Talking Roots

DARRYLShailes

It is important to re-adjust fungicide timings while the weather is conducive to cercospora

The garden is still suffering from the drought. We had some lovely rain last week but unfortunately it only lasted about 20 minutes, with only 4mm falling, and the vegetable beds were still bone dry 2cm down. The one upside of the weather is that the plums are ripening rapidly and we will have a bumper crop if we can get them before the wasps and hornets take too many.

The rain, or lack of it depending on where you are, is still dominating UK farming. Huge amounts fell in a few hours in Lincolnshire - up to 185mm in some places washing out potato baulks - to nothing in other areas, and very little rain is on the horizon.

I have still not seen or heard of any potato blight in East Anglia, although there were some blips last week on the various forecasting methods we use internally at Hutchinsons. Our trials site hasn’t shown any signs of blight yet, so we are still hoping for the weather to change so we might have something to see and show, late September or even October. The site did get 50mm of rain last week and was late planted, so at least the crop will grow well now.

I looked at an excellent unirrigated crop last week in the Fens. The crop we looked at was very bold and a credit to the farmer. However, alternaria was showing up in fields of Markies. We had a long discussion about alternaria control and are sending some lesions away to determine what species it is, if indeed it is alternaria at all.

Irrigation

Where lifting is going on growers are having to irrigate just to get potatoes out of the ground and to get some soil on the web to reduce the damage potential – another cost and logistical hassle.

Sugar beet is variable as can be expected with some crops flat to the ground on hot days and others on better soils hanging on remarkably well.

The British Beet Research Organisation has just issued a cercospora warning and we must all be very vigilant to ensure the crop isn’t further hampered by disease. In 2020 we saw the first big national epidemic of cercospora in the UK and it hit many crops that were already damaged by virus very hard.

This season, by and large, virus has been managed very well either with seed treatments, foliar insecticide or a combination of both.

In the rest of the world cercospora is the major disease and crops regularly get treated five to seven times to keep it at bay.

We now have a better armoury with the introduction of a new product based on a mixture of prothioconazole and fluopyram from Bayer that will be available from September.

It is important to re-adjust our timing with cercospora. Back when the major issue in the beet crop in the UK was powdery mildew and rust, the timing and gaps between fungicide applications were not so vitally important. However, with cercospora, as it is so aggressive and we are mainly relying on the DMI (triazole) component of the fungicide, such as prothioconazole, difenoconazole and flutriafol, they must be applied as soon as disease is first seen and then at a maximum of three-week intervals while the weather is conducive to cercospora.

It is especially important that any new leaf growth that is generated by rain is protected and the sugars allowed to stabilise before the crop is harvested. Getting in too early after significant regrowth of leaf will inevitably lead to a reduction in the sugar in the root as it is remobilised into the leaves.

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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What’s it all about?

#Farm24 took farming to the masses last week as the hugely popular annual event returned to social media for an insight into 24 Hours in Farming. Danusia Osiowy looks at some of the highlights which soared to record heights. #Farm24 reaches rec ord heights

arming’s biggest digital

Fcampaign, #Farm24, has taken its profile to new heights this year following unprecedented activity across social media and beyond.

Sponsored by Morrisons, farmers and ancillary organisations embraced the event to educate consumers about where their food comes from and what a typical day across the industry can look like.

This year’s messaging also highlighted the affordability of local produce as part of the solution to help tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

It took less than two hours before the hashtag was trending at number one on social media, along with our umbrella campaign #FarmingCAN (see panel, right).

Kicking off at 5am on

August 4, 2022, 24 Hours in Farming exploded across Twitter,

Instagram, Facebook and TikTok as farmers proudly shared posts, videos, pictures, vlogs and hosted a diverse mixture of events to mark the much-loved farming event.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was joined by a string of celebrities and leading figures, including Miranda Hart, Dan Lydiate, Kelvin Fletcher, Phil Vickery and Alexander Armstrong to name but a few, who all wasted no time in dedicating their support and pride towards the role of British farmers and associated communities.

Radio 1’s Greg James raised the awareness stakes when he dedicated a shout out to the campaign after being alerted by one of his contributors, Young Farmer Tom, about how and why the event was taking place. British farming celebration Sophie Throup, head of agriculture, fisheries and sustainable sourcing at Morrisons, said: “What a fantastic 24 Hours in Farming it’s been. Such a range of stories and some really creative posts too bringing the story of farming to customers and citizens - worldwide.” Alongside the promotion of farming and its associated organisations, there was a significant drive for consumers to watch, learn and share key information about how farming contributes to key pillar areas such

range of stories and some really creative posts too bringing Trended at NUMBER ONE as the economy, environment, on Twitter science, technology, careers and mental health and well-being. organisations, there was a

MORE INFORMATION For more information on our ambassadors and to read more about the campaign, visit FGinsight.com/farm24

NFU

The DPJ Foundation

British Sugar

A host of industry organisations welcomed the opportunity to tell consumers more about what they do and why they do it, producing engaging video to share with the British public.

FG partners with 12 new ambassadors

FIND OUT MORE

about our ambassadors by visiting FGinsight.com/ farm24

FG teamed up with 12 new ambassadors in a new move for the initiative to share with consumers a snapshot into their everyday farming lives and how they each have entered and progressed their farming careers, dispelling many myths along the way. Taking to Instagram for a number of lives throughout the day, thousands of users joined to hear more from about their individual farming journeys.

#Farm24 took farming to the masses last week as the hugely popular annual event returned to social media for an highlights which soared to record heights. #Farm24 reaches rec ord heights

Highlights of #Farm24

1Ambassador Paul White joined forces with BBC Radio Lancashire for the duration of 24 hours

288-year-old Grandma Norma proudly backing #Farm24 at her grand-daughters dairy farm

3Clarkson’s Farm’s young contractor Kaleb Cooper called upon his followers to share their #Farm24 stories

4The Prince’s Countryside Fund ambassadors Alexander Armstrong, JB Gill, Jimmy Doherty, Phil Vickery and Sally Gunnell all showing their support

5Our Ambassador Maria Warne’s TikTok and her amazing ‘Granfer’. If you are not following her, you do not know what you are missing

615-year-old Max Robinson, aka the_farm_apprentice, Instagram reel and his poem British Farming A Sport of the Land 7 Exclusive cook-a-long of three of their signature dishes with group head chef at the Hawksmoor Restaurant in support of #Farm24 and buying British produce

Darren Bickmore, @farming_life_of_darren on Instagram.

Hawksmoor hosted a cook-along with group head chef. Over 10,000 contributors

27.4 million

reach

BEN BRIGGS FG editor

A word from the editor

Farmers Guardian editor Ben Briggs said: “Once again, 24 Hours in Farming showcased the very best of British agriculture and allowed farmers to shout about why they love doing the job they do. “With huge engagement across multiple social media channels, it showed the wider appetite among the general public to interact with and understand more about what farmers do. “Buying local and shopping local remains key and is as relevant now as it was at the height of the pandemic and #Farm24 sought to highlight that fact.”

JLaunched by Arable Farming’s sister publication Farmers Guardian last year, #FarmingCAN aims to educate consumers about what farming offers the economy and how it contributes to our social and emotional well-being, all year round.

With interest in food provenance and increased trust in British farmers, local produce, sustainability and the countryside at a record high, there has never been a more prominent time to continue engaging with the public.

Podcast

FOR a behind the scenes look at the events of the day, you can listen to the latest episode of our Over the Farm Gate podcast available on all the main podcast platforms.