Arable Farming April 2022

Talking Agronomy

‘With prices high I am still in favour of pushing yields’ Page 14 April 2022

Volume 45 Issue 4

a i r o t p e S g n o "A str 1 T t a t produc l." a c i t i r c is

RESEARCH Tracking fungicide resistance Pages 32-33

AGRONOMY Managing the wheat disease threat Pages 20-22 RICHARD BUDD, FARMER AT CRANBROOK, 1,200 HA, KENT

My aim at T1 is to eradicate any disease at the bottom of

the crop, stop it rising and protect the green leaf area - the longer you can keep it, the bigger the yield. On my trial

last year, Revystar ® XE at T1 increased yield by 0.85 t/ha over a competitor product. It`s obvious

that using a strong Septoria product at T1 is critical, even if it`s dry.

SCAN HERE OR SEARCH ‘RICHARD BUDD REVYSTORY’ FOR MORE. Use plant protection products safely. Always read the label and product information before use. For further product information including warning phrases and symbols refer to www.agricentre.basf.co.uk. Revystar® XE contains mefentrifluconazole (Revysol®) and fluxapyroxad (Xemium®).

Revystar® XE, Revysol®, and Xemium® are registered Trademarks of BASF. © BASF 2022. All rights reserved.

MACHINERY

Joined up thinking for roots Pages 63-65

Innovation in action for progressive arable farmers AF Apr p1 Cover TR RM.indd 1

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YieldON switches “ON” crop profitability. This revolutionary biostimulant contains a unique blend of natural plant extracts – which stimulate the flow of nutrients into seeds for higher yields. In UK trials over the last 3 years, YieldON increased wheat* yields by 0.47 t/ha on average. Oilseed rape** and barley* trials showed yield increases of 0.33 and 0.37 t/ha respectively.

YieldON is available from Hutchinsons (www.hlhltd.co.uk) and Agrii (www.agrii.co.uk).

For further information, email technical.uk@valagro.com

www.valagro.com

*single application of 2 litres/ha at flag leaf growth stage; **single application of 2 litres/ha between early to mid-flowering.

AF_04_IFC.indd 1

23/03/2022 14:57

CONTENTS: REGULARS

APRIL 2022 VOLUME 45 ISSUE 4

In this issue of

34

Comment 10 14 16 72

Talking Arable More questions than answers when it comes to crop nutrition Talking Agronomy Agronomy plans are being put into place as the spring season gets underway Talking Roots Why R&D for root crops is essential Talking Policy Greater value should be placed on domestic food production

Technical 24 30 34 38 40 46 51 52 54

Keeping tabs on variety ratings Cereal disease trials are providing insight into crop management options Stimulating plant defences to boost septoria control How natural substances that stimulate wheat’s defences can help fight septoria Learning to live with CSFB An update on developments in non-chemical control of CSFB Recommended List trials provides unexpected clubroot test A chance opportunity to test clubroot resistance in OSR yielded useful information Getting oilseed rape back on track How one Oxfordshire farming business reset its approach to growing OSR Greener market to drive change in the milling sector?

What pressure on the supply chain to reduce its carbon footprint means for milling wheat Identifying virus strains Latest updates from a beet industry taskforce working on virus yellows control Keeping aphid enemies in sight Why it is essential that aphid monitoring continues in the UK Target soil and stewardship schemes to bridge BPS gap How new support measures and existing schemes could offset the loss of direct payments

Machinery 56

52

63 66

63

70

Loading time savings keep harvest on the move How one Yorkshire potato grower has streamlined harvest and haulage logistics Joined up thinking for roots The benefit of precision agriculture approaches with high value root crops Beet tradition meets technology Morley Farms, Norfolk, shares its experience with camera-guided beet hoeing Major changes to red diesel rules What you need to know about changes to rebated fuel use

R&D 32

Tracking fungicide resistance AHDB-funded research is helping show how resistance to fungicides develops

Product news 71

New in crop nutrition Tissue analysis service linking nutrient values and growth stage

Podcast 73

Tackling cereal diseases A look at cereal disease prospects this season

APRIL 2022 AF Apr p3 4 Contents RM TR.indd 2

3 25/03/2022 13:51

CONTENTS: FEATURES

6

26

6

Business

The profitability challenge Why you need a plan to prosper

26 Plant breeding

Yellow rust resistance breeding How plant breeders are responding to the yellow rust threat

48 Crop nutrition

Reducing crop stress with silicon Silicon rarely gets a second though in crop nutrition but that might be set to change

60 Root crops 60

Potato planting machinery How manufacturers are responding to the demand for higher output potato planting

68 Machinery

Closed transfer systems The launch of compatible caps and couplers is planned for 2023 in the UK

4 AF Apr p3 4 Contents RM TR.indd 3

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 13:51

a word from the Contacts Group Editor – Arable Teresa Rush 01787 282 822 teresa.rush@arablefarming.com Senior Arable Technical Specialist Alice Dyer 07966 445 458 alice.dyer@arablefarming.com Arable Technical Specialist Jo Bellett, 07786 190 188 jo.bellett@arablefarming.com Machinery Editor Toby Whatley 01772 799 496 toby.whatley@arablefarming.com Production Editor Rik Magliola 01772 799 456 rik.magliola@arablefarming.com Picture Editor Marcello Garbagnoli 01772 799 445 marcelllo.garbagnoli@arablefarming.com Account Manager Jane Newton 01948 780 783 jane.newton@arablefarming.com Account Manager Mark Jackson 01322 449 624 mark.jackson@arablefarming.com Account Manager Chris Knowles 01772 799 550 chris.knowles@arablefarming.com Head of Commercial Solutions Mike Hartley 01772 799 532 mike.hartley@arablefarming.com Advertising Production Justine Sumner 01772 799 437 justine.sumner@arablefarming.com For circulation queries, to request a copy or subscribe, please contact Emma Williamson 01772 799 452 emma.williamson@arablefarming.com Subscriptions Contact: 03303 330 056 help@subscribe.farmers-guardian.com

F

editor

uture-proofing is a term used with increasing regularity in farming in recent years, but how many of us take enough time to really think about what it might mean for us personally and professionally – day to day life has a habit of getting in the way.

Now, with commodity markets in chaos, soaring input costs, the transition away from the Basic Payment Scheme – the list goes on – planning for the future has never been more critical.

Spring has sprung and it is time to relish that sense of ‘growiness’ in the fields – it is almost tangible. Yet while there is the satisfaction of crops generally looking well and full of potential, more and more conversations are starting with a question: ‘What about next year?’ How do we draw up cropping plans, given the massive hikes in fertiliser and energy costs? Should we cut back on nitrogen inputs to this season’s crops and hold some back for next season? If we don’t or can’t do that, what are the implications for our cashflow?

Prosper There is no single answer to these questions, but here at Arable Farming we will continue to ask them and bring our readers information and insight to help inform the answers for individual arable businesses. And if you are just starting on your plan to prosper, our report from the Andersons spring seminars is as good a place as any to start (p6-8).

Current issues around farm policy, the environment, carbon and productivity were all on the agenda, but three things caught my attention: structural change beyond the farm gate and the shift towards fewer, bigger grain buyers; rising overhead costs, and a question posed over the possibility of continuing professional development becoming

a requirement for receiving farm support. More on these issues in the coming months.

Elsewhere in this issue, we bring you the latest thinking on disease management for the season ahead, including an insight into the performance of some of the new fungicides to reach the market in the last 12 months (p20-22). And with new season spud planting underway, we’ve got a special focus on the kit solutions making a difference to the productivity of potato businesses (p56-67).

Staying with machinery, I’ll sign off with a reminder that LAMMA 2022 will take place at the NEC, Birmingham, on May 4 and 5. There is no better place to start future-proofing your machinery management plans.

© Agriconnect 2022 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher.

The contents of Arable Farming are subject to reproduction in information storage and retrieval systems. ISSN 0269-6797

6

Arable Farming, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire PR2 9NZ

www.croptecshow.com November 23-24, 2022

Origination by Farmers Guardian, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 9NZ. Published by Agriconnect. Printed by Precision Colour Printing, Halesfield 1, Stirchley, Telford TF7 4QQ. No responsibility can be accepted by Arable Farming for opinions expressed by contributors.

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BUSINESS The defining challenge of the current generation of arable farmers will be becoming more profitable. Teresa Rush reports.

Rising to the profitability challenge

D

o you have a plan to prosper? This is a question farm business consultants Andersons has been putting to farmers and farm managers attending its annual spring seminars. The next five years will be a period of significant change for English farming and the devolved nations are likely to go through the same process at some point later. The support granted to farmers will fall and claimants will have to do more to access the money that is available, meaning there will be less profit available.

With support under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) at least halving for English farmers by

2024, there is a need to consider a farm business’ ability to ‘recover’ lost BPS. There will be a timing gap between the reduction in BPS and availability of new schemes, especially if the farm is already in Countryside Stewardship.

Andersons partner Graham Redman says: “Even if revenue under new schemes is the same as BPS, profit will be lower, ‘public goods’ need to deliver something and this has a cost.”

Structure Other ways to make up the shortfall include improving farming efficiency, which is likely to require a change in cost structure, as well as looking to sources of income

Table 1: Loam Farm model – England (£/hectare) 600ha of combinable crops – 240ha owned, 360ha Farm Business Tenancy. Owner plus one full-time worker and harvest casual

Output Variable costs Gross margin Overheads Rent and finance Drawings Margin from production Basic payment + SFI Business surplus

2020 1,165 370 795 436 238 75

2021 1,523 390 1,133 437 242 78

2022 1,576 452 1,123 477 242 80

2023 1,468 616 852 500 241 81

46

376

325

30

233

197

163

128+40

279

573

488

198

Source: Andersons

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additional to core farming activities.

Some businesses will need an exit strategy, says Mr Redman, but for the best businesses there will be the potential for expansion and growth.

The next couple of years are likely to be challenging for predominantly arable farming businesses Andersons senior agribusiness analyst James Webster says: “We are coming out of what have been historically high profit years and into a period defined by high costs, while outputs are dictated by global supply and demand.

“Profitability from production may be challenged as we learn to deliver more for the environment.

However, we need to be wary of the cost of receiving subsidies.”

There are also structural changes taking place in the arable sector. In the last decade several large grain buyers have gone out of business and this trend is likely to continue, suggests Mr Webster.

“Farmers will be left with fewer options, increasingly becoming price takers.”

Further ongoing challenges are likely to include labour availability and the likelihood of an increased focus on greenhouse gas emissions further down the supply chain. Flour millers, for example, will need to start thinking about farmgate emissions Mr Webster says: “They are already reporting on Scope 1 and

Profitability from production may be challenged as we learn to deliver more for the environment JAMES WEBSTER Scope 2 emissions, which are the emissions they deliver and the emissions in terms of their inputs.

Down the line they are going to need to consider Scope 3 emissions, which are the farm level emissions and how they play into the business. As that develops it is very unlikely that it is going to turn into extra benefit at the farm level and reporting those emissions is likely to become a cost of trading.”

Reviewing arable performance and prospects using its long-running Loam Farm model, Andersons highlights a record business surplus figure in 2021, but warns of rising overheads.

Output prices were high in 2021 (see table 1), while input prices were relatively low and it is a similar

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 13:53

BUSINESS

Table 2: Loam farm model – Scotland (£/hectare)

Arable farming has been fundamentally unprofitable at various times over the last four to five years and without the Basic Payment Scheme that is something that must change.

picture for 2022 for Loam Farm, given that inputs were purchased relatively early on, although the effects of sharply rising costs are expected to be seen in 2023.

Variable “One thing I would draw attention to, is that although variable costs have increased, following what was a record year for Loam Farm in 2021, on the business surplus front, the value of overheads has begun to increase through higher machinery investment and is up towards £500/ha as we start to look to 2023,” adds Mr Webster.

“High prices won’t necessarily last forever, but as variable costs come down and outputs come down,

maintaining control of overheads is going to be an increasing challenge for the business.”

Looking beyond combinable crops to potatoes, Andersons highlights some significant long-term challenges in a sector which has seen the number of producers fall by one-third over the last 10 years.

At the same time the risk profile of the crop has increased considerably, as has the cost and size of the machinery involved and its capital cost is an issue.

Reduced access to crop protection active ingredients is also a problem for this sector. This is particularly true for storage chemicals in a heavily contracted X

Output Variable costs Gross margin Overheads Rent and finance Drawings Margin from production Basic payment Business surplus

2020 1,230 365 866 440 229 75

2021 1,500 384 1,167 429 236 78

2022 1,516 439 1,077 475 236 80

2023 1,367 600 767 494 235 81

121 231

374 223

287 223

(43) 223

352

597

510

180

PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES

600 hectares (spring barley, winter wheat, winter OSR, winter oats/barley) – 240ha owned, 360ha CFAs; owner plus one full-time worker and harvest casual

Source: Andersons

JThroughout 2020 and 2021 Loam Farm Scotland performed well. Unlike the English model, Loam Farm Scotland had fewer challenges establishing crops.

This resulted in strong output figures in 2021. Loam Farm is expected to make a profit from production in 2022, although costs are rising in response to increased variable costs and higher machinery investment.

In 2023 these high costs of

production are set to drive a £43/ha loss from production.

The farm is shielded from this loss by continued direct support, which while tapering in England is not the case for Scotland.

The future policy framework for Scottish agricultural payments is uncertain but is expected to align more closely with the situation in the EU than in England.

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APRIL 2022 AF Apr p6 7 8 KH TR.indd 3

7 25/03/2022 13:54

BUSINESS Those that leave the potato industry will find it very hard, if not impossible, to come back into it JAMES WEBSTER inflation in recent years, but the value paid to growers has not reflected that until recently.

Consolidation “We have seen a fair amount of consolidation in the area of sugar beet being grown but now we are starting to see a change in that.

The contract price for current production has gone up considerably but at the same time so have the costs of growing sugar beet,” adds Mr Webster.

In horticulture, labour is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges the sector will face over the next few years. The Seasonal

Improving productivity in farming JImproving the productivity of farming is a Government policy objective. To that end it has launched a number of capital grant schemes – similar in scope to the past Countryside Productivity Scheme.

A capital grant for slurry stores is planned but few details are available at present. rFarming Investment Fund: 40% capital grants for equipment. Runs to 2026 rFarming Equipment and Technology Fund: Fixed payments for 120 specified items; online application; minimum grant £2,000, maximum £25,000. Scheme limit £50,000. Various rounds planned

rFarming Transformation Fund: Larger grants of £35,000-£500,000.

Three themes: water management; productivity; adding value. There is a two-stage application process rFarming in Protected Landscapes: National Parks and AONBs. Runs to March 2024; variable grant rates, up to 100% if no commercial gain – climate change; nature recovery; public enjoyment; landscape preservation rSlurry Investment Scheme: Slurry stores and covers.

Opens autumn 2022?

Grants and rates currently unknown Source: Andersons

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The sugar beet contract price for the 2022/23 season represents a marked increase on recent years and may draw more area into the crop.

Agricultural Workers scheme is transitioning to become the Seasonal Workers scheme, but is being extended to HGV drivers and others and, as a result, the availability of visas for the agricultural and horticultural sectors will be a challenge.

“There are going to be 30,000 visas granted for 2022, plus a further 10,000 if required. But that number is going to taper over time. As an additional consideration, in 2021, 30% of the visas

granted were granted to Ukrainian nationals and numbers for Russian and Belarussian nationals were also fairly high. That is something that is going potentially to pose a significant challenge as we move forward,” says Mr Webster.

There are also environmental challenges facing horticulture but there are probably also more environmental opportunities in terms of zero land farming, addressing food waste and delivering a healthy diet, he adds.

PICTURE: TIM SCRIVENER

sector, where crops may be stored for many months.

In addition, the environmental focus of Government policy is likely to pose significant challenges for the root crop sectors. Water and soil are key focuses of environmental policy and the potato sector uses a lot of water and moves a lot of soil “We are seeing significant consolidation. One of the primary reasons for that is the increased cost involved in potato farming,” says Mr Webster.

“It is increasingly becoming a specialised business and maybe some of the farms that are growing small acreages of potatoes are looking at renting that land out for potato production, rather than bearing the costs themselves.

“Those that leave the potato industry will find it very hard, if not impossible, to come back into it, given cost structures.

“We also need to consider the environmental impact of the potato industry. That is going to produce some fairly hefty challenges as we move forward.”

Staying with roots, sugar prices have seen significant food price

Improving skills in farming JAs well as capital grants, some of the Government’s productivity funding will go to improving skills in farming.

There is an ongoing farming advice scheme, the final phase of which should open in the autumn and run through to March 2024. A number of providers are offering business advice and different providers offer different levels of service, so it pays to shop around, says Graham Redman.

A new professional body is also being set up for farming and over time there may be a requirement for farmers to have completed a certain amount of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in order to obtain public funding – this has already

been proposed in Northern Ireland. rFuture Farm Resilience Fund: Free business advice to farmers. Final phase to run from autumn 2022 to March 2024 rSkills and training: The Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture set up as the professional body for farming (CPD in future?). Standardised key performance indicators (KPIs) for each sector to be drawn up by AHDB rNew Entrants Scheme: Runs from 2022 to 2024, few details available currently but likely to be support for ‘programmes’ rather than direct aid to entrants rAnimal welfare: From 2022 onwards, details awaited Source: Andersons

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 13:54

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22/03/2022 09:00 30/11/2021 11:08:31

HANNAH Darby As a partner in her family’s farm, former physiotherapist Hannah Darby switched to farming after studying an MSc in crop management at Writtle College in 2015. She takes on all aspects of running the farm with her uncle and is a keen advocate of continual learning.

The more I seem to understand with nutrition and soil reserves, the more I realise I don’t know HANNAH DARBY

Farm facts rT.E. Darby & Sons is a family business based in Sawtry, Cambridgeshire, farming 360 hectares across three farms rLand is mainly organic fen soil with some wasted peats and clay soils rCropping includes wheat (winter and spring), sugar beet, peas, oats, beans and spring barley. Land is let for potatoes rNo-till and cover cropping are utilised where appropriate rThe main farm is around sea level and average rainfall for a harvest season is about 500mm

10 AF Apr p10 11 Darby AD TR RM.indd 2

S

pring has sprung and suddenly everything on the farm has started to grow. Winter seemed to last forever, but in a strange way never long enough as those jobs we save don’t all get done before the hectic spring months are upon us. It’s silly to say but the speed of growth seems to catch me out every year and this will be my eighth harvest back on farm.

So far our winter rye has had its growth regulator to reduce apical dominance and trace elements including copper, to help reduce ergot along with its first nitrogen. I’m amazed at how it has tillered, covered the ground and now started to extend away from the black-grass below it. I hope that the end result will be weak black-grass plants with small ears and little viable seed. I can’t wait to see what the yield and margins of growing rye are like and if we can sell the straw afterwards. If it works out well I imagine rye could be an entry to oilseed rape returning to the farm’s rotation.

The high land – basically any land that isn’t fen land with high organic matter – has had its first application of urea and some has had ammonium sulphate.

However, after last year’s trial, I am very cautious about sulphur on high sulphur soils or after gypsum.

It is time to look towards planning the rest of the fertiliser and trace element programme. Having discussed the matter at length, we will be using fulvic acid with our trace elements to aid transportation into the leaf and to help chelation in complicated mixtures.

I am starting to understand more of the antagonistic

relationships of nutrients, especially potassium and magnesium and the importance of foliar magnesium, which will result in an increased use of bittersalts. On the fen we will apply nitrogen when we think it really needs it, which might not be at all.

The more I seem to understand with nutrition and soil reserves, the more I realise I don’t know.

The potential to help crops reach their best yield with the given weather conditions is exciting but also mind boggling as I now understand doing nothing is a lot better than doing the wrong thing if you are not sure. So much is not known about the real peak demands of nutrients, especially the minor and trace elements. Maybe in the next eight harvests I might have worked out what works on our soils.

Discussing ideas Having spent time with other farmers and discussing ideas with professionals, we are now looking to fabricate a front-mounted fertiliser tank for drilling which may apply nutrition or amendments, rather than or as well as a seed dressing. Both tanks of the drill are now taken up with different seeds for intercropping, so we need other options for applying fertiliser if that is what we want to do.

We have one field of spring wheat to drill on a failed winter wheat field. It has taught me the importance of seed vigour as well as germination in over-yeared seed. Unfortunately, this didn’t have much get up and go and as a result, black-grass has become more

The farm is preparing for spring drilling which includes spring wheat, beans and an intercrop.

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 13:59

TALKING ARABLE The winter rye has tillered well, giving good ground coverage for black-grass management.

dominant. Alongside that we have spring oats, beans and our pea and oat intercrop to drill alongside 17 hectares of sugar beet which may be our last for a while.

With the intercrop of peas and oats, we will only be applying pesticides that can be used on both crops. I hope that we have a

better establishment of peas as last year we were hampered by all the April frosts in outcompeting the weeds.

I love this time of year when everything seems to have great potential. Let’s hope that April is kind to us all, we get drilled up and the crops get up and away.

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11 25/03/2022 13:59

OLLIE Martin Ollie Martin is responsible for the arable and grain business enterprise across Bedfordia Farms’ 2,450-hectare operation, with 27,000 tonnes of grain storage, near Bedford.

He studied agribusiness management at Writtle University College and has had previous farm management roles in Norfolk, Hertfordshire and Fife.

Yellow rust is almost impossible to find at present but we all know how rapidly this disease moves OLLIE MARTIN

Farm facts rBedfordia Farms has more than 2,400 hectares of combinable crops including wheat, barley and beans rThe business also provides grain testing in its on-site lab and has 27,000 tonnes of grain storage and processing capacity rThere are 27 soil types across the farms, but most of the land consists of Hanslope clay, Faulkbourne and Stretham, which are classified as chalky clay, becoming waterlogged in winter rThe farm utilises a number of precision technologies and has two pig units totalling 1,100 breeding sows

12 AF Apr p12 13 Martin AD TR RM.indd 2

W

here else to start but the horrific events in Ukraine. What was, I would imagine, supposed to have been a largely unchallenged march to Kiev has become a war of attrition against a steadfast and patriotic Ukrainian military. My thoughts go out to all those families made homeless or who have lost loved ones in this senseless attempt at an invasion.

I can’t help but think also about the Ukrainian farmers, keepers of Europe’s ‘bread basket’. Beyond the amusing viral videos of Russian armour being dragged around by tractors, the reality must be that their ability to look after crops in the ground has been seriously affected and the chances of successfully establishing spring crops impacted further.

One would imagine that even if the business at farm level is able to carry on practically, logistics and infrastructure for supply of seed, pesticides, fertiliser and even fuel will have been severely impacted.

Labour too may be in short supply as no doubt many have signed up to join the fight.

Meanwhile, the bombardment of Black Sea port towns and the apparent Black Sea blockade implemented by the Russian navy, combined with sanctions placed on Russia itself, has global consequences for supply of grains and, by definition, global food security. Markets have responded with previously unseen volatility with limit ups and limit OSR has received an application of tebuconazole for phoma and growth regulation.

downs as traders attempt to sort facts from propaganda. Even if the war ends tomorrow, it will surely be years before infrastructure is rebuilt and Black Sea grain exports return to normal levels.

Consider then the impact all this is having on already extortionate fertiliser prices due to production costs and tight supply. We are fortunate to have just about covered our requirements for this year, at significant cost, but next year who knows what availability will be, let alone the likely cost. All of this adds up to what could be considered a perfect storm for global food security, particularly for those countries who are significant net importers.

Production-focused There are mumblings from some quarters of a return to production-focused agricultural policies, which carries logic, although little appears to have come out of Westminster at the time of writing. On the one hand it would be a travesty to make the same environmental mistakes of the past, mistakes that we must learn from. On the other hand, it seems ludicrous on several levels that while wheat supply tightens and food prices look set to soar, we alone have about 100 hectares of productive arable land in AB15 two year legume fallow.

Back in comparatively peaceful north Bedfordshire we have been making the most of weather The oilseed rape has largely survived the onslaught of pigeon grazing.

M T

* 2 a fi b S

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 10:47

Arable

TALKING ARABLE Weather windows have seen the application of digestate and pig slurry to largely pleasing looking crops.

windows getting digestate, pig slurry and Nuram 35 + S applied to largely pleasing looking crops.

The sprayer has also been busy getting Avocet (pyroxsulam) on to brome-affected wheat fields. The oilseed rape has received an application of tebuconazole for phoma and growth regulation as well as fluazifop for brome and volunteer wheat control. T0 applications look set to begin next

week (March 21) with disease control based on tebuconazole.

Yellow rust is almost impossible to find at present but we all know how rapidly this disease moves. Protection is the aim of the game. Mecoprop-P will be added for volunteer bean control where required. Magnesium sulphate will be in the tank across the board and manganese in the mix where deficiency is expected.

The oilseed rape has largely survived the onslaught of pigeon grazing thanks to no lack of effort on the part of the arable team.

Gas supply for the gas guns has been challenging and we have had to beg and borrow bottles from ever-helpful neighbours. Scarcity of banger ropes and sky rockets also led to me ordering some display fireworks from a local supplier. If the pigeons weren’t

scared they were at least entertained.

Finally, planning has begun for our Open Farm Sunday event, to be held on June 19. Based on previous years, as many as 3,000 members of the public might be walking through the gates for a fun filled day of shiny big machinery, crops, pigs, environment management, tractor rides and cake. Lots of cake.

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25/03/2022 22/03/2022 10:47 12:05

TALKING AGRONOMY

BEN Boothman Autumn herbicides have worked well and many crops have little or no need for a follow up treatment

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nd they are off. The season’s start flag has been raised and an army of fertiliser spreaders has been deployed in fields around Yorkshire. Conversations are still happening on-farm about how much nitrogen rates can be cut back to reflect the current prices.

However, if the much-needed input was bought at a reasonable price then I don’t see any reason why dosages should be trimmed back. With the incredibly favourable autumn/ winter, crops look full of potential and with commodity prices at an all-time high, I am still in favour of pushing yields.

There is, however, potential to lower nitrogen rates on extremely thick oilseed rape crops following green area index measurements. These big, forward crops will have some nitrogen trimmed off them but with potential end prices of £700+/tonne, reductions are not likely to be much. Late sown wheats following roots where

Agronomist facts JBen Boothman is an independent agronomist and member of the Arable Advisor Group and the Association of Independent Crop Consultants (AICC), covering Yorkshire and the North East. He is BASIS, FACTS and BETA qualified and studied for a degree in agriculture and crop management at Harper Adams University.

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yield potential is reduced may also undergo a dietary cut, but again nothing too drastic.

At the rate oilseed rape crops are growing, final N doses will be going on in the next 10 days, mainly to ensure crop height doesn’t affect prill spread pattern. First spring fungicides have all now been applied, while crop size has determined product choice and active ingredient rate. With very little disease present within crops this application has mainly been to target plant growth regulation.

First pass Forward winter barley crops have all been prescribed an early PGR dose based around trinexapac and chlormequat. Any grass- or broad-leaved weeds have also been targeted in this first pass, along with a dash of manganese to help keep the crop in good health. T1 fungicides are being planned and will look to be going on towards the end of this month into early April.

Mildew levels in lush crops are still bubbling away and rhynchosporium is visible on older leaves in some crops, so these two diseases will be the main target for the T1 mix.

Winter wheats are starting to show signs of movement as well, with the earliest sown crops awakening from their winter hibernation. I have given the thumbs up for any spring grass-weed herbicides to start being applied. I must stress, however, that autumn pre-/post-emergence herbicides have worked well and I have many crops where there is little or no need for a follow up treatment. Any varieties with a low yellow rust

rating will get an azoxystrobin partner as a T0.

Tebuconazole will be my preferred option for active yellow rust, however tank mix issues will restrict this where SU graminicides are being applied.

The continued run of favourable weather has meant that the spring cereal drilling campaign is off to a good start, with seedbeds being near perfect. Intermittent showers will aid performance on any pre-emergence herbicides that have been applied. I generally only apply these in high weed burden areas or early March sown crops.

Winter linseed crops became the new favourite on the woodpigeon buffet; however, most are now starting to bounce back and with rapid growth will allow focus to switch to tidying up any broad-leaved weeds that have escaped the autumn pre-em sprays.

Winter bean crops yet again shadow grandparents easing themselves out of the living room chair and continue to move slowly. As with many autumn sown crops the pre-em herbicides have worked well with only a few cleaver patches and spring graminicide sprays to be added to the job card.

I write this while currently sat in a fantastic pod on a very good friend’s farm in Tynley, Northumberland. With a rest weekend from sprinting around the rugby field, I chose to take a trip up a little further north to see how crops are looking. It wasn’t the crops, however, that first drew my attention upon arrival, it was the sheer mass destruction of woodland that has been left in the wake of last month’s storms. Centuries of woodland completely uprooted.

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 10:45

TALKING AGRONOMY

GREG Taylor All bets on 2023 harvest values are off

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n the ground things continue very much the same, with crops well ahead of last year and full of potential. But our world has changed out of all recognition in less than a month. And, for once, it has been nothing to do with the weather.

Last month, most agronomic thinking revolved around the imperative of and opportunities for fertiliser savings. While the greatest nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) remains central and the Ukrainian tragedy has pushed AN prices to over three times last summer’s levels, our current approach has become far more strategic.

The upward pressure the Russian invasion has put on most crop values in a world of already tight supplies certainly bodes well for

Agronomist facts JGreg Taylor has been an Agrii agronomist for more than a decade, servicing around 6,000 hectares of mainly combinable cropping across a broad range of soil types in Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Buckinghamshire.

As a Harper Adams graduate, he has worked on farms in New Zealand and the USA, and is now responsible for the trials and demonstration work on the Brackley i-Farm.

He is particularly engaged with direct drilling, soil improvement and regenerative agriculture and is an ardent rugby fan and marathon runner in his spare time.

the coming harvest. But if this season’s volatility has taught us anything, it has to be that all bets on 2023 harvest values are off.

About the only thing we can be sure of next season is input costs will be much higher than this season’s. Which means our priority has switched to getting the most from our excellent 2022 crop opportunities. This is about the only way most businesses will be able to cope with the unprecedented input inflation in the pipeline for next season – not least cashflow-wise.

Some break even ratio calculations may suggest we would be better off cutting back on nitrogen, in particular. But with volatility piled on volatility, they are out of date almost as soon as we’ve done them, so next to useless. Instead, our emphasis on using this harvest to build for the future means focusing on maintaining the most productive inputs, matching them carefully to soil status, crop condition and, above all, crop potential.

Improved organic matter As expected, we are seeing soil mineral nitrogen levels encouragingly higher than last year across the board. And soils where we have really improved organic matters are coming back with additionally available nitrogen 20-50kg/hectare up on the rest, offering us even greater future and current fertilisation flexibility.

Looking ahead, we are actively exploring technologies like LiquiSafe to improve liquid nitrogen utilisation. In field-scale comparisons last year, one of my growers obtained a 5% increase in wheat yields from its combination of urease and nitrification inhibitors. At the same time, he was able to reduce his fertiliser passes

from three to two – which is particularly appreciated with escalating diesel prices.

We are also paying close attention to the heavy land Green Horizons work at Stow Longa where, in a difficult season, the research team brought in almost nine tonnes/ha of full specification Skyfall from just 164kg N/ha last harvest with a NUE of over 95%. This underlines what is possible by balancing effective nitrogen applications with fresh available sulphur, potash, magnesium and calcium.

Enhanced micronutrition – copper, zinc and boron, in particular – is another area in which we are looking to improve our NUE, following extensive AgriiFocus systems trials showing yield benefits of up to 1t/ha in winter wheat and almost as much in spring barley.

It would be nice to think the improvements we’ve been making in our soil health would carry through into improved plant health and the opportunity for reduced reliance on crop protection as well as fertiliser inputs; especially so as we’ve lost yet another valuable rust-active triazole this spring. I have to say though, we have yet to see any good evidence of this.

Where we really have the opportunity for future spray programme flexibility, if not savings, is in better variety choice. At the Brackley iFarm, we have had untreated Graham outyielding fullytreated Skyfall. And the likes of KWS Extase are moving us forward, offering particular opportunities for promising biologicals such as Iodus.

While we are using the breathing space of this season to try out these and other approaches, our overriding imperative is not letting anything get in the way of making the very most of our current crops. Next season’s livelihoods depend on it.

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15 25/03/2022 10:46

TALKING AGRONOMY ROOTS

DARRYL Shailes R&D in potatoes is essential if we are to protect our crops from ever-changing challenges

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pring is in the air; the lawn mower has been out for the first time and the daffodils in the garden are in full flower.

There is a lot of bird activity and a new visitor to the garden is a little egret, another to add to the species list. We’ve also seen bumblebees and wasps buzzing around, which is pretty unusual for March.

However, we shouldn’t be too surprised at how early the insect life is becoming active as we’ve had such a mild winter.

This is reflected in the fact that the Rothamsted model has been triggered and allowed the Cruiser SB (thiamethoxam) emergency approval (EA) to be granted and treated seed has arrived on-farm and will be drilled in around 75% of UK sugar beet fields.

The aphid migration is expected to start around mid-April, much earlier than in 2021 but not quite as early as in 2020, with 68.9% of the crop predicted to be infected if left untreated.

With normal chemical approvals most of

Agronomist facts JDarryl Shailes is root crop technical manager for Hutchinsons, with a nationwide remit. He has been working in potato agronomy for more than 20 years.

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the label is guidance only as long as the crucial elements such as crop, dose, harvest interval, health and safety and environmental protection are adhered to. There are some other anomalies and each label is different, but the majority is for guidance.

However, with an EA much like an extension of authorisation for minor use, everything is statutory and we must ensure as an industry that we recognise this and adhere to all the information on the EA. This includes maximum seed rate, use of follow up foliar treatments, following crops including cover crops and many more on the EA and in the comprehensive stewardship guidelines.

Hand-planted crops Potato planting is well underway in many areas and the earliest hand-planted crops in Cornwall have just received their first blight spray.

Over the last few weeks there have been a number of potato conferences and we saw the most recent report from the AHDB Fight Against Blight programme. As it stands at present, this will be the last time we will see this data, certainly in its present form.

The data generated by the Fight Against Blight programme has been excellent and given the industry some invaluable information to base its blight management strategies on.

The constant change in the phytophthora

infestans clones across the UK and the EU mean the industry needs the information if we are to manage the threat that this disease brings to our potato crop.

It was a change to phytophthora clones that bought about the great Irish potato famine when the traditional variety Irish Lumper succumbed in-store to a new clone thought to have been brought over from the Americas on seed potatoes.

We saw something along those lines in 2019 when EU 37_A2 was discovered to be resistant to fluazinam causing problems in many stores. Last season we saw the dominance of EU 36 _2 in East Anglia with the first finding of EU 42_A2 in Scotland.

With all the issues around the world at present it is essential for our industry to have excellent research to help manage our food supplies.

We are very lucky to have the British Beet Research Organisation and we see the result of its work in the EA for Cruiser SB, its ongoing R&D and in the weekly newsletters that come out in season.

Without AHDB Potatoes we could potentially be in a bit of an R&D vacuum.

Somehow all the industry must come together to ensure this doesn’t happen and that essential potato R&D we need, such as the Fight Against Blight, is continued in the UK if we are to protect our crops from the ever-changing challenges we face.

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 10:50

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23/03/2022 08:58

A competition organised by LEAF has inspired secondary schools to promote farming as a rewarding career to their pupils. Caroline Stocks finds out more about how a slow and steady approach is paying dividends.

Urban school changes curriculum to promote farming as a rewarding career

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eenagers from across the UK are being helped to see the potential in agricultural careers, thanks to an educational competition designed to showcase the high-tech, innovative and rewarding jobs available in the sector.

Linking Environment and Farming’s (Leaf’s) annual Food, Farming and Natural Environment competition aims to work with students and teachers to dispel myths about food production, while opening their eyes to the array of highskilled career opportunities on offer.

Launched in 2018, the contest was created in response to a Leaf survey which found only 4 per cent

Education in numbers

5,400 Children who have benefited from a change in curriculum following involvement in the competition

of 12- to 19-year-olds had been given information about how to get a job in agriculture, despite more than 60 per cent saying they were interested in the industry.

The annual competition involves up to 10 schools being selected as semi-finalists, with each school receiving an on-farm visit to learn about how farmers are guardians of the natural environment.

From those 10, five finalist schools are chosen to win an activity weekend at Coleg Cambria Llysfasi, North Wales, where pupils take part in hands-on activities, such as milking, tractor driving, habitat management and soil analysis.

Carl Edwards, Leaf Education director, says the competition aims to open young people’s minds to modern agriculture and highlight ways they can join the industry, as well as to connect with teachers to find ways they can bring agriculture into the curriculum.

Carl says: “I used to be a teacher and I know that traditional careers events don’t work. We wanted to provide young people with an experience they remember. We also know how

I used to be a teacher and I know that traditional careers events don’t work.

We wanted to provide young people with an experience they remember

CARL EDWARDS busy teachers are, so instead of asking them to do more, we want to show how agriculture can support the curriculum, whether that is through food technology, science or geography.”

Misconceptions

Teachers nominate their schools themselves by explaining why their students deserve a place in the competition, as well as the benefits it will bring to their school.

Up to 50 secondary schools across the country enter each year – a number Leaf hopes it can increase even further this year.

Carl says: “We want to target the high-achieving students aged 14-16, because that is when they are starting to make decisions about what GCSEs they want to take or what careers they might like. Working with children when they are aged five or six is great, but what impact are those farm visits going to have when the children are making career decisions at 16?

“We want to increase their perceptions of the industry and change misconceptions.”

Carl believes the weekends have shown there is still misunderstanding among young people about what food production entails, making the competition as important than ever.

He says: “We took one group into a milking parlour and one girl asked where the milking stool was. She had never considered there was technology involved in milk production.

2021 winning school: Laurus Ryecroft, Manchester

4% Percentage of 12- to 19-year-olds who have been given information about agriculture as a career

60% Percentage of children who said they were interested in the farming industry

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WINNING Leaf’s National Food, Farming and Environment Competition in 2021 gave pupils at Laurus Ryecroft, Droylsden, Manchester, the chance to broaden their experiences and opened their eyes to careers they might never have considered, says food technology teacher Ciaran Ellis.

He says: “Many young people from towns and cities do not have access to rural life experiences or know about the variety of careers and opportunities available within the farming industry.

“Having entered in other years, I know how valuable an experience the competition could be and while it was an amazing achievement to win, the experiences the students got will allow them to have a better understanding of

farming and food production and the struggles producers are under.”

Ciaran says the weekend at Coleg Cambria Llysfasi was an incredible experience, teaching students about careers in environmental science, as well as helping him learn more about food production.

“When we learned about the science of soils and how important these were going to be to future crop growth and carbon sequestration, the students and I were amazed.

“I hadn’t realised the very current, technological innovation going on within the industry and was perhaps guilty of believing many of the ill-informed things I had read about farming in the past.

“As a teacher, I have learned loads.

Leaf Education has improved my subject knowledge, so I am better informed and more up to date when discussing topics around farming with the students.

Opportunities

“I have also been working closely with our Leaf Education regional consultant to build in opportunities for more students to meet different farmers on visits. In 2021, it enabled us to undertake school trips to learn about environmental stewardship and the raising of heritage breeds within our area.

“Most importantly though, Leaf Education has become a link and a sounding board if I ever have a question, and that is incredibly valuable.”

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 11:44

Students and teachers from 2021’s winning school, Laurus Ryecroft in Droylsden, Manchester.

“By the end of the weekend, that same group were using the term ‘professional’ when they talked about farmers.

“They recognised the industry has chemists and biologists and countless other skilled people, and that agriculture is more than mud and wellies.”

Changing mindset

As well as changing mindsets of finalists, Leaf has discovered the competition has had wider, positive impacts on schools.

Carl says: “We do follow-ups six and 12 months later with the finalist schools and we’ve found that more than one-third of students involved in the weekends have gone on to study

About #ThisIsAgriculture

at land-based colleges. But we’ve also heard from teachers who have told us they have changed the way they teach GCSE science because of what they have learned on these weekends.

“That means 5,400 other children – not just ones who attended the weekends – have benefited. If we can continue to have that impact and inspire the next generation of skilled workers to the industry, that is a great thing.”

#ThisIsAgriculture is a campaign to raise awareness of the diverse career opportunities available in agriculture and encourage people to pursue a rewarding and progressive career.

Organised by Farmers Guardian, Arable Farming’s sister publication, the initiative is working with key industry stakeholders from across the farming sector and non-farming audiences to identify the work the agricultural industry is doing to help upskill the industry and showcase how we can all unite to make a positive difference to raise the profile of the industry.

FOLLOW #THISISAGRICULTURE:

MORE INFORMATION The 2022 National Food, Farming and Environment Competition launched last month. For more information, visit leaf. eco/education/the-national-food-farming-and-environment-competition

On Instagram @this.is.ag; Twitter @This_Is_Ag; and search on Facebook and LinkedIn.

‘Farming is completely different from what I expected’ STUDENTS from last year’s winning school, Laurus Ryecroft in Droylsden, Manchester, share what they learned about agriculture through Leaf’s contest: WHAT DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT FOOD AND FARMING BY TAKING PART IN THE COMPETITION? ● “We learned lots about how funding of farmers is changing and how they are having to be more environmentally sustainable to achieve grants.” ● “We learned about agroforestry and

how different farming methods can be combined to produce food at a more sustainable level.” ● “During the weekend I learned about the variety of careers in agriculture, which seems to be growing with all the new technology opportunities coming through.”

WHAT SURPRISED YOU ABOUT AGRICULTURE? ● “I was surprised with how little I knew.

I now realise I knew nothing. It is completely different from what I expected.”

● “I was surprised with how technology had become so valuable to farmers.

Everything from anaerobic digesters to intelligent eyes using artificial intelligence.”

HAS TAKING PART IN THE COMPETITION MADE YOU THINK ABOUT A CAREER IN AGRICULTURE? ● “I am still considering my options, but would like to work with machines in the future.” ● “I have wanted to work in marine conservation for a long time, but I am

considering how similar this is to water management within the environment.”

HOW DO YOU THINK AGRICULTURE CAN BE PROMOTED TO YOUNG PEOPLE? ● “I wish we were able to have more experiences like this. It’s different when you’re actually doing it and hearing from real people than learning about something in school.” *The names of the children have been withheld at the school’s request.

For more information, visit FGINSIGHT.COM/THISISAGRICULTURE

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19 25/03/2022 11:45

TECHNICAL DISEASE CONTROL When it comes to disease control, no one season is the same but there are always lessons that can be learned from experience. Teresa Rush reports.

Managing wheat disease threat – learning the key lessons of 2021

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eeping one step ahead of disease in cereals is a perennial challenge. And as last season so clearly demonstrated, a weather- or variety-induced stumble can have unwelcome consequences.

In wheat, septoria is becoming increasingly difficult to control, for several reasons. And as Ceres Rural partner Jock Willmott observes, once septoria gets into a crop it is very difficult to get it out.

So, what are the considerations?

Hitherto, higher yielding wheat varieties have been those which have produced the biggest response to fungicides. But times are changing, with the arrival of the likes of KWS Extase, Mayflower, KWS Palladium and Theodore.

In NIAB trials last year and

averaged over five years from 2017-2021, the mean response to fungicides in 38 varieties was 2.3 tonnes per hectare.

Fungicides Mr Willmott says: “We invest £60, £80, £90/ha in fungicides to secure – in this case – an average of about 2.3t/ha of crop back. And at 2.3t/ ha, at £200/t, for example, fungicides are well worth it.”

Also in this section 24 26 30 32 34 38 40 46 48 51 52 54

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Keeping tabs on variety ratings Post-Warrior challenges for rust resistance breeding Stimulating plant defences to boost septoria control Tracking fungicide resistance Learning to live with cabbage stem flea beetle RL trial provides unexpected clubroot test Getting oilseed rape back on track Will a greener market drive change in the milling sector?

Reducing crop stress with silicon Identifying sugar beet virus strains Keeping aphid enemies in sight Target soil and stewardship schemes to bridge BPS gap

We have got to look at varieties which offer this potential of lower response [to fungicides] but high yields JOCK WILLMOTT But varieties such as Extase and Mayflower are breaking the mould.

“They still yield well but they

Last season’s late septoria onslaught tested the persistency of T2 fungicide applications.

do not get a lot of disease and therefore they are not responsive to fungicides and this is where you have got to be careful.

“With a variety which only responds with on average 1t/ha to a fungicide, you are spending £80-£90/ha to get £200/ha back – you wind your spend in on these.”

Nonetheless, this type of variety is the way forward, adds Mr Willmott.

“As long as these varieties stay consistent and their type, how they grow and their marketability suit your farm, then these are the varieties for the future.

Influence of Cougar strain rFirst noticed in 2016 – put down as an anomaly rVarieties with Cougar in their breeding affected but not all varieties affected the same rOther resistant varieties without Cougar in the parentage were not impacted rThere are hundreds of Cougar isolates – not just one strain – all mixing in the soup of septoria strains rCougar isolates not known

to be more resistant to fungicides rNo evidence Cougar isolates have a shorter latent period rVarieties with a Cougar parent: Swallow, KWS Firefly, Merit, RGT Saki, LG Quasar, RGT Bairstow, RGT Rashid. rVarieties with a Cougar grandparent: LG Illuminate, LG Prince, LG Astronomer, RGT Stokes Source: Ceres Rural

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25/03/2022 14:08

DISEASE CONTROL TECHNICAL

Fungicide use spring 2022

“We are going to be able to farm with less risk and be able to meaningfully cut back on fungicide spend. As long as these varieties stay true and there are enough of them that we can get three or four into our cropping, they will work well.

“We don’t want to grow varieties that put our business at risk if we can’t get to spray them because it is either too windy or too wet.

“We can control yellow rust easily with £10/ha of fungicide but if we can’t get to it to physically spray it, then that is when it starts to have an effect on the bottom line.”

margin of error. This equates to around 0.2t/ha yield difference, worth £40/ha at £190/t.

“How much of that £40/ha is going to be eroded in extra fungicide costs? This is what we are trying to price up in our mind. We still pick varieties on the basis of what we can grow well, sell well and are comfortable with storing but, we have got to start looking at varieties which offer this potential of X

Yield He points out that Gleam, which he says has been a ‘tremendous’ variety, has a yield rating of just 2% above Extase, which is within the statistical

rClear rate response with Revystar – important if late application rUnivoq gave best green leaf retention and yield response in 2021, perhaps more dose flexibility rNIAB trials suggest it is difficult to get consistent significant responses with folpet but it has a value in higher pressure situations – go twice at full dose of 1.5 litres per hectare Source: Ceres Rural

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TECHNICAL DISEASE CONTROL lower response [to fungicides] but high yields.”

The breakdown of resistance to septoria derived from the variety Cougar has seen the resistance ratings of several varieties revised down on the AHDB Recommended List for 2022/23. And with Cougar genetics present in the make-up of a number of current varieties, the disease threat associated with this source of resistance will remain this season.

Noting that most of the varieties affected (see box) are soft wheats, Mr Willmott says: “If you have got them on-farm this year it will be interesting to see if there is any further degradation of that Cougar resistance. We need – we must have – gene resistance because we can’t rely on chemistry.”

But septoria is a shapeshifter in more ways than one. As well as evolving its virulence, it is additionally becoming increasingly resistant to fungicides.

“These things are acting together and can make septoria difficult to control to the point where full rate Proline, for example, gave only 20% disease control in a curative situation [in AHDB fungicide performance trials in 2021],” says Mr Willmott.

Fungicide use spring 2022 JExample of a robust fungicide programme for disease susceptible wheat: rT0 rust spray, possibly take all/eyespot – 125g of tebuconazole rT1 – Ascra or Revystar @ 1-1.2 litres/ha +/- Arizona – will cover most bases rT2 – Univoq @ 1.1-1.2 litres/ha +/- Arizona if wet rFeed wheat T3 – cheap rust top-up + ear disease rMilling wheats – more robust and include prothioconazole Source: Ceres Rural

22

The weather is sure to play its part in this season’s spray timings, as it did last year.

And already there is evidence of strains of septoria resistant to the relatively recent SDHI fungicides bixafen, Imtrex (fluxapyroxad) and Solatenol.

“If you go through your crop three times with products that contain these, there could be strains that slip through at each spray timing. It is not as simple as that but that is what can happen, so part of your strategy to control disease is to use fungicides with different actives.”

Persistent Commenting on the latest products to reach the market, Revystar XE (mefentrifluconazole + fluxapyroxad) and Univoq (fenpicoxamid + prothioconazole), he says on-farm observations last season would suggest Univoq was very persistent, while Revystar was quite eradicant, but ran out of persistence.

“Because we were all looking at the weather and thinking last year was quite benign – there was not a lot of disease up until mid-May when it started to rain – we were pretty skinny on rates and Revystar probably wasn’t applied at high enough rates to give it persistency.

“And in a year where we had a really dull June and a dull start to July and things stayed green, it was a season that favoured a fungicide that was really persistent.”

What then might this season bring?

“We’ve got good strong crops and big canopies generally, with growth through December, January and February. If that carries through, we could see a higher amount of disease than we’ve had for the last several years.”

As was the case last season, the weather will inevitably play its part.

“It was unfortunate that as we got to T2 last year we were in the fifth week of protection by the time we got out to spray and the flag leaves did get rain on them before they got their spray and that is where disease came in.

“There was not enough eradicant activity at a litre [of Revystar] and not enough protectant activity, which is why when it got to mid-June we were starting to see a level of septoria in crops that I hadn’t seen for some years.

“The take-home from that is we have got to be vigilant with our spray timings because even with something that was pretty new, pretty eradicant, it wasn’t strong enough to get disease out of the leaf,” says Mr Willmott.

He urges growers to try inseason disease testing diagnostics, such as those available from Bayer and Swift Detect, if possible, to determine what level of disease is in the crop before the sprayer goes into the field.

“It is something we have been crying out for. Last year, right up until T2, there were no warning

signs of disease – yellow rust or septoria – and this was driving the idea that it was quite a low disease year, which it was.

“But what we didn’t get quite right was, when it came wet, just how quickly septoria moved on, and the length of time it took crops to finish meant we were starting to see quite a lot of disease.”

He also highlights some changes in fungicide availability due to take place over the next couple of seasons.

Tebuconazole “Tebuconazole is still available, but we have probably got only two years left. I think when we get to the end of this year if you still had some in the shed it is not going to be a bad decision to keep stock on-farm.”

New developments in the pipeline include Adepidyn from Syngenta, which looks to have good activity on septoria, as well as ramularia in barley; isoflucypram from Bayer (available outside the UK as Iblon) and metyltetraprole from BASF (available in other markets as Pavecto), he adds.

More information JJock Willmott was speaking at a Ceres Rural On the Farm day at Law Farming’s Thrift Farm, Royston, Hertfordshire

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25/03/2022 14:53

k c a b t u c t ’ n d i d e e "W d i c i g n u f e h t " n . o ff o d i a p ’ s t i d n a

STEVE CRAYSTON, FARMER AT PEBMARSH, 1,000 HA, NORTH ESSEX We suffer mainly from Septoria and rusts, and therefore need a robust spray program. Last season we invested in Revystar ® XE and as a result we could see the visual greening of the crop, and a definite increase in yield. Our choice appears to have paid off.

SCAN HERE OR SEARCH ‘STEVE CRAYSTON REVYSTORY’ FOR MORE. Use plant protection products safely. Always read the label and product information before use. For further product information including warning phrases and symbols refer to www.agricentre.basf.co.uk.

Revystar® XE contains mefentrifluconazole (Revysol®) and fluxapyroxad (Xemium®). Revystar® XE, Revysol®, and Xemium® are registered Trademarks of BASF. © BASF 2022. All rights reserved.

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23/03/2022 17/01/2022 09:00 14:57

TECHNICAL DISEASE CONTROL Cereal disease trials in Callow, Herefordshire, are providing useful insight into how crops can be managed for the season ahead to maximise their potential. Alice Dyer paid a visit.

Keeping tabs on variety ratings

A

plots throughout the season (see table 2) to determine how disease ratings were stacking up.

Gareth Bubb, commercial technical manager at Bayer, says: “We did sampling on June 2 and nothing had septoria but Guium, which is not surprising given its 4.7 rating.

Later in the season the results from June 14 showed that Extase had the least amount of disease, followed by Palladium, and the highest amount was in Guium.

“This is all as we would expect and it showed their variety scores were bang on.

“We also looked at the association between higher yields and high green leaf area.

Extase had both of these over Guium. This is because some

series of multiyear trials, which are a collaboration between Bayer and KWS, have been exploring the relationship between variety disease ratings and yield responses to fungicide rates.

In 2020/21, plots of the winter wheat varieties KWS Guium, KWS Dawsum, KWS Siskin, KWS Palladium and KWS Extase were drilled on September 30 and three different fungicide programmes were applied across the season (see table 1).

As well as tracking yield and quality responses, Bayer used its Crop Check rapid disease detection technology to monitor disease levels in the untreated

varieties have inherently higher potential for yield than others, but some can’t meet their yield potential because disease stops them from getting there as they don’t have enough leaf.”

However, even the treated trials saw cost-effective yield responses to fungicides with the highest resistance ratings.

Bob Simons, a crop consultant working with KWS, says: “Last year showed us that with moderate to high levels of disease, all these varieties responded to fungicide inputs.

“With a variety like Extase, you’re still going to get a response to using good fungicides. Its decent ratings mean there is scope to economise on T1s but a strong T2 that includes rust protection is recommended. If

Table 1: Fungicide programmes applied to trial plots at Callow in 2021 T0 T1 T2 T3

Date March 31 April 21 May 26 June 14

Low input Aviator 0.8 litres/ha Ascra one litre/ha

High input Savannah 0.5 litres/ha Ascra one litre/ha BAY 1814 1.2 litres/ha Firefly 1.35 litres/ha

Source: Bayer

Revystar Revystar 0.8 litres/ha Revystar one litre/ha

(8) Extase (8) (9) Dawsum (6) (9) Palladium (8) (9) Guium (4) (9) Siskin (6.5)

Growth stage 58 39 45 39 47

Sampling dates June 2 – Leaf 2 June 14 – Leaf 2

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June 2 Septoria 0 0 0 0.414 0

100+ 10-100

Yellow rust 0 0 0 0 0

Source: Bayer

Growth stage 65 59 65 59 61

pg/DNA 1-10 0.5-1

people are going to take advantage of its Group 2 status you’d really be wanting a decent T3 as well. There are opportunities for savings but don’t try and overdo it because you could get caught out.”

Highlighting last year’s problems in varieties with Cougar parentage, most noticeably in earlier drilled crops, Mr Simons adds: “These issues were a combination of early drilling and then because of the difficult spring/summer, indecision in terms of what people used fungicide-wise, which were a bit low on rates in some instances.”

With low disease levels in crops early on and not much rainfall, inputs were cut at T1 and the long interval between T1 and T2 left many ‘firefighting’, says Mr Bubb.

“If you put a low rate on something with inherent higher risk, you will be firefighting later on again. Even if risk is low, I

Keeping on top of

Table 2: Disease levels in varieties (all from treated) (YR) Variety (Sep)

With this season’s high growing costs Mr Bubb recommends broad spectrum control from the start to keep disease levels down.

June 14 Septoria 0.199 1.164 0.229 2.773 1.472

Yellow rust 0 0 0 0 0

<0.5 No disease detected

JCallow’s location in the west of England means septoria is the disease of focus at the site.

However, although yellow rust is relatively easy to control, there are still big yield responses to fungicides in trials on crops infected at the site because it is such a devastating disease, says Mr Bubb.

“Revystar gave slightly

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ye

Actives mentioned

wouldn’t be using straight azoles anymore, so even in a low input system you would need a reduced rate of Aviator. In a higher risk scenario I would say one litre/hectare of Ascra at T1.

There is definitely scope to reduce fungicides, but I think people have different views on how low you can go.”

In wider trials by Bayer exploring other commercial varieties, crop quality was also assessed, with significant responses seen in some varieties.

Mr Bubb says: “We saw a massive difference in quality in Skyfall and Zyatt – there were yield responses but the difference between treated specific weights and untreated were huge.

“One of the things I’ve seen year-on-year is Extase has a good yield response but no real difference between quality. It’s always very similar treated and untreated.”

With this season’s high

of

rAviator – bixafen + prothioconazole rAscra – bixafen + fluopyram rSavannah – tebuconazole rFirefly – prothioconazole + fluoxastrobin rRevystar – fluxapyroxad + mefentrifluconazole

growing costs, Mr Bubb recommends broad spectrum control from the start to keep disease levels down, which can then be tailored later on depending on pressure.

“Start off on the right foot – if you don’t get off to a good start at T1 you’ve already lost the battle when you get to T2.

Have a plan but be willing to adapt,” he says.

“It’s too early to see where we are, but there are certain principles people should have in their head about how they’re going to achieve yield. In wheat you want to keep it green as long as possible. Try and maximise crops this year so you’ve got money in the bank going into next year.”

yellow rust better results than our lower input programme – I would say that’s too low for septoria but okay for yellow rust, but you will get more response from spending the same on a bigger programme.”

At Bayer’s Oxfordshire trials site, the worst untreated yields were seen in varieties with low yellow rust ratings.

Mr Bubb says: “The yield responses were not as high

at Callow because they didn’t have late season septoria and you don’t have to spend a huge amount of money to keep on top of yellow rust.

“If you’re sowing later, think about yellow rust. If you’re sowing earlier you definitely need to be focused on septoria. However, if you’re using a good standard programme, you should be able to do both.”

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TECHNICAL CEREAL DISEASE

Key points

Single genes are not durable against the Warrior yellow rust race, so plant breeders must stack genes to increase the durability of wheat varieties.

Post-Warrior challenges for rust resistance The arrival of the Warrior race challenged our understanding of yellow rust. So, how are plant breeders responding?

Teresa Rush finds out more.

T

he identification of the Warrior yellow rust race in the UK and mainland Europe in 2011 marked a shift in the complexity of the disease. Pre-Warrior, the UK yellow rust population was clonal and there would be one dominant race at any given time.

In response to wheat varieties being grown over a larger area, a new variant would arise and then over time this new variant would become the new dominant race.

Warrior was unusual in a number of ways. Firstly it was identified in multiple countries

26 AF Apr p26 28 29 April KH AD TR.indd 2

throughout Europe in the same year. Secondly, Warrior broke a number of effective resistances in European winter wheat germplasm, so many of these resistances were no longer effective. And thirdly, compared to the previous clonal yellow rust populations in the UK, Warrior appears to have been derived from a sexually recombining population outside of Europe.

A major reason why Warrior affected so many varieties was because it broke a single, major adult plant resistance gene – YRClaire – one that had been

extensively used in plant breeding since 1997.

Limagrain cereal pathologist Rachel Goddard says: “Since 2011, yellow rust has remained very complex in the UK; we have a new naming system to reflect this complexity and pathogenomics work has identified that there are several genetic groups present in the UK.” Incursion Today, new races are assigned to a genetic colour group and given a sequential number – unique to the varieties on which they cause disease (pathotype). Since the incursion of Warrior, the red group of isolates, which comprises more than 50 pathotypes, has dominated the population.

rYellow rust is a changing and complex pathogen rPlant breeders are seeking new sources of resistance to the Warrior race to cross into elite breeding pools rNew markers are being developed to follow gene inheritance rSingle genes are not durable against the Warrior race rStacking resistance can help maintain diversity and increase the durability of varieties

Warrior race yellow rust is essentially a new disease, says Ms Goddard. Since it has become prevalent, yellow rust has become much more adaptable and able to withstand greater changes in the environment.

The Warrior race can tolerate a greater range of temperatures, it has a shorter infection time, which means there is potential for the disease cycle to repeat several times during a season, and it is much more aggressive, producing more spores than the ‘old’ yellow rust.

“So yellow rust post-Warrior is very different to the old yellow rust and we can essentially consider it to be a new disease.

This has changed the way we have been able to breed for resistance,” says Ms Goddard.

From a plant breeder’s perspective, the diversity of the UK yellow rust population means it is difficult to predict how the population will change between Continues on page 28.

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 11:06

W NE

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Discover more at corteva.co.uk Technical Hotline: 0800 689 8899 E-mail: ukhotline@corteva.com USE PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS SAFELY. Always read the label and product information before use.

For further information including warning phrases and symbols refer to label.

Corteva Agriscience UK Limited, CPC2 Capital Park, Fulbourn, Cambridge CB21 5XE. Tel: 01462 457272. ® , ™ Trademarks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. © 2022 Corteva.

Univoq™ contains fenpicoxamid (Inatreq™ active) and prothioconazole.

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22/02/2022 09:15 12:00 22/03/2022

TECHNICAL CEREAL DISEASE Timeline indicating key years for wheat yellow rust population change.

THE UK’S NO.1 WHEAT FUNGICIDE IS ALSO...

a cross being made and a variety reaching the market 10 years later.

It is also difficult to predict which host resistances are durable.

“Durability is resistance which remains effective during prolonged and widespread use in an environment which is favourable to disease. We know single genes which we deploy on their own are unlikely to be durable, so we know we are looking at combinations of genes together. However, it is difficult to predict which combinations are likely to be durable, so there is still some uncertainty.”

Breeding for resistance to yellow rust post-Warrior means using all the data available, says Ms Goddard. United Kingdom Cereal Pathogen Virulence Survey (UKCPVS) data helps provide a greater understanding of the pathogen population.

Ms Goddard adds: “As wheat plant breeders, we work on host

plant genetics, not the pathogen and the work of the UKCPVS allows us to understand if there are any race changes, so it is really an early warning system and it is also providing us with validation of new races.

Vulnerable “We also take a lot of time to understand the resistance which is already present in elite UK wheats. AHDB now provides a yellow rust watch list and this is giving an indication of which varieties might be more vulnerable to a ratings fall in the coming season.

“There are at least eight effective resistance genes for yellow rust in Recommended List varieties currently. However, these are found in different frequencies and not all our gene combinations are effective against Warrior.

“We also take care to monitor

As the UK’s No.1 fungicide*, Ascra delivers the broadest spectrum of disease control and proven plant health benefits in a simple one-can solution. With excellent activity against all key wheat and barley diseases and a flexible dose rate to suit your crop, you can be sure that whatever the disease, drilling date, variety or weather, you only have to Ascra.

28 AF Apr p26 28 29 April KH AD TR.indd 3

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 11:06

C

CEREAL DISEASE TECHNICAL

The work of the UKCPVS is really an early warning system, providing us with validation of new races RACHEL GODDARD these resistances in our disease nurseries. By monitoring these resistances year-by-year, we can see which gene combinations are potentially losing efficacy.”

Other techniques deployed include the introduction of new resistances into breeding programmes via pre-breeding, utilising resistances from wheat ancestors, landraces and wild

relatives. But these sources can be tall and prone to lodging and are often lower yielding.

“While there is a wealth of diversity in terms of resistance, they don’t solve all our problems,” says Ms Goddard.

Once resistance genes have been introduced into a breeding programme, they need protecting and this is done by stacking genes together. New technology is helping here, with genetic markers enabling gene inheritance to be tracked.

THE UK’S BEST ALL-ROUND BARLEY FUNGICIDE

Challenges The arrival of the Warrior race may have changed the face of yellow rust in the UK but despite the challenges it presents, many Recommended List varieties have strong resistance to the disease at the adult plant and young plant stages – a testament to the efforts of plant breeders.

Learn more at cropscience.bayer.co.uk/ascra *Source: 2021 Kynetec – Based on Wheat Panel Data for harvest year 2021 using GBP on-farm value.

AscraXpro contains prothioconazole, bixafen and fluopyram. Ascra is a registered Trade Mark of Bayer. Use plant protection products safely. Always read the label and product information before use. Pay attention to the risk indications and follow the safety precautions on the label. For further information, including contact details, visit www.cropscience.bayer.co.uk or call 0808 1969522. © Bayer CropScience Limited 2022

APRIL 2022 AF Apr p26 28 29 April KH AD TR.indd 4

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TECHNICAL DISEASE CONTROL Natural products that stimulate wheat plants’ own disease defences can complement varietal resistance and fungicide activity in fighting septoria. Martin Rickatson reports.

Stimulating plant defences to boost septoria control

W

hile recent seasons have seen new fungicide chemistry added to growers’ armoury and many have moved towards varieties with stronger resistance scores, early season septoria control remains a primary challenge, an issue exacerbated by the loss of cornerstone multisite active chlorothalonil.

But the key roles played in integrated disease management by genetic resistance and chemical protection need support to sustain them and stimulating the wheat plant’s natural defence mechanisms to help minimise disease’s impact and bolster the longterm efficacy of variety resistance and fungicides could help here.

That is the view of Dr Paul Fogg, crop production technical lead at Frontier. The company’s trials over the past six years with naturally-derived elicitors – products that elicit a defensive response from the plant – have been sufficiently encouraging to lead Frontier to market a product based on the principle for 2022.

Dr Fogg says: “The loss of chlorothalonil and general pressures on conventional chemistry make inclusion of different approaches worth

30

Elicitors are protective, rather than curative, working by triggering the plant’s natural defences to fight off disease DR PAUL FOGG evaluating as part of integrated disease management.

“That’s particularly true of protecting the plant at its earliest stages. By their nature, elicitors are protective, rather than curative, working by triggering the plant’s natural defence mechanism to fight off disease over the long term. Their place in the programme is therefore at T0/GS30, or even in autumn.”

Commercial production The company’s research focus in this area has been with laminarin, a seaweed-derived product which is in full commercial production.

“While laminarin is a naturally-obtained product, purified from the seaweed species laminaria digitate, we

see it having a part to play in all agricultural systems, from conventional through regenerative to organic,” says Dr Fogg.

“It works by lowering the plant’s pH, via the accumulation of salicylic acid. It’s this that triggers its natural defence mechanism, stimulating a systemic acquired resistance throughout the plant after being exposed to elicitors from virulent, avirulent or non-pathogenic microbes, or artificial chemical stimuli.

“It can take several days for resistance to develop throughout the host plant, but once this is triggered it has a long-term effect via three main defence pathways.

“The first of these is physical, via the reinforcement of the cell walls, making it harder for the pathogen to penetrate and providing a barrier to disease ingress. Secondly, it stimulates the production of phytoalexins, which create a toxic environment for the pathogen.

“The third aspect is the production of pathogenesis-related proteins, which the plant produces in response to a pathogen attack. In addition to their role in protecting the plant, these also provide a small element of curative activity. It’s a unique mode of action, classified by FRAC as P4, with minimal risk of resistance.”

Manufactured by UPL, the

product being marketed by Frontier is branded as Vacciplant and contains 37g/litre of laminarin. A registered plant protection product, laminarin is EU-classified as a low risk substance and bracketed in Annex IV for residue detection, being exempt from tolerances for maximum residue limits.

Diseased cells The manufacturer points out that while healthy plants have strong cell walls that prevent pathogen ingress, compromised or diseased cells release the degraded products of the pathogen or the cell walls, which become elicitors.

Recognised by healthy neighbouring cells, these then activate their defences, but this is not a speedy process and can take up to 48 hours, putting the plant at significant risk of becoming overwhelmed by disease in high-pressure situations.

The laminarin active, being a natural plant extract, possesses a similar structure to the degraded products from damaged cells.

This then acts as an elicitor, which triggers the plant’s natural defence mechanisms to come into play before it actually comes

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TECHNICAL We think elicitors have a considerable value as an aid to disease control and resistance management DR PAUL FOGG

Elicitors are protective rather than curative, working by triggering the plant’s natural defence mechanism to fight off disease over the long term.

under attack. The protective message is disseminated throughout the plant’s cells.

“Initial trial work we conducted with the product produced results too interesting to ignore,” says Dr Fogg.

“When we compared laminarin against chlorothalonil and folpet at and before T0, its protective efficacy was comparable, particularly on septoria-susceptible varieties, with protection length of around three weeks.”

Dr Fogg acknowledges that yellow rust can often be a bigger worry in the early stages of crop growth, particularly on low-rated varieties.

“While the focus at T0 is commonly driven by yellow rust, most elicitors have activity only on powdery mildew and septoria.

“However, the latter is most commonly the bigger concern as the season progresses and it’s here the product offers greatest promise. Elicitors offer a potential broad spectrum of pathogen control and there is further work to be done on disease targets and applications.

“Most of our trial work has been with applications at T0, but the earlier the product can be

applied the better. The latest approved timing is before GS31.”

UPL says its own 2019 and 2020 field trials showed significant control of septoria in winter wheat from Vacciplant applied at T0, and makes claims for robust disease control comparable to folpet and now-unavailable chlorothalonil multisites at this timing, recording an average 0.3 tonnes/hectare yield benefit to a wheat crop.

Compatibility Formulated as a soluble concentrate, recommended application rate for Vacciplant is 0.75 litres/ha, although full rate is one litre/ha at a water volume of 50-500 litres/ha.

Rainfastness is similar to that of other products and it has wide tank mix compatibility with conventional and other biological products, says Dr Fogg. Price is described as comparable to other T0 inputs.

Frontier is continuing to screen the product’s efficacy across multiple varieties to understand its capabilities across a range of resistance ratings, but it is fully available from the company for spring 2022.

“Growers are moving towards more disease-resistant varieties, particularly with regard to septoria,” says Dr Fogg.

“But there remains a significant wheat area sown to lower-rated varieties and it’s here we think elicitors have a considerable value as an aid to disease control and resistance management.

“And within a single season, the protection they offer at T0 may afford some input flexibility later in the year,” adds Dr Fogg.

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RESEARCH IN ACTION

Tracking fungicide re Up-to-date understanding of how resistance to cereal fungicides is developing is the key to creating disease control strategies. Andrew Blake outlines ongoing research to provide it.

T

o achieve high quality produce and maximum yields of cereals under UK conditions, a range of foliar fungal diseases must be controlled.

For diseases like mildew and rusts, good sources of variety resistance are available, says NIAB disease control programme leader Bart Fraaije, who is leading an AHDB project* monitoring the effectiveness of fungicides.

“But control of septoria leaf blotch, ramularia and net blotch has proved more difficult and relies heavily on chemical control,” he says.

The development of resistance to various single site acting fungicides means the chemical approach has become compromised. So, up-to-date knowledge

on fungicide efficacy and varietal resistance is needed to achieve the best disease control while minimising the risk of resistance developing.

The main target for this project is zymoseptoria tritici which causes septoria.

“It has developed resistance to quinone outside inhibitors or strobilurins – for example, azoxystrobin and pyraclostrobin – and different levels of insensitivity to azoles and succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors – the SDHIs,” says Dr Fraaije.

Resistant varieties After the withdrawal of chlorothalonil, control of septoria was initially based on employing the most resistant varieties and applying fungicide mixtures of azoles and SDHIs.

Other multisite inhibitors can be added to reduce selection for fungicide resistance further.

A new azole, mefentrifluconazole, and a new single-site acting inhibitor, the quinone inside inhibitor fenpicoxamid, were added to the weaponry to combat septoria last year.

This project, linked to the AHDB winter wheat Fungicide Performance trials, aims to find the ongoing Z. tritici fungicide sensitivity for all key actives representing different modes of action (MOAs).

“Knowing how fungicide insensitive genotypes evolve and accumulate within populations will help show how fungicides can be best used when it comes to choice, timing, dose and MOA partners,” adds Dr Fraaije.

Early season monitoring involves sampling 50 leaves with septoria symptoms per field in winter/early spring.

After isolating up to 50 Z. tritici strains per sample, the corresponding population is then assessed for its fungicide

Making informed choices JBASF continually monitors disease populations across Europe, says the company’s business development manager – cereal fungicides, Dr Jon Helliwell.

“Historic data offers insights for future resistance development and can be built into product development,” he says.

“However, confusion can arise in relating lab-based resistance results to field performance, particularly when many actives in the same group of chemistries have different intrinsic efficacies.

32

“So, it’s important to always review resistance data within the wider context and scope of product use.”

Patterns of resistance development depend on the mode of action, he adds.

“For example, quinone outside inhibitor resistance developed over only a few years from about 2004, due to a single target-site mutation reducing field efficacy from high to low in a single step; and the G143A mutation, now widespread across the UK, affects all strobilurins.

“But published literature shows that pyraclostrobin still has a positive impact in reducing septoria spore efficiency, even in the presence of that mutation, something not seen with azoxystrobin in the same study.”

Development Newer modes of action (such as quinone inside inhibitors), designated moderate-high risk of resistance developing by the Fungicide Resistance Action Group, are also likely to follow a ‘single step’ resistance route, he believes.

“Using mixtures with other effective alternative modes of action and limiting the number of applications is important to slow resistance development.

“Triazoles have formed the backbone for UK cereal fungicide programmes for two decades.

“However, there are clear differences in sensitivity and intrinsic activity affecting efficacy and ability to protect other modes of action between conventional and new azole introductions, such as Revysol.”

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RESEARCH IN ACTION

e resistance Project details

AHDB-funded research is aiming to establish the Z. tritici fungicide sensitivity for all key actives representing different modes of action.

sensitivity using 96-well microplate assays. This is to see if there are any sensitivity shifts for existing fungicides between seasons and to determine the baseline sensitivity for new actives likely to enter the market, says Dr Fraaije.

“We also isolate populations from infected leaves from commercial fields and the Fungicide Performance trials after treatment to determine whether new fungicide-resistant phenotypes have been selected.”

A selection of insensitive isolates is further characterised each year to understand the underlying resistance mechanisms, he adds.

“This involves DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction and sequencing.

“We now have a much better understanding of why the septoria control efficacy of some fungicides is declining.

“For example, the decline in efficacy of azole and SDHI fungicides is often due to different and/or multiple fungicide target protein changes caused by various mutations.

“Most of these field mutants are controlled at the recommended dose, but low doses don’t provide sufficient control.”

r*AHDB project 21120018a Monitoring resistance to foliar fungicides in cereal pathogens rApril 1, 2019 – April 1, 2023 rFunding: AHDB £126,000; industry in-kind £79,500 rCollaborators: NIAB, ADAS, SRUC, Teagasc rIndustry partners: BASF, Bayer CropScience, Corteva, Syngenta

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With strobilurins just one mutation – cytochrome b G143A – conferred high levels of resistance, and this accumulated quickly in UK field populations, most isolates within populations carrying it within two years of its detection, he says.

Genotypes By contrast, several genotypes (for example, SdhB H267L, SdhC H152R and SdhB N225T + SdhC N86S) have been found to confer high levels of resistance to SDHI fungicides; but in UK field populations only one (C-H152R) is often detected, albeit at low frequencies.

“This is indicative of a very slow accumulation, in contrast with common Sdh variants C-T79N and C-N86S that confer low levels of SDHI insensitivity.

“C-H152R is associated with a fitness cost and, in the absence of SDHI selection pressure, these mutants cannot compete well with other Sdh variants and/or strains without mutations,” says Dr Fraaije.

“With regard to azoles, mefentrifluconazole seems to select differently for CYP51 variants in comparison with prothioconazole,” he adds.

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TECHNICAL OSR

Learning to live with fl No chemical alternative to neonics has yet been found for cabbage stem flea beetle control, but research into cultural control methods which can be stacked continues at pace. Alice Dyer reports.

G

rowers are well versed in the marginal gains in black-grass control that can be achieved through Dr Stephen Moss’ ‘five for five’ initiative, but now it might be time to move the same concept to cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) control.

This is according to ADAS entomologist Dr Sacha White, who has spent the past eight years exploring ways to control the pest.

Speaking at the United Oilseeds and AHDB Agronomy meeting in Peterborough, he said: “Non chemical control

Traffic light system meaning rRed Very little or no research and lots more to do rAmber Some data but more needed rGreen Good data

strategies are often less reliable, more complex and sometimes more costly. On their own, they are unlikely to control CSFB, but the key is these approaches can be combined.”

Taking a look at the wide range of methods that have been

Focus of CSFB efforts by sowing date

Source: ADAS

Sow window Controls should focus on Prior to mid-August Managing larvae Mid-August to mid-September Reducing adult damage and managing larvae Mid-late September Reducing adult damage

Early drilling Seed rate

Drilling date rTarget: Adults and larvae JEarlier-sown crops tend to be able to cope better with adult flea beetle attack, but suffer more from larvae damage, whereas crops drilled after peak adult beetle migration in mid-September have reduced larval pressure (see table, right).

Crops sown during the migration period, typically in the first half of September, are at highest risk.

Dr White said: “It is possible earlier-sown crops that are larger may be able to tolerate larval feeding.

We don’t have data on this yet. If that’s the case, it’s a mitigation strategy.

“The later you sow, the risk from adults increases and risk of larvae decreases.

Once you sow towards late August to the first half of September, you are in a

studied in recent years to combat flea beetle, he ranked them using a traffic light system (see panels over the next three pages), based on the amount of research carried out.

Pest management However, all of the approaches discussed that can be used to develop an integrated pest management programme should be almost solely set around the date the crop was sown, Dr White said. This is because methods of control tend to combat either the adult beetle, or its larvae.

“We need to start treating CSFB as two different pests. If you’re sowing early you should be thinking about a larval problem. If you are sowing later, think about adult management.”

For late drilling factors see page 36.

Panels coloured according to their status in the traffic light system (see panel above)

rSuited to all drilling dates but mainly start at mid/late August rTarget: Adults and larvae JThere is some evidence to suggest increasing seed rates can dilute flea beetle activity, but trials have shown mixed results, Dr White said.

“The reductions weren’t huge, but this has potential in poor establishment, so when it’s dry.”

However, recent trials data shows that crops drilled at a high seed rate tend to have lower levels of larvae.

Conversely, it’s possible plants sown at a low seed rate will be able to tolerate flea beetle attack because they will be larger, Dr White said. One of the farms ADAS is working with on the study drilled at a very low seed rate aiming for

15 plants/sq.m, and although larvae numbers were 40-50 per plant, the crop still yielded four to five tonnes per hectare, Dr White added.

“We think these plants were just well able to tolerate damage.”

the majority leads to yield penalty.”

However, some farmers are seeing successes and persevering with the approach, he added.

“Timing is critical. Do it

in November, December at the latest. Crop condition is important – forward crops have a high larval load and are best suited. Defoliation doesn’t need to be very severe, you just need to take the leaves

off and go no further. Pay attention to other pests.

“Pigeon damage might be worse, pollen beetle might be worse because flowering is likely to be delayed and poor spring weather will hinder recovery.”

Defoliation rSuited to drilling in early to mid/late August rTarget: Larvae JDr White said: “We know grazing or topping reduces larval load, but it is risky. We have done lots of trials and

34

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OSR TECHNICAL

h flea beetle FULLY LOADED

HYBRIDS Integrated pest management programmes should be put together based on the crop’s sowing date.

Flea beetle pressure by drilling date Drilled August 26 September 6 September 15

Damage 7% 100% 3%

high-risk window for adult flea beetle. After that, risk from adults begins to tail off and this is where you see the lowest risk from larvae.

“If your main focus is to establish a crop, sow early, but if your main focus is to reduce larvae because you’ve maybe had a bad experience, consider sowing late. However, the key

Source: ADAS

Larvae per plant 18 Wiped out 4 caveat is always wait for good conditions.

“The link between adult feeding damage and larvae load is tenuous. We’ve seen sites with low adult feeding damage but still seen very high larval pressure. Don’t assume you’re not going to have larval problems because you’re not seeing feeding damage.”

Establishment method rSuited to mid-late August rTarget: Adult flea beetle JAny tillage method that minimises loss of soil moisture and encourages rapid establishment will help manage adult flea beetle problems, Dr White said.

“There is also tantalising evidence that suggests cultivations that minimally disturbed soil resulted in a lower larval population several weeks later.

“We think it is because these approaches are having less of a negative impact on natural enemies in the soil like ground beetles and parasitoids, but we are doing more trials on this.

Incredible vigour and disease resistance with outstanding yields

Beneficials “These beneficials can help to manage adults and larvae, but if you are interested in reducing larvae this is particularly useful for crops in August.”

APRIL 2022 AF Apr p34 35 36 TrafficLights TR KH AD.indd 3

LG AVIRON

35

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25/03/2022 09:34

TECHNICAL OSR Late drilling

Panels coloured according to their status in the traffic light system (see panel, top of p34)

Companion crops can act as a deterrent.

Companion crops rSuited to drilling in midAugust to mid-September rTarget: Adult flea beetle JThere are two types of companion crops – sacrificial species, such as mustards

that flea beetle will eat, and deterrent crops that help to mask OSR like buckwheat and clover.

“We have seen some encouraging controls in

reducing adult damage – not huge, but they seem to be reducing pressure,” Dr White said.

“A companion crop either needs to be frost sensitive,

Stubble management rSuited to mid-August to mid-September rTarget: Adult beetle JSimilar to companion crops, leaving stubble long may interfere with

the pest’s ability to seek out the crop.

Dr White said: “We’ve done a few trials on this and had some instances where there’s been no effect, but

Trap crops some where there’s a 30-40% reduction in damage.

“However, we still have a lot of questions to answer, such as whether the length of the stubble plays a part.”

Organic amendments rSuited to mid-August to mid-September rTarget: Adult beetle JApplying organic amendments such as chicken muck or digestate to the

seedbed may mask the smell of the crop from the beetle, or actively deter it. It may also improve provisional nutrition, giving the crop a growth boost, Dr White said.

“We still need to look at whether different amendments work better than others and the timing – application may need to coincide with flea beetle migration.”

any great differences,” Dr White said.

“Varieties with autumn vigour might well help manage the adult problem and spring vigour may also help crops to grow away from larvae.

If you’ve got a mid-August

sowing date, use one with good autumn vigour.”

Meanwhile, the John Innes Centre has identified resistance to CSFB in breeding lines of OSR and work is ongoing to see if this could be developed.

Varieties rSuited to all drilling dates rTarget: Adults and larvae JWork is ongoing to determine if certain commercial breeding lines of oilseed rape have reduced palatability.

“So far we are not seeing

36

not competitive with OSR or removed with a herbicide.”

Companion crops should be drilled a week or so before the OSR to provide protection from CSFB as the crop emerges.

rSuited to mid-August onwards rTarget: Adults and larvae JThere is good evidence to suggest that trap crops like volunteer OSR can reduce adult and larvae pressure.

Dr White said: “By doing this you are trapping the migrating beetles in those volunteer crops. Where we’ve done this we’ve seen significant reductions in larvae and improved plant populations.”

He advises leaving a whole field of volunteer OSR in the ground as late as possible to lure the pest in.

“I would say late September at the earliest, probably the later the better.

It is suited to any drilling date from mid-August because crops drilled earlier will be emerging at the same time as the volunteers.”

APRIL 2022

AF Apr p34 35 36 TrafficLights TR KH AD.indd 4

25/03/2022 09:34

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3 Even emergence: priming is a proven growth enhancement technology to promote even emergence.

4 Easier to manage: priming breaks the seed’s dormancy, establishing a uniform germination which creates an even canopy.

5 CSFB is reduced: rapid initial growth means a shorter period of time where the crop is vulnerable to flea beetle attack.

6 Excellent drought tolerance due to enhanced root development.

7 Adaptable drilling: priming technology and strong autumn vigour means the variety offers the greatest flexibility.

8 Hard to match disease package: light leaf spot of 7 and stem canker score of 9.

9 Excellent resistance against TuYV and Verticillium, and the only variety with multigene resistance to Phoma.

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25/03/2022 24/03/2022 13:29 10:44

TECHNICAL OSR Although clubroot is not tested for in AHDB Recommended List trials, the appearance of the disease at a trial site in the 2020/21 season provided a valuable analysis opportunity.

RL trial provides unexpected clubroot test Plant death by OSR variety 4

PLANT DEATH MEASURED IN 0-9 SCALE. SOURCE: AHDB

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Plant death (0 = no plant death)

V

arieties of winter oilseed rape with resistance to the common strains of clubroot have featured on the Recommended Lists (RL) since Mendel was first recommended in 2002.

However, clubroot-resistant varieties are associated with relatively large yield penalties, so they only tend to be used when clubroot issues are expected, says Dr Paul Gosling, AHDB Recommended Lists leader.

The RL 2022/23 features four oilseed rape varieties with specific recommendation for use on clubroot-infected land – including a new variety, Crossfit, that for the first time resists both clubroot and turnip yellows virus (TuYV).

Dr Gosling says: “Resistance to clubroot is not tested in RL

Variety

trials and we avoid drilling trials on land with a history of clubroot, so the disease is not normally seen. Specific recommendation is based on the acceptance of breeders’ claims

for traits, where the evidence supports this.”

Despite the aim to avoid clubroot, inspection of an ailing RL trial in northern England in autumn 2020 revealed the disease was the

issue, despite there being no record of clubroot in the field previously.

“Usually, we would abandon such trials. However, the disease was relatively uniform across the trial, so we persevered to assess clubroot’s effects on the full variety set,” says Dr Gosling.

Symptoms By flowering, there were clear signs of clubroot symptoms and differences between varieties. The most susceptible variety lacked vigour, with evidence of plant deaths seen as gaps in the plots.

As this was a northern trial, only recommended and candidate varieties for the North were included. Crome was the only variety with clubroot resistance in the infected trial and it was associated with the lowest number of plant deaths.

In the field Mike Thornton, ProCam JAfter the mild winter, there are reports this year of clubroot, says ProCam head of crop production Mike Thornton.

“There’s little that can be done against it at this point, although applying a calcium carbonate dressing to raise soil pH is an option and it’s important to look after the crop nutritionally because nutrient uptake via the deformed roots

38

Nutrient uptake via the deformed roots of infected plants will be restricted MIKE THORNTON

of infected plants will be restricted,” he says.

For the future, he advises growers to note down fields that are affected.

Infected fields “Doing this helps with longer term management – including rotation planning, liming of infected fields, choosing more tolerant varieties and delaying WOSR drilling,” he adds.

APRIL 2022

AF Apr p38 39 OSR Clubroot AD TR KH.indd 2

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FULLY LOADED

HYBRIDS

Relatively wet and mild ground conditions throughout winter have been favourable for the development of clubroot.

At harvest, the benefit of clubroot resistance on yield was clear. Crome yielded 158% of controls (4.50 tonnes per hectare) in the infected trial. This compares with its North yield of 101% of controls on the current RL (trial mean of 2.98t/ha).

“We recorded a wide range of varietal yields across the infected trials. Blazen yielded particularly well at 133% of controls [3.79t/ ha], whereas some varieties yielded below 2.5t/ha.

“It may be that some varieties are more tolerant to clubroot, although not technically resistant; something for breeders to investigate,” says Dr Gosling.

While the yield data from the RL trial was not used for recommendation purposes, the observations provide useful insights into clubroot management, adds AHDB. Even where not previously recorded as an issue, clubroot symptoms can still appear. Where clubroot is present, resistant varieties can effectively protect yield.

The clubroot resistance in Crome was effective at this site. Based on a single dominant gene, the same resistance mechanism (termed ‘Mendel resistance’) is present in all resistant crop varieties. Growing these varieties gives some protection against common clubroot strains, but some can overcome the resistance. In some locations the resistance is no longer effective.

Frequent use of resistant

varieties, or use in heavily infested soil, makes it more likely that resistance-breaking strains will establish and become dominant.

“Therefore, it is important to deploy integrated pest management techniques to tackle clubroot and sustain varietal resistance.

“The generally mild conditions over the 2021/22 winter and periods of wet weather may have increased clubroot risk in some crops. It is important to assess crops for disease symptoms and record infected areas to assist rotational planning,” says Dr Gosling.

Known history This season ADAS is reporting the presence of clubroot in fields with a known history and which are grown in short rotation, with increasing reports of the disease compared to last season.

Relatively wet and mild ground conditions throughout winter have been favourable for the development of the disease.

ADAS adds: “Below ground symptoms are often not detected in winter and are only identified when other symptoms such as stunting become obvious when the crop starts to extend and can occur in patches or across the whole field.”

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APRIL 2022 AF Apr p38 39 OSR Clubroot AD TR KH.indd 3

AURELIA

39

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24/03/2022 11:26

TECHNICAL OILSEED RAPE

Getting oilseed rape back With oilseed rape yields slipping, a Thames Valley farming business has implemented a cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) management plan in a bid to renew confidence in the crop.

O

ilseed rape growing has been pulled back from the brink at Manor Farm, Drayton St Leonard, near Wallingford, in the past two seasons.

With a determined effort that has also led George Farrant and his Agrii agronomist, Ollie Fairweather, to virtually halve their annual nitrogen use, standing them in particularly good stead with current fertiliser prices.

Seeing yields down to less than two tonnes per hectare, S.J. Farrant and Son was not the only Oxfordshire grower despairing of oilseed rape in 2019. But the family’s 150-200ha annual crop is now firmly back on track despite continuing to be grown one year in three on drought-prone Thames Valley gravels.

Mr Farrant, who runs the

The future looked pretty bleak if we couldn’t make the oilseed rape work GEORGE FARRANT family’s 800ha farm, plus a further 330ha on contract, says: “We didn’t see much in the way of problems immediately after the neonic ban.

“In fact, we averaged almost 4t/ ha at Manor Farm in 2015, which is very good for the ground. After this, though, our yields slipped steadily to 3t/ha or less. Then, in 2019, we brought in just 1.8t/ha.

“There seemed to be more beetles every year and our

Ollie Fairweather (left) and George Farrant, pictured in late October, are delighted with the establishment of their oilseed rape.

40 AF Apr p40 41 42 OSR AD TR KH.indd 2

Oilseed rape at Manor Farm in October 2021.

long-standing late August min-till and drill regime just couldn’t cope with the extra pressure – even with five or more insecticide sprays. We didn’t know what to do.

Disastrous “First wheats have always done reasonably well here at around 9t/ha but second wheats are disastrous. This means we follow our wheat with winter barley, which often averages nearly 10t/ ha and gives us the perfect entry for our key cereal break – winter OSR. As our land is poorly suited to beans and presents a huge risk for most spring crops, the future looked pretty bleak if we couldn’t make the oilseed rape work.

“Something clearly had to change, but no-one seemed to have any idea what. Until we came across Agrii’s CSFB management plan at an OSR day at AgriiFocus near Marlborough, that is. Two years on and I’m glad to say yields are back to their long-term average of just under 3.5t/ha with margins again rivalling first wheat.”

The OSR turnaround at Manor Farm has involved de-risking the crop with key elements of the eight-point plan, but by no means all. Very limited break crop options, for instance, mean the rotation has not been significantly extended, although a small acreage of peas has been added to the mix.

Nor are companion crops being grown as they have been found to take more away from the crop in moisture on the light land than they contribute to CSFB protection. Equally, the practicalities of combining brackled barley rules out leaving long straw, as does a straw-for-muck swap with a neighbouring beef farm.

Instead, the focus has been on single pass sowing into undisturbed barley stubble to minimise the ‘green on brown’ attractiveness of the crop and critical seedbed moisture loss. At the same time, sowing has been brought forward by around two to three weeks.

Varieties showing the greatest autumn and spring vigour in

APRIL 2022 24/03/2022 11:28

OILSEED RAPE TECHNICAL

back on track FULLY LOADED

HYBRIDS Managing CSFB at Manor Farm – key points rFocus on single pass sowing into undisturbed barley stubble to minimise ‘green on brown’ attractiveness of the crop and seedbed moisture loss rSowing brought forward by two to three weeks rVarieties showing the greatest autumn and spring vigour prioritised rA phosphite and pyroglutamic acid biostimulant seed

Agrii trials have been prioritised and a phosphite and pyroglutamic acid biostimulant seed treatment has been introduced as standard along with a specialist starter fertiliser.

Soil nitrogen supply Particular attention is also now given to getting the crop away rapidly and reliably in spring, with top dressing to carefully measured green area index (GAI) and soil nitrogen supply from as early in the season as possible.

Balanced trace element nutrition based on autumn, early spring and stem extension tissue testing further ensures the greatest nutrient use efficiency and timely autumn and spring plant growth regulation gives the most efficient canopies.

treatment introduced as standard along with a specialist starter fertiliser rParticular attention given to getting the crop away rapidly and reliably in spring rUltra-low disturbance legs conserve moisture at establishment rRolling immediately after drilling ensures seed-to-soil contact

Mr Fairweather says: “When I started working with George in 2019 our first priority was the establishment regime. Top-down cultivation and drilling was giving away too much moisture and leaving the bare soil contrast that attracts CSFB to the emerging crop. This meant the beetles were eating the OSR faster than it could grow away from them.

“We needed to redress this balance and open up topsoils prone to slumping, all without spending on new kit. Our solution was to equip Micro Wing legs on the existing Cousins V-Form subsoiler plus Opico seeder – that had been found wanting for OSR sowing in the past.

“This did mean spending £5,000 up front. But the investment has X proved well worthwhile. The

APRIL 2022 AF Apr p40 41 42 OSR AD TR KH.indd 3

41

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24/03/2022 11:28

TECHNICAL OILSEED RAPE ultra-low disturbance legs are doing a good soil lifting job while conserving moisture and avoiding the sort of slot that leads to uneven sowing. Rolling immediately afterwards at a steady pace then ensures decent seed-to-soil contact.

“On this land, the OSR invariably runs out of moisture and has a major pause in growth at some stage in autumn,” says Mr Fairweather.

“Our aim has been to make sure this doesn’t happen before the 4 leaf stage, after which it can tolerate a surprising amount.

“We do this by sowing as soon in August as we can to be sure of enough moisture with a system that preserves as much of it as possible. We treat all the seed with Take-Off to boost rooting and put it into stubbles that have had a dressing of Agrii-Start NP+ OSR, providing 30kg/ha of nitrogen, protected phosphate and extra boron around 10 days beforehand.”

All-round vigour in the varieties grown is equally important in the Manor Farm recipe, although variety choice remains confined to Clearfield hybrids, following serious erucic acid penalties suffered in 2017. Moving on from DK Imperial CL and DK Impressario CL, the InV1266CL in the ground this season went into the winter even better grown than last year’s crop.

The 2021 crop had early February GAIs of around 1.75.

With N-Min testing showing a soil contribution of 91kg/ha, this gave

All in all, we are very relieved to again be looking ahead at our OSR with optimism GEORGE FARRANT

42 AF Apr p40 41 42 OSR AD TR KH.indd 4

Equipping the Cousins V-Form with Micro Wing legs has helped improve OSR establishment at Manor Farm.

a total nitrogen supply of 179kg/ ha. In theory then, only an extra 40kg/ha would have been needed for the farm average 3.5t/ha.

Moving to this from the standard 200kg/ha of the past would have been a step too far, though. So, 100kg/ha was applied for the 4.5t/ha potential the crop clearly had – and would certainly have delivered had it not been for very small seed resulting from the dry summer.

“This saved us a good 80kg/ ha,” adds Mr Fairweather.

“Alongside our key need to make sure the crop gets through what we see as the most critical period of the whole year – December to March – this is another good reason for getting the best-grown OSR before Christmas.

Larvae “Whatever we do, we know we’ll have flea beetle larvae these days.

And sowing earlier means we are likely to have more of them. For the least risk we simply have to have a crop able to power away from any setbacks in spring. If it’s too small, too weedy, lacks early get-up-and-go, or sits too wet or cold, it can very rapidly go backwards, leaving us looking at serious losses and limited options for replacement in spring.

“We don’t use any pre-ems and the only costs we incur other than the seed before our early October cut-off for deciding whether or not to keep crops are

the starter fertiliser, a graminicide for the barley volunteers and, maybe, a small amount of insecticide. A decent establishment risk share scheme covers us for much of this investment if establishment goes wrong and we have a well-subsoiled field we can put into something else.

“Our level of risk escalates massively, though, as soon as we start putting on any Clearfield herbicides, Centurion Max [clethodim] or Kerb [propyzamide] – not to mention fungicides, PGRs and spring fertilisers.

“Knowing we have a sufficiently good crop with the enough spring vigour gives us the confidence to invest in these crucial inputs once we get past the ‘point of no return’.

“We are happy to use a good PGR in autumn as well as spring to manage our canopies – and doing this with Architect [pyraclostrobin + prohexadione-calcium + mepiquat-chloride] which combines growth regulation with good foliar disease activity this season makes things even more flexible. Although it’s all prescriptive, following tissue testing, we don’t stint on micro-nutrition either – primarily manganese, magnesium and boron here.”

So what are the Manor Farm team’s plans, now they have successfully got their OSR back on track? Mr Farrant and Mr Fairweather are looking at a number of tweaks to their current regime.

First and foremost is questioning whether to continue with Clearfield OSR on land that has more than its fair share of broad-leaved weed problems but few issues with charlock, runch or hedge mustard.

Mr Farrant says: “If, as we suspect, erucic acid contamination problems are behind us now, ordinary OSR would give us a much wider range of higher yielding, high vigour hybrids to choose from.

“There’s no escaping the fact Clearfield herbicides can be quite hot on the crop, either. Equally, we could make some good cost savings by not using them.

“We’ll definitely be building up our experience with and confidence in basing nitrogen applications on GAIs and N-mins,” he adds.

Support “Foliar N is something we are also keen to explore to support our crops later on and in dry conditions. And if we replace our Horsch Pronto with an Avatar, this could give us some useful extra establishment options too.

“All in all, we are very relieved to again be looking ahead at our OSR with optimism. The past two seasons have rebuilt our confidence in a crop that is so essential to our rotation. On our ground a consistent 3.5t/ha would give us the sustainability we need.

Especially if we can further reduce our growing risks and costs.”

APRIL 2022 24/03/2022 11:29

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It’s the first hybrid offered to UK growers with a claim for Sclerotinia tolerance, with an impressive disease package that also includes TuYV resistance, partial resistance to verticillium stem stripe and a score of 7 for both light leaf spot and phoma. And with its top yield achieved in years when cabbage stem flea beetle activity was very high across much of the UK, PT303 has further proven its ability to deliver.

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22/03/2022 17/03/2022 09:13 11:00

Venue: The Vox Venue, Birmingham | Date: Thursday, October 20, 2022

Celebrating 10 years of the BFAs The British Farming Awards reaches a milestone this year following its launch 10 years ago. The much-loved event has continued to go from strength to strength and now boasts a new move to The Vox Venue, Birmingham’s state-of-the-art events venue.

R

eaching a pivotal milestone, the British Farming Awards is back – bigger, better and ready to take 2022 by storm, 10 years since its launch.

With a new venue and a refreshed selection of awards up for grabs, farming’s much respected event, supported

by Morrisons, reaches its 10th year, and today marks its official return.

Alongside our core farming sectors – arable, beef, dairy, sheep and beef – we also recognise the importance of digital and agritech innovations, the welcome

presence of new entrants, family farms and agricultural students.

New for this year is the introduction of the Grassland Farmer of the Year Award, as we highlight the increasing efforts of dairy, sheep and beef farmers pushing the boundaries within their grazing systems and maximising their potential.

The awards also welcome nominations of businesses which have introduced positive changes, streamlined production and efficiency and adapted structures to tackle the gargantuan impact of Covid-19.

2022 award categories XAgricultural Student of the Year (sponsored by Kubota)

XDiversification Farmer of the Year (sponsored by CLA)

XAgritech Innovator of the Year

XFamily Farming Business of the Year (sponsored by Morrisons)

XArable Farmer of the Year

XFarm Worker of the Year (sponsored by Isuzu)

XBeef Farmer of the Year (sponsored by ABP)

XGrassland Farmer of the Year (sponsored by Germinal)

XContractor Innovator of the Year (sponsored by Kuhn)

XNew Entrant: Against the Odds (sponsored by Massey Ferguson)

XDairy Farmer of the Year (sponsored by KW Feeds)

XSheep Farmer of the Year (sponsored by SAI Global)

XDigital Innovator of the Year (sponsored by Lely)

XSustainability Farmer of the Year (sponsored by Alltech)

Outstanding Contribution to British Agriculture

(sponsored by NSF International) THIS award recognises one individual’s dedication to the farming industry, who has worked tirelessly for UK agriculture either through delivering innovation, championing the needs of fellow farmers, spearheading change or promoting it to the wider public.

44

Winner of last year’s arable award WINNER of the arable award in 2021 was Jake Freestone of Overbury Farms, Worcestershire.

He said: “It feels like the crown on what has been a great time for the farm. This is for the whole team and family which have worked such long hours and put up with the hassle.”

Sophie Throup, Morrisons head of agriculture, fisheries and sustainable sourcing, says: “As long-term supporters of British farming, we want to thank farmers across the country for the work they continue to do in these challenging times.

“We are pleased to once again be supporting the British Farming Awards, recognising the effort, care, innovation and skills British farmers put into making and providing food we are all proud of.”

British Farming Awards marks a seminal 10 years The British Farming Awards (BFAs) turns 10 years old and what a decade it has been for the event and British agriculture.

It has been a seismic decade for the industry and the country as a whole, with events such as Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and, latterly, political tensions and conflict in Europe bringing about unforeseen change.

Throughout it all, however, British farming has kept going, day in and day out, and farmers have worked tirelessly to keep the nation fed.

Farmers have also sought to innovate and change their farming practices in the face of changing policy ideals. Whether it has been connecting with consumers via farm shops or vending machines or reaping the benefits of the staycation boom of recent years, many farms have sought to harness new opportunities.

Underneath it all, however, farming has been about food production and Farmers Guardian and its sister titles and events in the Agriconnect stable have sought to shine a light on the innovation at play within sectors such as livestock, arable and machinery.

That is where the BFAs has become a key part of the brand mix for our business and has allowed farmers to come together in person and celebrate the achievements of their industry peers.

The BFAs award night is firmly established as the best party in British agriculture, but behind the celebrations lies a deep pride in the

Ben Briggs, group editor at Agriconnect. achievements of British farmers and farm workers. For any industry, it is key that it celebrates its achievements.

For farming this is not always naturally done, given the humble nature of many farmers.

However, by unearthing inspirational stories of success against the odds or people who have simply gone above and beyond, the BFAs has provided a vital boost to the industry’s own self-image.

And as farming has changed over the past decade, so too has the BFAs, from its fledgling steps to this year’s event, which will see almost 1,000 celebrate together in Birmingham.

It has been a fabulous journey for the awards and wider industry over the past 10 years and one I, and the wider Agriconnect team, have been proud to be involved in.

APRIL 2022

AF Apr p44 45 BFAs Launch RM DO.indd 2

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We want to thank farmers across the country for the work they continue to do in these challenging times SOPHIE THROUP

Key dates for your diary

March 18

Entries/nominations open

June 24

Entries/nominations close

August 12 Shortlist announced

August 22-31 Judging takes place

October 20

Awards evening at The Vox, Birmingham

For more information on how to enter, visit

BRITISHFARMINGAWARDS.CO.UK or scan the QR code on the right

Sponsored by

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45 25/03/2022 12:38

TECHNICAL MILLING WHEAT The milling sector faces challenges around its environmental footprint and nitrogen use in its quest for 13% grain protein.

Alice Dyer reports from the AHDB Milling Wheat Conference.

Greener market to drive change in milling sector?

P

ressure on the food supply chain to reduce its carbon footprint is growing, but what does this mean for milling wheat?

Greenhouse gas emissions from milling wheat are some 15% higher than for feed wheat and there is pressure building from both regulators and customers to reduce the crop’s environmental impact.

Joe Brennan, senior technical adviser for Flour Millers UK, (formerly nabim), said: “Carbon

footprinting hasn’t really kicked off yet, but the ball is rolling. As we enter a greener market there will be customers wanting to differentiate themselves for the consumer [in this way].”

Linked into the debate are issues around the cost and availability of domestic, high protein wheat because breeders are struggling to marry up the protein quality that millers are looking for in Group 1 varieties, with yield traits.

“In 2015 we saw a boom in high

yielding Group 1s. But KWS Zyatt was the last high yielding bread variety to join the list and we haven’t had any for a number of years,” Mr Brennan said.

“From 2020, the area of Group 1s grown declined which is no surprise given newer varieties [in other groups] with better agronomic packages are finding their way into the market place.”

So what is stopping millers accepting lower proteins?

“A percentage of 12.5 is a more

There is pressure building along the supply chain to reduce the carbon footprint of milling wheat.

attractive destination for growers to sell to. But one of the issues is with the typical protein quality of UK wheat; less than 13% protein will not give you the consistent strength needed for breadmaking flours.

Disconnect “Some businesses will look to top up their protein with high protein imported wheat from North America and Canada. However, these are expensive and not an option for UK-only flour. Plus, if we’re going to have a conversation about carbon footprinting, there may be a disconnect between using less N to cut carbon and then importing wheat.”

YEN winners’ secrets to milling specification success JCrusoe was top of the crops in this year’s YEN milling wheat category, with all three winners growing the variety.

It is the only Group 1 variety that Yorkshire farmer and gold winner Peter Trickett grows because he finds it easier to manage one variety in store and Crusoe is consistent and reliable on his soils.

He said: “Crusoe is weak on brown rust which can be a big problem for farmers south of the

Humber, but where we are [near Leeds] it is not a problem for us. My second choice would be Skyfall which is OWBM resistant, but it needs more nitrogen to reach protein spec and is very susceptible to yellow rust.”

He has been reducing foliar urea use on crops and his winning 11.2 tonnes/hectare YEN crop had none applied but still hit protein spec.

“This saves us cost, operation and risk of scorch. I also think

it helps quality,” Mr Trickett said.

He does not apply much P and K either, but sulphur is important.

He applied 300kg/ha of nitrogen in four splits to his winning crop – one in March, two in April and the final in early May just before flag leaf emergence to help protein and aid yield.

The only trace element he applied was manganese and he does not use biostimulants.

Since the loss of chlorothalonil, Mr Trickett has dropped the T0 fungicide. At T1 he applied

fluxapyroxad and prothioconazole plus folpet, fluxapyroxad + mefentrifluconazole at T2 and he always applies a T3 for the yield benefit.

“This tops up septoria control on the flag leaf and controls ear diseases like fusarium. We use prothioconazole + tebuconazole at the start of flowering.”

Chlormequat is also applied at GS30, GS31 and GS37-39.

Mr Trickett’s winning crop was drilled on September 27, 2020, at a seedrate of 270 seeds/sq.m.

Milling wheat YEN winners JThe average grain yield for all Group 1 varieties entered into the YEN 2021 was 10.4t/ha and average protein yield was 1.17t/ha. rFirst: Peter Trickett,

46

Yorkshire, 1.26t/ha protein yield rSecond: Richard Carr, Essex, 1.19t/ha protein yield rThird: Edward Vipond, Suffolk, 1.08t/ha protein yield

Crusoe was the common denominator among the 2021 YEN milling wheat category winners.

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MILLING WHEAT TECHNICAL Digital grain passports

Another option is adding gluten to bump up the protein, but this does not quite replicate the functionality of naturallyoccurring wheat protein and can dull the colour of the bread crumb.

Significant pressure for food processors to reduce salt, which modifies gluten and increases strength, is also adding to the challenge.

“As salt levels are pushed lower and lower, protein is being pushed up to compensate,” he added.

While specification reductions

may not yet be on the horizon, there are ways the industry can continue to address emissions, said Mr Brennan.

“We need to improve our understanding of genes underpinning protein functionality, identify those traits and breed them into varieties. We also need to improve NUE and our understanding of best timing and rates for N applications in terms of breadmaking quality. Things like late foliar N sprays currently have a divergence of opinions on how useful they are.”

JThe first digital grain passport pilots are set to be rolled out at the beginning of next year in a move away from the ‘archaic’ paper system that has been used for decades.

A key change to the system will be the ability to send delivery data back to the merchant, grower and haulier quickly. The passport will be accessed via a smartphone or tablet device.

George Mason, senior executive at Heygates, said: “This return of delivery data means getting weighbridge data back instantaneously. As far as farmers are concerned there will be a lab analysis looking at moisture, bushel weight, protein and other important information. This will only be seen by the

participants and players in that delivery – no-one else sees it.”

This will lead to a massive reduction in paperwork and greater visibility for all parties, he said.

“It is the evolution of an outdated system. We are a multi-billion-pound industry – we have got to move forward.”

Addressing his own concerns over data security, Mr Mason said: “We have all this data already – it is just on paper. This system will hold a lot of data, but this will be governed by a committee who will not sell data for commercial gain. How do we know Russians aren’t going to hack into it? My business is absolutely paranoid about being hacked. We do as much as we possibly can and we think we’re pretty safe.”

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TECHNICAL CROP NUTRITION Silicon rarely gets a second thought in crop nutrition. Might that be about to change? Arable Farming reports.

Reducing crop stress with silicon

I

t is the Earth’s second-most abundant element and makes up about half the content of any typical soil type, so crop nutrition strategy hasn’t prioritised silicon.

Dr David Marks, crop scientist and founder of Levity Crop Science, says: “Silicon has never enjoyed ‘essential nutrient’ status.

“Conventional thinking has it that crops can absorb sufficient quantities from soil.

“Because we give it so little attention, silicon’s role in plant metabolism and structural integrity is barely acknowledged.”

Dr Marks adds that crop scientists think silicon needs to gain greater prominence in crop nutrition. More and more research suggests it could deliver further

Silicon in trials JLevity believes silicon could benefit a range of crops, with further trials underway in: rCereals: Improved resistance to lodging; better stress resistance rOnions: Improved drought resistance rPotatoes: Reduced incidence of aphid feeding (owing to tougher cuticles), improved skin and tuber quality, less susceptibility to cold stress

48 AF Apr p48 50 Silicon TR KH AD.indd 2

yield potential from a range of crops, cereals included, he says.

Silicon is implicated in several metabolic functions, including the production of stress-protecting hormones, antioxidants and biotic stress protectors.

“Its ability to confer stress tolerance, whether abiotic – environmental factors such as drought and high temperatures – or ‘biotic’ stress caused by pests and diseases, is interesting,” he adds.

Experience “We don’t know how climate change will affect agriculture, but it’s generally accepted that crops will experience stress events more frequently.”

Silicon is instrumental in the redistribution of phosphate through the plant, and for efficient transport of the trace elements zinc, manganese, iron and copper.

It also improves crops’ nitrogen recovery, particularly in cases of low N availability.

Lastly, plants also use silicon to create a hard crystal layer within the cuticle. These insoluble deposits, called ‘opals’ – not dissimilar to the small packets of silica gel used as desiccants – lend physical strength to the plant structure.

Opals offer strong defence against attacks from pests and diseases.

“They slow the speed of colonisation of fungal pathogens, stopping them from penetrating

Trials are currently underway to investigate the effects of silicon supplementation in wheat, potatoes and onions.

more than a couple of cells deep into the leaf. They also improve structural robustness, increasing stem thickness and reducing the plant’s susceptibility to lodging,” says Dr Marks.

Establishing the need for silicon is one thing, he says, but there are three problems with satisfying that need.

“Once silicon is deposited as opals, the plant enjoys physical protection but the silicon is no longer metabolically active; it cannot be released,” says Dr Marks.

“Secondly, much of the soil

silicon is not bioavailable, as silicic acid [H4SiO4].

“Lastly, in common with other soil nutrients, plants face competition from bacteria and diatoms for any bioavailable silicon.”

In seeking to address these problems, attempts have been made to apply silicon through foliar applications. As Dr Marks explains, scientists faced another barrier.

“Silicon isn’t mobile in the phloem, which means the plant has to actively transport it into and out of the xylem to move it around the plant. It’s a metabolic X

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 09:39

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TECHNICAL CROP NUTRITION process, limiting transport and mobility,” he adds.

“The challenge is to mobilise it before it’s locked away as opals. While it’s great to have the additional physical protection, we need the metabolic benefits too.

“The only way to achieve this is through regular applications during the growing season, supplying silicon little and often.

“That’s acceptable in a research setting, but at that frequency and volume it’s commercially impractical.”

So, about 12 years ago, Dr Marks began to examine an alternative approach. Research revealed that while all crops use silicon, different species exhibited varying abilities to accumulate it. This was a key observation: as silicon moves only in the xylem, the expectation would be that silicon should accumulate at a rate commensurate with transpiration.

“Yet some plants, like rice and sugarcane, take up silicon at a higher rate than present in the transpiration stream,” says Dr Marks.

“Rice can contain as much as 15%. This has to occur using active transport.

“Meanwhile, there are very low accumulators – most dicot plants,

for example – that can’t even absorb the silicon in soil solution.”

Armed with these findings, Dr Marks embarked on a project to not only identify the substances responsible for silicon transport, but to emulate them. This approach, he says, is the hallmark of Levity’s nutritional portfolio.

He says: “We try to create ‘smart’ fertilisers: substances that stimulate or ‘supercharge’ the plant’s own metabolic pathways. We’re helping the crop to help itself.”

Inactive Previous research successes include LoCal, a calcium transport stimulant that improves the quality and shelf-life of fruit crops and a boron product, Damu, which helps the plant regulate carbohydrate transport.

He adds: “To tackle silicon, we created Si-X technology. This stimulates naturally-occurring silicon transporters within the plant, avoiding the problems of conventional foliar silicon becoming metabolically inactive once it’s crystallised.”

Now patent-pending, Si-X has been formulated into Levity’s Zeme. It saw its first major field trials in 2020. Two one litre per hectare applications were made in

spring wheat at T1 and T2, tank-mixed with conventional fungicides. The trial was conducted during a dry spring period, with the crop identified as in a stress period. Yield response was 1.2t/ha, says Dr Marks.

A further trial during 2021 assessed Zeme’s ability to trigger the crop’s stress response mechanism.

“Could it help the crop under pathogenic attack? Our thinking being that if the plant produced a more robust response, it should also alleviate pressure on the fungicide’s mode of action.”

For this trial, the multi-site component was omitted from a standard fungicide programme and substituted with Zeme. Assessment in July, pre-senescence, revealed significant septoria reduction on the flag leaf, compared to the standard programme, says Dr Marks.

“That demonstrates how silicon enhances the plant’s ability to resist attack, through tougher plant tissue. Alleviation of stress effects may also be responsible and even in the absence of stress these mechanisms often demonstrate yield increases.

“What’s particularly pleasing is how this novel silicon formulation

Silicon isn’t mobile in the phloem, which means the plant has to actively transport it into and out of the xylem DR DAVID MARKS works alongside conventional chemistry,” adds Dr Marks.

Ongoing UK and Netherlands trials this year should further understanding of how and where silicon improves crops’ metabolic efficiency.

“Crop yields have plateaued, yet we still need to grow more food, while using fewer resources.

“I’m convinced the answer lies in re-examining our approach to crop nutrition, working out what’s needed to improve not just nitrogen use efficiency, but overall nutrient use efficiency too.

“Silicon won’t be the last nutrient to merit a re-evaluation,” adds Dr Marks.

The different uses and benefits of adequate available silicon within the crop.

SILICA (SiO2)

Deposition on hull

Deposition on leaves

Deposition on leaves

Reduction in transpiration

Reduction in transpiration

Deposition on stems

Increase of resistance to biotic stress

Alleviation of water stress

Alleviation of water stress

Lodging resistance

50 AF Apr p48 50 Silicon TR KH AD.indd 3

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SUGAR BEET TECHNICAL While sugar beet growers may have Cruiser SB for this season, the industry taskforce seeking alternative solutions for virus yellows prevention continues. Alice Dyer reports.

Identifying virus strains

C

urrent research into combatting virus yellows includes the British Beet Research Organisation’s (BBRO) Operation Emerald Project, led by BBRO crop protection scientist Dr Alistair Wright, who is exploring how varieties respond to the different strains of virus yellows.

In last season’s trials, 100,000 plants were hand inoculated in the field to monitor their response to the different virus strains – beet mild yellowing virus (BMYV) beet yellowing virus (BYV) and beet chlorosis virus (BChV).

Virus yellows complex THE virus yellows complex is made up of three viruses: rBeet chlorosis virus (BChV) – Least harmful to yield taking 25% rBeet mild yellowing virus (BMYV) – 30% yield loss and is sister to BChV. Most progress has been made in BMYV-tolerant varieties rBeet yellowing virus (BYV) – 50% of yield, from different family to above viruses Source: BBRO

Speaking at BBRO’s Newark BeetTech event, Dr Wright said: “Breeders’ efforts are paying off and there were some very promising varieties coming forward. There were strong differentiations in symptoms between the plots.

Some plots were infected with BMYV but held their yield. That is unfortunately only for BMYV, but with BYV we still have a way to go.”

He also assessed sowing date effects for some of the emerging varieties, planting them in early and late March and mid-April to determine their response when hit with disease at different growth stages.

He said: “It was reassuring to see the more mature plants did not express symptoms and as part of that will hold out and stay greener, and therefore maintain yield. Some varieties showed very static responses, regardless of the age of the plant. But others showed a steep decline. When BYV was assessed, we did not see the level of yield we saw in BMYV, which is not surprising given the virus is more severe, but some varieties did hold out better than others.”

Dr Wright said he is now able, using a drone, to quantify yellowing and what it means for yield loss.

There is a very strong relationship between amount of yellowing in an infected beet crop and yield loss.

“There is a very strong relationship between amount of yellowing and yield lost, no matter what strain of the virus it is. This means hopefully in the next few years we’ll be able to predict how a variety performs long before it’s lifted.”

Delta variants PhD student Suzannah Cobb is exploring whether there are ‘Delta variants’ of BMYV and BChV to determine whether it is the same strains of the viruses infecting crops each year.

In 2021, 338 leaves were tested – of the leaves that tested positive for virus yellows, 75% were infected with BChV, 18% had BMYV and 7% had a mix of the two viruses.

Ms Cobb said: “I’m confident in saying BChV is more common in the UK crop than BMYV. That

is not the result we expected – we had thought it was BMYV that caused the most disease in the UK, but this data suggests that might not now be the case. ” When leaves were sent for sequencing to identify the strain of the virus, some mutations and differences were found in the isolates seen in the wild compared to the ones being reared at BBRO. Ms Cobb said: “However, at the moment we don’t know if those mutations make a difference to yield or symptom severity.”

This season, BBRO will be performing a ‘world first’ field trial inoculating susceptible and BMYV-tolerant sugar beet varieties with wild isolates of BMYV and BChV which have been collected from fields in Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire.

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TECHNICAL PESTS Aphid populations can evolve to resist the insecticides available to control them and now

the

Keeping aphid enemie

R

esistance to insecticides and the loss of insecticidal actives through tighter regulation pose well-documented challenges to the effective control of aphid crop pests. And now climate change – which could mean aphids present a threat to crops over a longer duration – must be added to the list, according to a leading entomologist.

Insecticide resistance in aphid populations is constantly evolving, with the latest concern for UK growers the identification of neonicotinoid-resistant peach potato aphids (myzus persicae) in sugar beet crops in Belgium, says Rothamsted research entomologist Dr Steve Foster.

“We know in mainland Europe that a strong resistance has evolved and this is related to a target site mutation, which means neonics would no longer work against those resistant forms. The good news is we have not seen any evidence of those forms in the UK – so far,” Dr Foster says.

From a UK perspective there is, however, more reassuring news in terms of other insecticide actives, with no evidence of reduced sensitivity or resistance

What we are finding is in the case of S. avenae we have another superclone, like in M. persicae DR STEVE FOSTER

52 AF Apr p52 53 Pests TR AD KH.indd 2

More information JDr Steve Foster was speaking at an ADAS aphid monitoring workshop

in peach potato aphid to Teppeki (flonicamid), Movento (spirotetramat) used in brassica and root crops and Sequoia (sulfoxaflor) used in some protected crops.

“On the other side of the coin, we have seen consistent and widespread resistance to pyrethroid insecticides in this species,” Dr Foster adds.

Once resistance has been identified, aphids can be screened to determine what is causing the resistance.

Diagnostics “Once you have evidence of a resistance mechanism you can then develop diagnostics to allow you to screen the aphid population to find out what its resistance genotype is.

“In the past, we’ve been looking for MACE, which is a target site mechanism associated with resistance to pirimicarb.

We are also able to look for kdr – knockdown resistance – and super-kdr, which are mechanisms which confer moderate and very strong resistance to pyrethroids,” says Dr Foster.

Resistance to insecticides occurs when there is a large population, in this case of aphids, in which genetic mutations are occurring and these mutations are being selected for in the presence of insecticides. For this reason, it is important to monitor aphid populations so that up-to-date data is available on the frequency and type of resistance mechanism present in the population. Kdr resistance provides a good example.

There is strong evidence of resistance, even to the level that would compromise pyrethroid sprays DR STEVE FOSTER “It has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride with kdr. What you see in certain years does not necessarily affect what you are going to see in the future. For example, in 2012/13 we didn’t find any myzus persicae carrying this mechanism,” says Dr Foster.

So-called super-kdr was first discovered in the UK in 2012 and has been common in the UK aphid population since then, he adds.

“Interestingly, if the aphid carries super-kdr, it also tends to carry MACE, so possibly MACE is maintained in the population, not because it is conferring resistance to a compound that is no longer used, but because it is hitch-hiking alongside super-kdr – the aphids are carrying both mechanisms together,” says Dr Foster.

The UK peach potato aphid population is considered to be made up of ‘super clones’, where the population is composed of a limited number of dominant clones.

“The aphid population of M. persicae in the UK tends to be asexual, made up of super clones and primarily when you go looking for the super kdr and MACE clone genotype using a DNA fingerprint-type approach

you find the population is very much made of this one type of aphid. Essentially the diversity in the population in the UK is very limited; a few lines have done very well, in this case probably because of their resistance to pyrethroids.”

Following the loss of neonic seed treatments, growers are now reliant on pyrethroid sprays for control of the three main aphid vectors of BYDV in cereal crops – the grain aphid (sitobion avenae), the bird cherry-oat aphid (rhopalosiphum padi) and the rose-grain aphid (metopolophium dirhodum) – so keeping track of the resistance status of these species is essential.

In work funded by AHDB and undertaken by Rothamsted Research in conjunction with ADAS, cereal aphids are being screened to determine the level of resistance or sensitivity within the UK population.

Moderate resistance “What we are finding is in the case of S. avenae we have another super-clone, like in M. persicae, and this is called SA3. This clone carries kdr, which gives moderate resistance to pyrethroids – not strong resistance.

In this case it is in the heterozygous form, so the diploid aphid only has one copy and interestingly we have never found a homozygote out of the thousands of aphids that have been screened – possibly because homozygotes may carry a fitness cost.

“The resistance response we have is 35-fold, which is on the edge of conferring resistance to a full field rate, but it is not dramatic like super-kdr, which would give a resistance ratio of thousands,” adds Dr Foster.

Of five samples collected in 2019

APRIL 2022 24/03/2022 13:47

now

the future of monitoring them is uncertain. Teresa Rush reports.

mies in sight and 2020, with various response ratios, importantly none of these response ratios were above and beyond what was seen for the standard kdr clone, which means there was no evidence of any increased selection or any increased resistance in the grain aphid.

This work also revealed that in the York area in 2020, there was a high frequency of grain aphids carrying kdr. The data for 2021 is not yet available.

There is no recent evidence of reduced tolerance or resistance in the UK bird cherry-oat aphid population, so pyrethroid insecticides should work well against this species.

However, one species in which there have been new reports of poor control with pyrethroids is the willow-carrot aphid, which is a major pest of carrots, celery and parsnips. Based on samples collected going back to 2018, the suggestion is there is a problem, particularly at the field rate, says Dr Foster.

“We are getting survivorship of these aphids. There is strong evidence of resistance, even to the level that would compromise pyrethroid sprays aimed at this particular aphid pest.”

Resistance and the loss of insecticides are continuing causes for concern as pest pressures look set to accelerate.

“We are losing compounds, not only through resistance as we see with the willow-carrot aphid but also due to legislation, as we saw with the loss of neonic seed treatments in all outdoor crops, although there is a derogation to allow the use of neonics in beet in this country [this season] and that is triggered by predictions made by the Rothamsted Insect Survey.”

Climate change is set to bring additional challenges with cereal aphids present in and around crops for longer and transmitting viruses over an extended period, particularly in the autumn because of warmer weather, adds Dr Foster.

But while monitoring and tracking of aphids is vitally important, the resistance monitoring work carried out by the Rothamsted Insect Survey is currently in jeopardy due to the withdrawal of some of its funding.

Monitoring could end as soon as May this year if efforts to secure additional funding are unsuccessful, says Dr Foster.

For more MORE ONLINE information on the Rothamsted Insect Survey, visit rothamsted.ac.uk/ insect-survey

The aphid threat to crops is set to increase as the UK climate becomes warmer.

APRIL 2022 AF Apr p52 53 Pests TR AD KH.indd 3

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MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT

Target soil and steward schemes to bridge BPS Could adopting new support measures alongside existing stewardship schemes help offset the loss of direct payments?

A

s ongoing cuts to the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) start to bite, farmers have been urged to make the most of environmental stewardship options and the new support for soil management coming this year.

Speaking at a meeting of growers organised by Essexbased Farmacy agronomists, farm business consultant Gwilym Jenkins said the loss of direct payments could be largely offset by adopting new support measures available through Defra’s Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), being rolled out this autumn, alongside existing stewardship measures.

For a hypothetical 200-hectare farm, he estimated BPS income would drop by almost £10,000 to £36,450 this year and fall to nearer £22,470 by

2024; however adopting measures in the SFI could make up much of this.

Intermediate soils standard options, due to be launched soon, could be worth around £8,000, while yet-to-belaunched options for arable land, soil, hedgerow and watercourse management could take total SFI income up to £32,000 by 2024.

Lost income This was before any additional income from the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS), which would further narrow the gap in lost BPS income, he said.

“There were some considerable changes to the SFI in Defra’s last update, but there are still good opportunities to get back much of the lost BPS through different sources. It’s not all doom and gloom.”

Focus on finding measures that will work on those poorperforming or difficult to manage areas But with Defra aiming to get 70% of farms and farmland into the SFI by 2028 and a limit on the amount of money assigned to the whole Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, Hutchinsons environmental services specialist Hannah Joy recommended ‘getting in early’.

She said: “There are lots of grants and schemes being developed and rolled out over this year and next, with many other changes likely through to 2028. We’ve got a good idea of what’s coming and what farmers will have to do, so it’s worth

Enhancing the natural health and fertility of soils is central to the new arable and horticultural soils standards being introduced this year.

54 AF Apr p54 55 ELM KH AD TR.indd 2

HANNAH JOY getting your foot in the door now to make sure your farm is part of that 70%.”

Being in an existing CSS agreement would be the best way to transition across to the new stewardship options being introduced in the Arable and Horticulture Land Standards (AHLS) in ELM, due to be launched in 2024, Miss Joy added.

“Why wait until 2024 if you can start receiving income now for various options in CSS?” The application period for CSS agreements starting January 1, 2023, opened in February and closes at the end of July. The two principal routes into the scheme are the Wildlife Offers and the Mid Tier scheme, both of which could be in high demand, said Ms Joy. “Mid Tier in particular is a competitive scheme that received a lot of applications last year, so applications are likely to be looked at closely and may be scored on their ability to meet the scheme’s requirements. It’s really important to think carefully about what you’re applying for.”

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 11:09

ardship PS gap Being in the CSS offers a guaranteed income for five years and would be a good route into the AHLS once it was launched, she added.

This new scheme will potentially require up to 15% of land to be taken out of production and put into some kind of stewardship option, such as permanent margins or rotational mixes, so it is vital farmers identify suitable areas carefully to maximise environmental and farm business benefits, she said.

“Stewardship won’t replace the best-yielding parts of the farm but that’s not what it’s designed for. Focus on finding measures that will work on those poor-performing or difficult to manage areas.”

Farm productivity Indeed, while SFI and stewardship income is vital to help offset BPS cuts, growers were urged not to regard it as a ‘tick-box exercise’ to claim payments and instead carefully target any measures to maximise the wider benefits to farm productivity.

Taking lower yielding or loss-making areas, such as awkward field corners or wet headlands, out of production and into stewardship is a good way of improving overall efficiency while accessing alternative income streams.

Digital services specialist James Lane said the multi-layered analysis available within Omnia is a valuable tool for identifying suitable areas. Biomass imagery, soil analysis data, yield maps or cost of production mapping could all help growers make better-informed decisions about

Being in an existing CSS agreement would be the best way to transition across to the new stewardship options, due to be launched in 2024, says Hannah Joy.

where to position proposed stewardship options.

Enhancing the natural health and fertility of soils is central to the new arable and horticultural soils standards being introduced this year, with payments varying from £22/ha at the basic level up to £40/ha for the intermediate options. An advanced level will be launched from next year.

While payments are attractive, adopting any measures that improved soil health and growers’ understanding of soil status on-farm would also have significant benefits to crop productivity, said Ian Robertson, head of soils.

“The more you learn about soils and how they work, the more you know about how best to manage them and what they need in terms of cultivations, fertiliser or other inputs.”

The SFI scheme therefore represents a good opportunity to evaluate all the main soil parameters and improve productivity, he added.

Mr Robertson said improving fertiliser use efficiency is particularly pertinent this season given the rise in prices and this is just one area where better knowledge about the physical, biological and chemical properties of soil could deliver tangible benefits.

“For example, average

nitrogen use efficiency in the UK is only around 50%, although some farms are achieving up to 80%.”

From the weather and fertiliser timing to interactions between different nutrients, many factors contribute to low fertiliser use efficiency; however poor crop rooting is a key one as it inhibits the ability of crops to access nutrients and water from the soil reservoir.

“So many times the focus is on what is happening above ground, but there is an awful lot going on in the plant material beneath the surface.”

Rooting depth Just one cubic metre of soil from a typical wheat field contains around 30km of roots, he said.

Research has also shown that increasing rooting depth by 1cm allows crops to access an extra 130 tonnes of soil over 1ha, while increasing rooting depth by 5cm accesses an extra 650t.

“The biggest influence on rooting is sowing date, however drainage, soil structure, variety, seed rate, growth regulators and biostimulant use all have an effect too.”

The ability of soil microbes to break down organic matter and cycle nutrients was another critical factor which influenced fertiliser efficiency and crop productivity.

“If soil isn’t performing, it’s often because there’s not the microbial activity. Historically, agriculture has been a top-heavy system, driven by more inputs.

Soil biology often got overlooked as it’s hard to see what’s happening and testing can be tricky.”

Organic matter and soil carbon directly influenced microbial activity, he added, but these could be affected by applying fertiliser as every 1kg of artificial nitrogen had the ability to oxidise 16kg of soil carbon.

He advised growers to look carefully at the response to nitrogen from individual crops on their own farm and evaluate the effectiveness of nutrition strategies.

Improving nutrient cycling and rooting capacity could reduce the reliance on applied fertiliser.

“We still need inputs, but they have to be much better tailored to what the soil needs.”

Mr Robertson urged all growers to get out a spade and inspect soils to better understand the current conditions and identify potential issues. The SFI soils standards would provide a further incentive for soil assessments, management plans and adopting measures to boost organic matter and protect soils.

Additionally, analysis could add useful detail against which to benchmark current soil status and measure improvements.

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MACHINERY POTATOES

In just 15 minutes we can be unpacked and operational – either in a yard or field location BRADLEY SYKES

Mobile crop loading is achieved using a Grimme CleanLoader.

Loading time savings kee Efficient handling and haulage of potatoes now starts with a Grimme CleanLoader for one Yorkshire grower. Geoff Ashcroft saw the machine in action.

T

o access enough land to grow potatoes on contract for McCain and Walkers, Bradley Sykes’ working area has been pushed further and further afield from his base at Pontefract, West Yorkshire.

It puts the emphasis firmly on logistics and transport, to ensure the crop is moved from field to store as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. It is also where tractors and trailers

stop and HGV road transport takes over.

Mr Sykes says: “With our potato crop grown over an area that stretches 80 miles north to south, we only use tractors and trailers to get the crop from the harvesters to a convenient loading point.

Cost-effective “The only way to move the crop in a cost-effective way is to use bulkers for onward transport.”

Bradley Sykes Agricultural

Contracting has evolved considerably since Mr Sykes borrowed a tractor and hedgecutter 10 years ago, to get his business off the ground.

A 1,000-hectare pea harvest now sits alongside a general contracting operation and if that wasn’t enough, Mr Sykes also grows just over 300ha of potatoes.

This expansion into root crops sees a Dewulf two-row self-propelled bunker harvester and a

trailed Grimme GT170 sent in different directions to maintain a consistent flow of crop back to store for processing.

“We’re lifting potatoes from September through to November, and usually at two different locations. And until this year, we had been using a combination of a Tong grader and a Downs grader.

Both are good bits of kit, but not very mobile,” Mr Sykes says.

“We were wasting too much

The control box allows quick and accurate machine set up.

Also in this section 60 63 66 68 70

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A route to greater capacity Joined up thinking for roots Beet tradition meets technology Working towards minimal exposure Major changes to red diesel rules

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POTATOES MACHINERY

Loader data rModel: CleanLoader rCleaning: Spiral coils rTable: Four-man rPower: Hatz 75hp engine and integral hydraulic system rElevator: 6.5m slew, 7m length rCapacity: 120t per hour

keep harvest on the move time setting up and then moving between different locations when harvesting – we needed a more efficient solution to get the crop cleaned, loaded and gone.”

An added complication was his previous kit also needed a generator to provide on-site electrical power.

The solution he was looking for came in the form of Grimme’s CleanLoader. The trailed, field-loading station

offers a capacity of up to 120 tonnes per hour and integrates a four-person picking table with 15 spiral rollers to help remove soil and debris from the crop.

On-board power A remote-controlled outfit, the CleanLoader comes with on-board power delivered by a 75hp Hatz diesel engine and integral, self-contained hydraulic system, plus a high-reach cart

elevator that can be lowered deep into the receiving trailer.

A drawbar kit allows the unit to be towed by tractor and the entire loading station can be set up in just 15 minutes.

“I was initially very cautious, simply because it doesn’t have a MultiSep cleaning system – only spiral roller coils,” says Mr Sykes. “So, I thought I would hire one, just in case it wasn’t much good at cleaning.”

But it was not long before Mr Sykes hired a second CleanLoader.

“And we’ll probably buy one for 2022, instead of hiring. There’s no difference when compared to a MultiSep and no loss of crop. I’m genuinely impressed.

“When harvesting conditions do get wet, soil can stick to the spiral rollers. But once the load has been tipped and put through, running them in X

Gentle loading is achieved using the remotecontrolled cart elevator.

A remote control unit means trailer filling can be closely monitored and fine-tuned to suit.

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MACHINERY POTATOES Tackling the time challenge

Soil and debris are stockpiled using cross conveyors beneath the spiral roller table.

reverse, at full speed does get them clean again.”

He reports that the speed and efficiency with which the unit can be set up is a game changer for his business.

“In just 15 minutes we can be unpacked and operational – either in a yard or field location. The only stipulation is we can get lorry trailers under the elevator,” he says. “And within 30 minutes, we can be packed up, cleaned up and moving onto the next location.

“Previously, moving this type of kit was a three-hour task, so cleaning and loading is no longer the bottleneck in the process. It’s more likely to become the harvesters.”

Setting up requires three pairs of hydraulic stabiliser legs to be deployed and the machine levelled using the on-board VC50 control terminal. Tight tolerances permit the machine from operating unless it is level, which also serves to maintain cleaning capability and throughput.

A cross-conveyor is slid out to one side, for removal of excess soil, while detaching the drawbar brackets enables the front-end receiving hopper to be lowered ready for trailers to be tipped.

Having put two of them to full use this season, I can see so many applications for the CleanLoader BRADLEY SYKES The final process requires the elevator to be unfolded so the clean crop can be conveyed directly into a waiting bulk trailer.

“I have a remote control unit in my hand to start and stop the machine and operate the unloading conveyor,” Mr Sykes says.

“All we need is a constant flow of trailers from the harvester, so we can tip into the hopper, then clean and load potatoes.

“Perhaps the only drawbacks are that there’s no canopy over the picking table and there’s not enough trash disposal space off the side conveyor. You do need to keep an eye on soil build up and get the stockpile moved

The challenge rThe business was wasting too much time setting up and moving between different locations when harvesting – a more efficient solution was needed to get potatoes cleaned, loaded and away.

Previous kit also needed a generator to provide on-site electrical power.

The verdict rMr Sykes describes CleanLoader as a ‘game changer’, as it has led to ‘colossal’ time savings.

It can be unpacked and operational in either a yard or field location within 15

frequently with a telehandler,” he adds.

Fortunately, Grimme is working on a solution for the picking table, though Mr Sykes admits it is not much fun for the team when the weather turns.

Trash conveyors He says staff manning the unit remove any foreign objects that have slipped through the harvesters, which are simply placed onto the trash conveyors, leaving the hedgehog belts to transfer crop to the cart elevator.

He adds that in the first week with the CleanLoader, the business moved more potatoes than it did in two-and-a-half weeks with the old Downs unit.

“It is at least 40% more productive,” he says. “And we keep two bulk trailers close by so we’re not sat waiting for a lorry to arrive. It’s all down to a little planning and

minutes and packed up, cleaned up and moving onto the next location within 30 minutes – previously moving the kit was a three-hour task.

This time saving means that cleaning and loading is no longer the bottleneck in the potato harvesting process.

The only real drawbacks he has identified to date are the lack of a canopy over the picking table and insufficient trash disposal space off the side conveyor, which means soil build up needs monitoring and the stockpile needs to be moved frequently with a telehandler.

the time we’re saving is colossal.

That means harvesters continue to keep lifting with no loss of output.”

When conditions allow and the harvesters are working to full capacity, a bulk lorry trailer can be loaded in just 15 minutes.

“One of the more useful aspects of the cart elevator is its radial swing. There’s enough slew on the elevator that a lorry only has to move once, for it to be filled,” he says.

“Having put two of them to full use this season, I can see so many applications for the CleanLoader.

“It would be great as an outof-store loader and useful for a wide variety of crops. I can see this being used on carrots to help extend our harvesting season.”

The CleanLoader can be packed up in under 30 minutes.

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25/03/2022 09:43

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22/03/2022 09:11 16/03/2022 09:43:25

MACHINERY POTATOES The appetite for higher capacity planting equipment presents challenges in potatoes, but manufacturers are offering a range of solutions. Jane Carley reports.

A route to greater capacity

R

oad transport restrictions and variable conditions mean two-row potato planting and harvesting equipment has endured in the UK, but manufacturers are seeing interest in wider and more productive solutions machinery to boost outputs and cut labour costs.

Standen Engineering has offered a six-row planter for several years and while its folding design brings it within legal road widths, sales director Ed Gilbert explains that it is still not without its challenges.

“To fold the planter, the hopper needs to be empty and it takes some planning to move around – it can work for growers with fields in

a block. A four-row planter works well with a four-row harvester as they are running in the same wheelings. Many larger growers will run a pair of two-row machines, but getting drivers can be an issue.”

Harvesting problems However, Mr Gilbert explains the issue with an in-line four-row planter is it makes one bed behind the tractor and two half beds either side.

“This makes it difficult to match up for the destoner and can lead to harvesting problems.

Thus, we have a four-row offset planter which plants 2+2 rows in development, which will be based on the new SR 200 two-row cup planter introduced this year.”

Grimme’s split hood version of the GB 430 adapts to terrain and conditions.

The Standen SR 200 planter can work at forward speeds of up to 10kph for higher outputs and features updated in-cab touch-screen controls which operate the hydraulic space selector to give high levels of control over seed spacing and ensure accurate planting. A new stainless steel hood design with hydraulic pressure adjustment

Combination tiller-planters, such as the Baselier hook tine cultivator system, reduce passes and cut costs and labour requirements.

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maintains the ridge shape at high forward speeds.

Grimme has seen increased demand for four-row planters and offers a number of options including the GB430 belt planter, which is offset and can work into beds.

The latest version of this features split hoods, designed to handle undulating ground better by making the planter effectively two twin-row planters attached to a main frame.

With a hopper capacity of three tonnes, the planter has infinitely adjustable tuber spacing and options including independent row shut off and GPS implement control.

Dewulf and Miedema importer AgVantage suggests another approach: planting a three-row bed system.

Managing director Andy Carse says: “Many growers have stuck with two-row planters because of the issues caused by the width of wider machines on

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POTATOES MACHINERY Planting three rows maximises the potential yield using the same amount of land ANDY CARSE

the road. Planting three rows maximises the potential yield using the same amount of land without significantly increasing the carbon footprint.”

The Dewulf Structural 30 also gives the option to swap back to two rows if there is not enough soil in the bed.

Commenting on his experience with the Strucural 30, Jonathan Quail, of Scott Oldroyd and Company, Wisbech, says: “During the growing period, moisture was held more efficiently in the row compared to a standard two-row system, which was especially important as we are unable to irrigate.

“When it came to harvesting, the top ridge of the soil in the rows had not been compacted, so the harvester was able to work consistently at an even depth, which led to easier lifting.

We achieved a uniform size and shaped potato with a substantially increased yield.”

Combination machines can

also help to address labour challenges by mounting the planter on a cultivator to reduce passes. They can also work with front tank systems to apply liquid chemicals onto the seed potatoes and/or into the furrow.

One-pass process The Baselier four-row hook tine cultivator and potato planter combination, distributed by Standen, offers a one-pass process, with a row of retractable rubber press wheels ahead of the cultivator, on which the planter is mounted. Four-row versions are available in 75, 80, 85 and 90cm row widths, with ridging hoods to the rear.

Mr Gilbert says: “This combination is traditionally sold in areas such as south Lincolnshire where there is no stone, but we are also starting to see demand elsewhere in the country from growers who have previously destoned but want to take that pass out.”

A.J. Saul grows 160 hectares of maincrop potatoes for packing on grade one silts near the Lincolnshire coast and switched from a four-row Standen Big Boy planter to the Baselier combination three seasons ago.

Workshop manager Paul Dodson says: “We wanted to move away from ridging up as a separate operation and cut manpower and fuel costs.

“Now we can also just go in with a tractor and second Baselier hook tine cultivator ahead of the combi-planter most of the time, rather than using a power harrow and cultivator, so we’re also cutting out another pass before planting.”

One change has been the planting pattern – because the combi-planter forms the row, Mr Dodson now plants half the headland, followed by the centre of the field and then the final eight rows next to the headland.

“This avoids any damage from

running over the previously planted rows,” he says.

The tractor can also run on 900mm-wide flotation tyres rather than the row crops on the Big Boy, minimising compaction.

The combi-planter is fitted with legs to apply liquid fertiliser from a tank carried on the front the tractor, GPScontrolled to match planter speed, while RTK steering ensures that the unit runs true.

Mr Dodson says it is a slightly heavier set-up and in the light silts, some extra power from a John Deere 6250R helps pull through soil hanging in the hoods.

Simple “It’s simple to set up and the Marathon planting units cut out doubles while handling the different varieties well,” he adds.

According to Grimme marketing manager Adam Johnson, there is interest for direct planting systems, especially where processors are asking growers to look at reducing ground disruption.

Grimme’s GL 420 Exacta uses either a rotary harrow or full width tiller with up to four tines ahead for deep loosening and cultivation of the soil; a carrying roller evens the ground between the tractor wheels.

A short distance between the tuber discharge and the following ridge forming plates X

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MACHINERY POTATOES is designed to ensure the tubers lie in the middle of the ridge and mechanical coupling between the furrow opener and the ridge forming plate increases planting depth precision. Options include variable rate planting from application maps.

Mr Johnson says: “A further benefit of the combination system is lower horsepower requirement, from 150hp for a four-row planter.

In addition to the existing 75cm row model, we are demonstrating a version of the GL 420 Exacta with 90cm row width to fit better with UK growing systems.”

Cost savings L. & D. Flowers, Spalding, grows 400ha of potatoes and contract plants another 100ha. After swapping from a four-row cup planter to a two-row belt planter, the business has been operating a Baselier combi-planter for three years, which will be joined by the

Planting three rows in a bed with a Structural 30 planter makes better use of available land for Wisbech growers Scott Oldroyd and Company.

Grimme Exacta 90cm row machine this season.

Director James Lacey says: “We no longer destone or ridge up which, as well as saving costs and labour, allows the potatoes to go into moisture and start growing straight away.”

Work rates of 10ha/day will be doubled with the two

machines on the land and Mr Lacey is keen to try the Grimme version, which will be pulled by a John Deere 6250R. “We’ve specified section control as we tramline the potatoes so we can run the sprayer on 650mm tyres all year. We’re taking a regenerative ag approach, by cover cropping and using a Sumo to cultivate in

November before a second pass in spring ahead of the planter. Our aim is to reduce passes to three or even two on lighter land.”

The move to a combi-planter also helps to reduce compaction.

“There’s less damage and we’re actually creating a better ridge in one pass: once planted the field is done until harvest.”

Waldersey Farms has created its own planting combination with a mounted tiller and trailed Miedema four-row planter.

Making the most of capacity JAgVantage offers Miedema cup planters up to eight rows which can also be used as combination machines and has a number of four-row planters in the UK. Waldersey Farms, which grows potatoes in Norfolk and the Cambridgeshire Fens, uses a trailed Miedema CP42 four-row to plant 375 hectares between March 15 and the end of April each year, in combination with a tiller and

62

subsoiler mounted on a John Deere 8RX. Farm manager Adrian Kew explains: “The planter is towed via a swan neck hitch and has subsoiler legs which go in 5cm below the surface to take out any pans and place fertiliser. We’ve added a GPS receiver to the planter as it used to ‘wander’ a little, but it now steers straight.”

The planter replaced tworow units, which were used

to plant in beds, as part of a move to work on the top and conserve moisture.

“It is fairly simple to operate and cuts costs and labour,” says Mr Kew.

Conditions “Depending on the conditions, we may run another tiller ahead of it, working into plough, or increasingly into land that has been min-tilled and pan busted. We’re looking

to conserve moisture but also considering carbon release as we believe it will become more of an issue in coming seasons.”

Planting in an area which stretches across 120 miles, logistics is a consideration as the CP42 is more than 3.5 metres wide and needs to be escorted, but block cropping also helps manage the harvester, a four-row Dewulf Kwatro Xtreme.

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PRECISION FARMING MACHINERY

A collaboration between John Deere’s dealer precision farming specialists and manufacturers such as Scanstone has seen the development of RTK steering systems to work with tractor fleets and root crop machinery.

High value root crops have the potential to benefit from precision agriculture and collaboration may be the way forward. Jane Carley reports.

Joined up thinking for roots

G

rowing root crops in rows and beds means that working straight and maintaining predetermined lines offers the greatest efficiency and optimum yields.

But in practice, preparing soil, planting and harvesting of root crops such as potatoes

and onions involves multiple implements and tractors, often working on variable and sloping land, which presents a steering challenge.

Steering systems In addition, passive steering systems, which require the tractor to steer slightly out of the row on a side slope to ensure the

GreenStar will steer the tractor and the implement independently of each other along the same guidance line JACK FORMAN implement – such as a cereal drill – tracks straight, are by the nature of row and bed systems, not suitable.

Root crop machinery specialist Scanstone has been fitting steering systems to its

stone separators for several years, but upgrades to John Deere software and collaboration with precision ag specialists in Deere’s dealer network has now made the process simpler, quicker and more versatile.

Specialist Ripon Farm Services (RFS) precision agriculture specialist Jack Forman says: “We can supply a steering kit with a controller which can be swapped quickly and easily between implements.

“We work closely with the implement manufacturer to ensure the system is properly integrated. It is now an active, implement-based steering system, rather than being tractor-based, which means the GreenStar system will steer X

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MACHINERY PRECISION FARMING

The controller can easily be swapped between a destoner and a harvester for example, for greater versatility.

The RTK signal is picked up by the receiver on the tractor and transmitted to the receiver on the implement.

the tractor and the implement independently of each other along the same guidance line.”

The system has also been adapted to work with multiple tractor brands and older John Deere models.

Latest versions can use a tractor-integrated selective control valve as the control source, which can communicate with the controller on the implement, while a standalone valve is needed for older and third-party tractors.

An application controller is

fitted on the implement in a protective polycarbonate box and linked forwards to the tractor and backwards to the receiver on the implement frame and to a steering sensor on the axle.

Accuracy Once initially installed, the implement is stored as a ‘profile’ in the control software for a quick changeover on subsequent fitting.

The RTK signal is picked up by the receiver on the

Implement steering is shown on the Greenstar terminal, with a page indicating the operation of the SCV and the active guidance on a ‘mixed’ screen layout for simplicity, with the mapping underneath.

Updates to John Deere’s Operations Center make the support of such systems so much simpler JACK FORMAN

tractor and transmitted to the receiver on the implement, eliminating the need for the second receiver to be unlocked to full RTK accuracy.

Field position is established and the tractor and destoner are steered according to the guidance lines from field maps sent via the MyJohnDeere portal, either from another tractor or direct from the John Deere Operations Center application in the farm office.

Scanstone destoners are now supplied ‘steering ready’, and

In the field Kitchen Left to right: Scanstone (Brigg)’s Stephen Hesledon, RFS precision ag specialist Jack Forman and Kitchen Garden Produce farms manager Freddie Grant.

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JKitchen Garden Produce, Market Rasen, supplies 70% of the shallots sold in the UK, marketing directly to four multiples.

Freddie Grant, farms manager at the business, has fitted John Deere RTK steering systems to his Scanstone destoners, Jones Engineering windrower and Scanstone Panther onion lifter.

Operations were taken in-house by Mr Grant in 2021, along with a move away from ploughing to subsoiling and ridging in autumn, before weathering land over winter ahead of planting commencing in the third week of March.

Seed is planted into a fine tilth in shallow, 1.8-metre wide

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Ga

en

The tractor and implement are steered according to the guidance lines from field maps sent via the MyJohnDeere portal.

older versions can be upgraded; Kitchen Garden Produce (see case study) has had the system fitted to 2019 and 2018 models, as well as to a 2004 Jones Engineering windrower.

In addition to increasing the accuracy and thus potential output for two-row systems, it also offers growers the potential for expansion, making matching

up for a four-row harvester much simpler, says Stephen Hesledon, Scanstone (Brigg) service specialist.

Partnership RFS is looking to expand the service to other machines and is already working with Chafer sprayers. Mr Forman works closely with the implement

suppliers using the relevant components from both sides of the partnership to build up and install the system.

He also offers technical support, including via John Deere’s Remote Display Access, which allows technicians to view the tractor terminal remotely.

He says: “Updates to John Deere’s Operations Center

make the support of such systems, as well as monitoring by farm managers, so much simpler and more effective.

“But we also offer in-field backup to set up and operate the steering.”

A John Deere steering system complete with second SF1 receiver is priced at around £8,000.

Garden Produce, Lincolnshire beds with four rows per bed, so accuracy is key.

Mr Grant says: “We farm on limestone land and being able to steer the implements helps to manage the stone better. By taking care of the steering, it means the destoner operator can focus on where he is disposing of the stone. After success with the destoner, we have extended the system to the other implements.”

On the harvester, steering more accurately in the row means the 1m wide digger web is not plucking stones from the outside.

“We’re noticing less bruises and skin damage,” says Mr Grant.

“Using RTK on the windrower and the harvester, we can work at 10kph without picking up stones, which would not be achievable with manual steering, and the operator can concentrate on the soil conditions and not worry about steering the harvester.

Grading “It also means the trailers can safely be turned around a lot quicker and they are full of crop rather than a mixture of crop and stone, so grading is more efficient.”

Mr Grant hires in two John Deere 6155R and 6215R tractors from RFS to work alongside the business’ 6930

Fitting RTK steering to the destoner has increased destoning output by some 20% FREDDIE GRANT and 6215R machines and guidance lines are shared from the first pass by the ridger.

Mr Forman says: “This was a challenge initially, but

a software update means all tractors can now follow the same guidance lines, shared via MyJohnDeere and displayed on the tractor terminal.”

The in-cab display shows the operation of the selective control valve and the active guidance on a ‘mixed’ screen layout for simplicity, with the mapping underneath.

Mr Grant adds: “It’s easy to operate and there’s just the tractor display and destoner control in the cab, which is straightforward by root crop machinery standards.

“We believe that fitting RTK steering to the destoner has increased destoning output by some 20%.”

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MACHINERY WEED CONTROL

Beet tradition meets te Morley Farms has carried out trials to consider the application for a camera-guided hoe in sugar beet. Jane Carley reports.

M

echanical weed control in sugar beet is nothing new, but traditional hoeing practice was slow, uncomfortable and an unpopular task.

But with diminishing herbicide options and a new generation of camera-guided hoes on the market, Morley Farms joined forces with Lemken and local New Holland dealer Ernest Doe to evaluate the Steketee hoe in 2020 and 2021.

Based in Norfolk, Morley Farms is run by the Morley Agricultural Foundation, a charity which funds and supports agricultural research and education working with several research organisations including NIAB, British Beet Research Organisation (BBRO), the John Innes Centre and Agrovista. As well as 30 hectares of plot trials, Morley Farms has a 700ha commercial farm which helps to fund future research.

Farm manager David Jones says: “We could see that with modern tractors and steered

David Jones

hoes, we could achieve higher work rates and it would be a more comfortable operation.

“There’s also the potential to tackle more difficult weeds, such as black-grass, ryegrass, knot-grass or thistles. Most farms have troublesome weeds of some kind, so a hoe might be a useful tool for sugar beet or other wide drilled crops.”

Specialist Lemken, which acquired Dutch weeding technology specialist Steketee in 2018, supplied a six-metre 12-row EC-Weeder.

This uses the IC-light camera

system to detect the rows, processing the images to guide the hoeing elements between them as close as 2cm from the crop, to pull weeds out by their roots.

It was powered by a 130hp New Holland T6 on narrow wheels, with the EC-Weeder terminal in the cab displaying the hoeing path.

Hoeing is more straightforward in vegetable and salad crops, as soil types tend to be more consistent.

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The outfit was used to hoe selected 24m tramlines and in 2020’s variable crop, to target specific weed patches or different soils and conditions to assess its effectiveness – for subsequent discussion between the parties, which also included BBRO. “The group was able to consider what would work and what we would change,” says Mr Jones.

“We realised that while the camera system was effective at steering the hoe and accurate in working between the plants, it takes quite a bit of setting up for different sizes of plant and if they vary in the field, has to be adjusted to hoe them accurately.

“While the cameras can pick up the shape and colour of the sugar beet plant, if you do go wrong it’s easy to take out several rows of beet before the operator realises.

You can also easily run beet down at the end of the row.”

Timing is also key as there is a

APRIL 2022

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25/03/2022 14:35

WEED CONTROL MACHINERY

s technology Morley Farms joined forces with Steketee to study the potential for using a camera-guided hoe for weed control in sugar beet.

Use in other wide row crops such as maize was also evaluated.

limit to the size of crop that can be hoed – it is only possible until the rows meet.

“But equally it’s hard to set a specific date for hoeing because the conditions have to be right,” adds Mr Jones.

“If the hoe is used in the wet, the narrow wheels on the tractor can cause damage. In addition, the weeds that are pulled out will simply regenerate. Ideally, hoeing should take place on a hot, sunny day so the exposed weed roots die.”

Choice of tractor and wheels is also important to avoid sinking into softer soils and as the weeder sits out behind the tractor, any unit wider than the 6m version trialled would have been too heavy for the tractor used.

There are limitations to hoeing compared to spraying, Mr Jones says, including lower work rates from a narrower implement.

“Hoes also only take out the weeds between the rows, whereas a sprayer will also tackle weeds in the row. Growing conditions have to be taken into consideration – hoes work best on smooth seedbeds, but sugar beet is often grown in stony, rough conditions which can make the tine jump out.”

Consistency BBRO crop mechanisation development specialist Stephen Aldis says: “The basics are more important than ever if you are looking to hoe successfully, as it needs a good, level seedbed and consistency of planting.”

Mr Jones suggests that while the benefits are clearer for high value crops such as vegetables, it’s a large investment for sugar beet.

“But there is potential for development, now we have the ability to guide the implement

with such accuracy. It could be effectively used for a combined hoe and spray operation, or with hoeing combined with other methods of weed control such as electrical destruction.”

Mr Aldis suggests it could also be successfully combined with side injection of fertiliser, reducing overall applications and boosting accuracy.

He adds that as a standalone pass, growers also need to think about the operator costs for a more labour-intensive operation than spraying.

“Many growers use contractors, so they need to consider whether hoeing would fit into their range of services or whether it’s something that would be brought in-house.

Being able to cover the acreage could be a challenge.

“It’s not going to suit everyone,” says Mr Aldis.

“Unlike vegetable crops, sugar beet is grown on a variety of soil types and by growers with different resources, while the

variation in seasons will also affect how well it works.”

Use on multiple crops also shows promise, says Mr Jones.

“We have tried it in maize, although the disturbance could encourage ryegrass to germinate. But in this crop again, hoeing could be a good way of tackling difficult weeds.”

With so little modern on-farm experience of hoeing in conventional systems, part of the plan for the trials was to host demonstrations for and discussions with farmers, although this was sadly curtailed by Covid-19.

Technique “We would consider hosting an open day or similar for the technique in 2022,” says Mr Jones.

“There are so many variables with sugar beet and where herbicides are working it is currently simpler and cheaper to spray. But if they become less effective or are removed from the market we would certainly have to consider other techniques.”

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67 25/03/2022 09:52

MACHINERY

John Deere is now fitting all its trailed and self-propelled sprayers with the dry-break chemical suction and clean water rinsing connection needed for the coupler.

Systems are currently fitted to a trolley or stand and operated adjacent to the sprayer, but will be carried on the machine or even fully integrated in the future.

Working towards min The days of splashes and spills which could put the operator and the environment at risk during sprayer filling are coming to an end. Jane Carley looks at developments in closed transfer systems.

P

rogress towards closed transfer of liquid crop protection products continues with the launch of compatible caps and couplers planned for the end of the year in Denmark and the Netherlands, followed by the UK, Germany and France in 2023.

Online information is freely available as to how the caps and couplers will work and

how they will be sourced, and sprayer engineers are getting geared up towards fitting and servicing the systems.

More partners have joined a working group of agrochemical companies* initially launched by BASF to help develop the common Easyconnect cap required to work with a coupler which opens the can, dispenses the product, rinses and reseals the container this year.

Calibrating the exit hose from the coupler to the suction port into 25ml divisions makes for easier measuring of smaller quantities.

68

We want to be compatible with all possible systems and not limit customers in what they might wish to use MARK JAMES Machinery manufacturers are considering ways to adapt current ranges to work with the emerging third-party couplers and recommendations from on-farm trials are being incorporated into the coupler designs.

John Deere, for example, offers optional ISO-standard connections on all its range of trailed and self-propelled sprayers to plug in a closed transfer system (CTS).

John Deere sprayer specialist Mark James says: “While specific designs on couplers are emerging and we are planning to supply the Pentair Hypro Cleanload Nexus CTS via our dealers once it

becomes fully available, we want to be compatible with all possible systems and not limit customers in what they might wish to use.

“So, any coupler with ISOstandard connections could plug onto the sprayer and be used to fill chemicals into the machine.

“The ISO-standard coupling requires two connections on the side of the sprayer – a dry-break chemical suction connection and a quick fit clean water rinsing connection. A valve allows the operator to select chemical filling via the induction hopper or CTS, so that versatility is retained.”

Mark says these connections are also useful for operations such as drawing product from an IBC or connecting a large external inductor, such as the Vegcraft ProFill.

Sprayer designs Whether future sprayer designs incorporate a CTS is another interesting question, he says.

“On current machines, there isn’t normally any suitable space to fit a CTS, as they are quite bulky and need quite a bit of space around them to use comfortably. Customers generally like more compact machines and that means little space for additional ancillaries.

APRIL 2022

AF Apr p68 69 Closed Transfer KH TR TW.indd 2

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SPRAY APPLICATION MACHINERY

Agrochemical manufacturers are working together to develop a common cap that can be used with a closed transfer system to induct products into the sprayer.

*Working Group companies

minimal exposure “We expect most customers will end up using standalone CTS on the current generation of machines. In many cases, even if the sprayer doesn’t have a suitable space to permanently fit a CTS, they often have a storage space where a CTS and suitable stand could be transported.

“For future generations of sprayer, space will be allocated during design for a CTS. Chemical inductors are unlikely to disappear completely during the lifespan of even the next generation of sprayers, so with both an inductor and a CTS, it probably means the overall envelope of the sprayer needs to increase a little to fit everything onboard in a way that’s accessible and easy to use.”

Pentair Hypro carried out successful field trials with its Cleanload Nexus coupler in 2020 and 2021, says product manager Roger James.

“Important criteria which came out of the trials were that the system should be robust and last the life of the sprayer, be reliable and fail-safe and easy to maintain and repair.”

They also highlighted the importance of the integrated chemical can cap being proposed

There was definite resistance to the idea of having to remove the cap and screw on a separate adaptor ROGER JAMES by the working group, compared with previous designs that required use of an additional adaptor, he adds.

“There was definite resistance to the idea of having to remove the cap and screw on a separate adaptor when the system is being used all day, every day.

“Farmers in the trials group had several prototypes, swapping as the development progressed until we reached a closed system standard, which meets ISO 21191.”

The ability to measure part containers accurately was another important development and cooperation with container suppliers

has resulted in the calibration being printed upside down on CTScompatible packs so the measurements can be read when the can is fitted to the coupler.

Two other adaptations have been made, he says.

“Horticultural applications often use smaller amounts of concentrated product to treat smaller areas so we are developing two additional ways of metering reduced quantities to work with the coupler.

“The first is to calibrate the exit hose from the coupler to the suction port into 25ml divisions and the second is a convenient separate metering cylinder attached to the coupler. Both use the coupler handle to control the flow and can measure out as little as 125-150ml with a high degree of accuracy.”

Hybrid induction bowl Developments are also afoot for a hybrid induction bowl and Cleanload Nexus system that can replace a standard bowl, working with a leading UK manufacturer.

Fitting and service will be a key requirement and Pentair Hypro is developing online training for sprayer technicians,

rADAMA rBASF rBayer rBelchim Crop Protection rCertis Europe rCorteva Agriscience rFMC Corporation rNufarm rRovensa Group rSyngenta rUPL Europe

who can then join a register of qualified service providers on the company’s website, cleanloadnexus.com.

Roger suggests sprayer manufacturers are likely to want to fully integrate control of the coupler in the future, using the LED panels and screens many manufacturers are now offering.

“It could be as simple as scanning a barcode into the controller which could manage the quantity dispensed and dictate the mixing and rinsing regimes for a particular agrochemical.

“But we have to be mindful of the cost implications of fitting such equipment for both the sprayer manufacturer and the farmer, especially while it is still not a legal requirement, and to make sure the system is simple and convenient to use.”

For more details, visit MORE ONLINE cleanloadnexus.com and easyconnect.tech

APRIL 2022 AF Apr p68 69 Closed Transfer KH TR TW.indd 3

69 25/03/2022 09:53

MACHINERY LEGISLATION This month sees the implementation of a series of changes to rebated fuel use.

While most agricultural businesses will be unaffected, those who have diversified may have to make changes to avoid falling foul of the law. Geoff Ashcroft reports.

I

t comes as no surprise that the entitlement for rebated diesel, or red diesel, is being withdrawn from various industries, as the Government pushes for the development of cleaner and greener alternatives.

The big change about to be implemented applies to vehicles which are used off-road. These will no longer be automatically entitled to use red diesel.

Instead, use of the rebated fuel will be based entirely on what the vehicle is used for.

Fortunately, agriculture, horticulture, forestry and fisheries are among the industries which have retained the entitlement to use red diesel.

The construction industry is not so lucky and has become a white diesel consumer from April 1, 2022, virtually doubling the sector’s fuel cost.

Definitions explained in Excise Notice 75 (fuels for use in vehicles) and found on the Government website, provide guidance through the Memorandum of Agreement, which remains largely unchanged.

That said, the fuel issue gets a little cloudy for those operating mixed use businesses.

Jill Hewitt, chief executive of the National Association of Agricultural Contractors

Avoiding dedicated haulage jobs using red diesel will be key to staying on the right side of the law JILL HEWITT

70 AF Apr p70 Red Diesel TR KH TW.indd 2

Major changes to red diesel rules (NAAC), says: “There are two things to consider when working out if your business can use red diesel.

“The first is that any work you do is for an agricultural purpose.

This is not necessarily the same as just doing work on agricultural land. The operation you are doing must be of benefit to the land/livestock.

“You can also use rebated fuel in agricultural vehicles when: cutting verges and hedges which border a road; clearing snow; gritting and assisting any clear-up following flooding.

“Secondly, once a legitimate use has been established, it is important to then confirm the vehicle you are intending to use is also allowed to use red.”

Definition The Government’s definition of vehicles and machines able to be used with rebated diesel for accepted purposes is relatively straightforward.

It includes agricultural vehicles, special vehicles, unlicensed vehicles and what it describes as ‘certain machines and appliances’ (see ‘Check when rebated fuel can be used’ guidance at Gov.uk).

Ms Hewitt adds: “Technically speaking, if a vehicle is taxed as an agricultural vehicle, it should be used solely for agricultural work.”

Having been in consultation with HMRC, the NAAC has produced a red diesel Q&A, available for download on its website.

“Until April 1, 2022, it was

Rules surrounding the use of rebated (red) diesel are changing.

legal to use red diesel in off-road vehicles on non-agricultural work, for example land drainage machines. This type of machine would be transported using a low-loader and would not be driven on the road on red diesel.

But from April 1, this type of machine would have to be run on white diesel for non-agricultural work, even though it is not driven on the road.

“When using the machine for agricultural work, the business can switch back to red diesel. But when switching from red to white, tanks need to be drained and flushed with white diesel and their filters swapped to remove all traces of the rebated fuel.”

The practicalities of swapping are enormous and using dual-fuel tanks remains illegal.

HMRC suggests the ideal scenario would be to have designated vehicles for allowed and non-allowed purposes.

Those faced with storing large

quantities of white diesel will also need to invest in robust fuel security measures to safeguard the higher value fuel.

Ms Hewitt says: “Avoiding dedicated haulage jobs using red diesel will be key to staying on the right side of the law. If you are involved in the harvesting of a crop as part of a silage team, you can use red.

Haulage “But if you are only doing haulage, for example taking bales to a customer, then it must be white.”

Tasks relating to sport or recreation, for example drilling a game cover for a commercial shoot, or telehandler work around an equestrian yard, would require white diesel.

Agricultural processing vehicles, such as mobile mill and mix, or mobile seed dressing vehicles, can continue to use red on the road, but they must not carry a load.

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 09:49

PRODUCT news

Plant tissue analysis linked to growth stages

C

ropCheck, a new plant tissue analysis package which provides nutrient values specific to crop growth stages, has been launched by agronomic analysis business NRM. Alli Grundy, agronomy manager at NRM, says: “It will drive efficiency by helping farmers and their advisers assess the growth of the plant as it develops.

“Usually, if you send in a crop for nutrient analysis, the results you receive are benchmarked against general critical values. This allows you to estimate how plant growth is progressing, but it is not specific to the growth stage of the crop. At NRM, we have identified specific nutrient adequacy ranges that a crop should be within at key growth stages that coincide with the fertiliser application window. This

NRM has identified specific nutrient adequacy ranges that crops should be within at key growth stages.

means farmers have time in the season to correct any issues identified by CropCheck.”

Optimal The company offers a variety of soil and crop tissue testing services for optimal crop yield and improved soil health. CropCheck measures plant nutrients at key growth stages and can be used for a broad range of cereal crops, including winter and spring

barley, wheat, oats, and rye. Growth stages range from GS30 to GS37.

Rory Geldard, business development manager at NRM, says: “CropCheck gives farmers confidence their crop is on track to reach its full yield potential, helps to pinpoint the nutrients the crop needs and prevents unnecessary applications of those it doesn’t require. With input prices so high, this peace of mind is invaluable.”

The sample kit comes with an analysis request form, sample bags, sample posting envelope and full instructions on how samples should be taken, prepared and despatched to the laboratory. Results are reported in an easy-to-understand visual format so nutrient adequacy can be determined quickly.

Interpretation is provided to guide why nutrients might be high or low.

“One thing to remember is CropCheck is just one piece of the puzzle,” says Mr Geldard.

“It should be used in conjunction with other analyses, particularly standard soil analysis and N-Check for measuring soil mineral nitrogen.

“This encourages a more joined up approach to help identify issues within the soil plant system, allowing growers to fine-tune and make the marginal gains to deliver the efficiencies required for optimal productivity.”

OMF products reach market JYara has announced that development of its range of organo-mineral fertilisers (OMF) has progressed at pace and a limited quantity of a new product – Yara Nature 8:3:3 – is available for growers to try.

Yara head of agronomy Mark Tucker says: “Yara Nature, unlike classic mineral fertilisers, contains 38% organic matter produced from food and green waste compost. With every application you are contributing to better soil health and structure – something that will improve

efficiency and long-term sustainability on your farm.”

According to Yara, this organic matter application is the perfect nutrient store to build resilience via its seasonal nutrient supply and moisture holding properties.

Seedbed dressing The firm says Yara Nature is an ideal seedbed dressing for spring cereals, oilseed, or linseed to give them the best start possible.

Development of Yara’s OMF range is ongoing. By purchasing

this new product, growers have a chance to be involved in the knowledge building process and will also gain early access to research findings from the experimental research platform which commences this spring, says the company.

“Thus far, all the research has been clear: OMF products can bring significant improvements to the farm. We see gains to overall nutrient use efficiency and greater capability to tackle the issue of ‘waste’, all while benefiting crop nutrition sustainability.

“Yara Nature is developed with these goals in mind.

“This is a chance for growers to try a new, more sustainable range – all while gaining access to the latest research and information,” says Mr Tucker.

A limited quantity of new Yara Nature organo-mineral fertiliser is available this spring.

APRIL 2022 AF Apr p71 Prod news TR RM.indd 2

71 25/03/2022 11:48

TALKING POLICY

MATT Culley Greater value should be placed on domestic food production and its role in food security is a long-standing call

I

t feels somewhat strange and uncomfortable sitting down to write about the significant challenges arable farmers are facing at the moment when just a few days ago the NFU had a meeting with farming representatives from Ukraine. My heart goes out to everyone over there and it’s so sad to see a country which helps to feed so many people across the globe affected like it is.

It’s a crucial time for the crop already growing over there and the spring crops which would normally be planted imminently – clearly both are going to be badly affected.

Closer to home and with spring drilling well underway as the weather seems set to fair for the end of March, it’s worth considering the potential implications it could have for farmers here. Last month, I wrote about high fertiliser and energy

About the author rNFU crops board chairman Matt Culley is a fourth-generation farmer from Hampshire working in partnership with his parents and brother rThe 720-hectare enterprise produces wheat, barley, oilseed rape, forage maize and rye for anaerobic digestion across varying soil types, from chalk and chalk loam to clay cap. This includes 170ha of owned and rented land and 540ha of contract farming agreements rThe family also runs a pick-your-own soft fruit and summer vegetables business

72 AF Apr p72 Culley AD TR RM.indd 2

prices, little did we know how much worse both could become in such a short period. Energy prices have risen further, although they have come back from the extraordinary highs of early March, and ammonium nitrate is now more than £900/tonne.

If you can get £250/t for new crop wheat, that’s still a much smaller rise in price over the last year than in fertiliser, which was around £280/t back then, and most other inputs are up as well. I’ve focused on the crop next year because some businesses will have bought inputs before the recent price spikes for the growing crop, but we are all in the same boat when weighing up what to plant for 2023.

All of this brings food security into the spotlight and the huge complexity of trying to understand what might happen to food production. I’m regularly talking to people who are now considering whether they can manage to hold some fertiliser back to use in 2022-23 because they are even more worried about next year. This is largely due to the risk of input supply being tight, or prices remaining high, but also crop prices falling back. It isn’t just a matter of weighing up risk and what might happen, for many of us it will also be a question of cashflow given how much more money will be required to buy fertiliser.

The NFU and crop board have been highlighting these issues, along with others, to Defra for a long time – our asks have not been created by the tragedy in Ukraine, just made more important and prominent by them. That greater value should be placed on domestic food production and its role in food security is a long-standing call. What does this mean in practice? A pause to the reduction

in the Basic Payment Scheme for two years to provide some certainty at this most uncertain of times would be a start and provide some reassurance for those concerned about the costs their business is facing.

Lend with agility We need the banks to be understanding and lend with agility to help farmers navigate their way through the spike in input prices as the sums required increase significantly. There should be a pause of regulation which will have a negative impact on food production and impact assessments should be undertaken to ensure policy measures in the pipeline don’t have the intended, or unintended effect of reducing it. For some who should know better, the answer to high fertiliser prices seems to be that we can all just use manures to provide the nutrients crops need, but we all know that’s wishful thinking at best.

Government needs to recognise how important fertiliser is and support us in driving nitrogen and resource use efficiency, another topic you’ve heard me mention quite often, but we all know improving it is good for the bottom line of our businesses and productivity. Fertiliser, finance and fuel remain at the top of the list of things we need Government to take seriously if we want to boost domestic food security.

The NFU is calling for all of these measures and more to make sure that whatever happens in Ukraine and globally, we are in the best position possible to grow the crops the country needs domestically.

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 08:53

PODCAST

Tackling cereal diseases

W

ith the loss of chlorothalonil and epoxiconazole, plus new strains of septoria and yellow rust throwing curveballs for some varietal resistance ratings, keeping crops clean of disease this season could be challenging.

In the second of this threepart ‘how to’ series, Alice Dyer delves into cereal diseases and

Get CPD points JMembers of the BASIS register can now receive one CPD point for tuning into the podcast.

Listen in to the podcast to find out how.

hears how yield can be maximised this season without overspending.

More information JCrop it Like it’s Hot is produced by Arable Farming and CropTec Show. It aims

Dr Aoife O’Driscoll, NIAB crop protection and agronomy specialist.

Social media JFor the latest news and updates, follow us on social media: LinkedIn: rThe CropTec Show

to provide an alternative way of keeping up with agronomy and arable developments.

Greg Hanna, Bayer market development agronomist.

Twitter: r@ArableFarming r@CropTecShow r@AliceInWellies Facebook: rCropTec Show rArable Farming

Always with an eye on the future, this episode of Crop it like it’s Hot also explores some of the exciting developments in non-chemical disease control for cereals, including those used by our forefathers, such as wheat blends, to new technology, including rapid disease detection and biofungicides.

Speakers: rDr Aoife O’Driscoll – specialist in crop protection agronomy at NIAB. rGreg Hanna – market development agronomist at Bayer. rPatrick Stephenson – independent agronomist. rAshish Malik – chief excecutive officer of Bee Vectoring Technology.

Patrick Stephenson, independent agronomist.

Ashish Malik, chief executive officer of Bee Vectoring Technology.

Listen in JThe podcast can be downloaded via croptecshow. com/crop-it-like-its-hot-podcast, or you can listen through Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcatcher.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY...

APRIL 2022 AF Apr p73 Podcast AD KH TR.indd 2

73 24/03/2022 11:32

BASIS news

The latest news for BASIS and FACTS-qualified farmers and advisers.

Mental health training for agronomists

C

oncerns about mental health in the farming community are becoming increasingly prominent and BASIS Registration is hosting a seminar to equip agronomists and advisers who may have concerns to identify and address the issues.

The mental health awareness programme has been developed in partnership with the DPJ Foundation, a charity focused on addressing mental health issues within the farming community. BASIS initially worked with DPJ on a podcast which generated so much response that the course was developed.

Kate Miles, charity manager

at the DPJ Foundation, says: “Mental health problems are more common among farmers than asthma or diabetes, yet too few people seek help.

“The charity was established five years ago to help those engaged in farming who have mental health issues. Working from a base in Haverfordwest, DPJ delivers training across the UK and beyond.”

Agronomists often have a close, enduring and trusting relationship with their farming clients. Therefore, it is important that they can both identify people at risk and also know what to do and how to get help.

This course has been developed between DPJ and BASIS to be specific to agronomists. The training is delivered

Mental health problems are more common among farmers than asthma or diabetes KATE MILES

74 AF Apr p74 Basis AD TR RM.indd 2

The free training programme will help agronomists identify and engage with those suffering from mental health issues.

by the DPJ Foundation whose experience supporting farmers and those from rural communities ensures the course is relevant and tailored to participants’ needs.

Spot the signs “Over the course of three-anda-half hours, participants will gain an understanding of how to spot the signs of illness; how to engage with a potential sufferer; how to listen – a particularly important skill; and how to encourage them to access the increasing range of support being offered by a range of services and charities across the UK,” adds Miss Miles.

BASIS chief executive officer Stephen Jacob says: “I am delighted that we have been able to develop this training in conjunction with the DPJ Foundation. A recent survey found that 88% of farmers under the age of 40 felt mental health was the biggest danger facing the industry.

“Agronomists, by virtue of their regular contact with farmers, are in an ideal position to spot issues and to encourage

DPJ Foundation JThe DPJ Foundation was founded after the suicide of agricultural contractor Daniel Picton-Jones by his widow Emma who did not wish to see other families suffer like hers had done.

The charity is supported by donations, the input from rural volunteers and Government grants for specific projects in Wales.

A 24/7 hotline is available across the UK. rFor further details, visit thedpjfoundation.co.uk

clients to seek help. I believe caring for clients is as important as caring for crops today.”

Each training session will be limited to 16 participants and, depending on the success of the pilot more will be arranged.

Participation is free, but delegates are asked to consider making a contribution to the DPJ Foundation.

To find out more and MORE ONLINE to book a place, visit basis-reg.co.uk

APRIL 2022 25/03/2022 08:52

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