page 6 machinery - cpm magazine · 2016-12-05 · white house barn, hanwood, shrewsbury sy5 8lp....

Profitable crops through better management

800ha of crops establishedwith just one mainline tractor

Machinery800ha of crops establishedwith just one mainline tractor

2Page 12Page 6

Three new soft wheats a ‘significant step-up’

Variety choiceThree new soft wheats a ‘significant step-up’

Page 6

Crop Production Magazine July 2008

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

CPM Crop Production Magazine

Editorial & Advertising SalesWhite House Barn, Hanwood, Shrewsbury,Shropshire. SY5 8LP

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

CPM Crop Production Magazine

Advertising CopyBrooks Design, Scotts Mansion, 24 Claremont Hill, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. SY1 1RD

Tel: (01743) 244403Fax: (01743) 244365

Publishing Editor Angus McKirdy

Sub Editor Charlotte Brooks

Writers David JonesWarren LandlesRob JonesJo PalmerMick Roberts

Design and Production Brooks Design

Advertisement Sales Angus McKirdy

Advertisement Co-ordinator Peter Walker

CPM Volume 10 No 6. Editorial, advertising and sales offices are atWhite House Barn, Hanwood, Shrewsbury SY5 8LP.

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

and farm managers in the United Kingdom.

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

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

damage to any unsolicited material, including photographs.

Volume 10 Number 6

July 2008

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

‘New Group 3s a bigstep-up’

Biscuit wheats have fallen from favourin recent years –– but that could allchange with the introduction ofCassius, Viscount and Scout.

4

6

Giving your seed a treat Choosing the right seed treatment couldhelp reduce the autumn workload, as well as boosting crop establishment.

38

Seed dressingsSeed dressings

FeaturesFeatures‘Malting markets now buoyant’

With the UK supply situation for maltingbarley now increasingly tight, therecould be an opportunity to earn goodmargins from the crop once again.

Farming with a difference

One Scottish arable farmer reckonsconservation is now the backbone ofhis business.

Prepared for thechallenge?

Herbicide revocations, high crop prices and the popularity of min-till establishment mean OSR growers need to rethink their weed control tactics this autumn.

44

Survey reveals uncertaintyin post-IPU era

Cereal growers need to learn how to grow their crops without IPU and trifluralin –– without putting extra resistance pressure on Atlantis.

16

Weed control surveyWeed control survey

Crop Production Magazine –– July 2008 3

Min-till system evolvesaround a single tractor

One East Midlands arable enterprisehas geared its entire cultivations programme around a single 300hpChallenger tractor and a 4.5m SimbaSolo cultivator.

Is the RecommendedList still delivering?

OSR growers need to learn how to better interpret RL data, according toseveral plant breeders. HGCA defendsits current variety evaluation process.

No time to move awayfrom min-till?

A recent farmer survey has revealed a significant level of ongoing commitment to min-till –– despite rutted fields galore after last harvest.

Farm smarter tomaintain gross margins

Arable farmers need to be prepared totweak their top dressing rates to stayprofitable next season.

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6

Triazole treatment in both field andbathroomWith harvest now approaching, most cropson the farm are in pretty reasonable shape–– they certainly haven’t been short of precipitation. A rather generous six inches(150mm) of rain fell over a three weekperiod at the end of May/ beginning ofJune which kept them well-watered.

One of Dad’s favourite farming lores was ‘a dripping June keeps things in tune’.Well if that’s the case then the cropsaround here have been dancing to thestrains of a full philharmonic orchestra thisyear. Of course, such a large dollop of rainis not without its downside. Thirty acres ofpeas on heavy land didn’t enjoy havingtheir feet in water while they tried to flower,and consequently look sickly and stunted.

Then there’s the increased septoriapressure in the wheat. In most years, this is usually a dry farm and we try to get away with just two fungicides –– but this year, we went for the full complement of three. Even then, I felt a bit under-protected as I’d heard of otherswho went for a T4 as well (no doubt theyalso had a dabble at T0).

I admit I can be a bit slow off the mark when it comes to my fungicide programmes, but I do wonder how othersfind the time or disease window to applyfour or five wheat fungicides in one spring.

As ever, the mainstay of the fungicideprogramme was triazole chemistry, which

4 Crop Production Magazine –– July 2008

leads me to wonder what my disease control programme might look like if theloons in the EU ban a host of productsunder the current proposals to change the way pesticides are approved.

Word on the street is that if the system is changed from a ‘risk-based’ to a ‘hazard-based’ approach, then most of the triazoles will go. What I findvery curious about this is that triazolefungicides aren’t just used for controllingfungi in crops on-farm, but also on thehuman skin.

A quick read of the small print on thecan of stuff I use to keep athlete’s foot at bay (technically known as ‘welly rot’ inthe Smith household) shows it contains a triazole called imidazole. Even moreintriguing, a quick search on the internetreveals that imidazole is also used to treatvulva-vaginal candidiasis (otherwise knowas thrush). And so, the inevitable questionhas to be asked –– will it just be farmersitching to keep the triazoles? (One is alsotempted to make smutty jokes about T1,T2 and T3 timings but that would just be childish.)

It strikes me that the endless withdrawal of crop protection materialswe’ve experienced over the past ten yearshas more to do with politics than it doeswith science. While the voting public aregiven the impression that pesticides arelittle more than poison and atmosphericpollutants, then it should come as littlesurprise that politicians are tempted to rein in their use as some sort of gesture to the public good.

Hopefully, current concerns about worldfood supply might refocus some of thesegreat minds as to the importance of pesticides –– but one suspects this won’tbe done without a concerted PR campaignto that effect. For too long as an industry,

we’ve preferred to keep quiet about theway we use sprays to control weeds, disease and pests –– rather than gettingon the front foot about their use.Consequently, a vociferous anti-modernfarming lobby has been able to drive the agenda.

Even the very word ‘pesticide’ hasunpleasant negative connotations. Yet it’s interesting to note that, in human medicine, triazoles are described as ‘anti-fungals’. Maybe we should ban theword pesticide from our vocabulary andsimply refer to crop protection materials as weed suppressors, anti-fungals andinsect medicaments.

Email your comments and ideas [email protected]

SMITH’S

SOAPBOX

Please excuse the picture taken on themobile phone but I was so impressed withone of my spray misses that I just had toshare it with you –– it can probably be seen from the moon. As ever, I’m able tojustify such a blunder by reference to thebio-diversity I had created –– a reminderthat farming without weedkillers would be a colourful challenge on my wildmustard-infested soils.

£150 £175 £200 £225 £250 £275 £300 £325 £350 £375 £400

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212 -12 -24 -36 -49 -61 -73 -85 -97 -109 -121

+15 +5 -5 -15 -24 -34 -44 -53 -63 -73 -83

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+36 +30 +24 +18 +12 +6 0 -6 -12 -18 -24

+40 +35 +30 +24 +19 +13 +8 +3 -3 -8 -13

Fertiliser price (£/tonne)

Crop

valu

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/tonn

e)

Adjustments to optimum N rates(kgN/ha) –– winter wheat

Optimal NWith N prices going though theroof, I see various bits of advicesuggesting we should cut N applications by 30-40kg/ha. The shape of the nitrogen yieldresponse curve reminds me that it’sthe first 100kg of N we use thatgives us most the yield.

The question is, to what extentwill this possible reduction in Nusage affect our yields? I imaginethere’s a lot of head scratchinggoing on in the farming community

at present as to how much fertiliser should be bought for use next spring.

Source: Yara

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

A trio of RL candidate Group 3 varieties havecaught the eye of the seed trade and could shift

the balance away from hard wheats in the next couple of years.

By Jo Palmer

‘New Group 3sa big step-up’

‘Scout performed well in both seasons –– producing high yields

across a range of locations and soils.’

espite a potential record wheatharvest this season, there couldstill be a shortage of suitable

grain for biscuit-making during the nexttrading year, with the spread of varietieshaving shifted so dramatically towardshigh yielding Group 4s in recent years.

The hard feed types Alchemy,Gladiator, Duxford, Humber and Oakleynow dominate the overall market, representing around 48% of all certifiedseed sales –– despite accounting for just 15% of the market five years ago(see table on p8).

By contrast, Group 1 has changed


relatively little over the years, with thissector accounting for around 14% thisyear, compared with around 16% at thestart of the decade, and with Group 2peaking at just over 27% in 2005/06 –– dropping back to just under 20%this season.

Dramatic changes“But it’s Group 3 which has seen themost dramatic change,” says Keith Bestof KWS. “Six years ago, these varietiesdominated the market, with Consort and Claire taking a 20% share each.However, since then the sector has seena marked decline –– particularly in thepast two years.”

Group 3 now accounts for just 20% of the total UK wheat market –– falling to a possible low of 16% for harvest ’09,he predicts.

Robigus still leads the group with amarket share of 9.7%, followed by Claireat 4.7%, notes Keith Best. “But there’sbeen very little new in this sector for anumber of years, with Consort now morethan ten years old.”

Claire was first introduced in 1999,with Robigus following in 2003, and withNijinsky and Zebedee coming along in2004 and 2007 respectively, he adds.

But all this could change with threepromising new Group 3 varieties on theRL Candidate List this year –– Viscountfrom KWS, Cassius from Nickersons and Scout from Senova.

“We decided to fast-track Viscount this year to enable growers to try it out.There’s enough seed available to takearound a 4.5-5% market share next season and we reckon it could do 20-25% in a few years time.”

Future potentialMark Dodds, KWS UK wheat breeder,outlines Viscount’s characteristics andexplains why the company is so bullishabout its future potential. “The UK market has been waiting for a Group 3soft wheat with a good all-round agronomy package for a number of years now and we think Viscount ticks all the boxes.

“With parent lines, Robigus andCanterbury, it’s the highest yieldingGroup 3 on the current candidate list –– outperforming Robigus by 6%.Moreover, it’s only 1% behind the high output Group 4, Oakley, in terms of its yield.”

Viscount has performed consistentlywell across all regions, he claims.

D

s

http://www.kws-uk.com

“Viscount ticks all the right boxes,”according to Keith Best.

“Some varieties, such as Claire, don’tyield as well in the HGCA’s north regionas they do in the east and west, butViscount came out on top wherever it was grown.”

Different seasonsThe variety has given consistent yieldsover the past two, very different seasons,he continues. “In the first year ofNational List trials, when the weatherwas very hot in June and July 2006,some varieties really struggled, butViscount still managed to achieve a yieldscore of 106%. And in the following year,which was very different weather-wise, it yielded an impressive 108%.”

It’s also been the top performer in itsclass in independent trials, conducted by TAG and SAC, he adds.

Viscount has a good all-round disease package, as have the other twocandidate varieties, says Mark Dodds.

“It’s resistant to both brown and yellowrust, with moderate resistance to mildewand Septoria tritici, and it has the advantage of wheat orange blossommidge (WOBM) resistance.

“The problem with midge is that you never know when or where it willstrike –– so the most effective method of avoiding the pest is to grow a resistant variety.”

In terms of its management, Viscounthas very stiff, reasonably short straw(6cm less than Robigus) making it theshortest of the three candidates, he continues. “Moreover, it offers highyields, with good premiums bred-in.

“Its protein, Hagberg and specificweight are similar to Robigus but with ahigher thousand grain weight.” Duringtwo years of NABIM biscuit-making evaluations, Viscount has looked verypromising and is likely to secure a ratingfrom BCE, he predicts.

“It’s certainly generated a lot of interest from the market, with end-userskeen to get their hands on significanttonnages.”

The breeder, Nickersons, is similarlypositive about its Group 3 candidate variety, Cassius, although only a limitedamount of seed will be available fordrilling this autumn, says the company.

“There’s enough seed available to supply about 1% of the market next season,” says Bill Angus, senior wheatbreeder for Nickersons.

He points out that Cassius has aninteresting pedigree of Wizard andAlchemy. “Wizard is a progeny ofConsort, whereas Viscount is derivedfrom Robigus.

‘Genetic diversity’“The fact that Cassius isn’t derived from Robigus offers more genetic diversity –– thereby avoiding vulnerabilityto just a single genetic route. That meansits resistance will hopefully hold up better in the long term.”

Cassius has a high treated yield potential of 105%-6% above Claire, 4% above Robigus, and just 1-2%behind Viscount, says Bill Angus. “It alsohas a high untreated rating of 112%,reflecting its excellent disease profile.”Cassius scores 9 for both yellow andbrown rust, and 7 and 6 for mildew andSeptoria tritici respectively.

The variety fits in well with the otherGroup 3s, with an option to drill early(i.e. from the beginning of September)–– a timing that doesn’t suit Viscount,

Table 1: Certified seed stats –– by group (%)% share Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

2001-02 16.2 8.7 54.9 15.4

2002-03 16.3 12.8 48.6 18.7

2003-04 14.4 18.4 48.4 15

2004-05 11.6 23.3 46.1 17.5

2005-06 11.1 27.1 38.8 20

2006-07 14.3 20.6 28.1 36.4

2007-08 13.7 18.3 19.7 47.5

2008-09* 12.7 19.6 16.4 47.3

Source: NIAB * KWS projection

Table 2: Group 3 candidate varieties –– in summaryViscount Cassius Scout

Mildew 6 7 6

Yellow rust 9 9 9

Brown rust 9 9 9

Septoria tritici 6 6 6

Eyespot (6) (4) (8)

OWBM resistance yes no yes

Lodging without PGR (%) 2 1 1

Lodging with PGR (%) 2 1 1

Height without PGR (cm) 84 88 91

Treated yield (% reference crops) 107 105 103

Untreated yield (% reference crops) 113 112 111

UK marketing agent KWS Nickerson Senova

Endosperm texture soft soft soft

Protein content (%) 11.2 11.4 11.9

Hagberg Falling Number 242 215 262

Specific weight (kg/hl) 77.5 76.0 79.0

Source: HGCA RL candidate trials ( ) = limited data from one year only


s

Cassius has an untreated yield rating of112%, reflecting its excellent disease profile,says Bill Angus.

notes Bill Angus. “Cassius has a slowprimordial growth rate in the spring, like Alchemy, and good standing abilitywhich makes it potentially suitable forthe early sowing slot.”

It also looks to be a useful secondwheat, with stiffer straw than Viscount,he adds.

“Cassius is likely to be used in both domestic and export markets, being well suited for the animal feed, biscuit, distilling and export sectors. In preliminary tests, the variety hasshown good dough extensibility andwater absorption for biscuit flour, andhas given positive results for distilling.”

‘Gold standard’Bill Angus predicts that Claire will be“around for a while yet” since it’s still the“gold standard biscuit wheat”, havingbeen a consistent performer since itslaunch almost ten years ago, he says.“It’s just as robust from a disease pointof view now as it was back then –– andit’s well suited to early drilling too.”

The final Group 3 candidate is Scoutfrom Senova, which has superior graincharacteristics to Viscount and Cassius,

according to commercial director, Jeremy Taylor.

“It has a high Hagberg Falling Numberand a very high specific weight of 79kg/hl.Moreover, it’s performed well in millingtests to date, with initial indications suggesting the variety may be suitablefor distilling as well –– although furthertests are required.”

Scout achieved an average treatedyield rating of 103% and an untreatedyield of 111% in Candidate Listing trialsover the past two years –– 2% higherthan Robigus, he notes. “It performedwell in both seasons, producing highyields across a range of locations andsoil types.”

Scout has very stiff straw and good,all-round disease resistance –– includingexcellent resistance to the rusts, andmoderate resistance to mildew andSeptoria tritici, he says. “Moreover, with arating of 8 for eyespot, it’s the best of thethree candidate varieties in this respect(compared with 6 and 4 respectively forViscount and Cassius).

“Lastly, Scout makes a good secondwheat which can be sown anytime from mid-September onwards –– with

the added bonus of orange wheat blossom midge resistance as well.”

Buoyant grain prices and soaring input costs mean growers need to be firmly focused on variety performance,profitability and end markets –– favouringthe types which provide the best all-roundcombination of agronomy and marketability,

s


http://www.senova.uk.com

The plant breeder, Nickersons, is entering a record number of candidate varieties forconsideration for next year’s RecommendedList, it says.

“We have six new winter wheat varietiesand one spring wheat in the RecommendedList candidate trials this year which is probably some kind of record,” says Lee Robinson, cereals product manager forNickersons. “It certainly widens the choicefarmers will have from 2009 onwards, and itincludes some interesting options –– the firstone being the OBM-resistant breadmakingvariety, Qplus.”

Wheat breeder, Bill Angus, points out thatQplus is awaiting further breadmaking trialsfollowing this year’s harvest. “It needs to getGroup 1 status to gain acceptance and if itdoes, it will be a useful partner to growalongside Solstice.”

Qplus’ parentage is Solstice and Robigus–– the latter being an excellent source ofWOBM resistance, he notes. “That meansfoliar insecticides are no longer needed toguard against the pest in milling crops.”

The variety also has an excellent diseaseprofile –– particularly against the rusts and septoria, says Bill Angus. “But there’s no seed available for the coming seasonunfortunately.”

However, seed stocks of the new, high yielding Group 2 Panorama are stillavailable, he continues. “Bred from Solsticeand Xi19, Panorama is a high quality varietywith good yields.

“It’s a hard endosperm variety with goodbreadmaking potential, a high specific weight(78.3kg/hl) and a good Hagberg FallingNumber (288).”

In candidate variety trials, it yielded 105%treated and 108% untreated –– the best performance of all varieties in this year’sbread-making group. “It’s similar to Solsticein agronomic terms but it doesn’t suit early drilling.”

Panorama has an excellent disease profile, with a 7 for mildew, 9 for yellow rust, 8 for brown rust and 5 for septoria, he claims.

Another candidate for Group 2 is Walpole

–– a stiff strawed, soft endosperm variety, he continues. “Walpole looks a lot like Xi19in the field, and is well suited to the secondwheat slot. It has a good yield potential(104%) and a well-rounded disease resistance profile –– with an 8 for mildew, 9 for yellow rust, 8 for brown rust and 5 for septoria.”

Walpole is awaiting further breadmakingtests and stocks will be available for seed production only this autumn, says Lee Robinson.

Nickersons also has two candidate Group 4 varieties this year, the first of which,Lear (Robigus x Nijinsky), offers a uniquecombination of very high yields, OBM resistance and robust septoria resistance, he says. “Lear offers a ‘get out of jail card’if fungicide treatments are delayed, or if thedose rates too low.”

The variety has a high treated yield potential of 106% and has been a consistent performer over a number of years, he concludes.

‘Record number of candidates’

http://www.simba.co.uk

Wheat growers should belooking for high yielding varieties first and foremostto maximise their returns next season, claims NewFarm Crops.

“Farmers tend to respond to high commodity prices by putting more of their land down to high yieldingGroup 4 varieties,” says NFC key account manager,Samantha Smith.

“Market figures show thatwhen wheat was £60/t, moreGroup 2 and 3 varieties werebeing grown. But with prices asthey are at present, growerswill be switching back to highyielding types –– and thatmeans Group 4s.”

But not all Group 4s perform well in every situation–– for example, as first andsecond wheats, on all soiltypes and in all geographiclocations, she claims.“Duxford is a very versatile,high yielding, hard milling variety with a yield rating of 106% on the currentRecommended List –– 2%higher than Alchemy and 3%higher than Gladiator.”

It has performed consistentlywell in all geographical locations, says SamanthaSmith. “For example, it yielded105% in the HGCA’s northregion, 106% in both the east

and the west, and 108% in the south.”

Moreover, it’s now the leading second wheat on theRL with a yield rating of 108%,she notes. “Einstein andGladiator are regarded as goodsecond wheats, but Duxfordactually produces 3% moreyield in this slot.”

Lodging resistance is a key characteristic to look forin a high yielding variety, she continues. “Average yield losses due to lodging can beas high as 28% –– equivalentto around £370/ha at currentprices.

“Although Duxford is 93cmtall, it has a very low lodgingrisk –– both with or without aPGR. You therefore only needa standard PGR programme.”

Originally evaluated as aGroup 2 variety, Duxford hasboth gristing potential and goodgrain quality –– which mayopen up some premium markets, she claims. “Highyielding varieties often havelow proteins but Duxford has a protein of 13.3% and aHagberg Falling Number of 295.”

With its combination of a high yield and stiff straw,Duxford could take around3.5% of the UK winter wheat market next season,predicts NFC.

‘Opt for a Group 4 instead’

says Sarah Nightingale ofBritish Cereals Exports.

She stresses that Group 3varieties are still the mainstay of the UKS (soft wheat) brand.“UKS is a blend of soft extensible varieties with good biscuit-making and bread-blending characteristics.There’s now a well establishedmarket for the brand, andgrowers need to support thesevarieties to some degree tomaintain its export profile.

“Even if the bioethanol market takes a proportion ofthis year’s wheat crop, UK

exporters will still be sellingUKS wheat to establishedmarkets in southern Europeand North Africa –– and buyers in these countries arekeen to stick with UK-sourcedwheat.”

With a 16Mt UK wheat harvest predicted this year, itcould lead to a 3Mt surplus ––hence the export market willbe key to maintaining prices in the other sectors, she says.

“It’s likely that our wheatexports will increase to 2.6Mtnext trading season –– upfrom 1.17Mt this season.” n

s

http://www.nickersonseeds.co.uk/claire

An 800ha arable enterprise in the East Midlandsuses just one tracked tractor for nearly all of itsdrilling and cultivating operations. But it took

time and planning to reach the current level of efficiency.

By Mick Roberts

one of the land farmed by the family-owned Leyfields enterprise,based near Newark in Notts, has

been ploughed for the past five years. After starting min-tilling eleven years

ago, the farm has continually refined itscropping techniques to match not only thesoils, but the economic climate as well.

“Ploughing and conventional cultivations just don’t suit our mainly silty clay loam land,” says farm managerand company director, Peter White. “Wemoved to min-tilling because traditionalestablishment methods were proving too slow and costly –– requiring higherseed rates and more slug control, and producing poor germination as well.

“In truth, the list of drawbacks goes further than that, but most arable farmerswill recognise the problems.”

The farm operates a simple rotation of

N

Min-till system evolvesaround a single tractor

two wheats followed by oilseed rape ––geared to the production of high yielding,‘barn filling’ varieties for a local feed mill,he says.

“Most of our wheat ends up in poultryrations and we’re able to deliver this ourselves throughout the winter. Thiskeeps the staff busy in the winter monthsand it means we’re able to justify havingwheeled tractors on the farm as well forcarting grain in the summer, and for othersmaller cultivation and crop-rolling tasks.”

His aim is to grow a yield average of atleast 10t/ha for both first and secondwheats. “Our main varieties are Einsteinand Timber this year, but we’re also growing smaller, trial areas of Monty and Humber as well.

Timber has just the right characteristicsto perform well as a second wheat, hebelieves. “In between crops, we usuallyapply poultry manure to the stubble toboost the fertility, and we look to controltake-all by using Latitude (silthiofam), as well as by not drilling these crops too early.”

‘After years of min-tilling, the landhas become much more friable.’

OSR usually yields about 4.5t/ha,although that wasn’t the case last year, he admits. “However, it still did 4t/ha+which is pretty respectable.” The mainrape varieties grown are Castille, Ovationand the hybrid, Flash. “All of these cropsare sold for general crushing –– usually to Frontier.”

Four-year-old ChallengerAll of the establishment now centresaround a four-year-old Challenger MT 755,equipped with AutoGuide self-steering.This carries out all the establishment work,with primary cultivations being performedby a two-year-old 4.5m Simba Solo ST450, followed by a 6.6m Simba Unipress.

The MT 755 also sows all of the wheatand rape using a 6m Horsch Sprinter drill.

After spending the past decade tweaking and refining the system, Peter White reckons it’s now just about as efficient as it could be for his soils and circumstances. “We initially startedout using a Challenger 45, cultivating with a set of Simba 23C discs and aCultipress, with subsoiling carried out in a separate operation, followed by a SimbaFreeflow drill.”

This then evolved in 2004 when thefarm switched to a new Challenger MT755 and a 3.3m Simba Solo, followed by a secondary pass with a Simba Cultipress.

“The move to the first Solo essentiallycut out two passes, then two years ago, weswitched to a new 4.5m Solo ST becausethe previous Solo was a bit too aggressive–– tending to leave an un-level finish.

“But the ST now leaves a firmer, leveller


s

http://www.nickersonseeds.co.uk/alchemy

Peter White has spent the past decaderefining his crop establishment regime to the current one-pass system.

surface, which is ideally followed by aUnipress –– much cheaper and faster to run than the Cultipress.

“We also have a 6m Horsch FG cultivator that can be used in wetter seasons, to move in quickly and startincorporating the wet, chopped straw.” A 3.8m Flatliner is used for any deepersoil conditioning, where required, he adds.

After years of min-tilling, the land hasbecome much more friable –– enablingPeter White to not only eliminate the needto tow the Cultipress behind the Solo ST,but also to cut out the need for an extracultivation pass in many situations as well.

“The ST was introduced at a time whenwe’d already been min-tilling for years, sothe soil structure was greatly improved.The problem with the more catchy autumnweather we’re getting nowadays is that theground following the standard Solo tinestended to settle too much following rain.”

The ST tines work better in more moist conditions –– albeit with an ability to penetrate harder soils where needed, he comments.

In addition to switching over to the STcultivator, Peter White also decided toincrease the implement width to 4.5m,compared with the original machine’s

3.3m –– still keeping within the MT 755’s300hp maximum power capability.

The tractor is on a ‘five year manager’service and maintenance contract, supplied by his dealer Chandlers atBelton, Lincs.

“We’ve had very few problems with thetractor and I’m very pleased with the service from the dealer. This is very important –– particularly when you’re relying on just one mainline tractor.Chandlers is a family-owned business and the service is very good.”

Tine depth is keyThe output and fuel consumption verymuch depend on how deep the tines areset, he continues. “We’re running the STtined Solo shallower than the previousmachine and the new set-up is coveringabout 3ha/hr, with an average fuel consumption of about 53 l/hr which issimilar to before,” he explains (see box on opposite page).

But while the farm has changed cultivators a few times in the past decade,the choice of tractor brand has remainedconstant. “We first started on tracks withthe Challenger 45 when we initiallyswitched to min-till.

“Tracks are definitely the best optionwhen working the ground from the topdown. As well as putting down more powerwith less compaction, they also make iteasier to move the tractor on the road.

“Wheeled tractors of this power must run on dual wheels and it’s simplyimpractical to keep taking them off and on to move to a different field.”

The change from the original Challenger45 to a new generation MT 755 was, hesays, like ‘chalk and cheese’. “There’sreally no comparison.

“I have a great operator, Adam Swan,who’s as happy with the machine today as he was when it was first delivered. The tractors do need a good operator and Adam really gets the most out of all the technology it provides.”

The tractor is usually operated in the ‘Constant Speed’ mode setting on the Power Management system. “This provides the power we need with the optimum level of fuel efficiency, and theoperating economy is further enhanced by the AutoGuide self-steering feature.

“I’m very pleased with the system –– I reckon it saves us at least 10% in fuelcosts, and provides the same increase in operating efficiency.” He adds that the AutoGuide option has “paid for itselfseveral times over”.

The 4.5m Simba Solo ST 450 is equippedwith a heavy DD ring packer roll whichmeans the Cultipress is no longer needed.

The on-board GPS signal for self-steering also provides the opportunity tovary the seed rates to match the soil type.“To do this, the drill’s control box receivesits positional information from theChallenger’s AutoSteer system and variesthe seed rate via a small Trimble Nomad‘Palm’ type device, equipped withFarmworks Farm Site Mate software.

“The seed rates can vary by as much as 25% across the farm, explainsPeter White. “However, it isn’t designed to save seed –– the main goal is to even out the seed rates to match thechanging soil type.”

In 2002, a French firm, Infoterra, provided him with the first satellite imagesof the farm. “These came to us in earlyFebruary and I could immediately pick outall the different soil types across the farm.

“The key is to grow a better, decentplant on the stronger areas of each fieldand I guess that varying the seed rate isour first step towards precision farming.Our soils vary dramatically, with four or fivedifferent types across individual fields.”

His aim is to set one background seedrate and then increase or decrease in percentage steps to match the soils.“Another benefit of the Farmworks software is that the seed requirements are calculated automatically.

“Although our intention wasn’t to saveseed, we’ve actually reduced our usagerates from 250 to 150 seeds/m2 in someareas –– saving around 15% on costs.”

Last season, the farm also started yieldmapping but because of the inclementweather, Peter White feels the data wasn’tas good as it could’ve been and is lookingforward to better information –– andweather –– this harvest.

Variable seed rates“I started by varying the seed rates, ratherthan fertiliser applications, simply becauseyou need to have a crop there in the first place. The first digital images I sawmatched the soil types exactly and showedprecisely the condition of the crops ––thicker on the better soils and thinner onthe heavier, poorer land.”

First wheat seed rates now vary from110 to 140kg/ha, and from 150 to185kg/ha for second wheat. Oilseed rape seed rates vary from 2.5 to3.75kg/ha, with the aim of establishingaround 50 plants/m2.

Cultivations start straight behind thecombine although on some land, this hasto wait until the chicken manure has beenapplied. Stale seedbeds are prepared


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Farm FactsLeyfields KneesallNewarkNotts

l Area: 800ha arable

l Rotation: Wheat, wheat, oilseed rape

l Varieties:Wheat:Timber, EinsteinMonty, Humber (in trials this year)Oilseed rape:Castille, Flash, Ovation

l Main establishment equipment:Tractors:300hp Challenger MT755 John Deere 7710 John Deere 7530Cultivators:4.5m Simba 450 ST Solo6.6m Simba Unipress3.8m Simba Flatliner subsoiler8.2m Simba Cambridge rolls6.0m Horsch FG cultivator

Drill: 6m Horsch Sprinter

Combine: John Deere S690i

Sprayer:Multidrive 6185 Knight spray pack with 30m booms

Challenger MT 755 workratesImplement Working speed Workrate Fuel consumption

Simba 450 ST (4.5m) 7-9km/hr 3ha/hr 53 l/hr

Horsch CO6 drill (6m) Up to 14km/hr 5ha/hr 46 l/hr

Adam Swan uses Farmworks Farm SiteMate software to vary seed rates on themove according to changing soil types.

using the Solo –– mixing the straw into the top 10cm of soil. The conditioning legs are set to between 12-25cm –– at a depth to suit the conditions in the field,says Peter White.

“If there’s any doubt, I’ll check first by digging a hole in the ground with a spade.”

The ST cultivator’s legs are generallyworking shallower than those on the previous Solo 330, he continues. “And the current cultivator has a rear DD ring packer which provides adequateconsolidation without the need to towan additional set of rolls.”

Depending on the soil conditions andseason, most land will require anotherpass with the Unipress before drilling, he says. “We still can’t quite get the consistency of seedbed quality we’d likeon the heavier land without this pass.”

The MT 755 and Solo ST 450 have thecapacity to get all the land cultivated ingood time prior to the start of drilling, heclaims. “Rape is usually sown with theSprinter in the first ten days of Septemberbecause we prefer that the crop isn’t toofar forward in the autumn.”

The rape then has a pre-emergence

treatment with Springbok (dimethenamid+metazachlor) for weed control, as well as35kg/ha of liquid nitrogen to encouragestraw breakdown and provide an earlyboost for the crop.

After establishing the rape, theChallenger then switches to drilling thewheats after the seedbeds have beensprayed off with glyphosate.

“We’re hoping the yield maps will confirm that variable seed rates are indeed helping to even up the cropsacross all of our soil types. After that, we’llbe investigating ways to vary our fertiliserrates as well.” n


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



espite the fact that less than one-third of growers have stocks of IPU and trifluralin in their spray

sheds for use this autumn, most remainuncertain as to how they can farm withoutthese two key herbicides.

That’s one of the alarming conclusionsof a survey, featured in the May issue ofCPM. It showed that virtually every one ofthe almost 200 respondents –– farming a total of 60,000+ha from Devon to Fife –– are aware that this is the last autumnthey can use IPU.

However, most appear confused as towhat they’ll use as an IPU replacement ––with Crystal (flufenacet+ pendimethalin),chlorotoluron, diflufenican, Liberator (flufenacet+ DFF) and pendimethalin allscoring highly as potential options withinan autumn blackgrass control programme.

One thing is for sure –– where blackgrass is the key grassweed target,

The loss of IPU and trifluralin is an undeniableblow to cereal growers. But trials show that an

equivalent level of control can be achieved usingalternative chemistry –– for little or no extra cost.

By Rob Jones

‘Virtually every agronomist is devising strategies to maintain

the potency of Atlantis for as long as possible.’

D

Survey reveals uncertaintyin post-IPU era

Atlantis (mesosulfuron+ iodosulfuron) isthe preferred late season contact material,with 87% of respondents saying they used the product last year, and with 67%reporting that they intended to use it this autumn.

Anti-resistance strategiesWhile this is to be expected, bearing inmind Atlantis’ strengths in this regard, italso raises concerns over its continuedefficacy. Consequently, virtually everyagronomist and field advisor is devisingstrategies to maintain its potency for aslong as possible, with most seeing olderactives such as chlorotoluron (CTU) anddiflufenican (DFF) as key (i.e. to be usedin sequence with Atlantis).

According to Hutchinsons’ technical

Hurricane weed control survey winnerCongratulations to Martin Jenkins ofChilderley Farm, Dry Drayton, Cambs,the winner of our best practice weed control survey prize draw.

He wins 100ha worth of Hurricane(diflufenican), courtesy of MakhteshimAgan, which will be delivered to his farm in time for this autumn’s spraycampaign.

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http://www.dekalb.co.uk


Dick Neale reckons 90% of IPU treatmentshave been targeted mainly at annualmeadowgrass in recent years.

One product expected to gain a new lease of life is chlorotoluron, predicts Stuart Hill,technical manager for Makhteshim Agan.

His message couldn’t be simpler. “If annual meadowgrass is your number oneweed target, replace IPU with CTU.”

Chlorotoluron was first introduced back in the ‘80s –– then marketed as Dicuraneas a pre- and post-emergence product. “But nowadays, it’s available in a range of formulations –– including highly concentrated wetable dried granules, such as Tolurex 90WDG –– providing an alternative mode of contact to IPU and residual activity as well.”

Stuart Hill points out that, over the pastfew years, the majority of IPU usage hasbeen on lighter-to-medium bodied land tocontrol annual meadow grass (AMG) and a range of broadleaf weeds.

“IPU was traditionally mixed with diflufenican in this situation, with the usage

rate adjusted to suit the AMG population. All the evidence suggests that DFF rates will continue at their current level in this scenario, with the IPU component simplybeing replaced with chlorotoluron.”

The optimum timing for AMG control isearly post-emergence –– a treatment timingthat often coincides with the BYDV spray, he says.

By using rates of 1,000-1,500g CTU/haplus 0.1 l/ha Hurricane (DFF), growers can gain robust yet cost-effective control ofAMG, chickweed, mayweed, pansy, poppy,speedwell, nettle and groundsel.

Trials show this CTU/DFF combinationwill be just as effective as the IPU/DFF products (e.g. Panther, Javelin) which are no longer available, claims Stuart Hill.

“By switching from traditional IPU usagerates to the same amount of chlorotoluron,growers can expect a similar level of controlof these common weeds.

“However, being more firmly bound to thesoil particles than IPU, chlorotoluron willstay in the top 2-5cm of the soil profile forlonger –– giving more prolonged control.”

IPU has also been used early post-emergence (following a pre-emergencetreatment) in some blackgrass situationswhere there’s been a need for a holdingspray, he continues. “It helped to reduce theburden of blackgrass prior to the follow-upAtlantis treatment.” CTU applied at a rate ofup to 3,500g/ha is a good alternative to IPUin this situation, he adds.

“Work is ongoing to investigate the benefitof CTU in blackgrass programmes but it’swell documented that the higher rates ofchlorotoluron will give enhanced control ofwild oats than IPU has done.”

“It’s simply a case of revisiting more traditional actives that have stood the test of time but which –– largely due to the pastsuccess of IPU –– have been less in vogue.

New lease of life?

manager, Dick Neale, 90% of the IPU used in recent years has been targeted primarily at controlling annualmeadowgrass (AMG).

However, now the herbicide has all butdisappeared from the spray shed, growersneedn’t be too concerned as 100% AMGcontrol is still achievable using a mix ofexisting active ingredients, he says.

His advice for this autumn is for farmersto sit down with their agronomist to plannew control strategies, and to make product selections in good time. “Goodpreparation is the key to delivering thebest AMG control and in so doing, address

other problem weeds by selecting themost appropriate mixtures.

“While IPU was a cheap ‘base product’ in the herbicide armoury, areplacement programme with the rightcombination of mixes and timingsshouldn’t cost too much more –– especially if you choose products which last through until the spring.

“It’s probably a case of spending moreup front in the early autumn to tackle the whole anticipated weed spectrum.”

Dick Neale believes growers havemoved more towards the pre-emergencetiming for controlling difficult weeds ––

Growers with meadowgrasses as their main grassweed control priority have a new product to consider for this autumn.

Othello (mesosulfuron+ iodosulfuron+diflufenican) offers both contact and residual control of weeds from the post-emergence timing through until GS31.“The product is best applied under goodgrowing conditions before the weeds gettoo well tillered,” says product manager,Tim Holt of Bayer CropScience.

Othello has been specifically designedto replace the company’s IPU-based products, Panther and Javelin, for the control of annual meadowgrass, rough-

stalked meadowgrass and broadleaf weedsin winter wheat, he says.

“Othello has a good broadleaf weed spectrum including chickweed, mayweed,field speedwell, field pansy, groundsel, red dead-nettle, shepherd’s purse, charlockand volunteer oilseed rape.” It also provides useful activity on cleavers but “not enough to claim season-long control,”he admits.

He also stresses that the product isn’t meant to be used on blackgrass orryegrass. “In this situation, a programme of Liberator followed by Atlantis will workfar better.”

Tim Holt claims Othello is the only herbicide available specifically for controllingAMG at the tillering stage. “In trials where itwas applied to meadowgrass at betweenGS21-23, 100% control was achieved andwhen its application was delayed untilbeyond GS23, it still provided a high levelof control.”

Othello has a novel ODesi (i.e. oil dispersion) formulation which helps with spray retention, spread and uptake on the leaf –– making it rainfast in just two hours, he claims. “However, the product still requires the addition of the adjuvant, Biopower.”

Othello an option for tillering AMG?


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with some existing actives capable ofdoing a better job at this timing for thesame cost, he says.

“Product combinations will depend onwhat broadleaf weeds predominate in thefield, with the annual meadowgrass spraycreating an opportunity to get on top ofweeds such as groundsel and cranesbillwhich have largely slipped through theIPU-based programmes used previously.”

A key IPU replacement in AMG situations is chlorotoluron, he believes.“Provided you’re growing tolerant varieties,it should be the cornerstone of the earlymixes.” He says he’ll be encouraging hisgrowers to use CTU at the pre-em timing,rather than post-em, wherever possible.

DFF is a valuable mixer product forCTU, with growers used to applyingaround 20-50g/ha DFF to gain control of most broadleaf weeds, reckons DickNeale. “Increasing the rate to 100g/ha will allow you to pick up groundsel andcranesbill as well.”

The choice of product to deliver the DFF depends on individual weed pressures, and also the width of the weed spectrum, he continues. “UsingDFF, tank-mixed with flurtamone or

flufenacet, enhances the performance and the weed spectrum controlled, whilea pendimethalin+ piclinafen (i.e. PicoPro)mixer with the CTU will strengthen thelevel of speedwell, pansy, groundsel and AMG control.”

Light land tactics“In many circumstances, this may be all that’s required in terms of weed control on the lighter soils where annual meadowgrass is the main target grassweed. If not, a low dose ofsulfonyl-urea –– with or without fluroxypyr–– can be employed in the spring.”

If growers do miss the pre-em or earlypost-em spray window, then “all is notlost”, believes Dick Neale. “An excellentalternative is to use Othello on tilleringAMG –– it’s a very robust control optionwhen used at the post-em timing” (alsosee panel at foot of p18).

“Moreover, it’s an ideal product to use where the variety being grown isn’tCTU tolerant.”

TAG research development director, Stuart Knight agrees that those with AMGas their key grassweed control targetshould be able to switch from IPU and still

get good results. “The challenge will be toachieve this for a similar cost, at the sametime as controlling common broadleafweeds, such as chickweed, mayweedsand groundsel.” He stresses the importance of an early spray timing to get the most cost-effective results.

“AMG should be targeted early either

Stuart Knight stresses the need to use anearly spray to achieve the most cost-effectiveresults on AMG.



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http://www.certiseurope.co.uk

Dow AgroSciences is currently awaiting PSD approval for its new graminicide, pyroxusulam, which it plans to formulatewithin two new wheat herbicides –– one of which could challenge Atlantis’market-leading position in the next fewyears, claims the company.

The first (codenamed GF 2070) will beaimed at the blackgrass sector, with the second (codenamed GF 1364) to be targeted at the spring wild oat, ryegrass and brome market. However, it’s unlikely that GF 2070 will be rubber-stamped byPSD in time for this autumn, admits Dow.

“Pyroxusulam is a contact-acting herbicide with no residual activity, and itshows a good effect on a range of grass and broadleaf weeds,” claims companyagronomist, Stuart Jackson. The optimumlevel of performance is achieved when theweeds are actively growing, he adds.

GF 2070 is a mixture of pyroxsulamand an as-yet-undeclared residual partner,targeted mainly at the autumn blackgrassmarket, he says. “We’ve attained an equivalent level of blackgrass control toAtlantis in field trials.

“Moreover, brome control was the sameas Atlantis and Attribut (propoxycarbazone-sodium) in the trials, and ryegrass controlwas similar to Atlantis, Grasp (tralkoxadim)and Hussar (iodosulfuron).”

Although GF 2070 isn’t active on annualmeadowgrass, it does have some limitedeffect on rough-stalked meadowgrass, so it’s likely GF 2070 will become an Atlantisalternative, rather than a substitute for IPU,notes Stuart Jackson.

He stresses that GF 2070 will need to beused in a programme following a residualpre-treatment to protect its longevity. “Butpyroxsulam’s short half-life gives it afavourable profile from the point of view ofherbicide planning within a mixed rotation.”

He predicts that there shouldn’t be anyspecific cultivation requirements following

application, with good list of following crops likely to be on the label –– includingcereals, oilseed rape, beans, brassicas,grass, sugar beet and peas.

“Although it’s not classified in the sulfonylurea herbicide group, pyroxsulamhas a similar ALS- inhibiting mode of actionto Atlantis, and will be subject to the sameherbicide sequence restrictions.”

GF 1364, which contains pyroxsulam andflorasulam (i.e. the same active as Boxer) isa “one-shot product” for cleaning up grassand broadleaf weeds in the spring –– but notblackgrass, admits Stuart Jackson.

“In addition to wild oats, ryegrass andbrome, GF 1364 will also control cleavers,speedwells, mayweeds, field pansy andbrassica weeds in wheat –– plus a numberof other broadleaf weeds as well.” Bothactive ingredients are effective on cleavers,he notes.

Stuart Jackson claims GF 1364 has given an equivalent level of control of wildoats to Atlantis and Topik (clodinafop) in trials, with superior control of ryegrass whencompared with Atlantis, Grasp and Hussar.“On brome, it was better than Atlantis,Monitor (sulfosulfuron) and Attribut.”

Both products will require the addition ofan adjuvant to optimise their performance inthe field, and trials are being conducted toassess the best options, he concludes.

Atlantis challenger?

Identify the type of brome present beforedeciding on the best control tactics to use,says Stuart Knight.

“GF 2070 will challenge Atlantis’ marketdominance in the coming years once it getsPSD approval,” says Stuart Jackson.

pre-emergence or at GS11-12 of the crop and there are a number of optionsavailable to the grower.

“Those who are used to applying anearly post-emergence mix of IPU withdiflufenican or pendimethalin can probablyachieve similar control of pre-tillering AMG using a mix of CTU with DFF or pendimethalin.”

He notes that this does rely on growersselecting CTU-tolerant varieties, but reckons it could prove cost-effective if the CTU is similarly priced to IPU. “CTU can also be a useful component of ryegrass and wild oat control strategies,and it could be a good choice where thereare mixed grassweed populations as well.”

Stuart Knight reckons an application of flufenacet+ diflufenican (Liberator) orflufenacet+ pendimethalin (Crystal) “atless than a full dose” can also work well atthese early timings –– although these arelikely to be less cost-effective at the higherdoses needed to control larger AMG.“Prosulfocarb is another option to controlAMG pre-emergence.”

At the later spray timings (i.e. onceAMG has started to tiller), he sees the sulfonylurea-based herbicides as the mostlikely alternative to IPU. “Othello is onesuch option and although other premiumproducts, such as Atlantis, can be used atless than a full dose, this may furtherincrease the cost of the treatment.

“It all depends on your system of spraying, and which other weeds are present. But a lot of growers will want to control annual meadowgrass at an early timing.”

Blackgrass control is a more complexissue and will be a key concern on-farmthis autumn. “Whilst Atlantis will be thecornerstone of many spray programmes,this may not be the case in the longerterm –– and we certainly shouldn’t rely on it alone.”

‘Key platform’Pre- or peri-emergence treatment with a flufenacet-based herbicide will be a key platform for control in this situation, he believes. “This spray is essential nowadays, and HGCA-funded trials arecurrently looking at how best we can usesequences and mixtures of herbicides atthese early timings to maximise the level of blackgrass control achieved.“With IPU and trifluralin disappearing,we’re struggling to find an alternative for



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the early post-emergence ‘holding’role before later applications ofAtlantis. However, as the herbicide options continue toweaken, we must be prepared to look at cultural options muchmore closely.”

Delaying the drilling date is an important, if unpopular, tool and growers may also needto be more flexible with their cultivation strategies in future,continues Stuart Knight. “Wherethe level of blackgrass control in the current crop has beengood, non-inversion tillage makes sense.

“But where this isn’t the case,growers may need to considerploughing down high blackgrasspopulations and starting again.”

Stuart Knight also urges growers to give careful thought to cultivation and herbicidestrategies for brome. “With sterile brome, the quick way out of a fix is usually to plough –– although this may not be ashelpful where dormant seed from a previous year is returnedto the surface.

“With soft, meadow or ryebrome, the seed should be lefton the surface for a month or so after harvest to reduce the risk of dormancy.”

Blackgrass adviceDick Neale’s advice on blackgrass is to utilise Atlantis or Pacifica (mesosulfuron+iodosulfuron) at the most appropriate timing, and insequence with an appropriatepre-em herbicide.

“Atlantis should be appliedwhen the blackgrass is small and actively growing –– ataround the 2-3 leaf stage. As this is still our most effectivepost-em blackgrass product, it must be used in a robustsequence and based around this optimum timing.”

He admits to having seensome control issues from blackgrass herbicides in recenttimes which are difficult toexplain and believes this isbecoming a serious issue in several counties. “Growers needto take this situation seriously

and pay particular attention toherbicide sequencing, as well as manipulating cultivations,stale seedbeds and drilling dates, to ensure the weed is kept under control.”

Dick Neale’s advice is go back to basics when dealing with blackgrass. “Growers should evaluate what level ofcontrol was achieved in the previous crop, using staleseedbeds, delaying drilling andinversion cultivation to reducehigh blackgrass seed burdensin problem fields.

“Moreover, they should takeon board the advice regardingthe conditions which influenceblackgrass seed dormancyeach season –– particularlywhere positive tests indicateherbicide-resistant populations are present.”

He stresses the importanceof spraying-off emerging blackgrass before drilling. “It’s important to use the rightadjuvant with glyphosate so you can achieve a faster turn around.” Using a waterconditioner, together with anappropriate adjuvant, allowinggrowers to go back into treatedfields to commence drilling just 2-3 hours after spraying, he claims.

“And be prepared to stopdrilling cereals elsewhere onthe farm to go and spray a crop where the blackgrass has already emerged. Manygrowers failed to do this lastyear –– missing the most effective spray timing.”

Finally, growers should adopt two further Golden Rules, he says. “First, theyshould be prepared to sprayseveral different mixturesacross the farm to deliver the best control appropriate to the actual weed spectrumand burden in each field.

“And second, they shouldspray their Atlantis treatment in the best application conditions to maximise product performance while the blackgrass is still small and growing actively.” n

http://www.nickersonseeds.co.uk/carat

Some say the current disease rating system isbecoming outmoded. Not so, according to

the HGCA.

By Warren Landles and Angus McKirdy

very year, pests and diseases causeserious yield and quality losses costing UK oilseed rape growers up

to £80M –– despite an annual expenditureof around £3.5M on insecticides andabout £12M on fungicides.

Taking an informed decision about avariety based on its disease resistance istherefore extremely important, with manygrowers and agronomists looking to theRecommended List for guidance.

“But decision-making can be difficultbecause of the complex variation in pest and disease problems from season-to-season,” says HGCA’s Dr Jim McVittie.“Improved guidance is therefore requiredto help growers make more informed decisions at every stage in the life of thecrop, from choosing a variety right throughto harvest.”

Jim McVittie believes farmers havegrown to “know and trust” the current 1-to-9 rating system used to score varietieson the Recommended List. “And mostgrowers still use the printed version of theList because it’s quick and simple to use.

“But while variety choice is a crucial

decision, growers only have a limited time to make their conclusions, while concentrating on the various other management issues on their farms.”

Growers requiring more detailed information can access the HGCA website(www.hgca.com), which many crop advisors and agronomists already use, he suggests.

“The website allows us to express disease resistance to one decimal point,whereas the printed version rounds therating upwards or downwards. Some suggest that the printed version shouldmirror the detail shown on the website but I feel it would become too clutteredand difficult to read.”

Predicting disease in OSR is moredifficult than wheat which tends to remainmore stable from year-to-year, he says.“Wheat varieties are bred with major genesfor resistance and trials show that wheatresistance scores rarely change. So whena wheat variety comes onto the RL withsay a 6 for yellow rust, it generally won’tdrift from 6 to 4.

“But it appears that where a rape variety is widely grown, it can sometimesquickly develop more disease.

“So although the Recommended Listprovides some very good indicators, there are no right or wrong choices since crops are grown in a constantlychanging environment.

“But I’m confident that, within thebudget we have available, we’re able tomeasure what’s happening in the fieldpretty accurately to help farmers makemore informed variety choices.”

HGCA’s core trial sites are based inAberdeenshire, the Scottish Borders,Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Hampshireand Herefordshire –– with a further 11regional trial sites used to collect additionaldata. The complete trials protocol can befound at www.hgca.com

Yield boost?Jim McVittie suggests that, as well as making informed variety choices, bettercrop monitoring can help to improve gross margins on-farm. “Taking the rightdecisions during the spring can boost rapeyields by up to 0.5t/ha, for example.”

Yield losses continue to occur becausetreatment of the two most important diseases, light leaf spot (LLS) and stemcanker are “not yet optimised”, he says.

Jim McVittie notes that future versionsof the printed and on-line RL will no longerpublish the gross harvest output yield foreach variety –– concentrating on regionalresults instead.

“Regional data is crucial to growerssince nobody is farming across the wholeof the UK.” He notes some significant differences between the north, east andwest regions, for example.

“While a variety like Castille gives 104%gross treated yield in the east and westregions, its yield is 4% less in the north.By contrast, the yield results for Excaliburand Lioness show the two varieties perform better in the north region thanthey do in either the east or west.”

Jim McVittie believes the typical OSRgrower’s variety selection criteria are yield,

‘Trials last year showed a 4% yieldbenefit in varieties with good

resistance to canker.’

Is the RecommendedList still delivering?

E


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“The current Recommended List systemmeasures pretty accurately what’shappening in the field to help farmersmake more informed variety choices,”claims Jim McVittie .

crop height and lodging resistance, followed by local disease pressure. “I don’tbelieve earliness of flowering or maturityare major issues, although where growershave large areas to harvest, they do needa range of maturity dates.

“Given its importance in the region,northern growers should assess varietiesfor resistance to LLS as a key priority.

The disease is generally getting worse inthe north and this is combined with less effective disease control options.

“In some seasons, even our robust disease control programme has failed tocontrol LLS on susceptible varieties in thenorth and as a result, many growers tellme that if a variety doesn’t score a good 6 or above, they’re having difficulty in controlling the disease.”

However, breeders are rising to thechallenge and new varieties are now showing enhanced levels of LLS resistancein some cases, he says.

“And in the east and west regions,growers tend to assess lodging resistanceon fertile soils and stem canker resistancemore or less equally.”

According to Jim McVittie, some varieties have notably less resistance tostem canker –– Winner, for example, hesays. “HGCA is therefore involved in studies to help the industry react to largeseasonal variations in disease during the onset of epidemics to help growerstime their fungicide treatments more accurately.”

During RL trials, plants are inoculatedwith stem canker and both internal andexternal disease symptoms are assessed,

he continues. “Trials last year showed a4% yield benefit in varieties with goodresistance to canker, with well-timed sprayapplications helping further in preventingthe disease from developing.

“In general, growers should favour varieties with a 7 rating for a disease,rather than a 5. So keep looking at theRecommended List to see what our latestassessment is when choosing a variety ––especially on the HGCA website at harvestfor information on new varieties.”

Jim McVittie has observed a trend with northern region growers opting forhybrids in preference to conventional varieties. “It appears that growers in thenorth are willing to pay for hybrids basedon perceived advantages with autumnestablishment.”

However, he notes that around 90% of the UK’s rape crop is still grown in theeast and west regions where there’s moreof a preference for conventional varieties.

“But I do know several growers inLincolnshire who say they’re benefitingfrom growing hybrid varieties. So it’s hardto generalise in terms of variety choice asall farms are different –– hence growersmust opt for varieties and establishmentsystems that suit their own situations.”

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http://www.belchim.com

A further revision of the OSR RL may see the current oilcontent results from each trialplot replaced by an on-line calculator.

“Producing oil content figures is expensive and we’renow questioning whether this money could be betterspent expanding the number of trials.” He believes a sophisticated on-line calculatorcould help individual growersassess their own crop results.

More in-depth trialsFurthermore, an ongoing HGCA-funded project is assessing theresults of shortened rotations,and continuous OSR crops.“Ultimately, this work may provide an understanding ofwhy oilseed rape yields tend todecline under short rotations.”

Mike Mann of breeder DSVagrees growers should be using“the wealth of information” contained on the HGCA website. However, he questionswhether farmers are givenenough explanation about how to interpret the results.

“Growers and advisors who

fully understand the resistancescores –– and how they’re calculated –– are best placed to make informed variety decisions.

“The HGCA website provides resistance ratings toone decimal place, as well as providing more information on the statistical differencesbetween varieties.”

He would like to see theprinted version presented toone decimal place as well,claiming it would add greatervalidity to the data.

Mike Mann advises growersnot to get “too hung up” on disease resistance scoreswhere the differences are often relatively minor. “Generallyspeaking, rape crops requirefairly similar spray regimeswhether the disease resistancerating is a 4 or a 7. With theexception of just one or twovarieties, the agronomy isbroadly the same.

“The key thing for farmers to grasp is that the differencebetween a rating of 5 or 6means very little in the field.”He concurs with Jim McVittie’s

Researchers have spent the past four years trying to produce a more reliablemethod of assessing resistance to stem canker and light leaf spot.

Current ratings are basedsolely on visual assessmentsat trial sites and in inoculatedtests.

Following concerns frombreeders about disease variability and its relationshipwith yield loss, a £900k LINKproject entitled CORDISOR(Components of Resistance to Diseases in Winter OilseedRape Cultivars) was set-up to explore the links betweenyield losses and diseasepathogen DNA.

The project found that the relationship betweenpathogen DNA and stem

canker severity at harvest wasn’t 100% reliable –– concluding that the currentvisual scoring should continue.However, it did provide someuseful information about howthe leaf layers contribute topreventing disease –– whichmight help provide improvedinformation on spray timings in future.

Researchers also found no relationship betweenpathogen DNA and the visualseverity of light leaf spot, butrecommend that a simple leafincubation system could aidvisual scoring –– especiallywhen symptoms aren’t showing up well in the field.

More information about the project can be found on the HGCA website,www.hgca.com

DNA evaluation


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comments about the importance of regionalised data.

“As well as using the RL and RL Plus, alot of growers will go to local field trials anddemonstrations to get more regionalisedinformation.

‘More relevant data’“This certainly helps provide more relevantdata but farmers should bear in mind that a variety may perform well in one year and look completely different the following season. It’s therefore important to look back over several seasons to builda fuller picture.”

The oil content results are particularlyimportant since this makes up a key partof the gross output calculation with rapeprices at their current level, stresses

“The fungicide cost is going to be the sameif a variety has a disease rating of 3.6 or4.4,” says Nigel Padbury.

Mike Mann. “Choosing a variety thatattracts a healthy oil bonus could improvethe margin by £50+/ha.”

He adds that the oil content is often a more reliable source of income than the yield since a high oil variety will always have higher oil content than a lower oil type.

While supportive of the RecommendedList in principle, Nigel Padbury of NKSeeds argues that a disease rating doesn’talways accurately reflect the economiccost of the disease to the grower.

“Phoma is scored on a stem cankerindex scale which measures the frequencyand extent to which the canker encirclesthe stem. But a thick stem can help tonegate the effect of the disease.

“So while the disease can look severeon the outside, internally there may be little or no effect –– with no impact on theyield.” This principle applies in reverse on a narrower stem, he adds.

Nigel Padbury, who sits on the HGCAoilseeds committee, says there’s been considerable discussion recently abouthow the agronomic ratings are expressed.“Most committee members acknowledgethat further refinements are needed.”

‘Good decision’He believes that dropping the UK grossyield figure is a good decision. “This canbe artificially high for a number of reasonsand can be misleading to growers in theirrespective geographical areas.” Growersshould supplement the information on theRecommended List by using websites likethe HGCA’s and www.oilseedrape.com toaccess regional trials data.

“Moreover, they should identify what the main agronomic risks are in their areaand use the RL list without getting tooobsessed about differences between aresistance score of 4 or 5, or 8 and 9.

“One number in either direction is nothing but a subtle change –– particularlyas the printed list is rounded either up or down. Growing a crop in a high riskarea usually necessitates a two-spray programme for phoma anyway.”

He claims the fungicide cost is going to be the same if a variety has a diseaserating of 3.6 or 4.4, for example.

“Correspondingly, a 9 rating doesn’t signify that a variety is totally immune to adisease –– it’s simply a resistance rating.”

Nigel Padbury explains that a varietywith a 9 rating for a particular disease still has a 10-15% chance of infection. “A 3 rating represents a 50% likelihood ofdisease, and a mid-range rating of 5 or 6


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indicates a 25-30% chance of infection.”He believes the scores could be

expressed in a different way “if we can’tbe more precise”. “Perhaps we shouldjust accept a low, medium or high risk rating system.”

Nigel Padbury stresses that growersshould look at the LSD (Least SignificantDifference) figure on the RecommendedList when comparing varieties (i.e. givingan indication of the level of statistical variance within the trials).

“If they want to use the table to it’sfullest, an understanding of this is essential –– with a low % significancemeaning lower statistical variance.” AnLSD difference of less than 1% is often not significant, he notes.

The performance of varieties in the RL untreated trials is the test that “reallysorts the men from the boys”, according toGeoff Hall of Dekalb. He believes growersshould also be looking at the consistencyof performance over a number of seasons.

“Growers are paying far more attentionto OSR variety choice and agronomynowadays –– particularly with the value of the crop having increased so much.They’re asking more from their varieties,

Introducing new combinations of desirableagronomic characteristics will be quickerand easier with the launch of a new hybridisation technique, claims breeder, NK Seeds.

“Safecross allows us to incorporate varietal characteristics, such as enhancedphoma or club root resistance, within justthree years, compared with seven usingconventional breeding techniques,” saysmarketing manager, Nigel Padbury. The

company has two Safecross hybrids –– NKTechnic and NK Caravel –– in RL candidatetrials this year.

“Safecross varieties combine enhancedquality and agronomic traits, which help to improve the overall economy of rape production. NK’s varieties of the future willfeature altered oil composition, includinghigh oleic types, and enhanced tolerance to frost, drought and late sowing.”

New hybridisation technique

Selecting a high oil variety, such asKomando, could be worth £384 on eachlorry load delivered, compared with a loweroil variety, such as Castille.

That’s the comment from Chris Baldwinof United Oilseeds. “This equates to 106 litres more cooking oil from eachhectare of crop produced.”

With oilseed rape prices as high as they

are at present, growers can’t afford toignore that extra oil potential, he says.“Varieties like Komando are capable of generating around 7.5% more oil than lower oil types.”

He predicts an 8% increase in the winter OSR area next season –– with a 2.1Mt crop for harvest ’09.

‘More oil means more cash’


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“A lower disease rating might simply mean treating a crop a bit differently,”says Matthew Clarke.

and their overall level of knowledge hasincreased vastly over the past ten years or so.”

He believes growers are getting moreadept at selecting varieties suited to theirfarms, with end markets in mind as well.“It’s important not to get too hung up onspecific disease scores.”

UK growers very much benefit from theHGCA’s robust trialling programme whichmeans most of the varieties on the RL arecomparatively good, says Dekalb plantbreeder, Matthew Clarke.

‘View with caution’He agrees that growers should view the disease ratings with some caution. “Certainratings don’t necessarily make a varietyunsuitable but high disease resistance ratings do allow a bit more flexibility onwhen treatments can be applied. Similarly,a lower rating might simply mean treating a crop a bit differently.”

Matthew Clarke suggests growers shouldlook at the untreated trial results as well, inaddition to the disease resistance ratings.“Paradoxically, some varieties that haven’tscored highly for disease in the treatedtrials seem to be doing well in the untreated trials.

“For example, a poor stem canker rating doesn’t always lead to inferior field performance since the disease onlydevelops severe symptoms once all theyield has been fixed.”

“Whether future HGCA trials measurethe amount of disease seen on a variety –– or its effects instead –– is worth carefulconsideration.”

Matthew Clarke helps organise some of the RL trials and would like to see anincrease in the number of untreated trialsconducted to give growers more regionalinformation to draw upon.

“I’ve seen many examples of crops witha low stem canker rating showing little signof the disease. Likewise, some of the newervarieties are good at pulling through theeffects of light leaf spot.”

When choosing a variety, he urges growers not to base their decision solely onthe printed version of the RecommendedList. “There’s only so much information an A4 sheet can contain, so growers and agronomists need to look elsewhere –– particularly at the HGCA website.

“For example, RL Plus provides muchmore detail about how varieties perform on a regional basis, allowing the user todelve much deeper. It really is a great tooland more growers should be using it.

“As breeders, we’re in favour of data

being presented for the two main OSRgrowing areas –– north versus east andwest –– so agronomic trends can be highlighted more fully. For example, light leaf spot is no longer just a northernproblem since we’ve recently seen greaterevidence of the disease in southern andcoastal areas.

“Similarly, stem canker appears to bemoving further north, and it’s this type of detail which will help to improve the system and allow specific varieties to be introduced into the relevant areas.”

Matthew Clarke concludes: “The HGCAhas definitely taken on board the messagethat OSR developments are moving at a fast pace. Growers are hungry for independent information on newinnovations like semi-dwarf varieties and new fatty acid profiles.” n


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farms to 57% today.” A total 50,000ha+ ofland was represented in the survey, with a good geographical spread, he says.

“Correspondingly, the 40% of land which is still being ploughed today is 23%less than it was five years ago.” He notesthat direct drilling has risen by 1% duringthe same period.

The survey also showed that a significantnumber of the participating farmers whoare still using the plough have investigatedthe ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of switching toreduced cultivations at some point duringthe past five years, continues Mike Alsop.

“There seems to be a desire to change,but because of generally poor prices during this period, many potential min-tillers haven’t had the confidence –– or indeed the money –– to invest.”

He believes the current buoyant pricesshould encourage farmers to buy min-tillequipment to help minimise the impact ofrising fuel costs in particular.

“It’s easy to see why farmers are tempted to carry on ploughing but with the mass of tangible and anecdotal

et fields full of ruts after lastyear’s atrocious harvest promptedmany farmers to change tack on

their min-tilled land and bring out theirploughs instead.

So with cereal and OSR prices holdingfirm, might some of them be tempted tocarry on ploughing?

“Although many farmers may’ve initiallybeen motivated –– or indeed forced –– tomove to reduced cultivations or min-till to cut costs, they’re now gaining muchwider benefits from using the technique,”claims Mike Alsop, managing director ofVäderstad UK.

“A survey conducted at our recent min-till conference shows that during thepast five years, the min-tilled area hasrisen from one-third on the participating

‘The cost of ploughing ranges from£75-£113/ha, with the lower figure

reflecting the easier-working,lighter soils.’

No time to move away from min-till?

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evidence on the benefits of min-tilling, it’s difficult to comprehend why they remain unconvinced.

“While some would expect me to saythat, it’s nevertheless true. There are massive gains to make by switching tomin-tilling –– with improved timelinessbeing a key benefit.”

Mike Alsop notes that while the headline fuel savings comparing ploughingwith min-till may not initially appear hugelydifferent, plough-based systems are likelyto consume more fuel overall than a one- or two-pass min-till technique, withthe former invariably requiring furtherpasses with a cultivator, he says.

The ‘cultivations compared’ table on p32(prepared by TAG’s now retired machineryconsultant, John Bailey), needs a bit ofinterpretation, believes TAG director, Jim Orson.

“I checked with John before using thistable because I was surprised that theplough fuel costs were lower than thedeeper-working, min-till machines.

Ploughing light land“He explained that this is because most ofthe farmers who are still ploughing in acost-effective way are working on lighterland. But on medium to heavy soils, there will normally be less need for further cultivations following a passwith a disc/tine combination cultivator,compared with after a plough.”

Cutting the number of passes after a one-pass cultivator is where the bestopportunity lies to make savings on fuel,he reckons.


A survey of growers attending a recent Väderstadconference revealed that nearly half of theirfarmed area is now being established using min-till techniques. But will higher prices

encourage a return to the plough?

By Mick Roberts

The table also shows the cost of ploughing ranging from £75-£113/ha,compared with £61-£78/ha for a disc/tinecultivator, such as a Väderstad TopDownor a Simba Solo. “This falls further to £59-£64/ha with a shallower, Carrier-typeimplement.

“Moreover, the table also highlights theoutput per hectare for each tool andshows a crucial difference between eachone –– which is where the most gains canbe achieved.”

Jim Orson believes the timeliness ofestablishment operations has never beenmore important with today’s labour costand availability, and with changing weatherpatterns. “When comparing the systemcosts, it’s important to take this intoaccount.

“If the plough-based system is achieving only two-thirds of the outputprior to drilling, it’s clear that a contractoror other outside help will be required toachieve the same seasonal output overall.”

Jim Orson calculates that to achieve the same workrate as a ‘one-pass’ min-tillcultivator, such as a TopDown or Solo, the cost of ploughing increases quite significantly.

“In the table, the cost of ploughingranges from £75-£113/ha, with the lowerfigure reflecting the easier-working, lightersoils. But for medium to heavier soils ––which will require additional cultivations –– the cost is likely to be somewhere inthe middle, at around £90/ha.

“That compares with a TopDown-typecultivator at just £61/ha –– producing animmediate cost advantage of £29/ha.”Added to this is the timeliness benefit, with ploughing taking around 80mins/ha,compared with 45mins/ha for the min-tilloperation, he says.

Less output“For every hectare cultivated with a min-till implement, a plough will only manage 0.56ha, based on this information. So by factoring in the contractcost of ploughing and pressing, thatmeans the cost of cultivating this remaining 0.44ha will be £35/ha.”

Jim Orson adds a caveat that his calculations assume the min-till system ismaking the optimum use of all availablelabour. “The difference in costs wouldobviously be less if all the cultivations were contracted-out.

“But either way, the conclusion remainsthe same –– that if a farm is using its ownlabour and machinery, the difference incosts between plough and non-plough

tillage are significantly higher than simplythe values calculated from the directmachinery input.”

However, he reiterates his concernsregarding the control of grassweeds usingnon-inversion tillage. “Not only is theremore of a weed population to control,compared with ploughing, experience tells us that herbicide-resistance developsmore rapidly when the weed seeds aren’t buried.

“Atlantis (mesosulfuron+ iodosulfuron)has certainly minimised the additionalcosts associated with the control of grassweeds in wheat with non-ploughtillage in recent years –– but resistance is now steadily increasing to the product.

“So with no new modes of action on the horizon, the sustainable control

A plough-based system will generallyconsume more fuel overall since itinvariably requires more subsequent passes with a cultivator, says Mike Alsop.

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Using a TopDown-type cultivator onmedium or heavy land will produce animmediate cost saving of £29/ha comparedwith ploughing, says Jim Orson.


of grassweeds with non-plough tillage may be a real challenge unless other cultural measures are introduced, such as spring crops.”

Robert Hobill grows around 1,000ha of combinable crops on brash land in theCotswolds and believes min-till is “hereto stay” on the estate he runs. “With thearea we’re farming, timeliness is crucialand I can’t envisage ever going back to the plough.”

The only reason this could happen is ifmore key herbicides were to be lost fromthe spray armoury, he believes.

“When I first started here 16 years ago,we had the staff and equipment to plough,press, cultivate and power harrow/drill all of the land. But now, the whole estate is cultivated and drilled using just one tractor.

“We simply haven’t got the time or theresources to plough nowadays and that’swithout even considering the cost –– particularly fuel –– and the effect of not having stale seedbeds.”

The estate runs a tight rotation of 50%wheat, with the other half being split evenly between oilseed rape and beans.

“We need a proper break from the wheatand, quite frankly, these are the only twocrops that make us any money –– or atleast break even.”

Most of the straw is chopped, and sincechanging to minimum tillage, the land hasbecome much more friable –– with betterseedbeds as a result, continues RobertHobill. “On clay outcrops, we previouslyhad to cultivate a number of times with apower harrow following the plough. Butthese areas don’t cause us any problemsnow and we’re able to do it all in one go.”

The first tractor does all the cultivatingand drilling, while another follows behindwith the rolls –– compared with two tractors “doing nothing but ploughing”under the previous regime, he says. A 4.5m Sumo Trio is used for all primarycultivations, powered by a new 330hpJohn Deere 8350.

Glyphosate after first chit“This goes straight in after the combineand creates stale seedbeds from the rapestubble. These are then sprayed-off withglyphosate after the first chit –– with thesecond flush of weeds being sprayed-offas well prior drilling wherever we can.”

Rape establishment follows quickly after the wheat has been combined, using the Sumo Trio equipped with a seedbroadcaster, which is followed closely by a toothed-packer roller, towing Cambridgerolls as well. “That’s hopefully all that’sneeded.”

Wheat after rape is sown directly into a sprayed-off stale seedbed using a 6mVäderstad Rapid drill. “We aim to start thisjob on around 11-12 September and go at it ‘full bore’ –– normally with the wholeestate being drilled within two weeks.”

Although the farm suffers from bothblackgrass and brome, these are prettymuch kept at bay by the stale seedbeds,reckons Robert Hobill. “Our herbicidearmoury includes pre-emergence Crystal

(flufenacet+ pendimethalin) or Liberator(flufenacet+ DFF), followed by Atlantiswhere required anytime betweenNovember and February.”

Over at Holbeach St Johns nearSpalding in Lincs, Fred Laming uses avariety of cultivation techniques rangingfrom plough/ power harrow/ drill-basedestablishment, to using a contractor with a Väderstad Rapid to establish 280ha of combinable crops at his family’sSnowdrop Farm.

Cultivations tend to be determined byboth the soil type and the previous crop,he says. “Our land ranges from heavy clayto silt, and we grow both potatoes andsugar beet in addition to cereals and OSR.

“Some of the land is quite easy toplough but it all depends on how muchother work is going on at the time.” That’smainly why a contractor is used to sow the rape.

“I definitely like the min-till and drillconcept and I went to the Väderstad conference at Newark in April to learn abit more about it. I’d certainly like to investin a new drill to go straight into theploughed land and reduce the number of cultivation passes needed to establisheach crop.”

He says he’s now “seriously looking” at the time and cost savings that would bring.

But coming out of a period of sustainedlow prices, Fred Laming believes that buying a new drill isn’t his main priority.“Last year, we really needed a new sprayerand that had to come first.”

However, with the price of diesel goingthrough the roof at present, fuel costs have become an important consideration,he says. “I’ve been watching min-till developments for quite a while now but for us, it’s the availability of capital to invest that’s the main limiting factor.”

The farm’s easy-working silt lands are all ploughed and drilled for a cost that hesays is “nowhere near” the figures he’sseen used in some examples.

With the plough normally following allroot crops on the farm, the rape land ispower harrowed first to create a tilth on the top, then direct drilled using the Rapid–– with the straw being removed first tohelp prevent slugs.

“It’s a good, cheap system that’s provingvery effective –– particularly last season,with yields of around 3.75t/ha.”

Fred Laming believes the contractor’scharge is worth it since it gives him accessto the Rapid drill. “It’s on our shopping listat present but then so are a few other

Cultivations compared –– to establish a hectare of wheatCost Total time Typical fuel Fuel cost(£/ha) (mins/ha) consumption (£/ha at 52p/l)

(l/ha)

Plough based £75-113 65-150 30-50 £16-26

‘TopDown/Solo’ type (depth 125-150mm)

‘Carrier’ type(working depth 50mm)

‘Bioseeder’ for OSR £32 24 16-18 £8-9

Direct drill £21-31 20-30 8-10 £4-5

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£59-64

45-70 38-54 £20-28

24-59 26-28 £14-15

Oxon-farmer Robert Hobill would onlyreturn to the plough if more key herbicidesare withdrawn, he says.

important machines –– for example, wecould really need a new combine.”

Further west, William Antrobus, is acommitted min-tiller having not ploughedsome of his land for the past ten years.

Greenways Farm, Fillongley nearCoventry, Warwicks is a 200ha enterprisewith two main rotations geared to matchthe changing soil type as closely as possible. The first is either two wheats,winter barley then rape or beans, and the second alternates between wheat and rape.

“I prefer not to plough so we can maintain high humus levels and nutrientsin the top 100mm of the soil profile. I can’tsee any point in creating a good, friableseedbed, then turning that back into thebottom of a furrow.”

Compost and sewage cakeWilliam Antrobus has also been building-up his humus levels with applications of compost and sewage cake–– the latter being treated and “totallyinert”, he says. “It’s mainly used as a soil conditioner but it contributes somenitrogen and phosphate as well.”

He tries to get the cake applied beforethe rape is sown, which provides theadded advantage of a bit of nitrogen tohelp the crop get away, he says.

While the farm didn’t suffer the floodinglast summer that others experienced in theWest Midlands and elsewhere, WilliamAntrobus says the soil structure anddrainage are now noticeably better as a result of min-tilling.

Rape is now established using a sub-soiler fitted with a Biodrill which distributes the seed behind the legs inrows on 600mm spacings. The sub-soileruses an integral roller to press the seedinto the soil which is followed in a separatepass with Cambridge-type rolls.

“In the past, we used to sub-soil everything, then cultivate with a VäderstadCarrier, drill and roll, but I saw the newsystem as a way of saving at least the cultivation and drilling passes.

“This not only helps us save money on fuel, it also reduces the time pressurewith everything happening in August.”

For wheat establishment, the tramlinesand headlands are normally sub-soiledbefore cultivating with a 5m Carrier 500,powered by either a New Holland TM165or an 8560 (although a new 7030 is beingdelivered for the coming season).

One of these tractors will then gostraight in with a 4m Rapid, equipped with System Disc on the front to create

a finer seedbed and to knock out anyweeds, he continues.

“With min-tilling, it’s important to createa tilth to fill in the fissures in the soil and toleave about 50mm on top to prevent slugscoming to the surface.” The finer tilth alsoprovides good seed-to-soil contact toensure good germination, he adds.

So far, William Antrobus has been ableto control weeds without having to rely onstale seedbeds. “But we’ve noticed anincrease in the level of sterile brome this year.”

So together with his agronomist, he’snow investigating more effective ways ofcontrolling grassweeds. “We’ll probablyuse more Atlantis next season –– particularly in the second wheats.

“But the choice of chemicals could be alot more limited in five years time, and thatcould present us with difficulties in thelong term.” n


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oils generally contain significantresources of nitrogen, and knowinghow much will be released to

the growing crop is the single most important aspect of getting the top dressing rate right.

That was the advice from Professor Roger Sylvester-Bradley of ADAS, speakingto delegates at a recent GrowHow-organisednutrient management conference.

He said growers should take their previous soil mineral nitrogen results intoaccount, as well as assessing the grainnitrogen content of the previous crop –– evaluating how healthy it looked as well –– before planning rates for nextspring (also see panel at foot of p36).

Importantly, the top dressing decisionshould be guided by a soil mineral

‘Don’t apply nitrogen to boost cropyield and quality in situationswhere phosphate and potash

indices are low.’

Farm smarter to maintain gross margins

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Growers need to get a better handle on their soilmineral nitrogen reserves if top dressing rates are

to be optimised next season.

By Warren Landles

nitrogen (SMN) test in the current crop, which should be made sometimebetween late autumn and the first topdressing timing, depending on the soiltype, he said.

“Direct (SMN) measurement is obviously the ‘Rolls Royce’ approach –– it’s a very good way of predicting what nitrogen reserves the crop will have available to it during the season.”

That information should be used in conjunction with the Green Area Indexand tiller counts to help assess the optimum N rate, he said. “Moreover, this more targeted approach will help prevent the risk of lodging and diseasedevelopment later on.

“You’re never going to get it right onevery field in every year but errors canoften accumulate –– and if you can’tdetect what’s going wrong early enough, it can result in too much nitrogen beingapplied in the spring.”

Not only is this very costly with ammonium nitrate at around £340/t, it poses an environmental risk through soil leaching as well, he said. “Similarly,


crops which are under-fertilised will suffera yield loss.”

Despite a doubling in the number of soilsamples sent in for testing, many farmersremain sceptical about the validity of thetechnique, he continued. “A new HGCA-funded project, involving all the UK’s soil nitrogen services, aims to develop a standard protocol for the industry –– due to be completed by 2011.”

1t/ha yield increaseNational fertiliser recommendations werelast collated in the late ‘90s and sincethen, wheat and barley yields haveincreased by about 1t/ha on average, continued Roger Sylvester-Bradley. “HGCA therefore funded a series of nitrogen response experiments involvingseveral high yielding winter wheat andspring barley varieties.

“The research shows that the nitrogendemand of winter wheat has increased byabout 20kg/ha on average, but that springbarley hasn’t changed.” Top dressing ratesshould therefore be tailored accordingly,he said.

Assessing the grain nitrogen content of the previous crop is a particularly useful indicator of whether top dressingrates are optimal, continued RogerSylvester-Bradley. “If the grain nitrogen is lower than normal, it means more N is required –– with a 2% grain N concentration being indicative of optimum N rates.

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Large increases in the breakeven ratio for nitrogen may justify a reduction in theamount of fertiliser used next season,according to two industry sources.

The breakeven ratio is now about 8:1 at current grain and nitrogen prices, according to data produced by TAG (i.e. the crop yield in kg needed to pay for 1kg of nitrogen).

The organisation calculates that, when thebreakeven ratio shifts from 3:1 to 6:1, there’sno need for a significant adjustment in thenitrogen rate. “But at 8:1 –– in other words,where it is right now –– it requires a reduction of at least 30-40kg/ha,” saysregional agronomist, Richard Overthrow.

“Our data shows that at 8:1, the optimumnitrogen dose for yield is no longer the most cost-effective one to use. So if pricesstay as they are, growers will need to make significant changes to their N ratesnext season.”

Although the future direction of thisbreakeven ratio remains unclear, growersmust be prepared to make these adjustments–– particularly when planning their nitrogenpurchases for 2009, he says.

Some forecasts suggest that the current

high fertiliser prices may continue well intonext season –– and possibly beyond.

“It’s difficult to calculate the breakevenratio until the grain is actually sold, butassuming a nitrogen cost of £1/kg –– whereit is right now –– growers need to treat N like they would any other input, such as a fungicide or a herbicide.

“In some situations, the highest-yieldingdose might not be the most cost-effectiveone to use.” He acknowledges that nitrogen inputs have never had to be considered in this way this before.

But before making any adjustments, growers must first consider the responsiveness of the crop in question,says Richard Overthrow. “N is still the most yield-responsive input and its dangerous to cut back too drastically.

“Crops grown on light land –– which typically show a higher response to N –– will require a smaller cutback than a crop growing on a more fertile site, for example.”

Mark Tucker, head of agronomy for Yara,agrees growers should be reviewing theirnitrogen rates at the current breakeven ratio –– with possible reductions where

grain contracts have been fixed in advance.He estimates that about 60% of combinablecrops are sold forward.

“However, there’s a slight risk of under-dosing crops by assuming a grainprice in advance, so cutting back on the Nrate carries an element of risk if you don’tknow what the end-value will be.

“I remember about 18 months ago when the ratio fell from 5:1 to 2.5:1 in justthree weeks, and anyone who reduced theirrates at that time suddenly compromisedtheir crops.”

According to Yara’s N dose responsedata –– averaged from 1994-2007 –– Nrates should drop by about 10kg/ha for eachupward change in the ratio. “Moving from theRB209 standard of 3:1 to 7:1 suggests ratesshould be reduced by about 40kg/ha.

“Having a good starting point to work from is important in calculating future rates.”

“I’d urge growers to wait until the newversion of RB209 comes out, which includesnew dose response rates. Relying on theoutdated version could see some growersfalling down the dose response curve –– resulting in under-achieving crops and lost income.”

Prepared to accept a lower yield?

“You can then monitor whether or notthe farm is becoming more efficient in itsN use –– or if too much is being applied.”

He highlighted the continuing importance of fertiliser in modern cerealproduction. “Efficient nitrogen use leads toa doubling of the yield, and it also halves

the amount of land required to produce atonne of grain.

“The benefit from the reduction in theland requirement is at least as big as the carbon cost of manufacturing andapplying the fertiliser.”

Delegates were advised not to apply

nitrogen to boost crop yield and quality insituations where phosphate and potashindices are low. Here again, growersshould test their soils first, said GrowHowagronomist, Allison Grundy.

“For about £25, growers can have theirsoils sampled and analysed to make more

Improved knowledge through ongoing training should enable growers to use nitrogen more efficiently.

That’s the view of the Agricultural IndustriesConfederation chief executive, David Caffall,who says UK agriculture should be activelypromoting its ‘carbon positive’ status.

“FACTS accredited advisers who undergoregular training are crucial to the industry as a whole since they help maintain its strong position in front of Government and the legislators.

“We can herald an army of 2,500 trainedpeople who are talking with growers everyday –– helping to transfer technology.The AIC was able to promote this in front of Government by asking them not to tax or restrict the farming industry.

We’re quite capable of managing ourselves.”David Caffall believes the solution is cheap

and simple, and easily within the industry’sgrasp. “Growers should continue to adopt an integrated approach to fertiliser management,using all sources of nitrogen efficiently andmanaging soils correctly.”

He urges growers to prepare their businesses for climate change. “This is very much a reality now, with UK agricultureproducing around 7% of the UK’s total Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.” That compares with around 10-14% in other countries, he added.

“But although we’re efficient, we still needto improve.” A 15% reduction in GHG is possible by following good agricultural practices, he believes.

The AIC is part of an industry collaboration which has helped develop an action plan to deal with climate change.Integral to the project is the websitewww.farmingfutures.org.uk which acts as ainformation service –– with sector specificfactsheets and links to organisations that can help prepare businesses to exploreopportunities to make or save money from the impact of climate change.

David Caffall urged conference delegatesto learn some of the basic climate changefacts. “UK Agriculture plc fixes CO2 equivalentto around 9% of the nation’s production –– making the industry carbon positive.

“Let’s make certain we promote this fact to a much wider audience.”

Farming is ‘carbon positive’


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informed agronomic decisions.” Armedwith this information, they can then targettheir phosphate and potash applicationsaccordingly, she said.

No P and KSome growers have chosen not apply Pand K in recent years as a result of higherfertiliser costs, continued Allison Grundy.Referring to the annual British fertiliserpractice survey results, she highlightedthat phosphate applications declined by1kg/ha on average this year, comparedwith last season.

“While this is only a small reduction, it’s worrying to note that phosphate applications are now at the lowest levelever recorded –– just 34kg/ha.”

Moreover, potash rates declined by2kg/ha on average this year –– the lowestsince 1983, she continued. “The area ofarable cropping receiving potash also fellto 58%.

“Crops could certainly tolerate this if themain cereal areas had healthy P and K soilindices but over the past 10 years, growershave omitted to use P and K in many situations –– and indices have suffered as a result.” Recent tests reveal that 28%of P indices are below index 2 and falling,

while 50% of K indices are at index 1 orless, she said.

“Yet trials have shown that growing a spring barley crop at soil index 0 canreduce the yield by 2t/ha, compared with a soil index of 3. At today’s prices,this would cost the grower £320/ha in lost income.”

Moreover, the declining P and K indiceshave also led to increased nitrogen losses,she added.

David Stacey of GrowHow said fertiliser should no longer be viewed as a commodity. “Nutrient managementplanning is critical nowadays –– it’s allabout choosing the right product andapplying it at the correct application rate.”

He said fertiliser manufacturers mustprovide quality products, coupled withexcellent service and support, to meet theneeds of progressive growers. “We all need to understand the financial, legislative and environmental aspects of growing crops.

“GrowHow has managed to secure its UK base for fertiliser manufacturing,lessening the threat of world rationing.”

He added that growers can improvetheir production levels to help lessen theimpact of rising input costs.

Assessing the grain nitrogen content of theprevious crop is a valuable indicator ofwhether N rates are optimal, said Roger Sylvester-Bradley.

“For example, the average UK OSRyield is 2.9t/ha, whereas German growersare achieving twice this amount. So if we can double our yields, the impact of increased fertiliser costs will be much reduced.” n


from year-to-year –– mainly due to theweather during flowering, she adds.

“So if it’s wet during the flowering period, it will be well worth getting theseed tested.” Because of the potentialeffects of these diseases, Jane Thomasadvises growers to use a robust fungicidalseed treatment wherever necessary.

“Certified seed is obviously treated asa matter of course but farmers shouldhave their farm-saved seed (FSS) testedas a precaution. This is the only reliableway of identifying problem seed lots.”

Untreated seed should only be sown if the risk of bunt and seedling blight arenegligible, she adds.

Bunt and fusariumPlant pathologist and Broom’s Barndirector, Bill Clark, agrees the main seed-borne disease prevention prioritiesshould be bunt and fusarium in wheat,with loose smut also a consideration incrops grown for seed.

“Ergot contamination can also be an issue –– especially where growers are saving their own seed –– but it isn’ta worry for most.”

Growers now have a good choice oftreatments available, all of which providegood control of bunt and fusarium, hesays “Tactics should therefore be basedon the perceived level of risk.”

Three years ago, Bayer Crop Sciencelaunched a range of seed treatmentsbased on prothioconazole –– Redigo(prothioconazole) and Redigo Twin (prothioconazole+ fluoxastrobin) for use on wheat, and Raxil Pro (prothioconazole+ tebuconazole+ triazoxide) for use on barley.

Company seed treatment specialist,Adrian Cottey, claims all three are nowthe “clear market leaders”.

“UK growers understand the benefits of using a seed treatment, with 96% ofwheat crops now receiving a fungicidaldressing.” Last autumn, around 1.32Mhaof wheat was treated with a single purposefungicidal treatment, he claims.

“Redigo and Redigo Twin give excellent control of seed-borne fusariumand Microdochium, seed and soil-bornebunt, and loose smut,” continues AdrianCottey. Trials show the products provide100% control of bunt, and laboratorytests show some reduction in ergot aswell, he adds.

However, wheat and barley growershave an additional seed treatment toconsider this summer, notes Bill Clark.“Crusoe (ipconazole) appears to be

With the increasingly wide range of cereal seedtreatments available, CPM investigates some

of the ‘value-added’ claims.

By Jo Palmer

he majority of wheat and barleygrowers appreciate the impact seeddressings can have on seed-borne

pests and diseases –– generally helpingto boost the level of crop establishment.

However, many are now starting tovalue the benefit they can have on theautumn workload as well –– especiallywith fuel costs at record levels.

NIAB plant pathologist, Dr Jane Thomas,stresses that bunt (Tilletia tritici) shouldremain the main seed-borne disease targetfor first and second wheat growers. “Thereason the disease is still rare in the UK is because the vast majority of wheat seedis treated regularly.”

Left untreated, bunt can cause

T

Giving your seed a treat

complete yield loss and render the grain unsaleable, she notes. “Bunt ballscontain millions of spores that replacethe grain entirely.”

The treatment threshold for bunt isjust 1 spore per seed, and this can beeasily determined by sending a samplein for testing, she continues. “Samplesbelow this level may be OK to useundressed, but those above the advisorythreshold will certainly require treatment.”

Where the seed is continually savedand re-sown without treatment, the disease can build-up very rapidly, warns Jane Thomas.

The other main seed-borne diseasetarget in wheat should be seedling blight(Microdochium nivale), she continues.“This causes seedling death and cropthinning, and can result in completecrop failure in severe cases.” Levels ofseedling blight tends to vary significantly


‘UK growers understand the benefitsof using a seed treatment.’

Seed dressingsSeed dressingss

Growers shouldn’t cut corners with seedtreatments –– especially with wheat at its current level, says Bill Clark.

Leaf stripe remains the most serious potential seed-borne threat to barley –– but because seed treatments are used by most growers, its appearance is still relatively uncommon.

That’s the observation from Jane Thomasof NIAB. “But if seed from affected crops is sown without appropriate treatment, the disease can increase rapidly and may produce significant yield losses.” Completecrop failure within just a few generations ofseed multiplication is possible, she adds.

Leaf stripe can kill seedlings as soon as they emerge –– reducing the green leafarea through its distinctive leaf striping, and resulting in no harvestable grain fromaffected tillers, she says. “That makes it well worth controlling.”

Loose smut is another potential problem

in barley –– particularly in farm-saved seed,continues Jane Thomas. “This disease is easily recognised at ear emergence as individual ears are replaced by a mass of black fungal spores.

“But with seed crops being inspected forloose smut under the UK Seed CertificationScheme, this has helped ensure the disease remains at a reasonably low level.”

Over 92% of winter barley crops receive a fungicidal seed treatment, with 0.32Mha of barley being treated with a single purpose fungicide dressing, according to Bayer CropScience.

Sentry farm business advisor, Stephen Jacob, outlines his approach to the crop. “Seed germination is tested, and assessments are made for leaf stripeand loose smut in both winter and spring

barley on all the farms we manage. “If you don’t treat the seed, you could

easily have a problem in next year’s crop.” He believes it’s important to look at the history of each field and to inspect cropsbefore harvest before making any final decisions.

His product preferences for barley include Raxil Pro and Kinto (triticonazole+prochloraz). BASF claims the latter is one ofthe top performing seeds treatment for bothwinter barley and wheat, and has shown positive effects on levels of crop emergence.

The product is effective against fusarium, covered smut, loose smut, leafstripe and septoria seedling blight –– with a particular strength against Microdochiumspp, and some activity on ergot as well, it says.

‘Consider hidden threats in barley’

cost-effective –– even when wheat washalf of today’s price. “Growers shouldlook at seed treatments as an insuranceagainst poor emergence or crop loss.

“The cost of a seed treatment is relatively small compared with the potential losses involved.”

‘Don’t cut corners’Bill Clark believes growers shouldn’t cut corners in their approach to seedtreatments –– especially with wheat at itscurrent level. “If you start with a poorlyestablished crop due to seedling blight,for example, it’s very hard to build agood yield from that point onwards.

“Equally, if you’ve spent money onnitrogen and fungicide inputs, and thenyou get bunt, you won’t be able to sellthe grain –– so it’s simply not worth therisk of leaving out the seed treatment.”Where growers are saving their ownseed, they should have it tested, thenmake a decision based on the results.

Howard Nason of Hants-based CropAdvisors believes seed dressings are“an absolute necessity” and an essentialpart of the planned agronomy of thecrop. “You only have one chance of getting it right so it’s important that the crop starts off well.”

He believes modern seed treatments ashaving both agronomic and managementbenefits. “Most growers buy in at leastsome new seed each year which will be treated with a seed dressing.Certainly, those with larger acreages tend to go down this route as they oftenhave a relatively limited labour capacity


similar in its performance to Premis (triticonazole) –– a low dose triazoleaimed purely at controlling seed-bornediseases, but providing no benefitagainst foliar disease” (also see panel on p42).

“It should give good control of seed-borne and soil-borne bunt, in common with all triazole treatments.

“But in high risk crops –– for example,where yellow or brown rust-susceptiblevarieties are being grown in disease-prone areas –– growers need to lookmore carefully at the degree of foliar disease control provided.”

Moreover, early drilled crops are

generally at a higher risk from foliar diseases –– including septoria –– so growers might consider these worth protecting with a foliar-active seed treatment as well, he suggests.

“This will definitely be worthwhile inhigh risk yellow rust situations, but it’sprobably better to tackle septoria with a T0 fungicide instead.”

Bill Clark says there has been somedebate recently about whether the use of triazole seed treatments, such as triadimenol and fluquinconazole(which are systemic and give control of several foliar diseases), may lead toshifts in sensitivity to the triazole groupas a whole.

“That’s certainly a possibility and their use may have contributed to theselection of ascospores coming into thecrop during the winter. However, foliarsprays have probably had a bigger selection effect.”

Take-all control becomes a considerationin second wheat, and there’s definitelymore of a case for Latitude (silthiofam) inthis situation, he continues. “The wheatprice makes it even more attractive forthis autumn as you’re more likely to get a return on your investment with highgross returns.”

Jockey (epoxiconazole+ prochloraz)can also give take-all control but it seems to be less consistent, he notes.“However, the latter has the advantage of providing early yellow rust and septoria control as well.”

Bill Clark reckons cereal seed treatments have always been relatively

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Seed dressingsSeed dressingsHe notes that an insecticidal seed

dressing can be vital in situations whereit’s difficult or impractical to overspray acrop with an aphicide.

“That’s particularly true where you’vegot a large acreage of cereals to treat, or if the seedbeds aren’t ideal. For example, the earliest time you could’vetravelled was as late as March on somefields this season –– by which time theBYDV would’ve been well and trulyestablished.”

Apart from the workload and agronomicadvantages, seed dressings are also moreenvironmentally desirable –– placing theactive ingredient precisely where it’sneeded with no risk of drift, and lessimpact on non-target organisms, saysHoward Nason.

Deter was launched two years ago andthe product now treats almost a quarterof the country’s cereal crops, claimsAdrian Cottey. “High pest pressure overthe past two autumns has reinforced its role in establishing the maximum crop potential.”

He explains that the mild autumn of 2006 was very favourable for aphids–– testing Deter’s claim of longer virus

protection to the maximum. “It out performed crops which received just apyrethroid spray by as much as 2t/ha inyield –– worth a margin-over-input-costof £275/ha at today’s prices.”

Last autumn’s high slug pressure alsotested the product’s ability to reduce thelevel of feeding damage to germinating

–– it’s a lot less hassle all-round.”Growers know how important it is to

protect the seed from disease, and to get the crop off to a good start, hebelieves. “Farm-savers must allow timeto get it tested and be prepared to get ittreated where necessary –– even whenthey’re busy.”

Situations where a seed treatmentmight not be used are: if the crop is tobe drilled late, or if the farm has run outof certified seed –– with no time to treatFSS, he says. “Drilling untreated seedgrown from dressed certified seed theprevious year will probably suffice in this situation.”

One of the main ‘seed treatable’ problems in Howard Nason’s area isBYDV. “The milder climate in the southleads to very high aphid pressure in most years, so farmers tend to use Deter(clothianidin) on at least 80% of the seed they use.”

He regards Deter as “becoming astandard treatment” on both certifiedand FSS nowadays. “Not only does it reduce BYDV through controlling virus-transmitting aphids, it also reduces grain hollowing by slugs.”


“Farm-savers must allow time to get theirseed tested and to treat where necessary –– even when they’re busy,” says Howard Nason.

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

Stephen Jacob believes its important toinspect seed crops in the field prior toharvest to get an indication of the level of disease present.


The cereal seed treatment range continues toexpand, with Chemtura launching the first ofthree planned new products to the UK marketthis summer.

Crusoe (ipconazole) –– first seen at thisyear’s Cereals Event –– contains new triazole chemistry which the company claimsis only being developed for use in seed treatments. The product is being marketed as a novel micro-emulsion formulation.

“That results in a high level of efficacy, as well as application and environmental benefits,” claims seed treatments marketingmanager, Mike Wenham.

“Protectant and curative activity against awide range of seed and soil-borne diseasesare on offer –– including seed and soil-bornebunt, loose smut and leaf stripe.” An application has been submitted to PSD for the addition of fusarium to the label, he adds.

“Ipconazole has a broad fungal spectrum,

controlling all the fungal classes except phycomycetes,” continues Mike Wenham.Crusoe compares very favourably to the current, commercially available seed treatment choices, he claims.

Crusoe is the first seed treatment to be formulated as a micro-emulsion –– containinga very low rate of active ingredient (i.e. 15g/l),he notes.

“This new formulation has a number ofbenefits,” he stresses. “It means the productdoesn’t contain any solid particles, so there’sno dust to contend with, and sedimentationnever occurs –– even during storage.

“Moreover, it has a low viscosity –– remaining uniform at high and low temperatures –– which makes calibration of the application equipment much easier.Plus there’s very little odour, and it onlyrequires minimal agitation.”

The very small emulsion droplet size gives

better seed coverage and improved efficacyin the field, he continues. “Many of theseattributes bring huge advantages in the seedplant, making application quicker and easier.”

One of the main benefits of the new formulation is improved seed flow throughdrills and equipment, he claims. “Moreover,there are no issues with dust, smell or crop safety.”

Crusoe is approved for use on both winterwheat and winter barley at rates of 1 l/t and1.3 l/t respectively, and compatibility testsshow it can be co-applied with a range ofother treatments, claims Chemtura. The retail price is £45/t for wheat and £48.50/t for barley, says the company.l Crusoe is already used on a range of crops in the USA, Japan and Latin Americaand the product is currently going through the registration process in a number of otherEU countries.

New triazole-based treatment

the same spray timing dilemma to theannual meadow-grass control scenario–– growers simply won’t want to go onwith a pyrethroid before the applicationof their post-em herbicide.”

No straight optionHowever, Deter can’t be bought as a straight product at present –– only co-formulated with a fungicide.Howard Nason believes Redigo Deter(prothioconazole+ clothianidin) is a good option, controlling seed-borne diseases and reducing the level of soil-borne bunt, as well as BYDV.

“I’ve also used Tripod (fuberidazole+triadimenol) on some of my more rust-prone varieties but the disease is probably best tackled in the crop,based on the level of seasonal risk.”

He agrees that seed dressings represent good value-for-money. “They offer cost-effective insuranceagainst both pests and diseases, andthey help to get the crop established to an optimum stand.”

Stephen Jacob, farm business advisorfor Sentry Farms concurs and points outthat it’s the gross margin of the cropwhich is the most important measure ofits success. “Seed treatments are a verycost-effective way of getting the crop offto a good start, whilst keeping a closeeye on costs.”

He helps to formulate the company’spolicy on seed treatments and is incharge of its mobile seed dressing

service, which treats around 1,000t of seed per year.

“With home-saved seed being a popular cost saving tactic at Sentry, it’svital that we get an early indication of theneed for treatment –– and indeed, whichproducts to apply.”

He believes its important to inspectpotential seed crops in the field beforeharvest to get some indication of thelevel of disease present. “If it’s wet atharvest, the risk of seed-borne disease is that much higher. I’d always advocategetting a germination test done, as well as checking which of the main seed-borne diseases are present.”

In the overwhelming majority of cases,he reckons seed treatments will pay dividends. “The exception is the situationwhere a crop is being drilled early into aperfect seedbed in the ideal conditions.

“However, if the seedbed conditionsaren’t good, it will be worthwhile to protect the seed from both pest and disease attack early on.”

He uses Deter to protect against BYDV in many situations, and also togive some protection from slugs –– albeitdepending on the crop’s place in the rotation. “We normally use Redigo Deter in this scenario which also gives good all-round disease control.”

In second wheat crops where the risk of take-all is high, he tends to favourLatitude. “But I’d always try to assess the disease risk first as this tends to be a fairly expensive treatment.” n

seeds, he continues. “All reports fromgrowers confirm that it does exactly whatit says on the label.”

Deter’s ability to reduce wirewormdamage and other occasional pests,such as Gout fly and Wessex flea beetle,have also been acknowledged, he adds.

“Moreover, the product fits in well with the blackgrass control programme,giving a longer period of activity ––around two weeks longer than its predecessor, Secur (imidacloprid) –– and keeping crops protected throughto mid- to late-November when Atlantis(mesosulfuron+ iodosulfuron) can beapplied, continues Adrian Cottey.

“The demise of IPU will introduce

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http://www.bayercropscience.co.uk

Weed controlWeed control

SR growers need to consider theirweed control tactics very carefullythis autumn –– especially if

poppies and blackgrass are high on their priority list.

That’s the message from Will Foss ofUAP. “These are the two weeds we’velost activity against, which growers needto bear in mind with this being the lastyear they can use trifluralin,”

Lessons should be learned from last year where the failure to get pre-emergence and early post-emergencetreatments onto crops in good time lettroublesome weeds, such as poppy andcranesbill, become established in somefields, he says.

Establishment tactics will very muchaffect the choice and timing of the herbicides used, notes Will Foss.

The loss of trifluralin and the widespread use of min-till establishment could create some

weed control challenges for winter rape growers this year.

By Rob Jones

‘The choice of residual partner canbe important and this very much

depends on the depth of the previous cultivations.’

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Prepared for the challenge?

Project Energise is supported by the following companies –– BASF,Bayer CropScience, Dekalb,GrowHow, KWS, NK Seeds, OPICO, Simba and Väderstad.

“There’s been a rise in the use of the ‘till-seeding’ technique (i.e. where the seed is broadcast at the same time as cultivating), which means there’s quite a bitof variability in the seed placement depth.

“That inevitably means some of the seedends up being left on the soil surface.”

Till-seeding therefore prevents the use of a pre-emergence herbicide, hestresses. “You can’t apply a product suchas trifluralin or metazachlor (Butisan S) in this situation, which means an earlypost-emergence treatment needs to beused instead.”

For the best results, this early post-emspray should be applied before the weedshave emerged, notes Will Foss. “Thatmeans spraying the crop just as soon as it’s reached the cotyledon stage.”

Firstly, a decision has to be made



Adding a graminicide to either Kerb orScrum improved blackgrass control by 10%last year, says Will Foss.

about whether there’s enough of the crop through the ground to be able tospray, he stresses. “The dry earlyautumn weather has led to variable rape germination in the past few years, withmany crops struggling to get going.”

Patchy establishment is one of the mainreasons why growers have tended to waitfor the post-emergence spray timinginstead, he believes. “It obviously makessense to wait and see if there’s a cropthere before spraying.”

Min-till has had a significant effect on the level of blackgrass germination,continues Will Foss. “You end up movingsome parts of the soil profile, while othersections are left undisturbed.”

Different depthsThis causes the blackgrass to germinatefrom different depths which, in turn, will have an influence on the choice ofherbicide, he stresses. “Blackgrass is definitely becoming more difficult to control in rape –– despite its reputation as a cleaning crop.”

With the restrictions on the use of ‘fops’ and ‘dims’ nowadays, the majority of growers are mixing a graminicide witheither Kerb (propyzamide) or Scrum (carbetamide) to improve the consistencyof the weed control achieved, notes Will Foss.

“The choice of residual partner can beimportant and this very much depends on the depth of the previous cultivations.For example, Kerb tends to sit in the topinch of soil, so if you’ve used shallow cultivations and the blackgrass is germinating from the top layer of soil, it will tend to work well.

“But if the soil has been moved todepth and the blackgrass is coming upfrom lower in the soil profile, Scrum maybe a better bet.”

The latter is more soluble in water andwill tend to move down the soil profile asa result, he says. “Kerb won’t be in therooting zone if the weed is coming upfrom below the top inch.”

‘Stay vigilant’Where the plough is in use, weed seedswill tend to get moved deeper into thesoil –– removing the problem for the firstseason, says Will Foss. “But you can endup pulling up seed from previous years,so you still need to keep a close eye onthe blackgrass.”

Consistency of weed control from bothKerb and Scrum is still an issue, heacknowledges. “But if you get the timing

and soil conditions right, the control levelscan be very good.” Both herbicides are capable of giving “virtually 100%control” of blackgrass, he adds.

There are now some concerns aboutpropyzamide and carbetamide residues in ground water, and growers need tomanage their usage very carefully, continues Will Foss. “The advice from an efficacy point of view is to spray themlater when soils are cooler, and there’ssufficient moisture present.

“But if the drains are flowing, you need to balance that fact with the needto control weeds.”

A better understanding of how bothKerb and Scrum should be used formore consistent results is needed, hesuggests. “There’s certainly room for


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

With the limited range of herbicide optionsavailable to control blackgrass in rapenowadays, it’s increasingly vital to makesure the late season residual treatment is fully effective.

That’s the comment from Stuart Hill,technical manager for Makhteshim Agan.“Mixing together the two residuals, Scrum and Kerb, looks to be a useful alternative strategy.

“But getting the residual element right iscritical –– and timing the spray well canmake all the difference in variable lateautumn conditions.”

The objective with carbetamide is tokeep it in the top 5cm of soil for as long as possible so the rooting grassweeds takeup sufficient active ingredient, he says.

“There are many variables which affectthis uptake –– including seedbed conditions,cultivation practice, soil temperature andmoisture, and the size of the weeds.”

The most common approach over the past few seasons has been to use a contact graminicide in combination with a residual, confirms Stuart Hill.

Trials over a three-year period –– conducted by ADAS, Oxford AgriculturalTrials and several distributors –– confirmconsistent, improved control of key grassweeds from this type of tank-mix,he says.

The work demonstrated that mixing theresidual herbicide Scrum with either Falcon(propaquizafop), Aramo (tepraloxydim) orLaser (cycloxydim), boosted the consistencyof the product, compared with the treatmenton its own.

“Under ideal, low temperature conditions,there’s little to choose between Scrum andKerb in terms of the level of blackgrasscontrol achieved,” he claims.

“However, by tank-mixing a reduced rateof Falcon (i.e. 0.5 l/ha minimum) with a fullrate of Scrum, trials show you can lift thelevel of blackgrass control from a range of40-95% to 75-97% for a cost similar to fullrate Kerb.”

Stuart Hill believes this is largely due tothe sensitising effect of the contact-actingproduct. “Combine this with the long-termaction of the residual, and you end up withthe best of both worlds –– with improvedcontrol as a result.”

Application timing should be very much influenced by the soil temperature,he stresses. “Waiting for colder soil temperatures will prolong the activity of theresidual component, thereby maximisingthe level of weed control.

“Once soil temperatures drop below8°C, and there’s enough soil moisturepresent, it’s time to go in with the sprayer–– generally between mid-November andmid-December.”

It may be necessary in closed canopiesto wait until frost has opened up the crop,allowing better targeting of the weeds thatthey shelter, suggests Stuart Hill.

Trials involving a Scrum/ Kerb tank-mix–– including a graminicide as well as a comparison –– suggest the residual consistency can be improved still further,he claims.

“Carbetamide tends to be more mobilein the soil, and less persistent as well. It can therefore act quickly to take out well-established seeds –– getting into fairlydeep rooted, well-tillered blackgrass.

“By contrast, propyzamide is locked-upat the soil surface and tends to be morepersistent –– which means longer activityon shallow-germinating grassweeds.”

The trials are still at a relatively earlystage but the results look promising, hesays. “We’re looking at combining morethan half rates of each product to add tothe level of consistency achieved –– andwhile this is a more expensive approach, ithas shown significantly improved results.”

Mixing carbetamide with propyzamidecan provide good control of blackgrass,says Stuart Hill.

Twin residual approach

improvement.” He admits ProjectEnergise trials have given fairly variableweed control in recent seasons, in common with farmers’ experiences in the field.

Herbicide trialsCombinations of the two herbicides arecurrently being assessed in UAP trials.“Mixing them together has given someinteresting results, although it’s too early to draw any conclusions as yet. But the work is very much based on trying to improve the consistency of the weed control.”

Adding a graminicide, such aspropaquizafop (e.g. Cleancrop Gyr), to either Kerb or Scrum improved blackgrass control by 10% last year,reports Will Foss.

“If you need to use a contact graminicide

early on for volunteer cereal control,there are alternative products available,such as Pilot Ultra (quizalofop) or Aramo(tepraloxydim). But make sure you optfor a different active ingredient becauseyou’re targeting a different weed.”

He notes that there are occasions whengrowers may need to go twice with agraminicide –– once to control volunteersand then again for blackgrass.

Poppies –– which tend to be more of a problem on lighter, chalky soils –– have been kept at bay until nowusing a pre-emergence Katameran(metazachlor+ quinmerac) plus trifluralinmix, continues Will Foss.

“But that won’t be an option after this autumn, so with the revocation ofFortrol (cyanazine) as well, growers might consider a follow-up treatment with bifenox.”

BASF’s new herbicide Shadow(dimethenamid+ metazachlor+ quinmerac)has been launched at just the right time,he believes (see panel opposite).

“The product can only be used pre- or early post-emergence giving useful control of crane’s bill, cleavers and poppy, as well as providing a goodstart on grassweeds.” Shadow controls awide spectrum of other broadleaf weedsand is currently in Project Energise trials,he adds.

“Another option is to use clomazone(Centium) pre-emergence to sensitise the grassweeds, with Centium plus trifluralin being a fairly popular mix in recent years.”

“The progression from this could be to mix Centium with Shadow –– or evenCentium followed by Shadow.” n



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With the imminent revocation of trifluralin,Shadow (dimethenamid+ metazachlor+quinmerac) is a timely new addition to theOSR weed control armoury.

The product’s pre- and post-em flexibilitymeans it can provide excellent control of a wide range of broadleaf weeds, andgood control of annual meadowgrass and blackgrass as well, according to manufacturer, BASF.

“The UK is the first country to benefitfrom this unique combination of actives in one easy-to-use formulation,” saysagronomy manager, Clare Tucker.

Shadow contains 200g/l dimethenamid,200g/l metazachlor and 100g/l quinmerac,formulated as a ‘suspo-emulsion’. The recommended dose is 2-2.5 l/ha, with the lower rate suited to situations wherethe weed pressure is lower, she says.

“The metazachlor component contributes to the control of speedwells,chickweed, dead-nettle, groundsel, mayweed, shepherd’s-purse, speedwell,

sow-thistle, annual meadowgrass andblackgrass, with dimethenamid providing asimilarly wide spectrum of control, but withthe addition of crane’s bill and shepherd’spurse as well.

“Quinmerac boosts the overall level of weed control, as well as adding extra activity and persistence on poppy and cleavers.”

In development trials, Shadow providedcleavers control “in the high 90s” with verygood consistency, continues Clare Tucker.“It’s also the best and most consistentpoppy control option following the loss of trifluralin.

“However, trifluralin’s revocation willinevitably lead to more red fields in future.”

She explains that Shadow can be particularly valuable in a programme to reduce the grassweed pressure on post-emergence graminicides. “The product gives a similar level of blackgrasscontrol as full rate Novall –– around 90%–– and when applied at the start of the

programme, it helps reduces the exposureto ‘fops’ and ‘dims’ applied later on.”

Dimethenamid and metazachlor bothcarry a low risk of developing herbicideinsensitivity, she claims.

“And because of its triple mode ofaction, Shadow provides a good level ofresidual activity –– even in dry conditions,continues Clare Tucker. “Dimethenamid istaken up via the hypocotyls, coleoptile androots, and metazachlor is taken up by theroots –– with quinmerac entering the plantvia the leaves and roots –– so you can besure it will provide effective weed control.”

Shadow is recommended either at the pre-emergence stage or early post-emergence timing (i.e. from fully expandedcotyledons to seven true leaves), saysClare Tucker. “And as with all metazachlorproducts, the best weed control is usuallyachieved when the herbicide is appliedfrom the expanded cotyledon stage of thecrop, while the weeds are yet to emerge,or are still at the cotyledon stage.”

New three-way mix



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‘Malting markets now buoyant’

There appears to be money to be made from malting barley again –– but varieties need to be

managed on an individual basis, believes oneleading crop expert.

By Jo Palmer

ith the malting and distillingindustries more buoyant thanthey’ve been for a number of

years, the demand for malting barleyappears to be on the increase.

But how can growers optimise their barley performance to the satisfaction of the end-markets to cash-in on thispotentially profitable market?

The first consideration is to take morecareful account of the malting and brewingindustries’ specific requirements for grain–– including the thousand grain weight,endosperm structure and nitrogen content, according to the HGCA.

Variety, seed rate, nitrogen and fungicide management also have major effects on crop growth and the consistency of grain characteristics, andeach requires special attention, it says.

Maltsters bought 1.9Mt of barley in2007, with 57% coming from England and43% from Scotland (see figures opposite).

Just over 70% is down to spring varieties, with the remainder comingfrom winter types.

“The first step towards growing the correct quality specification is to choosethe right variety for the location,” saysSteve Hoad, senior cereals specialist at SAC.

Optic now waning“In England, the spring malting barleymarket has been dominated by Optic inrecent years, which took the majority sharethroughout the early part of the decade –– accounting for 88% of all sowings inEngland in 2002.” However, this figure fell to 32% last year, he notes.

Tipple and Cocktail have made a bigimpact recently –– taking a 27% and 24% share respectively last year –– withWestminster at 8%, he continues.“Unfortunately, the maltsters tend to take their time to move on where varietiesare concerned.”

Optic also dominates spring barley sowings in Scotland, with a 60%+ marketshare in 2002, falling back to 41% lastyear, according to Maltsters Association ofGreat Britain (MAGB) and SAC. “The nextmost significant variety in Scotland is

W


‘The maltsters tend to take theirtime to move on where varieties

are concerned.’

Oxbridge, with an estimated 36% marketshare last season,” says Steve Hoad.“Decanter took a 5% share and is one to look out for.

Pearl still dominates the English wintermalting barley market –– taking 80%+ of the market from 2003-2005, anddeclining to 63% last harvest. Flagon grewto 23% last season, with Maris Otter stillhanging on to 9%, he adds.

The Institute of Brewing and Distillingissues approvals for specific end-marketsand still has one of the biggest influenceson variety choice, he continues.

IBD recently issued an updated list of

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Optic

Tipple

Cocktail

Cellar

Westminster

Chariot

Cooper

Alexis

As

%o

fal

lvar

ietie

s

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

?Maltsters intake by variety in England –– spring barley

90

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50

40

30

20

10

0

Pearl

Flagon

Maris Otter

Fanfare

Regina

Halcyon

Pipkin

Puffin

As

%o

fal

lvar

ietie

s

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

?

Maltsters intake by variety in England –– winter barley

New Farm Crops has fast-tracked one of its winter hybridvarieties which yielded 12%higher than the control types inlast year’s Recommended Listcandidate variety trials.

Although Volume isn’t yetHGCA recommended, the company is so pleased with its all-round agronomic performance it has decided to make 500t of C1 seed available for this autumn ––enough to take a 1-1.5% market-share, says head ofcereals, Rob Hiles.

The variety is one of foursix-rows on the current HGCA

candidate list, he confirms. “Butunlike some of the six-rows ofthe past, Volume is almost asgood as a two-row in terms ofits grain quality.” The variety’sofficial specific weight rating is68.4kg/hl, he notes.

Volume is a feed varietywhich combines early maturitywith good, all-round diseaseresistance –– albeit with aslight weakness on mildew,he admits. “But if you can keepit clean and standing, it will produce a gross margin thatwould be comparable with a second wheat.”

Alternative to malting barley?

approved varieties, with thespring barleys, Optic andCocktail, still fully approved for both brewing and distillingfor harvest next year.

“The spring barleys, Tippleand Westminster, and the winter types, Pearl, Flagon and Cassata, are now all fullyapproved for brewing –– withthe variety, Jolika, joiningQuench with a provisionalapproval for brewing.

“The spring barleysOxbridge, Appaloosa andDecanter remain fully approvedfor distilling, with Tartan andBelgravia gaining provisionalIDB approval for use in thissector.”

Quality is keySteve Hoad stresses the importance of achieving boththe correct specific weight andgrain nitrogen in winter barley.“The leading variety Pearl has a specific weight of 70.6kg/hland grain nitrogen of 1.76%and is still the benchmark winter barley variety for quality–– generally producing a highlymarketable sample.

“Flagon has a specific weightof 69.8kg/hl and grain nitrogenof 1.69%, whilst Cassata has a marginally lower specificweight of 69.1kg/hl, and a grain nitrogen of 1.72%.” Wintmalt–– which is currently under IDB

evaluation –– has a specificweight of 67.5kg/hl and grain N of 1.73%, he notes.

Steve Hoad says some of the newer varieties are showingsome “buffering capacity”between their treated anduntreated yields. “However,there’s still a need to protectcrops with a robust fungicideprogramme.

“For this reason, farmersmust be aware of the individualdisease resistance rating ofeach variety they’re growing so the risks can be properlyassessed.

“For example, Quench issusceptible to both brown andyellow rust –– with a resistancerating of just 3 for each –– butwith scores of 9 for mildew and8 for rhynchosporium. On theother hand, Optic has a 9 foryellow rust and a 4 for rhyncho–– so the two varieties obviouslyneed to be treated differently.

“Both require robust T1 andT2 fungicide treatments, butthese need to be tailoredaccording to specific diseaseresistance profiles.”

In the winter barley sector,Pearl has a reasonable overalldisease resistance profilebut Flagon is a “step-up onevery disease,” he continues.He adds that the two newervarieties, Cassata and Wintmalt,have a weakness on yellow s

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Growers tend to use a fairly wide rangeof seed rates, but under good conditions,he suggests around 320-350 seeds/m2.

“The target is slightly less in spring barley crops in Scotland (600-800ears/m2) –– albeit from a slightly higher plant population of around 300 plants/m2. Seed rates up here should be more like 325-375/m2.”

Steve Hoad suggests seed rates should always be adjusted according tothe sowing date, seedbed conditions,expected establishment and over-winterlosses. “For example, an early drilledspring barley crop sown into a goodseedbed should produce an establishmentof around 85% –– but if the seedbed ispoor, this might be nearer to 60%.

“Conversely, the establishment could be as high as 95% with a later drilledspring barley sown into a good seedbed –– probably declining to around 75% inpoor seedbed conditions.”

This type of information should be usedmore widely by growers to optimise theirplant populations, he believes.

The current thinking on nitrogen is toadjust the amount used on a spring-sownmalting crop to around 75-90% of thatused on a high yielding feed crop, he continues. “For example, 120-150kgN/hawould probably result in a grain sample ofaround 1.65-1.85% N.”

In terms of the N timing, the applicationshould be spilt according to the sowingdate, says Steve Hoad. “If the crop isdrilled before the end of February, 30-50%should be applied before GS12, with theremainder going on at GS13.

“For crops drilled up to the end ofMarch, half should be applied in theseedbed and half should go on at aroundGS12-13.” Crops drilled from Aprilonwards should receive all of their nitrogenin one application prior to GS12, he says.

Consider grain N%“In winter crops, growers need to takeeach variety’s grain N% into account whentop dressing. For instance, Flagon is ahigher yielder than Pearl, but with aninherently lower grain N%, and this tendsto cause a dilution effect.”

Winter malting barley usually needs just 65-85% of the nitrogen that a highyielding feed crop would require, continues Steve Hoad.

“With more attention to detail in termsof variety choice, drilling date, seed rate,crop nutrition and fungicide treatments,growers should be able to significantlyreduce the number of rejections.”

Table 1: Spring barley –– disease resistance ratings Mildew Yellow rust Brown rust Rhyncho Ramularia

Optic 5 9 5 4 5

Tipple 9 3 8 4 8

Cocktail 7 4 7 5 4

Westminster 9 6 5 8 7

Quench 9 3 3 8 6

Jolika 8 (5) 4 6 6

Oxbridge 7 5 5 7 6

Decanter 9 8 5 6 8

Appaloosa 9 8 6 4 8

Source: HGCA and SAC data ( ) = based on limited trials data

Table 2: Winter barley –– disease resistance ratings Mildew Yellow rust Brown rust Rhyncho Net blotch BaYMV

Pearl 6 6 6 7 5

Flagon 7 7 7 8 6

Cassata 4 2 7 8 5 R

Wintmalt 4 (2) 6 6 7 R

Source: HGCA data ( ) = based on limited trials data

Table 3: Low N/ high N grain market split (% of last harvest’s crop traded)

Under 1.55%N 1.55-1.65%N 1.65-1.85%N Above 1.85%N

England

Spring crop 7 10 27 4

Winter crop 8 8 33 3

Scotland

Spring crop 56 24 1 10

Winter crop 0 0 5 3

Source: MAGB

rust but with the advantage of havingBarley Yellow Mosaic Virus resistance.

Looking ahead, Steve Hoad highlightsseveral new spring barleys worthy of

consideration. “Concerto has very highyields, stiff straw and good mildewresistance –– but with a weakness on rhynchosporium. Virgil has good yields and stiff straw, together with good overall resistance.

Pros and cons“Berlioz also has a good yield, straw stiffness and mildew resistance, but a weakness on rhyncho, and Forensic produces good yields and high enzymelevels, with moderate resistance to mildewand rhyncho.”

Cropton is a very high yielder –– 4%above Tipple –– with good overall diseaseresistance, he adds.

Steve Hoad considers crop establishmentto be a key part of growing a successfulmalting barley crop. “Ideally, barley crops in England –– both winter and spring varieties –– should produce 700-850 ears/m2

from a plant population of 200-300/m2.“Most plants would therefore generate

around 2.5-3.5 fertile shoots, helping toensure a good specific weight.”

Growers should top-dress their barley on avariety-by-variety basis, taking inherentgrain nitrogen percentages into account,says Steve Hoad.


s

Current premiums for malting barley meanthe crop should outperform late drilledwheat next season –– particularly on lightland, reckons Jack Watts.

HGCA economist, Jack Watts, believes growers need to gain a betterunderstanding of the actual needs of the markets –– taking particular note of grain nitrogen requirements.

He says most brewers still want barleywith a grain nitrogen of 1.55-1.85%.“Distillers and traditional ale brewers needlower nitrogens, but some export lager producers require 1.8-1.85% N grain”(see table opposite).

He believes growers should have moreconfidence to grow malting barley as themarket is well established, with premiumscurrently fairly attractive.

Decining stocks“Worldwide barley stocks have declined in the past few years to around 15Mt –– compared with 30Mt in 2004.” The response to this supply situation has been an increased market volatility –– and higher prices for growers, he says.

The UK supply and demand situationfor barley is becoming increasingly tight, continues Jack Watts. “Overall production has declined to around 5Mt,with a higher proportion going to the feed sector (i.e. 2.86Mt).

“However, estimates for this harvest

suggest a likely increase to around 5.75Mt–– produced from around 0.44Mha of wintervarieties and 0.56Mha of spring types.”

He points out that around 1.9Mt of barleyis needed to produce 1.5Mt of malt. “Thebrewing sector takes the majority share ofthis –– currently accounting for 45% of themalt –– with around 35% going for distilling,4% to the food sector and 16% for export.”

Yet malting barley now has to competehard for a place in the rotation –– particularly with crops like wheat givingsuch attractive returns, says Jack Watts.

“Growers need to look where malting barley might slot in on-farm, and assesswhether it will be able to competefavourably on gross margin terms.” He suggests it would generally outperform late drilled wheat at present –– particularlyon light land.

He believes this year’s harvest shouldhelp redress the UK’s supply and demandimbalance for barley. “But can the marketkeep pace with the growth in demand forbeer and whisky?

“World demand for malt is forecast togrow by 3.5% to 2010, with a 6% increasein world beer consumption to 1,699Mhl thisyear –– with China leading the way with astaggering 15% growth.”

Demand for Scotch whisky is alsoincreasing, with strong growth in marketssuch as India, China and South America,says Roger Woodley, commercial directorfor Bairds Malt.

“Overall, the demand for malting barley looks set to remain firm, with premiums likely to be at high levels forthe next few years –– all of which is goodnews for malting barley growers.” n


In association with

Farming with a difference

Woodhead became a LEAF Demonstration Farmin 2004 –– with the annual audit now the

backbone of the business.

By David Jones

cottish farmer Hugh Broad says he first began to consider activelymanaging part of his farm to

achieve specific conservation goals more than a decade ago.

“I looked at the economics of what wasthen the Countryside Premium Scheme(CPS) and quickly concluded that it didn’tadd up.

“However, I subsequently formed theview that to have some capped incomewould at least provide us with a bit of acomfort factor.” The scheme was wellfunded at the time, so he joined up in 1997.

In contrast to IACS, the agri-environ-mental schemes at least delivered somepublic benefit, he believes. “I decided to prove that conservation and modernfarming could exist side-by-side.”

He admits that the £750/ha gross return from grass margins, for example,soon started to look quite good.

S

‘The best wheat yields came fromthe continuous crops last season.’

The CPS was subsequently replaced by the Rural Stewardship Scheme, whichwas also competitive and not open to all farms. “This arguably made it more difficult for pure arable farms to qualifysince most of them tend to be lacking inbiodiversity, compared with your typicalmixed holding.”

The schemes in Scotland carried moreof an incentive element than their Englishequivalents –– compensating conservationwork on the basis of ‘income foregone’,continues Hugh Broad. “At the time, thatwas in the form of arable aid payments,but then the rates were reviewed and theybegan to look less attractive.”

An additional pre-requisite of applyingfor the RSS was to have an audit conducted initially, which had to be paid for regardless of whether the application was successful, he says.

“I’ve taken a total of 10ha of croppedland out of production, carrying out a number of audits along the way,” says Hugh Broad. “They can be time-consuming to perform but once you’vedone one, the rest become easier.”

He reckons it takes a “fair amount of

investment and effort” to get into theschemes, but believes they’re good for a farm in the long run –– increasing itsamenity value and, in turn, its net worth.

Winter wheat dominant“Gross margins were monitored at eachstage in the process and in 1996, much of the farm was generating a margin ofaround £925/ha due to the dominance of winter wheat in the rotation. But thecurrent Scottish Rural DevelopmentProgramme is paying us considerably less now per acre.”

Hugh Broad farms 217ha of land atWoodhead near Gifford, East Lothian.185ha of the farm is cropped, with theremainder being down to woodland andpermanent grass. An additional 187ha ofland is contract farmed.

Alongside his farming operations, he runs a groundwork contracting businesscarrying out work for wind farms, as wellas undertaking drainage projects andclearing snow from roads for the localcouncil –– although last year, there was none for the first time in a decade, he says.


s

http://www.newfarmcrops.co.uk

“With the wheat harvest often not beingcompleted until mid-September, there’s a reletively narrow window for establishingthe following crop,” says Hugh Broad.

Hugh Broad says his average yields have improved as a result of his lessproductive land going into various agri-environmental schemes.

Two full-time staff are employed –– one on the farm and the other on thegroundwork business –– with several casuals and self-employed staff beingtaken on as required.

There are two main soil types on thefarm –– a sandy clay loam “regarded asheavy by East Lothian standards” and a lighter alluvial sandy loam –– both ofwhich are Grade 3.

The rotation is split into two –– one partbeing continuous wheat, and the otherfeaturing two straw crops followed by abreak. “That’s likely to be winter wheat;winter barley; then either oilseed rape or spinach.”

Hugh Broad has been part of a smallgroup of Lothian farms growing spinach fora Japanese plant breeder, with the grouphoping to negotiate a new agreement tocontinue growing the crop next season.

Best yieldsThe best wheat yields came from the continuous crops last season –– mainlybecause they were more open andachieved a better level of grain fill, hebelieves. “We’ve managed to achieveyields as high as 12t/ha in recent years.”

Variety choice includes a four-way blendof Alchemy/ Riband/ Istabraq andZebedee which is proving popular with thedistilling industry –– the low protein andhigh starch levels producing better spirityields, he says. “Riband and Consort arestill popular up here too.”

Consort is grown because it suits thenortherly climate, while Alchemy is usefulbecause its robust disease resistance creates more flexibility with the sprayer.“Robigus didn’t perform that well for usbut it’s still a popular variety in this area.”

Hugh Broad still operates a plough-based cultivation system for barley andcontinuous wheat which helps with the level of weed control achieved –– sterile brome and other grassweeds in particular. “But we switch to min-till afterbarley and rape.”

He questions whether his cultivationapproach is driven by the drill or the crop.“Our seed drill doesn’t like trash and we’reoften combining into the middle ofSeptember up here, so there’s a smallerwindow for establishing a stale seedbed.We always try to drill when the conditionsare spot on.”

The disproportionate amount of wheatin the rotation means the sowing windowcan be very limited. “The farm sometimeshas wheat in the ground for 12 months ofthe year.”

Input usage hasn’t changed much atWoodhead farm over the past 10 years or so, but there’s now a more targetedapproach to crop production –– with treatment thresholds strictly adhered to, he continues.

Agri-environmental schemes“Average yields have improved as a result of the less productive parts of the farm having been put into various agri-environmental schemes.” He claimsto have used a minimal amount of insecticide over the past 10 years –– the exception being some early-sownwheat where some aphids were a problem last year.

“We tend to employ a preventative,rather than a curative approach, but this can sometimes be tricky as we’resteadily losing products now –– and there’sbeen a definite slow-down in the numberof new ones coming through.

“It’s a serious concern that moreagrochemicals will be lost in the comingyears –– particularly herbicides.” He believes input decisions should be“evidence-led” based on having an accurate picture of individual fields.

Hugh Broad claims to have adoptedvarious cultural and management practices over the years to minimise the impact of his farming practise onwildlife. For example, he strives to achievewell-prepared, consolidated seedbeds as a first line of defence against slugs ––meaning less reliance on chemicals.

Similarly, he tries to leave the sprayer in the shed until late in the day when bee activity tends to be less.

Moreover, set-aside which previouslyaccounted for 10% of his total farmed

area (until this season) was alwayscropped, either with an industrial crop or with wild bird cover, and was alwayscarefully managed, he says. “And today,we’ve got around 20ha total in the ScottishForestry Grant Scheme and the FarmWoodland Premium Scheme, with a further 7ha in unharvested crops and grass margins.

Barn owls thriving“There’s been a tangible increase in barnowl numbers in recent years, which is particularly encouraging since we’re justabout on the northern limit for barn owls in the UK because of our frequent wintersnow cover.”

Hugh Broad is also involved in a greypartridge project, funded by ScottishPower, which aims to arrest the decline of the species through improvements to habitats. Monitoring of numbers isundertaken with bird counts in both spring and autumn.

It was the desire to run his farming business alongside a range of environmentalenhancements that prompted Hugh Broad to join LEAF, with his enterprise subsequently becoming a DemonstrationFarm in 2004.

“Accurate record-keeping and completing the LEAF audit are key components of our integrated farming system,” he insists. “The LEAF audit is the backbone of the business –– it highlights what needs to be done, and it acts as a useful aide memoir for the less obvious things you don’t always think about.

Successful integrated farm managementbegins with the soil, he believes. “AtWoodhead, my policy has always been


s

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l Chafer 24m trailed sprayer

l Lely centre liner spreader (for P, K and solid AN)

to understand the potential of the land andto manage the crops accordingly. I believeyield to be a good barometer of the condition of the soil, so if there’s a decline,I’m quick to investigate the cause.”

The land is tested every three years toassess the precise nutrient requirementsof the crop, and inputs are targeted appropriately.

“A good example of this is lime, whichis one of our most responsive fertilisers. If the soil is too alkaline, it can lock-upthe nutrients –– denying the crop accessto them.”

Soil pH monitoringSOYL mapping, based on four samplingpoints to the hectare, has shown him that if the soil pH is less than 5.3, as much as45% of the yield can be lost on barley.“Precision farming is an attitude of mindrather than a brand, based on commonsense and field knowledge.”

A recent development at Woodhead is its status as an HGCA Arable MonitorFarm –– part of a new scheme, supportedby Scottish Enterprise and the ScottishGovernment Rural Payments andInspections Directorate, and facilitated by SAC.

“It’s a concept that originated in NewZealand, which was adopted initially in theUK by the livestock sector and which hasjust been extended to monitor new andestablished arable farming practices on a selection of progressive units.”

On-farm trials being undertaken atWoodhead include the use of a Crop Circle green leaf scanner for variable ratenitrogen application. “I’m also looking atthe benefits of a T0 fungicide in wheat asa means of minimising the effects ofbrown rust.”

An area of wheat was left unsprayed at T0 this season and plants are beingmonitored for disease levels at three key timings through the SAC crop clinic(i.e. GS31/32, GS39 and GS70).

Trace element requirements in winter

Hugh Broad is trialling variable ratenitrogen applications this season.

oilseed rape and winter barley are alsobeing measured by sending plant samples into a laboratory for analysis.

“Initial results have already highlighted a copper deficiency in the winter barley.”

Other techniques being trialled withinthe scheme include stem-based diseaseassessment; the value of late nitrogen inrape; the advantage of varietal blendscompared with single varieties; and ear disease control in winter wheat.l Anyone interested in finding out moreabout LEAF (Linking Environment AndFarming), or who would like to try out ademonstration version of the LEAF Audit,can contact LEAF on 02476 413911 orvisit www.leafuk.org n


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page 6 machinery - cpm magazine · 2016-12-05 · white house barn, hanwood, shrewsbury sy5 8lp....

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