlines in the sameplace season after season, there’s one criticism for its performance on side slopes.

“With the receiver mounted on the tractor roof and the controller working to tryand position the sprayer boom in the centreof each run, the tractor ends up runningabove the tramline wheelings when working

across banks,” explains Will Tupper.“I can’t understand why the tracking

drawbar can’t be used to correct the natural crabbing of the sprayer without the expense of a second receiver to keepboth the tractor and sprayer running neatlywithin the tramline.”

The sprayer’s performance on banks ishis biggest gripe.

Steering axle“Because we opted for the lighter M740i wecouldn’t have the steering axle as we had onour old Chafer trailed machine.

“The tracking drawbar is nowhere near as good –– it means we have to turn verysteadily to stop the booms whipping and inthe wet on a slope it can be lethal –– it justwants to jack-knife all the time. The biggertractor is essential, not only for its power butalso for safety and traction.

“That said, when we originally lookedaround at trailed sprayers I thought the John Deere was the most stable machine on the market.”

That stability is brought about in partthanks to the decision to opt for a high-levelwagon hitch. With the coupling set abovethe pto, it’s that much higher than a standardpick-up which Will Tupper believes adds to its surefootedness. Being hung rather than low-slung, it not only improves cropclearance, but also means the sprayer hasless of a tendency to be top heavy. The set-up did provide an initial glitch however.

“We ordered the sprayer with aSchmarmuller ball-and-spoon coupling onthe wagon hitch but found we had to run iton its highest setting to avoid it clashing withthe pto. That meant the whole machine sattoo high and ended up leaning back so wehad to revert to a standard clevis and pin toget it running level.”

With that sorted, the M740i has otherwiseperformed faultlessly over the past twoyears. Having section control, digital tanklevel monitoring and GPS field-mappingmeans the spraying work is down to almostinch-perfect accuracy. With returns from thespraylines sent back to the suction side ofthe pump as the tank nears empty, there’shardly ever more than 30 litres left after eachblock of crop is covered. It also means thepump is never drawing air, cavitating or losing pressure. However wash-outs aren’tquite as convenient as Will Tupper hadhoped.

“Being an ‘i-spec’ machine, I can in theory set it to rinse out via the 2630 screenbut the tiny electric clean water pump takesso long to draw through 350 litres of liquidthat I’m better off to get out and do it the old

fashioned way with the manual valves.“On the boom I would have liked a rinse

system that runs right to the nozzle bodiesbut the system on this machine just runs tothe section valves so I have to draw throughand squirt out some liquid to wash itthrough. At the time the full recirculatingwashout system wasn’t an option but, slightlyannoyingly, I now understand it’s on thepricelist for M-series machines.”

For filling, the low-folding induction hopper is good for loading granular products and large containers but whenthere are multiple small cans all that stooping can bring on backache. That said, the sprayer’s ability to maintain rinse pressure when the hopper venturi is running is seen as a real strength.

“On all our previous machines you’d loserinse pressure when you opened up thevalve to empty the hopper. The way the JohnDeere is plumbed means it doesn’t sufferthat issue and so you can properly clean out cans while loading the chemical.”

With turnaround times critical in


On Farm Opinion

s

TR Tupper (Bignor Farms) near Chichester,West Sussexl Farmed area: 810hal Cropping: Winter wheat 324ha, spring

barley 120ha, oilseed rape 120 ha, winter linseed 40ha, spring linseed 40 ha,permanent pasture and woodland 160ha

l Soils: Predominantly chalk downland with clay caps plus lower lying areas of silty clay loams

l Elevation: 90-180m ASLl Mainline tractors: John Deere 6210-R,

6170-R, 6930 and 6200l Combine: Claas Lexion 750TT with

7.5m headerl Loader: Merlo P28.7l Drill: Horsch 6m Sprinterl Sprayer: 4000-litre John Deere M740i

with 30m boomsl Staff: Will and Tom Tupper plus one other

full-time and part-timers as required (incl.contract shepherd)

Farm facts

The M740i is only available with a trackingdrawbar, which can make turns in the wet onsteeply sloping Sussex downland a slightly hairyexperience.

The induction hopper drops almost to floor level –great for loading with powder, but not so good forlots of repetitive filling with small cans.

Deere’s standard boom lights were swapped foran £80 pair of off-the-shelf LED spotlights.

For liquid fertiliser, fitting one of Hypro’s fast-fillcentrifugal pumps has cut fill time from 25 minsto just six.

maintaining sprayer output, this year BignorFarms’ machine has had an upgrade tospeed up filling with liquid fertiliser.

“Previously loading the 740i with 4200litres of liquid took about 25 minutes. That’sfine when you’re busy adding chemical but

when it’s a load of fertiliser you’re just stoodabout twiddling your thumbs.

“So this year we’ve had a 750-litre/minHypro centrifugal fast-fill pump fitted that’sslashed fill times to about six minutes. It’smassively improved my output –– I can easily do four loads in a morning when I would have done three before. Withincreasingly narrower spraying windows, thateasily offsets the £1000 cost of the pump.”

Operational efficiencyTo aid in increasing the sprayer’s operationalefficiency, block cropping is now basedaround its capacity. With the arable groundspread fairly far and wide, crops are parcelled into blocks no bigger than 40ha so that one 4200-litre tankload (with plenty of ‘no-foam’) will do the lot at 100 l/ha. Any bigger areas have their own water supply so that a return trip to the yard isn’t required.

To further stretch the M740i’s working abilities into the night it was ordered withJohn Deere’s boom lighting system but it didn’t quite come up to scratch, says Will Tupper.

“To be honest, the worklights were hardlybetter than candles. You couldn’t physicallysee the end of the boom let alone what thenozzles were doing.

“I’ve since swapped them for a pair ofUTV Products’ £80 LED spotlights which are literally brilliant.”

LED boom lights are available as anoption for the M740i, points out Mark Jamesof John Deere. “These boom lights are thesame ones used on our wider-boom modelsand they are quite capable of illuminatingthe full 40mm width.

“But in terms of capacity, the 650ha covered here, with both liquid fertiliser andpesticide applications, is at the top of theenvelope for an M740i sprayer. We’d normally recommend the higher capacityM900 or R900i PowrSpray machines in thissituation.”

A Vapormatic reversing camera mountedup high on the central boom frame is another useful add-on,says Will Tupper.Primarily a safety feature for when runningon the road, it has also proved its worthwhen backing up to telegraph poles andtrees in the field. Plugged directly into theback of the 2630 Greenstar screen, theimage it captures is displayed on one of the sprayer homepages.

With so much clever electronic gadgetrycrammed onto one machine, is it reallyworthwhile?

“Having 1000 litres extra tank capacityand 30m booms have undoubtedly had a massive impact in upping output,”

concludes Will Tupper.“But it’s all the extra bits that mean we’re

doing a much better job than ever before.The GPS technology and boom height control means we’re far more accurate and you can see that clearly with the liquidfertilser work.

“With no overlaps we no longer get anyflat patches or yellow areas as we did previously. We have far more precision so we’re producing better crops and saving money.”

l Video –– to see footage of the Tuppers’sprayer in action from the air and othervideos of the business’ machinery, log in toYouTube and search for Bignor Farms. n

On Farm Opinion


Combination spreads the load

When the farm that hosts the Glastonbury Festival in

Somerset came to change itssprayer, it was time for new

technology to take centrestage on the front and rearcombination. CPM finds out

how it performed.

By Mick Roberts


A combination provides a much better

balance, which improvestraction in wetter

conditions.”

“It’s always best to plan machine purchases, rather than react to an unexpected breakdown. But when itcomes to widening tramlines it’s vital the replacement sprayer is purchased in time for the new season.

So after making the decision to moveup to 24m tramlines, Michael Christensen,from Steanbow Farms, Pilton near SheptonMallet, and sprayer operator, AlisterHenson had time to investigate what they

needed to take over from an 18-year-oldKnight front and rear combination.

“The sprayer covers about 2800ha/yearon our land plus some contracting. Goingto 24m tramlines would improve efficiencywith wider tramlines at home and, at thesame time, conform with other local farmswhere the wider bout width is becomingmore common,” says Michael Christensen.

Latest technology“We also wanted to take advantage of thelatest technology on the machine,” addsAlister Henson. “As well as extra capacity,we also felt we needed auto-section control,boom-height control and other automaticfunctions.” Michael Christensen concurs,adding that he also sees the benefit ofimproving accuracy, particularly how maintaining the boom at the correct heightensures more chemical goes into the cropand isn’t lost as drift. This is good for thefarm and environment.

Although they were happy with theKnight, as well as its front and rear configuration, they did consider otheroptions. A new self-propelled was, costwise, out of the question and a used

machine was quickly discounted, becauseneither owner nor operator could see thepoint of buying another, unnecessarypower unit.

“The spraying tractor is a fairly new175hp, Massey Fergusson 7618, whichhas a Dyna-VT (continuously variabletransmission), ISOBUS terminal, nice cab and few self-propelleds can match its other specifications,” explains Alister Henson.

A trailed sprayer wasn’t considered suitable either, because there are somesteep fields and some fairly heavy clay


d

A move up to 24m wide booms from 20m was the main driver for change, bringing with it the latest spraying technology, including auto-levelling.

Michael Christensen says the sprayer hasn’t onlyincreased spraying capacity, but also efficiencyand application accuracy.

On Farm Opinion

land on the farm. “When this gets wet t makes travelling difficult and that will only be made worse pulling a dead weight behind the tractor,” adds Michael Christensen.

“A combination provides a much betterbalance, with the front tank acting as ballastfor the rear-mounted sprayer, spreading theload on the four-wheel drive tractor, whichimproves traction in wetter conditions.”

So the obvious answer was to keep with the tried and tested, tractor-mountedcombination, particularly as technologyhas moved on so much since the last timethey were in the sprayer market.

“We had an open mind, but we didhave a ‘shopping list’ of essentials andnice to haves,” adds Alister Henson. Thisincluded: 24m wide boom, more capacity,auto-section control, boom height controland other affordable beneficial technology.

The pair looked at quite a few makesand models, including the serious consideration of a like-for-like Knightreplacement. Eventually, however, theysettled on an ex-demo Amazone UF 1801with ISOBUS and FT 1001, front-mountedtank for a number of reasons.

Automatic filling“Firstly we like the way control of the FT 1001 front tank can be integrated withthe rear so the two tanks act as one when it comes to automatically filling and transferring the mixed liquid –– at 200 litres/min. So I can treat the entirecapacity as one mix –– I don’t need to mix separate front and rear tank loads,”explains Alister Henson. “Although thefront tank can hold clean water or a

different mix if required.“The Amazone combination is also

about 1t lighter than some equivalentsprayers, which is important. We did wonder if this was down to build quality, but we think it’s simply due to modernmanufacturing techniques. Local dealersupport was also important, and whenAndy Miller from Mason Kings told us hehad an ex-demo sprayer, with ISOBUSand the exact specification, includingDistanceControl automatic boom heightsystem we wanted, it was clearly the best option,” he explains.

The new sprayer comprises an s

Sprayer operator, Alister Henson, made thesebrackets that hold the transfer pipes and make it easy to swap the sprayer between tractors.

Mounting the combination isn’t difficult thanks toexisting front linkage and practical stands thatinclude trolley wheels.

On Farm Opinion

Amazone rear-mounted 1920-litrecapacity UF 1801 with 24m, Super-Sboom, which has independent angling and folding for each side as well as rear folding to within 2.4m for transport.

While the rear-folding boom, whichtucks in behind the sprayer, wasn’t initiallyon the shopping list, both operators nowreally appreciate the neat arrangement. Its narrow transport width, they say, is areal advantage when driving down lanesas well as on main roads.

Up front is the 1000-litre capacity FT1001, with Flow Control. This also comeswith an extra 100-litre clean-water tank,which slots into a special place for it onthe rear tank and integrates into the washing circuit.

The sprayer set-up is normally mounted on a 175hp, MF 7618 Dyna-VT tractor withfront linkage, with the ISOBUS-readymachine controlled through the tractor’scompatible Datatronic 4 terminal in thecab. “The connection to the sprayer was“literally plug‘n’play,” says Alister Henson.All the sprayer’s control is via the terminal’sscreen, without the need for a dedicatedunit, which saved about £1,500, he adds.

Although the tractor wasn’t auto-steerready, the farm had an existing JohnDeere GreenStar 2630 terminal with auto-section control software and SF2receiver. Alister Henson sourced the necessary steering valves and John Deerefitting kit and adapted this to mount to theMassey Ferguson.

ISOBUS linkNow the GreenStar terminal runs the steering and mapping as well as the auto-section control, linked via ISOBUS tothe sprayer, while the tractor’s ISOBUS

screen operates the sprayer, including theDistanceControl automatic boom-heightsystem. They also opted for the ISOBUSjoystick up in the cab. Both operatorsagree that this provides a steady controlunit, which makes it much easier to operate the sprayer’s functions without trying to hit on-screen buttons.

Michael Christensen says he was quitenervous about using the technology on the sprayer, rather than the completely‘manual’ predecessor. “But I quickly got togrips with how it works and was pleasantlysurprised how I took to using it quitequickly and easily. We specced it with all this equipment and we’re using it all.

s

Sensors on the boom, supplied with Amazone’sDistanceControl system, maintain the correctboom height.

Massey Ferguson’s Datatronic 4 terminal (right)runs the sprayer via ISOBUS, while The JohnDeere GreenStar looks after steering, mappingand section control.

The 24m wide, rear-mounted booms can operateindependently, are equipped with auto-levellingand fold to 2.4m wide for transport.

I wouldn’t want to go back to manual section control and switch boxes.

“I think the DistanceControl automaticboom height system has been really useful. In my experience I find howevermuch you try to keep the boom down to50cm above the target, in reality it’salways too high.

“Also we now have seven sections and,even though we were pretty accuratebefore, I think even with the wider boomthat’ll only improve with the auto-sectioncontrol,” he says.

Both operators are impressed with theautomatic filling system, which is anotheroption they wanted and was included onthe ex-demo machine. “This treats bothtanks as one and all I need to do is dial inthe required amount –– from 2800 litresdown and the system fills whatever I require,” explains Alister Henson. “It just provides so much piece of mind whenfilling and allows me to concentrate on themix, and not worry even if I’m interrupted.”

This is one element in Amazone’sComfort Pack for ISOBUS terminals, whichalso includes automatic cleaning operatedfrom the terminal. The cleaning cycle runsautomatically, flushing the lines, tank andagitation system without having to leave thecab. It also controls the agitation, shutting itoff when the tank contents are less than 5%of the volume.

Flow Control for the front tank automatically transfers the liquid usinglevel sensors. This helps maintain the balance across the machine by movingliquid (at 200 l/min) only when the reartank drops to a third full. This can also be carried out manually.

Capacity to expandThe machine’s workload comprises sprayingmainly autumn-sown feed wheat, maizeand grass, which are all consumed ‘in-house’ as forage for the 500-head dairyherd or as feed for the 540,000 broilerchicken unit. It’s also used on some stubble to stubble contract work as well as some one-off contracting and now provides the capacity to expand this area.

The ‘rotation’ also includes theGlastonbury festival, which each summer

takes over more than 200ha of grassland.As any festival goer, or those who haveseen it on the TV will know, this is sown onsome quite heavy clay loams. Every fiveyears there’s a break in the music and about

On Farm Opinion


s

Farm facts

Alister Henson fitted this rear-view camera tohelp when reversing into corners and improvesafety on the road.

Amazone’s Comfort Pack option includesautomatic filling, shut-off and rinsing operated via

the ISOBUS Datatronic screen in the tractor cab.

Alister Henson now uses his iPad to downloadand transfer application plans and records,synching it with Gatekeeper software by WiFi.

120ha is ploughed.“The festival doespresent its own unique challenges, but otherwise the grass is just treated as a normalcrop in the rotation,” says Alister Henson.“The biggest problem is metal –– usually discarded or un-retrieved tent pegs. Thesecould seriously damage machinery and contaminate the silage, so a 4m wide

magnet is a very important part of themachinery fleet. This is operated very slowly using the auto-steer and mapping tomake sure it’s all covered.”

First wheat, this year Panorama, is sown after the maize, with JB Diegofavoured for the second wheat position.Mycotoxin risks following the maize are reduced by the plough, power-harrowestablishment, which also provides a more weatherproof regime, explainsMichael Christensen. All the wheat straw is baled and used in house, with cow slurry and chicken muck applicationsreplenishing the soil’s organic matter.

Spraying starts with pre-em applicationssoon after drilling and rolling, although atthe end of the season, after maize harvest,the weather can deteriorate quickly. AlisterHenson prefers to use 035 Defy nozzles,angled forwards and back, with the 150 l/ha output providing, he feels, bettercoverage than lower rates.

Blackgrass isn’t a big problem, saysMichael Christensen, and they alwaysautumn plough the heavy land, hoping for a good frost heave. But they’re nowlooking closely at cover crops to controlweeds and provide other soil benefits.Otherwise herbicide applications centrearound pendimethalin-based products ifappropriate and required.

Fungicides start at T0, says AlisterHenson, because they tend to get goodgrowth through the winter and the crop isat risk from the wetter climate. He can easily cover the whole wheat area in threedays with the new sprayer, he adds.

Triple holders on the booms contain theDefy nozzles for early grass weed work,

On Farm Opinion


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Steanbow Farms, Pilton, Shepton Mallet,Somersetl Farmed area: 591hal Soils: Mainly heavy clay loams, with some

areas of brashl 2016 Cropping: Wheat 297ha, maize

80ha, grassland 214ha (for Glastonbury Festival)

l Other enterprises: 500 dairy cows, plus followers; 540,000 broiler unit

l Staff: 14l Tractors: Massey Fergusson 7620, 2x MF

7618, 2x MF6480, MF 5465l Combine: New Holland CR9080l Handlers: JCB 414, 2x JCB 310l Sprayer: Amazone UF 1801/FT 1001l Fertiliser spreader: Kuhn MDS 1131

03 standard flat fans as well as 03GuardianAirs, which are used in lessfavourable conditions. n

You can already see

improvements in the soilstructure from adding in

more organic material andrestricting traffic to the

tramlines.”

“

some of his lighter ground and graduallyexpand the area as the condition of his soilsimproved and they became easier to work.

Next Harry Barton went in search of a lowdisturbance drill that was both wide enoughso he could cover his 1500ha cropping areaand was capable of doing some directdrilling when required.

“At the time I started looking, there were a few drills on the market that fitted ourrequirements, but we ended up going for theLemken as it was relatively lightweight compared with the competition,” he says.

Sole pass brings soil benefits

After years of beating his soils into shapewith a series of heavy cultivation kit, Nottsfarmer Harry Barton decided to explore a lower disturbance method of crop establishment.

In his old regime, the farm’s predominantlymedium clay loam soils were first ripped upwith a 7m Simba SL to a depth of around30cm. This opened up the soil structure, butalso brought up plenty of lumps that thenhad to be knocked into a seedbed using a12m Väderstad Carrier and a set of 24mCambridge rolls.

It also often required a couple of passeswith said combination before the seedbedwas fit enough for the farm’s 8m HorschSprinter tine drill to come in. Despite being a

tad labour intensive, the system worked andyields were good.

However, concerns over declining soilcondition and a growing blackgrass problemmeant it was time for a change.

“We were spending so much time andmoney deep working the ground and thentrying to get a decent seedbed,” says HarryBarton. “Meanwhile, it was making ourblackgrass problem worse and it wasn’tdoing our soil structure any favours either.”

Shallow cultivationSo for the 2015/16 season he decided to implement a new strategy of shallow cultivation and low disturbance drilling, combined with a CTF (Controlled TrafficFarming) system to reduce the impact ofcompaction from his heavy machinery. Healso opted to up his spring cropping area ina bid to further hamper blackgrass.

The first step was to sell the Simba SLand Horsch Sprinter and leave primary cultivations in the hands of the VäderstadCarrier.

The plan was to use this to shallow cultivate straight behind the combine –– thiswould both provide ideal conditions for ablackgrass chit before drilling as well asloosen the topsoil to make conditions easierfor the drill to work.

He also wanted to direct drill crops on


Low-disturbance drilling isbeing hailed as a wonder

technique for tackling blackgrass and improving

soil structure. CPM finds outif a Notts grower’s 12m

Lemken Solitair drill is delivering the goods.

By Ted Fleetwood


l Width: 12ml Coulters: 96 double-disc units with

twin springsl Hopper: 5800 litresl Row distance: 125/150 mml Weight: 5315kgl Pulled by: Case-IH Quadtrac 535 or 620

Lemken Solitair 12/1200K-DS 125 – tech specs


Harry Barton (left) and drill operator Rick Woods wanted a low disturbancedrill that was wide enough to cover the cropping area and capable of direct drilling.

So a deal was done on the12m drill –– with local dealerMarsh Seward at Markam Moor,Notts –– and it was set to bedelivered just in time for theautumn 2015 drilling campaign.

As standard, the Solitaircomes with a 5800-litre hopper, ahydraulically driven fan feedingeight seed distribution heads and a folding 12m seed bar with 96 independently mounteddouble-disc coulters.

These are bolted on a parallellinkage to help with contour following and as standard come with one spring to control

coulter pressure.“One of our slight concerns

was that the drill isn’t reallydesigned for direct drilling and we were worried that the single spring wouldn’t give usenough coulter pressure to getthe discs to dig into unworkedground,” says Harry Barton.

“However, Lemken offered usthe option to upgrade to doublesprings on each assembly, whichso far has had the desired effect.”

After the drill arrived on farm, itwas first put to work establishingwinter oilseed rape. Most cropswere planted into ground thathad been worked with theVäderstad Carrier, but they alsodirect drilled 46ha into a wheatstubble on some of the heavyclay loam ground as a trial.

Both crops established welland there were no problems getting the drill to penetrate intothe fairly stiff unworked ground.But the most interesting trendwas that flea beetle pressure was significantly lower in thedirect-drilled crop, he says. “I’veheard a couple of theories forwhy this might have happened,but I’m not sure which, if either, is correct” says Harry Barton.

“One is that the low disturbance drill doesn’t interferewith flea beetle predators sothey control the numbers, andthe other is that the standingstubble potentially hampers themovement of flea beetles.”

The rest of the winter cerealcrops were planted into groundprepared with one or two passesof either the Väderstad Carrier or a Väderstad NZA that hadbeen extended to 12.3m.

On Farm Opinion

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as last year.”It’s still a little early to see the impact the

new system is having on blackgrass populations, but it definitely seems asthough less is germinating in the crop afterplanting, he says.

“The results we’ve had so far are encouraging, but we’ll have to wait and seehow much of a difference the drill has madeas the season progresses,” he says. “It’salso as much about the changes we’vemade to our whole system, rather than justthe drill itself.”

Another of the drill’s autumn duties was toplant cover crops into OSR stubbles thatwould provide ground cover until spring,says Harry Barton. This is part of anAgrovista trail called Project Lamport that

the farm has been involved in for the pastcouple of years.

“It’s partly looking at using cover cropsand low-disturbance drilling to reduce blackgrass pressure. But the cover cropsalso have the added benefit of providing

Although autumn establishment was generallygood, the drill did have a couple of niggly teethingproblems and it does have its limitations, saysdrill operator Rick Woods.

“The first thing we realised is that it really isn’ta wet weather machine,” he says. “We took it outlast autumn in some sticky conditions and wefound that the coulters just blocked up and

started smearing the soil.”Part of the problem was that the drill was

delivered with the wrong rubber-edged coultersthat just weren’t up to the job of scraping stickymud off the discs.

Lemken quickly replaced these with somemetal-edged scrapers that do a better job, but it’sstill best leaving it the shed if conditions aren’tideal, he says. “In some ways it’s good that itwon’t go in the wet as it stops you mauling a cropin when we probably shouldn’t.”

Another slight grumble is that the drill comesfitted with an old-school metering wheel hangingoff the back, he says.

“To be fair, it seems to be reasonably accurate, but it clatters around on the back andhas already broken one set of brackets. I think itwould have been far better to fit a radar.”

As a work around, Rick Woods has hooked thedrill up to the tractor’s GPS signal and configuredit so that it’ll automatically switch back to using

the metering wheel if the GPS signal drops out.But niggles aside, the drill fits in well with the

farm’s new establishment system, is simple to useand does a tidy job, he says. “It tracks well behindthe tractor and the hydraulic pressure equalisationsystem on the coulter bar does a great job of helping it float over the terrain, particularly for such a wide drill.”

View from the tractor seat

A radar would have been better than the old-school metering wheel that hangs off the back.

Metal-edged scrapers do a better job than therubber-edged ones the drill was originallydelivered with.


The 12m Solitair has 96 double-disc coulters.

“We started drilling late to give the pre-emergence chemicals a longer effectiveworking window on the blackgrass, butmade good progress and somehow managed to finish around the same time

s

s

The farm’s recently adopted a 12m CTF system,which should help improve soil condition.

On Farm Opinion

valuable organic matter to helpmake our soils more friable. Theroot structures should also helpopen up the soil for us withoutthe need to cultivate at depth,”he adds.

Building up soil organic matteris another part of Harry Barton’splan to improve soil health andfertility on the farm and increasehis direct drilling area.

As part of the new system he’sbeen bringing in large amountsof organic material. This includesfarmyard manure from a couple

On Farm Opinion

Barton and co, Hall Farm,Saundby, Nottsl Farmed area: 1500ha

including 80ha of managed woodland

l Soil types: Mainly medium clay loam with some heavy clayloam and sandy clay loam.

l Staff: Four full time (one mainly works on the farm’s crop-storage business)

l Cropping: Wheat, feed barley,oilseed rape, beans, linseed and peas (mix of winter and spring cropping)

l Five-year average yields (pre CTF): Winter wheat 10.4t/ha; OSR 4.5t/ha; hybrid barley 10.4t/ha (one year only); spring beans 4.6t/ha

l Mainline tractors: Case-IH Quatrac 620 and 535; Massey Ferguson 7726 Dyna 6; JCB Fastrac 4220

l Combine: Claas Lexion 770 (tobe replaced with a Lexion 780 this season).

l Drill: Lemken Solitair 12l Cultivations: Cultivating

Solutions RLMHD tool carrier; 12.25m Väderstad Carrier; Brocks 24m Cambridge rolls; Farmet Fantom spring-tine cultivator; 12.3m Väderstad NZA

l Sprayer: Chafer trailed sprayerwith 5500-litre tank and 24m boom

l Fertiliser spreader: Vicon RO-EDW

Farm facts

of muck-for-straw deals as wellas imported sewage cake fromSevern Trent and some locallysourced chicken manure. Sinceusing this, he hasn’t had to applyany potash (MOP) or phosphate(TSP) and he’s already seen animprovement in soil workability.

“Because we’re only workingthe muck into the top few inchesof soil the nutrients are thereexactly where the plant needsthem,” he says. “It makes mewince when I see people ploughing all those nutrients into the bottom of a furrow.”

The farm’s recently adopted a12m CTF system, with everythingfrom the cultivators to the combine now working at 12m (or multiples of this in the case ofthe sprayer). This should helpimprove soil condition further, he reckons.

All machines are guided bymobile VRS (virtual reference station) RTK (real-time kinetic)signal and everything sits on thesame wheelings, other than thecombine and Horsch Titan chaser

The Solitair 12’s lengthy coulter bar is fitted with four linked pressureequalisation rams that allow it to floatover undulating terrain. Taps on eachram allow the operator to adjust theamount of pressure in the system.

s


bin that track slightly wider.“It’s amazing, but you can

already see improvements in the soil structure from adding in more organic material and restricting traffic to the tramlines,”says Harry Barton.

Now that the heavy kit is confined to the same wheelmarks, the ground under them is being subjected to a bit of abeating. But in a bid to relieveany damage done, Harry Bartonhas invested in a CultivatingSolutions RLMHD tool carrier,which he’s sandwiched betweenthe Case IH Quadtrac and the drill.

This is fitted with four subsoiling legs that sit in line withthe farm’s standard tramlines andthe wider combine and chaserbin tracks. They can be lifted inand out of work hydraulically andwill take out the wheelings whiledrilling, preventing the need todo a separate subsoiling job, he says.

“It’s a brilliant tool –– I thinkanyone considering implementingCTF should have something similar.”

The switch to low disturbanceestablishment has also sliced asizable chunk off the farm’s fuelbill, particularly when directdrilling, says Harry Barton.

For example, the old system of establishing OSR with a 7m

Simba SL and seeder unithooked to a Quadtrac 535 burnt diesel at a rate of around20 l/ha. But in the crop that wasestablished last autumn with thesame tractor on the front of the12m Solitair, fuel use plummeteddown to just 3 l/ha. “If you dothe sums with diesel at 30p/litrethat’s a saving of £5/ha on fueluse alone,” he says.

Because the drill is so mucheasier to pull than the old one, it could have a considerablysmaller tractor on the front than the 620hp Quadtrac. “At the moment we need twoQuadtracs for other jobs, so itmakes sense to keep using iton the drill,” he says.

“But as our soils get into better shape we might be able 0to get away with reducing ourhorsepower/ha ratio.” n

The drill was upgraded to doublesprings on each assembly to ensureenough coulter pressure to get thediscs to dig into unworked ground.

Sights set on RL top spot

Hyvido Volume has been one of the veryfew hybrid barley varieties to make it onto the AHDB Cereals and OilseedsRecommended List since 2009. But nowthere are another two options from thesame stable, and they’re both extremelyhigh yielding contenders.

James Taylor-Alford of Syngenta says it’s great to get hybrids back into the RL programme after four years outside it. “TheRL trials weren’t conducive to growing feed barley at its best –– there was noemphasis on early nitrogen, which is key to

both conventional and hybrid feed varieties,”he explains.

However, constructive discussions led to changes in RL procedures so that feedbarley is now grown with an early nitrogenapplication. In addition, the baseline forautomatic recommendation is now an average of the top hybrid and conventionalyields, rather than treating them separately.“It’s a much fairer process,” says JamesTaylor-Alford. “Hyvido Bazooka is now thehighest yielding barley on the RL –– and thetop three positions are taken up by Bazooka,Belfry and Volume.”

Consistently outperformedJames Wroth, hybrid barley breeder atSyngenta, says that in six years of trialsBazooka has consistently outperformedVolume on all soil types and across different growing years. “It seems able to scavenge more widely for nutrients and water, and return a consistent yield year-on-year. The fact it’s also performingwell across the EU suggests it’s really quitean adaptable variety,” he says.

“Our breeding programme is EU-wide,which gives us reassurance that the

parents are widely adapted to suit different seasons and climates.” Bazooka is a three-way cross, taking the best characteristics of two female lines and one male line, while Belfry is a straight two-way hybrid.

James Wroth reckons Belfry is ideally suited to first-time growers of hybrid barley,with Bazooka better for those who know howto really push hybrids for yield. “Belfry ismore aesthetically pleasing in the field –– asa three-way cross Bazooka is always goingto be slightly less homogenous, but theresults are there.”

David Waite, northern seed manager atFrontier Agriculture, reckons Bazooka couldtake about 40% of the firm’s hybrid barleyseed sales this year. “The only reason I don’tthink it’ll take more is because I think we’llhave limited seed availability.”

Although Frontier has sold other hybridvarieties in the past, Bazooka looks to bestronger than the rest. “It’s 3-4% higher yielding than Volume, which was pretty highyielding in the first place. The only criticismof Volume is its tendency to brackle halfwayup the straw, so the ears end up very low tothe ground –– but early data suggests that

Using hybrid winter barley as

part or your blackgrassmanagement makes a

lot of sense.”

“

It’s been a fair while sinceVolume topped the AHDB

Cereals and OilseedsRecommended List, but now

Syngenta has two morehybrid barley varieties on the

podium. CPM finds out whatBazooka has to offer.

By Olivia Cooper

FeaturesInsiders View


The RL procedures have been changed so thathybrid and conventional barleys can be comparedin a fairer way, says James Taylor-Alford.

Insiders View

Bazooka doesn’t have that trait.”Hybrids now make up just over a third

of Frontier’s winter barley seed sales, and David Waite reckons that market will continue to grow. “Six or seven yearsago hybrids really started taking hold in Aberdeenshire and their popularity is spreading.”

Traditional malting barley growers will continue to supply that market on contract,but as demand for winter malting barleyshrinks, more and more farmers will look tothe feed sector, he adds. “The yield gapbetween malting and feed varieties isapproaching 20% now, so there’s not a lot of point in growing malting barley for feed.

Try a field“Farmers who like two-row varieties shouldtry a field of hybrid alongside –– you can mix it in the barn as it’s all feed. That’s whatpeople have been doing further north, andthat’s why its popularity has spread.”

In the past, six-row varieties have sufferedfrom low bushel weight and small grain size,but newer breeding and management hasnow bridged that gap. “Bazooka’s bushelweight is now on par with the two-rows.They’ve sorted the straw strength, addedyield and boosted grain size –– it really is a bit of a no-brainer.”

One of the only downsides is the price of seed. “It’s about £30/ha more expensiveto buy than conventional barley,” says David Waite. “But if you get 10% more yield,at £100/t, that’s £75/ha on the bottom line.Most varieties tend to have a downside butBazooka doesn’t really have any obviousweaknesses. The only thing is that it’s likelyto sell out by Cereals, so get your seedorder in quickly.”

Despite the low feed barley prices, JamieMarshall-Roberts of Syngenta reckons thereturn on investment makes growing ahybrid worthwhile. “With low commodityprices you really need to push for yield ––and a hybrid winter barley is more attractivethan a second wheat, especially when itcomes to blackgrass control,” he adds.“That’s one area I’ve really enjoyed workingon –– the reduction in blackgrass plants andseed is amazing.”

AICC agronomist Patrick Stephenson wouldn’t advise sowing any winter cereal on a really bad blackgrass field. “But usinghybrid winter barley as part of your blackgrass management makes a lot of sense.”

Hybrids are slightly different to grow thanconventional varieties, so farmers need tofollow agronomic advice to get the most outof them, he adds. “But don’t be a disciple to

the advised seed rate of 200 seeds/m2 ––with hybrids the cost of seed is the largeststumbling block, especially with feed barleyprices below £100/t.” Farmers should consider the soil type and seedbed, andadjust the seed rate up or down accordingly.

Getting in with an early nitrogen application is absolutely critical –– failure toget it on can slash yields by 15-20%, warnsJames Taylor-Alford. “Even in a warm winterlike we’ve just had, where crops are lookingreally green, you still need to feed them.”

Although Bazooka has good diseaseresistance, Jamie Marshall-Roberts still recommends a robust fungicide programmefeaturing SDHIs to maximise the green leafarea, and therefore yield potential. “But if youdon’t want such intensive inputs it’s a veryrobust variety, that’ll perform well in wetweather areas.”

Hybrids tend to stay clean early on, as they have good net blotch and rhynchosporium resistance, which eases thepressure at T1, says Patrick Stephenson.“However, you do need to keep an eye onmildew and brown rust later on –– at T2,hybrids have a bigger leaf and you want to

s

Charles Edwards, whose family farms at TheLimes Farm, Lullington, Burton upon Trent nearDerby, was already impressed with the previousgeneration of hybrid barley. Last summer,he smashed his typical yield of 7t/ha from conventional winter barley with Volume, grownfor the first time.

Now, with a number of improvements fromBazooka over Volume on the RL, he sees it asan even more attractive option. “We’re driven byyield,” he explains. “We can get 10t/ha fromwheat but struggle to reach 7.5t/ha with barley.But the Volume did 10t/ha over a weighbridge.”

This year, all 30ha of the farm’s hybrid barleyare in Bazooka. And it looks even better in thefield than Volume did last year, he says. “It’stremendous. It looks more even.” As well as its extra yield, the improved resistance to rhynchosporium and lodging of Bazooka arealso welcome, as too is the fact that it sharesVolume’s early maturity.

“Volume was very early ripening –– we combined it on 12 July at 13% moisture,” saysCharles Edwards. “It also stood up well –– that’svery important because when a crop goes downit doesn’t yield and it becomes a problem dryingit. The less we have to dry the better, while earliness helps cashflow.”

With soil type varying widely on the farm,from light sand to red clay, the ability of hybrid barley to perform in different growingenvironments, thanks to its vigorous growth,is another benefit.

“If Bazooka grows as vigorously as Volume,another advantage is that we’ve a blackgrassproblem, and the Volume smothered it. It grew above it and completely closed the blackgrass out.”

In addition, improved specific weight fromBazooka is welcomed, though Charles Edwardssays he wasn’t disappointed with Volume. “Whenyou think where we used to be with six-rows, the

improvements are incredible. Volume produced69kg/hl last harvest. I was amazed,” he says.

“Another bonus to us is straw, which is oftremendous value as we also have suckler cows,sheep and pigs on the farm. We normally buystraw but I didn’t buy anything last year. We had double the amount of straw we expect from barley.”

Barley yields smashed for Derby grower


Jamie Marshall-Roberts recommends a robustfungicide programme featuring SDHIs tomaximise the green leaf area.

David Waite reckons there’ll be limited seedavailability of Bazooka.

use that for maximum grain fill.” He advises redistributing the fungicide spend to 50:50 between T1 and T2, rather than typically 60:40 for conventional varieties.

Bazooka is tall, so it’ll require a full plant growth regulator (PGR) programmecomprising early Moddus (trinexapac-ethyl)and Cerone (2-chloroethylphosphonic acid)later on. “The use of SDHIs to minimisebrackling is also very important –– if you’retrying to maximise yields by applying lots ofnitrogen, you do need to think about the riskof lodging,” says Patrick Stephenson.

In a high lodging year farmers might bebetter off with Belfry, which has shorterstraw, says Barry Barker, national arable

seed product manager at Agrii. “There’s very little difference between the two otherthan that.”

It’s the crop’s impressive consistencythat helps to back up Syngenta’s yield guarantee, whereby it will pay growers£60/ha if Bazooka fails to yield at least0.5t/ha more than conventional varieties onthree local split-field reference sites. “I thinkthe variety stands up in its own right anddoesn’t need a marketing gimmick, but if it’sat no extra cost to the grower then it’s a nicecomfort blanket,” says Patrick Stephenson.

Straw yieldFor mixed farmers, the straw yield is a particular bonus, he adds. “If you’re producing 10t/ha of grain you’re also producing 10t/ha of straw, which can bevery useful. But if you min-till or no-till afterwards then that’s something you need to be aware of.”

Gleadell Agriculture sold more Bazookathan Volume seed last year, according toseed manager Chris Guest. “That was partlybecause Volume supplies were tight, but I think Bazooka will certainly maintain itsposition as the widest grown hybrid barley.”

Last year it took 28% of the hybrid market,with all hybrids making up about a quarter ofthe certified seed area of winter barley.“Malting barley now makes up less than15% of the acreage, and as people getmore used to using hybrids they’ll continueto take more of the market. Winter barley isuseful under the three-crop rule and as anentry for oilseed rape. The only concern is

the size of the market –– as a feed barley themarket is limited, and we do need to export.”

Barry Barker reckons Bazooka is in poleposition to replace Volume, which has beenon the market for a number of years. “Theyield isn’t vastly different, but it does havebetter disease resistance, particularly forrhynchosporium, and that’s a hot topic at the moment,” he says.

Despite their similarities on paper,Bazooka looks considerably cleaner thanVolume in the field this year, says Chris

Insiders View

Bazooka this year looks even better in the fieldthan Volume did last year, says Charles Edwards.

s

Treated grain yield (% treated control) 107.4

Untreated grain yield 89.6

Specific weight (kg/hl) 68.4

Screenings through 2.25 mm (%) 2.7

Resistance to lodging 7.8

Straw height with PGR (cm) 107.9

Ripening (days +/- Cassata) -0.6

Disease resistanceMildew 4.8

Yellow rust [8]

Rhynchosporium 7.5

Net blotch 6.3

BaYMV R

Source: 2016 / 17 AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds Recommended List Winter Barley; [ ] limited data

Bazooka at a glance

Those looking to maximise yields by applying lotsof nitrogen should consider the risk of lodging,says Patrick Stephenson.

Gleadell Agriculture sold more Bazooka thanVolume seed last year, notes Chris Guest.

Guest. However, the past two growing seasons have been particularly benign, sofarmers won’t have seen the best that newerhybrids should have to offer. “It’s really theirability to perform in a challenging seasonthat makes them stand out, although anyonegrowing malting barley in the same rotationmay need to beware of six-row volunteers.”

Volume was really the first hybrid to havethe yield and consistency that farmers areafter, says Patrick Stephenson. “Since thenall the other hybrids have been variationsaround a theme –– but Bazooka is a realstep forward.”

Looking at its disease resistance scores,the weakest appears to be for mildew, scoring a five on the RL, says Chris Guest.“However, Glacier and Tower score threeand five, respectively. There are some prettygood mildewicides out there so unless welose a load of chemistry it’s not too much toworry about.”

Farmers should also be aware that theywon’t be able to farm-save seed, warnsBarry Barker. “Any F1 cross will revert backto its parent type if sown again, so if the

Insiders View


parents are very dissimilar to each otheryou’ll get varying maturity, heights, and so on. You’ll also lose the hybrid vigour –– whatever you sow, it won’t be Bazooka.”

Although the marketing of new varietieswas held up by negotiations with AHDB overthe RL, Syngenta hasn’t delayed its hybridbreeding programme. “We’ve invested £4mextra over the past three years and we’reabsolutely confident that it’s going to bringsome significant advantages,” says JamesTaylor-Alford. “There are some really excitingvarieties in the NL1 and NL2 trials stages –– in two years’ time there’ll be varieties withfurther significant yield advantages andimprovements in specific weight.” n

A fresh-faced candidate variety, DK Exception may

not have proven itself in the UK yet, but its solid yieldconsistency, high phoma

score and strong vigour ismaking it stand out.

By Melanie Jenkins.

FeaturesInsiders View

The Exceptionthat makes therule

With a gross output of 104% of the control on the AHDB Cereals and OilseedsCandidate list for 2016/17, DK Exception isset to draw some interest. The variety maybe new to the UK, but it’s already wellestablished on the Continent, where it’sbeen commercially available in a numberof countries for several years, and hasnow become Dekalb’s biggest selling variety across Europe.

DK Exception has a high yield potential andconsistent performance, which it’s demonstratedin trials all over Europe, says Matthew Clarke.

The hybrid oilseed rape newcomer offers a treated seed yield of 105 and an oil content of 44.6%, according to theCandidate RL. This comes with Dekalb’s pod shatter resistance, while its doublephoma resistance lands the variety a score of 9 on the candidate list.

A light leaf spot (LLS) score of 6 makesException a tidy variety, says Dekalb breeder Matthew Clarke. “It has a high yieldpotential and consistent performance, whichit’s demonstrated in trials all over Europe, from Southern France to Eastern Europe and further North. DK Exception has been a blockbuster seller in Europe.”

Based on its performance in National Listtrials and NIAB TAG members’ trials,Exception looks very promising, accordingto Simon Kightley at NIAB. “Its gross output is on par with the best recommendedvarieties and what it really brings to the partyis excellent stem canker resistance. This isan opportunity to start cutting back on

autumn fungicide inputs at a time whengrowers are increasingly conscious of

low crop prices and margins.”However, Matthew Phillips of

GFP Agriculture stresses thatit’s worth being aware thatlight leaf spot is becomingmore prevalent across theUK and so growers making

any variety choices need tokeep an eye on disease

scores.DK Exception has madean immediate impression on Tim

Eaton at Anglia Grain Services, whichhas been growing it in scaled field trialssince Sept 2015. “I’ve been impressed withits establishment and of the 18 varieties wehave in the trials it’s in the top two or three asfar as establishment goes,” he says. Drilledon 8 Sept, it excelled in difficult growing conditions, he adds, and has since got off well in the spring.

Disease ratings“It’s an all-round hybrid that has done everything it could have possibly done so far. Varieties with such good disease ratings are what farmers need, so the market prospects should be good. Farmersalso need cheaper varieties to grow as rapeseed prices are so depressed at the moment.”

It’s relatively tall but has a stiff stem andwill stand at that height, says MatthewClarke. It also has moderate to early maturity, fitting into the mid-range portfolio.“It has a vigorous establishment in theautumn and in breeding trials has indicated consistently high yields. In the past two years of trials in the UK,Denmark and Sweden, DK Exception

has been either the top or the secondbest variety,” he says.

”“ DK Exception has been a blockbuster

seller in Europe.


DK Exception has shown an outstanding level ofconsistency in France and adapts to climatic andfield conditions, says Alexandra Cadet.

Its phoma score makes Exception an opportunityto start cutting back on autumn fungicide inputs,notes Simon Kightley.

Insiders View

DK Exception is well established inFrance and has shown an outstanding levelof consistency from first registration to farmtrials, according to Alexandra Cadet, theEuropean technical specialist for Dekalb.“It’s a very flexible variety, is easy to growand can suit poorer or heavier soil types.”

Vigorous establishment and resistancetraits are the reason the variety is able toperform so well in any situation, she says.“It’s very impressive. We’ve lots of varietiesbut this one is producing consistent yieldseverywhere.”

So far, Dekalb hasn’t come across anyvariations based on region or soil type in trials. “It’s the first of our varieties that hasperformed well wherever we’ve had trials.”

It’s a variety that adapts to climatic andfield conditions to give the best results possible, says Alexandra Cadet. “Growerscan sleep well with the knowledge that evenif their crop management isn’t perfect, thisvariety will perform as best as possible.”

In the north east of France, a good yieldequates to 3.2-3.5t/ha, but DK Exception has been outperforming this and has averaged 3.8t/ha in trials against the trialmean of 3.5t/ha. “In the north of France, ahigh yield is 5.5-6t/ha and DK Exception isable to achieve yields this high as well. Itdoes well whether in poor or very good conditions,” she adds.

Though it has vigorous establishment,Alexandra Cadet points out that the varietywon’t have start stem elongation early sogrowers can safely drill it early. “There’s norisk of excessive growth and it’s good interms of pest pressures. There can be quitea problem with flea beetle in France, but asa fast growing variety, DK Exception has anadvantage as it can grow away and limit fleabeetle damage.”

After winter it’s a mid to late hybrid, getting away from the end of Feb to thebeginning of Mar. “It’s quite a tall variety andcan sometimes be quite high at the end of

the flowering stage but it has excellent lodging resistance to cope withthis,” she adds.

PGR applicationIn cases of intensive management or highnitrogen levels, she recommends a PGRapplication in early spring. “If there’s highnitrogen availability or high plant density(more than 25-30 plants/m2 in spring), planto spray a PGR during stem elongation aspart of regular hybrid canopy management.”But if conditions are very dry, and nitrogenapplications aren’t so well absorbed, DK Exception will still yield well, saysAlexandra Cadet.

Dekalb has been trialling the nitrogen efficiency of its varieties across Europe forthree years and has found that compared s


well as being assured of standing power soin time, DK Exception could prove an attractive companion to DK Extrovert.”

Anglia Grain Services also markets DK Exalte, which it has been selling for two years now. “DK Exception is similar but is a little later maturing, so they should complement each other grown side-by-side,” says Tim Eaton.

Given that it’s a fairly tall variety NIAB willwant to see it go through this RL candidateyear with flying colours and without lodgingissues, says Simon Kightley. “If growers areattentive to getting good establishment withrelatively low seed rates and use growth regulatory fungicides in the spring, then wewouldn’t anticipate problems,” he adds.

With the variety looking strong in Anglia Graintrials, Tim Eaton is excited to be involved with it.

It has a vigorous establishment and covers theground well in autumn.

Insiders View

with other hybrids, Exception has better nitrogen efficiency. “Decreasing the level ofnitrogen input produced only minimal yieldloss compared with other hybrids, but this isstill being investigated.”

In terms of fungicide applications, DKException has a high phoma stem cankerresistance, giving it an advantage. “InFrance, fungicide spraying for phoma isn’thigh due to this resistance,” says Alexandra

Cadet. At the end of the crop cycle a regularfungicide programme will cover everything.“An application at the flowering stage andthen another, two to three weeks later shouldclear any issues.”

The variety would work well alongsideeither DK Exalte or DK Extrovert as there’s a bit of a contrast between them, with DK Exalte being earlier to flower, harvest and quicker to get away in the spring than DK Exception, says Matthew Clarke.

Orange labelFor the past two years GFP Agriculture has marketed very small quantities of DK Exception, as variety DGC250, under a pre-registration orange label. “DK Extrovertis still a popular choice with our growers so itwould be great to find a variety with similarperformance levels to complement it,” saysMatthew Phillips. He says that DK Exceptionhas shown early potential in the breeder’s trials year-on-year, and in field-scale trials the yields have been promising too.

“DK Exception has good standing powerand stiff straw. It fits into an early to middrilling window and although it doesn’t have as much vigour and is slightly later to harvest than DK Extrovert, yields appearto be comparable,” he adds. “Every growerwants to maximise yield and gross output as

s

Gross output (%) 103.9

Treated seed yield (%) 104.9

Oil content (%) 44.6

Resistance to lodging 8.4

Stem stiffness 6.9

Height (cm) 162.4

Earliness of flowering 5.4

Earliness of maturity 6.1

Resistance to light lead spot 6.2

Resistance to phoma stem canker 8.5

Source: 2016/17 AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds WinterOilseed Rape East/West Candidate List.(This summary is derived from National List and BSPB trials. Acknowledgement is made to APHA and BSPB forthe use of the data.)

DK Exception at aglance

Exception has a mid-range maturity, making itlater than some other popular DK varieties.

Insiders View

Based on its success in France,Alexandra Cadet predicts that DK Exceptionwill sell well in the UK. “It’s a top variety inthe French market and we’re expecting ahigh uptake in the UK as it’ll be able to optimise any growing conditions into yield.We’re expecting it to be as popular in the UK as it is in France and other Europeancountries.”

Tim Eaton has yet to see how DKException fares at harvest in the UK, but he’sconfident that it’ll do well, based on previoustrial results. “I’m excited to be involved withit. In a tough establishment situation, it didvery well and even better than the breedersaid it would.”

Though there aren’t many Dekalb varieties on the RL, the ones that do make it sell very well and are popular withfarmers. Tim Eaton says this is becauseeach variety is very well defined by individual traits such as vigour and phomaresistance. “The varieties always perform onfarm and so once a farmer has grown one,he’ll invariably re-order it.”

It’s all to play for this year, says MatthewPhillips. “As a candidate, it still needs toprove itself further in trials but from what I’veseen so far it certainly shows promise. Ofcourse, it’s never all down to just choosing a brilliant variety, it’s about tailoring fieldsand situations to certain varieties, or fittingthe right variety to the grower’s needs,” he concludes.

Simon Oxley, head of the RL, errs on theside of caution when it comes to growingless proven candidate varieties. “Growersshould be aware that the scoring of the candidate varieties is based on limited information. If a grower wants to try a varietywhile it’s still a candidate then they can, but

so far the information on the list is onlybased on two seasons of data.”

Varieties need to have a third season and a wider range of trials before recommendation. There’ll then be a betterunderstanding of how DK Exception performs compared to the current leaders,he adds. “The drive at the moment istowards higher disease resistance to allow the potential for growers to have an economic crop. It certainly shows somepromise, as with all other candidate varieties.”

Dekalb’s breeding programme is nowresearching High Oleic, Low Linolenic(HOLL) varieties. The quality of oil producedby these varieties is the future of OSR as ithas more uses, says Matthew Clarke. “We’realso focusing on getting higher diseaseresistance to reduce inputs as there are

fewer chemicals available, and to save oncosts. The programme is looking at traits likeClearfield, designed for easier weed control,in conjunction with BASF chemistry, to helpmake varieties easier for growers.” n


A two-way knowledgeexchange is how one

Rothamsted Research scientist believes growers and researchers will make the most of integrated pest management. CPM follows

the path he’s forged.


It’s a fascinating life – like being an

explorer, never quite surewhat you’ll find out and

mapping uncharted territory.”

“

When a group of scientists fromRothamsted Research posted a video onYouTube in April 2012 asking anti-GM protestors not to destroy a trial of aphid-repelling wheat, it marked a turning point in public opinion.

The video went viral and its reach wasworldwide, hitting headlines in nationalnewspapers. But its message was simple,earnest and honest: “please don’t destroyyears of our work – if you do, we won’t knowwhat this technology has to offer”. Thisstruck a chord in blogs and opinion pieces,which defended the scientists’ quest forknowledge, and they turned instead againstthe proposed actions of anti-GM campaigngroup ‘Take back the flour’.

On-farm innovator

One of the scientists behind the videowas Rothamsted entomologist Dr TobyBruce. “We were just trying to explain our point of view to the protestors. We hadno idea the video would attract so muchpublic attention,” he recalls.

“I suppose it was the GM aspect, but thiswas a public-funded field trial critical toresearching a scientific discovery with thepotential for clear environmental benefits. Wecouldn’t understand why someone wouldwant to rule it out before these were evenproperly considered.”

It’s the same open and earnest quest forenvironmental improvements and knowledgeexchange that Toby Bruce has carriedthroughout his time at Rothamsted, since he

Crowd-sourced science

On-farminnovator


The Croprotect app gives access to information pages as well as for registered users to feedbackinformation from the field. Linkswithin pages take you direct to relevant pages of related information.https://croprotect.com

In-field access to research-based knowledge

started there in 2000. “I’ve always wanted tobe a research scientist and had an interest innature –– Rothamsted opened the door.

“It’s a fascinating life –– like being anexplorer, never quite sure what you’ll find outand mapping uncharted territory. What’smore, you’re addressing agricultural challenges –– a lot of the work involvesreducing dependence on pesticides. You’llnever replace them, but we need a secondtier of defence, which is where much of whatI do is focused.”

Previous research he’s worked on was a Defra-HGCA funded Sustainable ArableLINK project, led by ADAS, investigating a more integrated approach to controllingorange wheat blossom midge. “At the time, it was very difficult to know if you had thepest, so many growers would apply a precautionary spray of chlorpyrifos,” he explains.

“At Rothamsted we were involved in making and testing pheromone traps, andalso in trialling resistant wheat varieties. Now resistance has been bred into about60% of varieties used in the UK and OWBMis rarely seen as a problem, let alonesprayed against.”

Currently he’s working on a project lookingat an integrated approach to control pea andbean weevil in beans. It’s partially funded byInnovate UK and BBSRC, with additional

support from PGRO, BASF, Oecos andExosect. “It’s known as the ‘lure and kill’ project – we’ve developed a pheromone thatattracts them into a part of the crop whereyou then apply a biological control. We’reone year in, and the results so far suggestthe potential for this as an alternative topyrethroid use is fantastic.

“But it takes time to develop theseapproaches, and I’m not sure the policymakers appreciate the consequences ofrestricting pesticides before we have properalternatives in place –– there should be moreinvestment in developing them,” he says.

He’s now leading a public-funded projectthat aims to do just that, and empower farmers and agronomists with their ownapproaches to reducing dependence onpesticides. Croprotect is a three-year project, costing £292,000 and fundedthrough the Sustainable AgricultureResearch and Innovation Club (SARIC), a joint venture of BBSRC and NERC.

Smartphone appIt’s a web-based knowledge exchange system with guidance on pest, weed anddisease management, especially in situations where effective pesticides aren’tavailable and alternative approaches arerequired. This centres around a smartphoneapp that puts Rothamsted and the fruits ofits applied research at your fingertips.

“When a conventional pesticide is introduced, its best practice use is all takencare of –– the guidance is on the label. Butthere’s no label guidance for alternative oragronomic approaches to controlling a pest,weed or disease. There’s a pressing needfor this, however, under the Sustainable UseDirective (SUD).”

This directive requires farmers to adopt a provision of integrated pest management(IPM) within control programmes. “But forthis to work, IPM approaches should bedeveloped, there should be regulation of alternatives, such as biological

and semiochemical (e.g. pheromone-based)controls, and there should be an effectiveknowledge exchange,” maintains Toby Bruce.

He made representations to Defra onthese points during the SUD consultation,through his involvement on the biocontroland IPM group of the Association of AppliedBiologists. “You’d think this was obvious, but it didn’t appear so at the time. It’s hard to say how much this submission to the consultation helped, but a research call for a knowledge exchange came in 2014, so I submitted a proposal.”

Toby Bruce’s background is in entomology,but he wanted to ensure his submission covered all areas, so he brought in Dr Stephen Moss on weeds and Dr JonWest on diseases. “It’s important to haveexpertise on the project that’s field friendly,”he says.

“One thing that’s held back practicaladoption of IPM techniques is thatresearchers in the past haven’t done enoughto engage with growers. So this element wasclearly outlined in our proposal, and I think it won the bid because this is now seen as important.”

The aim of Croprotect is to bring practicalmanagement information on pests, weedsand diseases into one, easily accessibleplatform. The project started in Nov 2014,and pages are building all the time. But theessential difference about this knowledgeexchange is that it’s the users who prioritise

On-farm innovator


The earnest plea from the Rothamsted scientists,posted on YouTube, went viral and led to a shift inpublic opinion against the anti-GM activists.

Much of the BBSRC-funded work at Rothamstedrevolves around pre-breeding research, such asusing its Field Scanalyzer, installed in 2014 tocapture deep phenotyping data from crops andother plants growing in a real field environment.

s


1. Make your approach user friendly.Even if complicated science lies behind it,this should be easily accessible.

2. Make life easier. Pursue research that offers a neat solution, such as a resistant variety or app.

3. It must meet a real need. There should bea policy or practical imperative, such as a new regulation or resistance issue.

4. Align your objectives to those of the funders. Getting funding is extremely competitive, so any proposal should clearly meet their requirements.

5. Get to know those who’ll benefit.Those who make the time and have the willingness to engage with farmers to develop their ideas make far greater impact with their research.

6. Make it flexible and adaptable. Every farm and farmer is different, and locality is important.

7. Keep it concise. While the research may be wide ranging and thorough, the take-home messages should be clear and straightforward.

How to be an on-farm innovator – Toby Bruce’s top tips

It’s unusual for someone involved in research to embrace a more consultative approach,points out Clare Tucker of BASF. “We have the

technology now to communicate to a wideraudience more easily and agriculture in generalhas been slow to make the most of it. WithCroprotect, however, Toby Bruce is making themost of apps and other internet tools to consultdirectly with end users.”

This is valuable in particular in the field ofbiological sciences. “It’s not so much about whata technology can do, but how it interacts withthe environment variables and farming practice.Key to getting good data is having a platform toexchange this information.”

But to manage this sort of platform requires awide skill set, she says. “You not only need to collect and analyse data and get results,you need to communicate these, and then beconfident enough to manage feedback andmake appropriate changes to your methodology.It’s a progressive approach that’s been clearlydemonstrated here.”

Clare Tucker reckons more collaboration isthe key to ensuring the benefits of scientific discovery are delivered onto farms. “First and

foremost, you need good independent science,of the level that’s currently funded by BBSRCand AHDB. And the results should be peer-reviewed. This is the sort of research we’re interested in being involved in at BASF,not because it has a positive outcome for ourproducts, but because it helps the industrythrive, which is important for our medium andlong-term future.”

How it’s then delivered is also important, shesays. “Apps make the information much moreaccessible than it was –– BASF has shownthrough its involvement with the GAI app, theWeed and Cereal Disease ID apps and the TotalOilseeds app how good, industry-funded sciencecan be turned into practical tools with real on-farm application at local level.

“As we move towards a more integratedapproach to managing weeds, pests and diseases, on-farm collaboration will becomemore important. But good science must remainat the heart of this, so platforms that let the twointeract will become more valuable.”

Internet technology is the gateway to good collaborative science

Apps like BASF’s Total Oilseeds app turn good,industry-funded science into practical tools withreal on-farm application at local level, says Clare Tucker.

If farmers are to adopt integrated pest managementwithin control programmes, they need an effective

knowledge exchange, maintains Toby Bruce.

the information that’s available, points outToby Bruce. “The first thing we did was askpeople to register and tell us what their priorities were. Then we started buildingpages.”

One of the first topics, for example, wasblackgrass, with information compiled byStephen Moss. “It’s not necessarily newinformation, but it brings research-basedknowledge into the digital era. Nor will you find endless pages of information –– sometimes IPM has a tendency to be over-complicated, and you can get information overload. We’ve aimed to focuson keeping the information concise andstraightforward,” he says.

“It’s also curated information, compiled byscientists with specialist authority, rather thansome free-for-all Wikipedia. That’s important,

not only to gain the trust of users, but alsobecause public-funded work must be peer-reviewed and remain high science ––applied science can sometimes be viewedas impure.”

It does provide a platform for users tocontribute information, however. Pest anddisease incidences can be reported andmapped, for example. Users can contributecommentary on what they’ve found as wellas ask agronomic information and viewsfrom the site curators or other users

They’ve also helped shape the project,notes Toby Bruce. “Initially, it was going to

On-farm innovator

s

Farmers are constantly innovating toimprove their businesses, which is why BASFis committed to investing 10% of its salesrevenues into R&D to deliver new technologiesfor farming. BASF’s new innovations includepioneering agricultural chemistry, as well as Innovations Beyond Crop Protection like biologicals, bacteria, soil and water management and renewable technologies.Our future is firmly focused on deliveringtowards farming’s future.’

On-farm innovation

Toby Bruce brought in Stephen Moss (right) onweeds and Jon West on diseases to ensure theproject had authoritative field-friendly expertise.

be just a web-based tool. But I presented it at the AICC conference right at the start of the project, and the feedback from agronomists was that they wanted an appfor iPhone and Android users. So that’s whatwe developed.”

As information is updated and morepages loaded, this can be accessedthrough either the app or website. “We’vebuilt in links to good sources of related information –– doing this project has really opened my eyes to valuable onlineresearch-based information, such as on theAHDB Cereals and Oilseeds website. It’ssometimes hard to find, though, so we’veprovided links direct to relevant publicationsor pages.”

But it’s the community involvement element where Toby Bruce reckons mostpotential lies. “We already have 600 registered users, although it’s not a requirement to register to use Croprotect.The reporting element will become a valuable tool in itself. Crop Monitor has thorough in-season information on disease

incidence, for example. But Croprotectpotentially can provide hundreds of locationpoints with opportunities for interaction.”

Building the user base when limited marketing budgets are allowed in public-funded projects has been a struggle,he admits. With 18 months of the project still to go, he’s keen to ensure Croprotect continues to grow in terms of both its user base and the information available to growers.

As a keen user of Twitter, however, he’sfound a strong community of growers whohave been coming on board and helping the service develop. “There’s #clubhectare, for example, while @AgriChatUK has 20,000users. Many research projects develop insplendid isolation from the end users who’lldirectly benefit. With Croprotect, they’re not

Innovations Beyond Crop Protection

only involved, they’re helping to shape it.These are the people who will ultimatelydecide its direction.” nwith

On-farm innovator

Although a Rothamsted project, it will be theCroprotect users who ultimately decide itsdirection.


Greg Hart is moving over to predominantly springcropping and is beginning to see the positives.

The first year of growing marrowfat peas has been

quite a learning experience for one grower in CountyDurham, but it’s brought

benefits for both the soil andthe bank balance. CPM paid

him a visit.


FeaturesPea grower profile

Peas seem to do something to

the soil.”“

There’s any number of reasons youmight make a move into spring crops,but for most it can mean a compromiseon the profitability of the rotation. ForGreg Hart, however, the profitability’slargely remained intact, and it’s bringingthe arable system a bit of a refresh thathe’s convinced is setting the farm up forthe long term.

“The honeymoon of living out of the bag is over –– the land just looks lacklustreand doesn’t defend the rain well. But I’m

beginning to see the positives of whatwe’re doing now. These are the buildingblocks of getting the land back to how itshould be,” he says.

DL Hart and Son stretches to 255ha ofmedium to heavy soil, based at FoxtonFarm, near Stockton on Tees, CountyDurham. The move into spring crops happened by default following the disastrous autumn of 2012.

Crops wiped out“All the winter cropping got wiped outapart from the oats as we hadn’t yet drilledthem,” recalls Greg Hart. “So the followingspring, we had winter oat seed to plant ––it’s a crop that doesn’t need vernalisationand is as cheap as chips to grow.”

So the crop of Mascani oats was drilledon 1 April, with not much expectation ofyield. “In the end, it achieved 7.5t/ha with a better quality sample than the true springoats we drilled.”

It wasn’t just oats that performed well –– in the same year he planted some Tybaltspring wheat. “We got 7t/ha off land thatlooked like the tide had gone out on it.”

The realisation that spring crops couldactually perform quite well promptedanother cropping move in 2015. “We werelooking to get out of oilseed rape. It can be a hurtful crop in terms of how much you have to invest in it. Then we reallystruggle with slugs in the following wheatcrop –– you’re still paying for OSR after it’sin the shed.”

With the new greening requirement soon


Putting “goodness” in the ground

It’s hoped peas and cover crops will help to re-awaken the lacklustre medium to heavy soils that don’t defend the rain well.

There’s a 4ha “look-see” area of radish, phaceliaand clover cover crops with plans to roll them out

across around 190ha in autumn 2016.

to come into effect, Greg Hart set out atthe Cereals event to investigate what pulses and cover crops might be able todeliver for the farm. “It was there thatmyself and my neighbour came across a contract to grow marrowfat peas forDunns,” he recalls.

Non-defaultable contact“We didn’t want to grow beans as they’retoo late to harvest. The peas were offeredon a non-defaultable contract, and theprice, at £350/t, looked very attractive.”

So marrowfat peas took the place ofOSR in the rotation for 2015 harvest. These come before the wheat, and then

there’s a crop of spring-sown winter oats. After that, there’s a spring wheat, with another crop of spring-sown oats completing the five-year rotation.

“We’ve moved over to direct drilling witha 6m Horsch Sprinter, so the only autumn cultivation was a pass with the subsoilerdirectly after harvest. It makes sense to subsoil in front of peas, although I’m hoping that in time we’ll be able to dispense with the subsoiler and a covercrop will do the job.” He’s started with a4ha “look-see” area of radish, phacelia and clover, supplied by Kings, but plans to roll out cover crops across around190ha in autumn 2016.

Last year, however, the 48ha crop ofKabuki marrowfat peas were set to be drilledinto the subsoiled stubble. “Kabuki was the variety recommended to us and we werestrongly advised not to drill until the soil temperature reached 7-8°C, so that it comesstraight up. We drilled it on 9-10 April and I thought the crop took a bit of time toemerge, especially on the headland where

we’d paddled the land a little with the rolls.But when it did emerge, it grew well.”

The first lesson he learned was with theseed rate, however. “We were suppliedenough seed to drill at 230kg/ha. We startedat 200kg/ha and then increased it to265kg/ha. That was too much, and that arealeaned over at harvest, whereas the lowerrate was fine. So I think we’ll aim for around

Pea grower profiles

(/ha)Seed £143

Fungicides £40

Herbicides £78

Insecticides £15

Trace Elements £15

Fertiliser £81

Sundries £12

Variable costs £384Yield (t/ha) 5.2

Price (/t) £350

Output £1820

Gross Margin £1436Note: based on actual figures for 2015 harvest

Marrowfat peas: howthe finances stack up

Keeping peas standing through to harvest iscrucial – this goes back to choosing the rightseed rate.

220kg/ha in future.”The crop received a seedbed dressing

of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and muriate of potash (MOP). “We rolled the crop straight after –– that’s essential –– and it then had a pre-emergence herbicide of Anthem (pendimethalin) plus Linzone (clomazone+ linuron).”

Laser (cycloxydim) and Falcon(propaquizafop) were applied at the beginning of June for grassweed control.

“We have brome and ryegrass and a smattering of wild oats, but generally they’renot too much of a problem. I’m hoping to getfewer grassweeds now we’ve moved tomore spring cropping and are shifting lesssoil,” notes Greg Hart.

Really healthyAt the same time, the crop was treated for pea and bean weevil, then at the end ofJune, it was sprayed for aphids and peamoth prevention in mid July. At the latter twotimings, Amistar (azoxystrobin) was appliedat 1.2 l/ha and 1.3 l/ha respectively. “The crop looked really healthy all the way through, although I’m mindful it was a good growing year,” he adds.It was sprayed off with Reglone (diquat) on26 Aug and harvested over two days on 5 and 7 Sept. “The 15ha where the crop was leaning over took us a day and a bit toharvest –– if it had rained on it, it would havebeen a real bother. But we sailed through therest of the crop, covering 24ha in a day.”

But it was the after-harvest care that Greg Hart was keen to get right. “I knew that

marrowfats are a crop you can’t keep out inthe field –– what you’re aiming to avoid isbleaching. We were encouraged to go as soon as the crop went under 20%


Marrowfat peas are a riskier crop to grow, butoffer more reward to those who can grow themwell, according to Franek Smith of Dunns.“They won’t perform for you every year –– youshould budget on one or two years over a five-year rotation being a disappointment.But when it all comes together, they can offer a very attractive margin.”

The current contract price for marrowfatpeas is £250/t, he reports, although the marrowfat pea area for 2016 harvest is now

fully booked. “For those looking to go into peasfor the first time, I’d recommend trying largeblue varieties first –– there’s less risk withthese, although the price is much lower ataround £150-180/t.”

The size of the market is very different, too.The total UK large blue pea crop is around80,000-100,000t, while Canada, the world’sbiggest grower, produces a crop in the millionsof tonnes. “By contrast, the entire global marrowfat market is around 50,000-60,000t,of which 35,000t is grown in the UK,” saysFranek Smith.

This has an impact on varieties. “Marrowfatshaven’t had as much investment in the geneticsas large blues due to the size of the market,which shows when comparing the varieties bothagronomically and yield-wise. Our favoured marrowfat is Kabuki –– it’s tried and tested andaccepted by all end users. Campus and Daytonawould be our large blues of choice.

“There’s about a 10% difference in yieldbetween them, according to the PGRORecommended List. Campus has the best standing ability –– ease of combining is a very important feature for peas.”

Success with marrowfats comes down tofarming ability, says Franek Smith. “You need togive them due care and attention. The differencebetween a fantastic and disastrous crop is no

Marrowfat margin lucrative but high risk

Success with marrowfats comes down to farmingability, says Franek Smith.

more than two days, so that’s a delay at harvest,with the fungicide spray, or the pea-moth insecticide, for example.”

Perhaps the interesting side to the crop is itsmarket. Mushy peas, either for canning or thecatering sector, account for almost half of the UKcrop. But a lucrative snack market has openedup more recently in Asia that sees around10,000t exported every year.

“One really exciting development is UK-manufactured extruded peas –– a bit like aWotsit. This is a snack that’s huge in the USwhere the market’s satisfied by the Canadianand US growers. But now a firm called Calbeehas just built a £6.5 million factory in Wales tomake the extruded Snapea snack. It’s a marketthat’s in its infancy, but set to rocket, and it’sideal for the UK-grown marrowfat,” points outFranek Smith.

A new factory in Wales manufacturing extrudedpea snacks could open up a new market formarrowfat growers.

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Pea grower profile

DL Hart and Son, Foxton Farm,Stockton on Teesl Area farmed: 255hal Soil type: Medium/heavy

clay loaml Cropping: Winter wheat,

spring wheat, winter oats (sown in spring), spring oats,peas

l Drills: 6m Horsch Sprinterl Combine: John Deere CTS

Twin Rotor with 7.6m headerl Mainline tractors: 2x Claas

Xerion 3800l Cultivation: 8m Horsch FG

cultivator; 5m McConnel 10-leg subsoiler with DD press; 9m Cousins rolls

l Sprayer: Trailed Chafer Guardian with 4000-litre tank and 30m boom

l Spreader: Lely Centreliner with 3t hopper

Farm facts

Cautious over what the heat from theSvegma drier might do to the highvalue crop, pedestal fans were usedto harden it off.

moisture, and we actually startedcombining when it was at 18.5%.

“Quality-wise, we did exactlythe right thing –– the crop camein and it was a lovely greencolour, so keeping the qualityright in the field is obviously akey priority. But the problem wehad was a heap of very damppeas, and I didn’t dare put themstraight over the drier.”

He was cautious what the heat from the 30t/hrkerosene-fuelled Svegma driermight do to the high value crop,so instead decided to hardenthe crop off first using pedestalfans. “It took 2-3 weeks andcost a fair bit in electricity, butthe moisture never budged.”

It was at that point, he driedthe crop. “Most of it came downto 14% in the end –– and thatwas probably a bit too much.This year, I think we’ll hardenthe crop off with the pedestalfans again, but won’t be quiteso cautious about waiting to putit through the drier. However, I think we were lucky last year –– you hear horror stories abouthow difficult peas can be to harvest, so we’ll focus on making sure the crop standsand that we harvest it as soonas it’s ready.”

The nice surprise was theyield. “We were budgeting for3.5-3.7t/ha, but in the end thecrop yielded over 5t/ha. Bearing in mind it wouldn’t have yieldedtoo well where the crop wasleaning, I reckon some of thebetter parts of the crop musthave pushed out over 6t/ha,which shows the potential of the crop.”

What’s more, it’s given agood entry for the followingwheat crop. Revelation wasgrown last year and yieldedover 10t/ha. But Greg Hart isgrowing Cordiale following thepea crop this season. “Whendrilling the wheat, we had a bitof an issue where the previouscrop had leaned and therewas straw on the ground thatbulldozed. But there wasn’t any problem with slugs.

“What’s more, peas seem todo something to the soil –– theyput the goodness back in theland. The soil is more friableand the top is finer, which iswhy we’re trying for a millingsample. With the cover crops as well, we’re really looking forward to seeing the positivesbegin to build –– they’ll be putting even more goodness in the ground.” n

Biofumigant crop complexities

Using biofumigants is

something we’ll get better at but there’s still

a lot to learn.”

“

Many growers are facing a leap into the unknown this season with theabsence of Vydate (oxamyl). With adegree of uncertainty whether the production of Vydate granules will everresume, it’s a good time to look at thealternative measures to help keep nematode populations at a manageablelevel.

One of those measures is growing a biofumigant cover crop and it’s something to consider now to be in time for next

season’s potato fields. Trials carried out byRAGT and Agrovista suggest that theycould play an important role in controllingfree-living nematodes (FLN).

Their trial site at Elgin on the Moray Firthis under organic production on a farm thathas suffered high FLN counts, saysAgrovista agronomist Andy Steven.“Spraing, the disease caused by the tobacco rattle virus transmitted by FLN, isa fairly common problem here and on otherlighter soils in Morayshire. Around half thesamples show high FLN counts.”

Chopped and incorporatedThe site was split into five sections –– oneuntreated and four areas each planted witha different biofumigant crop –– oilseedradish, white mustard, Hardy Mix (a blend of oilseed radish, Ethiopian mustard androcket) and Japanese oats. These weredrilled in late July to ensure there wasplenty of biomass to be chopped andincorporated in mid-Nov.

Nematode numbers on the untreatedarea went up “pretty significantly” between

With uncertainty over Vydateproduction, trials looking atbiofumigant cover crops are

proving their worth. CPMreports on results, along withthe latest on blight and early

weed control.


Roots Potatoes

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June and Nov, particularly Pratylenchusand Trichodorus species, Andy Stevensays. “This would normally be expected as soils become wetter in the autumn,encouraging nematodes to move upwardsthrough the soil profile.”

Numbers of these two species were higher than the treated strips to begin with and reached proportions where anematicide would need to be given seriousconsideration, he adds. Longidorus was also present but the population was muchsmaller.

“We can’t say statistically that everythingworked better –– the Hardy Mix and theJapanese oats worked reasonably well. But in this trial at least, the oilseed radish did the best job and white mustard came a good second,” he says.

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Biofumigants work well on PCN and trials suggestthe same is true of FLN which, in the rightrotation, could help to keep numbers down.

Stuart Maltby stresses there are a number ofelements growers must get right in order to getthe desired results from biofumigant cover crops.

Potatoes


with 267 in 2014, this winter has been dominatedby unseasonal mild and moist conditions. Themarked absence of any prolonged frosts meansthis is no time to forget about blight management,he cautioned.

UK Met Office data backs up the statement,showing how temperatures in Dec were comparable with those that might be expected in Oct, April, or even May. It was the wettest,and warmest Dec on record since 1910 by a wide margin, sitting at 4°C above the 1981-2010 long-term average.

Outlining genotype findings from the pastseason, David Cooke reported that the strains‘blue 13_A2’ and ‘pink 6_A1’ continue to dominate the population in England and Wales.

“Both are more aggressive and fitter thanpreviously common strains and they can infect aplant more rapidly, narrowing the control options.Following the wet and warm winter, if thisweather trend continues, any weakness in control plans will be exploited by the pathogenand could result in crop losses during the growing season.”

The majority of Phytophthora infestans survives as clones and most inoculum is locallygenerated. “Target infected outgrade piles andkeep a special eye out for groundkeepers. Theseshould be an even more important focusbecause groundkeepers will have continued togrow over the winter, following the lack of anyreal frosting. Blight is likely to develop on themand they have the potential to be a source ofearly infection.”

Speaking at the recent AHDB Potatoes’ WinterForums, late blight specialist Dr David Cooke of the James Hutton Institute, warned potatogrowers to remain vigilant during this comingseason. Despite many potato specialists forecasting a potentially high blight season lastyear, the peculiar weather patterns last springand summer meant it turned out to be a lowblight season.

“In 2015, a dry April checked primary inoculum of Phytophthora infestans and thena dry June slowed down any established infections. Thereafter, it was generally cool whenthe relative humidity was high which limitedpathogen development,” explained David Cooke.

Despite the unusual season last year, withonly 58 positive reported outbreaks compared

Groundkeepers may be primary blight source this yearThe picture in Scotland is a little different than

the rest of the UK, explained David Cooke, with amuch larger proportion of novel types in the blightpopulation. “The blue 13_A2 genotype has almostdisappeared and we’re finding a more diversepopulation in Scotland with a high proportion ofnovel types especially in North Aberdeenshire,along the Moray coast.

This suggests that in Scotland the pathogenwas sexually recombining and producingoospores, known for being more challenging to manage.

“While a real concern to the industry, we fortunately found that the novel strains weremainly confined to localised regions of Scotland,and in fact were largely originating from othercrop sources. There’s very little evidence ofspread of these novel strains via seed or air, eitherbetween or within seasons,” he reassured growers.

David Cooke reckons blight is likely to develop on groundkeepers after the mild winter and they have the potential to be a source of earlyinfection.

The strains ‘blue 13_A2’ and ‘pink 6_A1’ continueto dominate the population in England and Wales.

Oilseed radish provided the best control of Longidorus and Trichodorus,while white mustard had the edge onPratylenchus. The results suggest that targeting different species of nematodewith specific biofumigant crops may helpfurther and is likely to be a key focus offuture trials, says Andy Steven.

If these results were repeated in thefield, he predicts significantly less feeding

damage as well as potential disease reduction. “Growers in this area haveachieved a 10t/ha yield increase where feeding damage has been reduced.Potatoes will be planted across the trial siteso we’ll be able to measure this effect.”

Mild climateThe trials also show it’s possible to establish biofumigant crops in the far northof the UK, albeit in a relatively mild climate.“A big challenge in this area is getting acover crop established in time to provideenough green material for it to work. In practice it might be best to plant biofumigant crops after winter barley or EFA fallow,” he adds.

“Overall we seem to have achieved whatwe hoped, in terms of establishing thecrops and reducing numbers, and it certainly merits further investigation.”

Helen Wilson, head of forage crops at RAGT Seeds, says FLN is becoming amore important pest in the UK. “Crop

damage thought to be caused by poor fertility, compaction and/or poor drainagecan often be an FLN problem. Growers arebecoming more aware of it and it appears

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All four biofumigants reduced numbers across all three FLN species, apart from the Japanese oatswhich struggled to contain Longidorus.Source: Frontier

Nematode numbers are believed to be risingfaster in fields with shorter potato rotations, saysDouglas Dyas.


Change in FLN population July to Dec

Potatoes

150

100

50

0

-50

-100

untreated

Numbers per250g soil

Longidorous

Pratylenchus

Trichodorus

Oilseed radish White mustard Hardy mix Japenese oats

to be more widely spread than manypeople think.”

While biofumigants may not replacenematicides as long as they’re available, the results show they could keep potatogrowers in business if such chemistry does disappear, she adds.

“We know biofumigants work well on PCN, though not as effectively as nematicides, and I suspect the same istrue of FLN. But they’ll still deliver a goodlevel of control which, in the right rotation,could help to keep numbers down.”

Frontier agronomist Stuart Maltby has

been involved with using biofumigants for 15 years and stresses that while the theory is good, there are a number of elementsgrowers must get right in order to get thedesired results and not be disappointed.

“It’s not as easy as just putting a cover crop in the ground. You need thesame commitment to a biofumigant crop as any commercial crop, even though it’ll end up being incorporated,” he explains.

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Potatoes

Rhizoctonia is a relatively weak pathogen and can be effectively controlled inthe soil by incorporating Amistar.

“The cover crop has to contain the right varieties, beestablished well and must be

incorporated at the correct timing –– when soil moistureand temperature are above the

Luke Hardy believes Praxim looks to be so muchmore than just a linuron replacement.

Thumbs up for Praxim

critical level for the biofumigantgases to volatilise and movethrough the soil.”

At the flailing and incorporatingphase it’s important to have areal understanding of whatyou’re trying to achieve,believes Stuart Maltby.

“17-20% of the biofumiganteffect can be from the roots andthe remainder the green top.The cells need to be ruptured torelease the gas, so it needs tobe chopped as finely as youcan,” he advises. “But the most

important part of the operationis getting the top incorporated10-15 minutes after flailing, soideally you need a single passmachine.

“The surface then needs tobe lightly smeared, though not packed, to produce a capto seal the gas in, stopping it escaping too quickly. It’s also important to understandthat you’re only treating the soil to the depth that you’reincorporating into. That meansbeing careful during planting

Praxim (metobromuron) was a welcome introductionto the potato herbicide armoury last season,especially as some of the old stalwarts are underclose scrutiny by CRD. After a full seasons experience in 2015, has it lived up to expectations?

As far as agronomist Stuart Maltby’s concerned,the answer is a ‘yes’. “Praxim can be used pre-emergence right up to cracking of the ridgesand I’m comfortable using it late on when potatoesare very near emerging. I haven’t seen any adversecrop effects so it appears to live up to the claims ofgood crop safety on all soil types.”

Stuart Maltby has his own potato demo site nearHolbeach where he’s able to run a number of‘experiments’ both on and off-label, though the latter requires crop destruct. “I looked at Praxim onthe demo site last year and investigated a numberof different tank mixes and rates,” he explains.

So what were his key findings? “There’s a verydefinite drop off in performance when used at 2 l/ha rather than 3 l/ha. When used at 2.5 l/hathere’s still a slight drop off in comparison to the 3 l/ha rate. At the full rate of Praxim (4 l/ha) therewas no noticeable difference to using 3 l/ha,”he explains.

“The conclusion I’ve come to, is that you need tobe using Praxim at 3 l/ha and definitely not below2.5 l/ha, and then only with a partner product, such

as Defy (prosulfocarb) or Sencorex (metribuzin).There’s an impression that Praxim is highlypriced and for that reason some growers aren’tusing rates that are robust enough. At the 3 l/harate, I’m seeing broad-spectrum weed controland good longevity on weeds like bindweed andwillow weed (pale persicaria).

“There’ve been issues in a few followingwheat crops where clomazone (Gamit 36CS) and metribuzin were applied the previous springto the potato crop. I’m not seeing any visibleeffects in wheat this year following potatoeswhere Praxim was used in 2015,” he notes.

Although there aren’t any buffer zone restrictions for Praxim, Stuart Maltby remindsgrowers to bemindful of the buffer zone requirements of any partner products.

Agrovista agronomist Luke Hardy advisesgrowers in Shrops and was keen to try Praximlast year, particularly because of the likelihoodthat linuron may soon disappear and leave a yearning gap for a light land herbicide replacement.

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Potatoes

Nematode feeding damage allows the soil-bornerhizoctonia pathogen to get into plants moreeasily, warns John Sarup.

cultivations not to work at a depth belowthe treated layer, which would mix it withuntreated soil,” he cautions.

“Using biofumigants is something we’llget better at but there’s still a lot to learnabout selecting the correct biofumigantcrops and getting them to work reliably.”

Suppression onlyAs far as nematicides go, Nemathorin (fosthiazate) is the only option this season,with Mocap only offering suppression ofnematode populations. For early growers inparticular that’s a problem because of thelengthy harvest interval for Nemathorin.

Clarifying the definition of harvest interval, Syngenta technical manager,Douglas Dyas explains: “Nemathorin has a harvest interval of 119 days, whichmeans there must be at least 17 weeksfrom application before burn down or harvesting green crop in order to complywith the label.”

A knock-on effect of an increasing incidence of nematodes in soils is anincreased risk of rhizoctonia infection, warns Yorks-based potato specialist, John Sarup of Spud Agronomy.

He reckons that nematode feeding damage allows the soil-borne rhizoctoniapathogen to get into plants more easily,with infection resulting in stem and stolon pruning which causes protractedemergence.

“If growth is further delayed by wet or

cold soils, the effects can be severe.However, rhizoctonia is a relatively weakpathogen that can be effectively controlled in the soil by incorporating Amistar (azoxystrobin),” he says.

“Delayed and patchy emergence hasserious implications for crop management.While the canopy appears to recover over the season, it inevitably has a consequence at harvest, with variabletuber size, maturity and quality.”

Damage to root systems, from the combined effects of nematode pests andrhizoctonia attack, is also likely to inhibitthe crop’s ability to take up nutrients andwater, likely to have a further effect onyield. It also puts plants under greaterstress that makes them more susceptibleto other threats, such as alternaria (earlyblight), points out John Sarup. n

“I have a lot of light land in my area, sothere’s potential for problems with crop damageif using metribuzin. I’ve used Praxim at 2 l/ha intank mix with Defy on light land where fumitoryis the main problem. On the heavier land I’veeither used metribuzin as a partner product or a three-way mix of Praxim plus metribuzin plusclomazone,” he explains.

According to Luke Hardy, Praxim looks to beso much more than just a linuron replacement.“It’s expensive compared with linuron but alsooffers flexibility and a broader spectrum of weed control, with activity on fumitory and wildoats. Praxim controls a weed spectrum verycomplimentary to the activity of metribuzin which makes them ideal tank mix partners,”he says.

Although Praxim appears expensive in comparison to other pre-ems, he believes it’smoney well spent. “Last season, no post-em follow-up treatments with Titus (rimsulfuron) were needed where we used Praxim.”

fungicide applications, says Dr Ruairidh Bain of SRUC. Butbehind any effective strategy lies a good understanding of thepathogen you’re dealing with.

What is potato blight?Often referred to as late blight, the disease is caused by thepathogen Phytophthora infestansthat spreads fast, with a life cycle of just three to eight days,depending on genotype and conditions.

It’s spread mainly by wind-borne spores (sporangia)that infect the leaves and stems of potato plants. Under cooler conditions, the sporangia mainlyrelease zoospores, which can bewashed down through the ridges

Potato blight has always been one of, if not the most devastating disease in any crop. Its ability toevolve with newer and more aggressive strainsmake it a difficult pathogen to control and Belchimare keen to support the gathering and transfer ofknowledge that will aid in the fight against blight.

Potato blight is arguably arablefarming’s most destructive plantdisease –– the only one to haveever caused widespread croploss leading to famine in theBritish Isles, as it did during the Irish and Highland blight epidemics of the mid 1840s. It currently costs the industryaround £55 million/yr to keep the disease under control.

Recent developments in theblight population mean that it’snow an even tougher disease tocontrol than it was a decade ago.Key to effective management isgood monitoring of risk and outbreaks and hygiene, as well asa control programme that starts atthe right point in the season andmaintains tight intervals between

Exploitive andaggressive crop threatFollowing a wet and mild winter, potatoblight will take advantage of any weakness in control programmes. CPM asks SRUC’s Dr Ruairidh Bain to review the fundamentals.


and come into contact with the potato tubers, resulting in tuberblight.

The typical leaf symptoms of the disease are irregularly shaped lesions that enlarge rapidly, turning the foliage a dark brown colour. Unchecked, the complete crop canopy canbecome infected and collapse.Infected tubers develop fox-red or dark marbling of the tuber tissue, and can quickly decaythrough secondary bacterial soft rotting to a foul-smelling mush.

How is the disease spread?The pathogen predominantly reproduces asexually –– the greatest number of wind-bornespores is produced under warm

and humid conditions and thepathogen needs green plant material to develop. When theweather is the right combination oftemperature and humidity, knownas a Smith Period, blight willspread fastest and crops are most at risk.

However, in recent years, blighthas been found to spread beforeSmith Periods are triggered. LocalSmith Period information can still be useful but it’s critical toknow that the long-establishedtemperature and humidity thresholds will miss some high-riskperiods. The industry is currentlyrevising the system of monitoringthe blight threat, and new thresholds are close to beingagreed.

Blight can be an unforgivingpathogen – if you

take your eye off theball, it can cost you

dearly. ”

“

Potato blight

Tech Talk


How has the pathogenchanged?The blight population is made up of a number of different genotypes, grouped into two mating types, A1 and A2. Untilaround 2006, the A1 mating typeswere dominant in the UK. But the newer A2 mating type, firstidentified in the 1980s, then rose to dominate the population, whichis monitored through a researchprogramme, funded by AHDBPotatoes.

Currently, the population is relatively stable, with two dominant genotypes –– 13_A2 and6_A1 –– making up 80-90% of thepopulation (see panel on p74 forlatest information). They are relatively aggressive, so theamount of damage they cause tocrop foliage is severe comparedwith many other genotypes. What’smore, they are relatively fit, so survive well over winter and canstart to spread early, whichexplains how they’ve come todominate the population.

A key concern since the A2mating type rose to prominence is that the two genotypes canreproduce sexually and produceoospores. These can survive in thesoil for up to four years, and inother European countries havebeen responsible for early andsevere blight outbreaks.

Although no oospores have yet been identified as starting anoutbreak in the UK, it’s generallyconsidered sexual recombinationis probably taking place. Thediversity of non-dominant uniquegenotypes makes this likely,although this hasn’t yet led to anew dominant genotype, and newones that are identified disappearquickly.

In 2010 and 2015 –– seasons of notably low blight incidence –– there was a relatively high proportion of non-dominant genotypes. It’s not yet clear if thisgreater diversity in the populationin these years represents a gradual shift to a sexually reproducing population, or

simply that these miscellaneousgenotypes were less masked by13_A2 and 6_A1 than in moderateto severe blight years.

How do you preventblight?The consequences of the shift inblight populations are that blightwill tend to come into the crop earlier and hit harder. So vigilanceearly on and planning are crucial.Growers must stay alert for signsof blight and control sources of

Once the blight season starts, Agriiagronomist Nick Winmill will be urginghis growers to stay focused until therisk is well and truly over. “It’s importantto start programmes early and maintain protection beyond the start ofdesiccation while there’s green leafpresent. Blight can be an unforgivingpathogen –– if you take your eye off the ball, it can cost you dearly,”he says.

When planning the strategy, keep in mind varietal resistance. “Many varieties have had their blight ratingsre-evaluated in the presence of moreaggressive blight strains. It’s unlikely tochange what variety you put in theground –– the consumer determinesthe market, and that’s unlikely to be governed by the blight risk. But it’simportant to know how susceptible your crop is.”

Once the season starts then arobust disease forecasting system canassist in shaping the frequency andtiming of blight sprays. “We movedaway from using Smith Periods severalyears ago as this appeared not to beflagging high risk periods either at the

start of or during the season,” notesNick Winmill.

Instead, Agrii uses Dacom’sForecast-Xtra service in conjunctionwith its network of more than 180weather stations to keep tabs on likelyhigh risk periods.

“Following last year’s low levels ofblight, the risk of blight in seed stockshould be low. But the disease is stilllikely to start early,” he notes. So he’llbe starting programmes early at, oreven before the rosette stage with mancozeb if varietal resistance is good.Otherwise he’ll mix in some cymoxanilfor some curative kick-back.

“At the rosette stage I’ll be looking toa cymoxanil plus mancozeb mix, suchas Profilux –– the advantage of thatproduct is the rate is more flexible if you need to strengthen it. Alternatively,you can use cymoxanil plus fluazinamas in Kunshi.”

Once the crop enters the rapidcanopy phase, the focus should be onkeeping intervals tight and mixing andmatching products. “There are manyproducts to choose from and my programmes are built around key active

ingredients. Some of the main choices in my view are cyazofamid(Ranman Top), mandipropamid (Revus),fluazinam (Shirlan), fluopicolide+propamocarb hydrochloride (Infinito)and dimethomorph (e.g. in Invader and Hubble).

“But you need to keep your eye onthe weather –– if you’re due to spray in 2-3 days’ time and the weather forecast is poor but risk is high, thenbring the application forward. If you doget delayed beyond your target intervalthen consider strengthening the mixwith some cymoxanil, for example.”

Once the canopy stabilises, thefocus shifts to tuber blight, continuesNick Winmill. “Ranman, Infinito and perhaps Shirlan (fluazinam) are goodchoices –– it’s worth putting someRanman in with an appropriate desiccant.”

Bear in mind the risk of alternaria onsome varieties. “1700g/ha of mancozebis a good baseline to maintain as supplied with the full rate of Profilux. Asthe risk increases, move up through thegears adding an azole, such as Narita (difenoconazole), if you need a

bit of curative activity, or bring in a strobilurin-based treatment.”

While product choice is important, hestresses the benefit of starting early,keeping intervals tight and remainingvigilant. “Good coverage is essential ––watch around telegraph poles–– whilecontrolling volunteers and growth on outgrade piles is a must. If there’s aweakness in your system, blight will findit out, and you’ll be fighting it for the restof the season.”

If there’s a weakness in your system, blight will find it out,warns Nick Winmill.

The typical leaf symptoms of blight areirregularly shaped lesions that enlargerapidly, turning the foliage a darkbrown.

Until now, Smith Period information from BlightWatch(www.blightwatch.co.uk) has beenprovided after high-risk daysoccurred. For the 2016 season,BlightWatch will provide forecastdata so that Smith Period predictions will be for the coming24 hours, instead of the previous24 hours. The service will alsomake a prediction out to 48 hours,based on the forecasts for the current day and the next.

Ruairidh Bain is concerned thatgrowers fail to consider disease-resistance ratings when planningfungicide programmes.

Stay focused from start to finish

Tech Talk


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infection, such as outgrade pilesand volunteers, destroying anygreen growth before it becomesinfected. It also helps to know theblight health status of seed stocks.

As well as monitoring your owncrops, make use of a good blightmonitoring service, to keep yourself abreast of disease developments and weather-basedrisk. This can be achieved throughAHDB Potatoes’ free Fight AgainstBlight (FAB) service.

There is concern that growersfail to consider disease-resistanceratings when planning fungicideprogrammes. Research has shown

Potato blighttop tips

there are significant differences, aswell as fungicide savings that canbe made, by growing a varietywith a blight rating of 5 comparedwith a 3 –– a typical disease ratingfor the current UK crop.

How do you build a control programme? Although growers are now dealing with a different type of blight, thecurrent fungicide armoury, usedwell, will still bring good control.The difficulty is that these aggressive and fit genotypes will mercilessly take advantage of any lapse in a robust strategy.

There are some key principlesthat ensure a blight control programme remains effective:l Start early –– The more

aggressive genotypes 13_A2 and 6_A1 are generally the first to appear in the crop, so assume these are the ones you are tackling.

l Gauge the risk –– The timing of fungicide application in relation to high-risk weather is key. Fungicides give more protectionif applied just before a high-risk period. Curative fungicides prevent more early infections from developing into lesions if applied shortly after a high–risk period.

l Tight timings –– Spray programmes should build well timed applications around a realistic threat-based blight control strategy. Given these genotypes’ aggressiveness, there’s now much less scope to extend spray intervals beyond a maximum of seven days. An even tighter interval may be required to get on top of a blightinfection.

l Keep going – There’s no point inkeeping blight out of the canopyfor almost the whole growing season if it’s then allowed to infect tubers. The economic losses resulting from blight that flares up at the end of the season can be huge, so ensure the crop is protected until there’sno green haulm left. Ensure rapid and thorough desiccation.The choice of fungicides will

vary throughout the seasondepending on crop growth ––

whether the canopy is developingrapidly or relatively stable –– iftubers need protection, and blightthreat at the time or just prior to application. Key aspects to bear in mind are:l Efficacy of fungicide combination

to protect leaf, stem and tuberl The level of curative activity

neededl How important rainfastness is.

Another threat to bear in mind isalternaria, which is increasing inprevalence, particularly in Englandand Wales, and can result insignificant damage. While control

of late blight should remain the

Belchim are a key supplier in thepotato fungicide market for control ofboth late blight and Alternaria spp.

Kunshi® contains fluazinam andcymoxanil and fits throughout theprogramme but particularly therosette stage, taking advantage of the spore activity of fluazinam andthe kick-back activity of cymoxanil.At 0.5kg/ha Kunshi delivers 188g+125g respectively.

Profilux® contains cymoxanil andmancozeb and can be applied up to2.5kg/ha in high pressure situationsdelivering 112.5g cymoxanil and1700g mancozeb, which at that ratealso has effects against Alternaria.

Ranman® Top (cyazofamid) is amarket-leading blight product withproven efficacy against foliar andtuber blight that can be usedthroughout the spray programme with a five-day interval betweensprays if needed.

Narita contains straight

Sponsors message

l Stay vigilant – Be aware of what the risk is through FAB and monitoring Smith Periods and deal with outgrade piles and volunteers.

l Timeliness is key – Start fungicide applications early and keep spray intervals tight.

l Protect the tuber – Keep an appropriate programme in place until the threat of infection is definitely over.

difenoconazole for control of alternaria.Belchim will continue to innovate to

help growers to achieve the best cropspossible in terms of yield and quality.

Blight that flares up at the end of the season can result in huge economic losses,so ensure the crop is protected until there’s no green haulm left.


Tech Talk

Infected tubers develop fox-red ordark marbling of the tuber tissue.

Oospores can survive in the soil for upto four years, and in other Europeancountries have been responsible forearly and severe blight outbreaks.

Growers must stay alert for signs ofblight and control sources of infection,such as outgrade piles and volunteers.

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focus of a control strategy, it’sworth considering whether thefungicides you’re applying will also control alternaria. n

Keeping up with the twists and turns in the yellow rustpopulation has always been a bit of a mind bender.

I came away from thisyear’s UKCPVS stakeholdermeeting in Cambridge thinking that there are seriouschallenges ahead for us all,both in the field and in understanding the disease.Since the Warrior race arrivedfrom outside Europe, thingsare changing apace.

One of the challenges thescientists have is classifyingthe pathogen –– the dominantred group in the UK now hasmany subgroups. This had ledto a total shake-up of thenaming system this year and,in all likelihood, there’ll be further changes to come.

Yellow rust races havealways been named after the variety in which they firstovercame resistance –– mostrecently Solstice, Warrior andKranich. Now that differentgroups and sub-groups of theWarrior types are present, thenaming system is confusing.

As things currently stand,the predominant group of yellow rust present in the UKis now called Warrior 4, anamalgamation of Warrior 3

and 4 under the previoussystem. The same

group is referred to asthe red group by theJohn Innes Centre,

who identify the genotypes in the field.

In Denmark, the very same is termed Warrior Minus,which at least makes a bit ofsense because one of thepeculiarities of this particularpathotype is that it doesn’tcause disease in the varietyWarrior.

The yellow rust that used tobe termed Solstice has nowbeen termed Warrior 3 (blue).It looks and behaves in thefield like the old Solstice yellow rust but the experts atJIC have found that they’regenetically unrelated to theSolstice pathotype, yet areclosely related to the Warriorpathotypes –– yes, it’s confusing.

Fortunately, a group ofexperts from across Europewere due to meet the verynext day to discuss how thesegroups should be named, solet’s hope they come up withsomething more intuitive andconsistent. I’ve purposefullyreferred to each group bycolour as well as namebecause it’s something thatseems to work well with potato blight. Pink 6 and blue13 are instantly recognisableto potato growers and it wouldbe an easier system to followwhen names change and newpathotypes emerge.

The thing is that, in the fieldyou just have symptoms ofyellow rust –– that’s all youknow about it and you have todeal with what you’re seeing.The data UKCPVS have collected on varietal adult andseedling resistance is a useful

Yellow rust –– amental challenge

Based in Ludlow, Shrops,Lucy de la Pasture hasworked as an agronomistand finds just keepingtrack of disease in cropscan be a mind-bender in itself.

reference but can you reallyafford not to get yellow rust under control early byassuming adult resistance willkick in at some point and yellow rust will just die out?Bill Clark doesn’t think so and I think most agronomistswould be inclined to agree.The problem is that it’s impossible to know preciselywhich pathotype you’re dealing with, or even morelikely, mixture of pathotypes.

The French have shownthat Warrior-type yellow rust is showing an ability to adaptto its environment. They’vediscovered isolates in thesouth that were adapted to high temperatures ––meaning that at those highertemperatures the rust has ashorter latent period. This isunusual because ‘normal’European isolates prefer lowertemperatures. meaning theycan continue developing laterin the season.

So it’s possible that yellowrust may start to behave in away that’s unexpected. Theimportant thing is to stay vigilant in the field because wenow have such a genetically

diverse population of yellowrust that literally almost anything could happen.

Without getting boggeddown in the science, whatwe really need to do is tolook out for the unusual. Ifyou get yellow rust infectinga variety that’s supposed to have good resistance, yellow rust continues to develop when adult resistance should have kickedin, or infections keep goinglate in the season, then alarmbells should start ringing anda sample should be packedoff to NIAB, pronto.

By now you probablyhave a headache but in anutshell, yellow rust ischanging and will continueto do so. All you can practically do is monitorcrops closely and applyfungicides as needed.

So is this Warrior 4 (red), Warrior 3 (blue) or just yellow rust that shouldhave been controlled?


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