Established favourites to nd favour again

Established favourites to find favour again

‘Old’ favourites like Extase, Skyscraper, Graham and Gleam will continue to hold a rm place in the market, visitors to Bayer’s Long Sutton open day in July were told.

Limagrain’s Ron Granger took growers through the extensive variety trials and noted that few of the new candidate varieties o ered much above what we already have.

With no new Group 1 candidates, he said “it’s as you were”, but did highlight renewed interest in Crusoe. In his view, it is a variety that has stood the test with millers needing high protein wheat – but you’ve got to keep the brown rust out he warned.

Despite three candidate varieties, it was a similar picture in the Group 2 category. Mr Granger felt there was little to challenge Extase. “It’s got a good disease package with bold grain and good speci c weight. If you can get additional protein content then there’s opportunities for an additional bonus of a bread making premium,” he noted.

He also likes the look of Palladium – having similar septoria and yellow rust scores to Extase, but without its eyespot susceptibility. It also looks good for protein and is better suited to an earlier drilling date in his view.

At 8.4, May ower has a better septoria rating than both and gets a 9 for yellow rust. It also has good speci c weight but at 97% is 4% behind Extase. However, he expects some millers may be interested, so again a possible premium opportunity.

For those targeting biscuit and distilling markets, Astronomer is still the stand out variety in his view. “It’s a great package with good scores for septoria and the rusts, good yield, high speci c weight and, although a taller variety, is sti strawed.”

Possible partner

Astronomer. It has a similar disease pro le with good grain quality, straw strength and OWBM resistance, but a later maturity.

Illuminate is his other choice, especially for the North. “Illuminate is a good t as it can be drilled earlier and like Astronomer has a 7 rating for sprouting resistance giving growers security at harvest time. But its lower yellow rust and septoria ratings mean it will need more managing.”

In the Group 4 category, he expects Gleam and Graham to remain popular again next season. He noted they are both consistent performers.

For those looking to replace them possibly, he described Dawsum as Costello but with 4% better yield. It meets his criteria of a good ‘all-round’ package with good disease resilience, sti straw, bold grain with good speci c weight.

Good all-round package

With its high yield performance Champion is certainly worth considering but its straw strength will need managing. However, it does have a great disease resistance package to o er.

Those requiring a good all-round package may also want to consider Typhoon. With good scores for rusts and septoria it too has a strong disease resistance. It is one of the later developers so ‘sits and tillers’; again, one for those looking for varieties for the earlier drilling situation or the regen path.

For those with a black-grass issue, Cranium is worth a look. “Its spring vigour is a good weapon to compete and smoother black grass,” Mr Granger noted.

But a challenger to the highest yielding varieties on the AHDB RL is on the horizon. He described Redwald as “Sundance on steroids” and thinks it will go on to match Champion for yield.

A possible weakness is eyespot, with limited data of a (2) suggesting it may be susceptible. He acknowledges that azole such as prothioconazole o ers e ective control but he advised those in eyespot areas should look for varieties with the Pch1 gene.

Beyond gross output

Alongside his speci c variety selections, the overriding message from Mr Granger was to think beyond gross output. He said varietal decisions need to be made on ‘all-round’ agronomics to give more consistent performance, particularly in more challenging seasons.

When it comes to blends, Mr Granger is still to be convinced. He said that putting the ideal blend together was a di cult task and that some blends could actually add complications for management on farm. “Warrior yellow rust is a soup of di erent strains. A susceptible variety in a blend of resistant varieties could break genetics quicker, especially if the disease is not eradicated totally and allowed to bubble along in the crop. For those interested in blends, I would suggest selecting varieties with good but di erent disease resistant pro les – in that way it should help protect genetics,” he advised.

Bayer’s Ben Giles agreed, and told visitors that any blend is likely to delay disease development rather than thwart it. “It might slow the disease development with strong rust varieties proving a physical barrier to spore movement through the blend or resilient septoria varieties slowing spread from splash borne events. This might buy a bit of time. But if your G1 blend includes Zyatt and you base your programme around Crusoe, you could be in trouble,” he warned.

Mr Granger’s point about an allround package was echoed by Bayer’s commercial technical manager, Ella Crawford. She explained that, although Long Sutton is a prone yellow rust site, septoria and eyespot pressure also played a part in the early season. She noted that the most e ective programmes were those that included actives with good protection against both septoria and yellow rust at the T1 timing.

Also of note was the performance of folpet. At Bayer’s Callow site there was little visible bene t from the addition of the multisite at T1 on septoria infection, but at Long Sutton the inclusion of folpet appeared to help, plots retaining more green leaf area. Ms Crawford believes this is probably down to the fact that the dry April many eastern counties experienced helped suppress septoria pressure, meaning T1 applications were applied to clean leaf 3s. “It probably helped boost protection when the rain did arrive in May,” she said.

However, there is a cost and she pointed out that T1 plots treated with 1.2-litres/ha of Ascra (prothioconazole + bixafen + uopyram) had performed just as well, and it was probably the more economic option. “When harvested we’ll assess yield results to compare the cost versus bene t of each treatment,” she noted. FG

Typhoon untreated.

New research helps farmers to develop ryegrass control strategies

After a decade in which most research and advice has focused on black-grass, two recently completed research pieces from NIAB/Bayer are helping to rectify this.

Heading up both projects, NIAB’s John Cussans (pictured) was keen to see if anecdotal reports of ryegrass becoming more of a problem becoming more of a problem were backed up by hard data. were backed up by hard data. Mr Cussans believes the summer 2021 ryegrass survey is the largest to be carried out in the UK so far, with samples and questionnaires received from 197 farmers.

All samples were tested for sensitivity to ufenacet, pinoxaden to ufenacet, pinoxaden (Axial) and ALS herbicides (Axial) and ALS herbicides (Atlantis), with 22 of the samples also being used in a cross-resistance study covering six di erent herbicides.

The second piece of research focused on the performance focused on the performance of glyphosate against of glyphosate against 50 di cult ryegrass 50 di cult ryegrass populations from populations from the UK. the UK. According to Bayer’s herbicide campaign manager, Tom Chilcott, the survey results show survey results show a ‘normal’ cross a ‘normal’ cross section of arable farms section of arable farms across the UK, but what across the UK, but what is interesting is that Italian ryegrass seems to a ect di erent types of

Are you ready?

01621 868 138 | sales@plugandcool.co.uk www.plugandcool.co.uk

farms right across the country – which shows ryegrass could become a problem anywhere. Most of the respondents are reducing cultivation intensity, growing more spring crops, and have a reduced OSR area, which are current trends.

Resistance test results for Atlantis (mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron) and Axial (pinoxaden + cloquintocet) show that post-em herbicides can still be e ective on many farms. Some 45.6% of samples were still susceptible to Atlantis, and 45.6% to Axial. Despite the percentage gure being the same, they are not relating to exactly the same populations. The tests did note some serious resistance too, with 22.6% and 15.9% of samples being RRR resistant to Atlantis and Axial respectively.

Mr Cussans summed this up as representing a “really complicated resistance landscape”, and said that he believes far too many growers are using Axial as a “ re brigade” treatment, while, in general, application of Atlantis is being done more reasonably – although there is still scope for a little more planning.

Turning to pre-ems, all 197 samples were tested for sensitivity to straight ufenacet, with 70% still fully susceptible but the remaining 30% showing reduced sensitivity and resistance. Whilst concerning, this shouldn’t cause too much alarm, reckons Mr Cussans. “Surveys of this kind tend to attract farmers who are worried, so are biased towards di cult populations. So, I don’t think 30% of all Italian ryegrass populations have reduced sensitivity or resistance. But the potential is there, so it needs to be prevented.”

The other reason for optimism is that ufenacet is not used as a single active for control – it is typically used alongside di ufenican in Liberator and can be tank-mixed and sequenced with various actives.

When analysing glyphosate performance, Bayer’s Roger Bradbury explained results show that, although there is some variation in levels of sensitivity to glyphosate, no resistance was found in eld populations. Also, the level of sensitivity to glyphosate was not correlated to resistance status to selective herbicides. Nevertheless, farmers need to stay aware of the risks according to Mr Cussans, as he commented: “We are as close to glyphosate resistance today, as we have ever been.” FG

Benefits of a pedestal grain cooling system

The Plug&Cool Poly Pedestal system, combined with the energy-e cient aluminium fan, allows you to change the temperature of your stored grain. This is done by using outside air that is at a di erent temperature than the grain indoors.

It’s important to keep grain cool, as warmer temperatures make it easier for mould to grow and for insects to thrive. One way to monitor the grain’s temperature is to use probes throughout various areas of the grain pile. The probes will take a reading of the temperature, giving you more control over the cooling process.

According to Plug&Cool, the main bene t of using a pedestal system compared with ventilated ooring is simple; the cost. It is by far cheaper and more cost-e ective to purchase the complete pedestal system for your store, compared with installing hardwood ooring. It’s also easier to target di erent areas of the grain pile, as the pedestal system is relatively easy to move around the grain store. The individual, vertical pedestals can work in grain piles of up to 6m deep and have a cooling radius of 5m around each pedestal. The fan on top of the pedestal continually sucks air, pulling it through the grain which ultimately cools the grain down. This will then preserve the quality of the grain throughout warmer conditions.

The complete Plug&Cool package includes four pedestals, four 1.1kW aluminium fans, and all the accessories. Most importantly, the Multi-Zone control panel is included, which the company says is integral to controlling the temperature of your grain. FG

Evans & Pearce managing director, Rob White, says let’s make sure all that grain hits the market worth its full value and with no deductions.

As the war in Ukraine continues, the news now brings reports of disruption to grain exports and getting crops out of Ukraine.

For the UK grain markets, prices are at unprecedented levels and ever-rising input costs add further uncertainty for the future. It is vital that we ensure grain going into the store is managed correctly and well ventilated. Realising best value and reducing all possible waste must be a priority.

According to Mr White, while there are several reasons for this, inadequate or badly managed ventilation are the primary ones. He explains further below.

AHDB recommends an air ow of 6ft3 per minute (cfm) per stored tonne of crop, for successful postharvest cooling and conditioning. You can get away with lower ventilation rates if the weather is on your side and fans run at the right times, but there is a much higher risk of storage spoilage and nancial deductions from the buyer.

Pedestal ventilation systems are incredibly successful in the UK, partly due to the low purchase and running costs. As a guide, it will cost about £4 per stored tonne of crop to purchase a pedestal system – a system at this cost will do a reasonable job, but air ow will not be at the AHDB recommended volume.

An extra £2–£2.50, will see air ows rise by 150% and put you in line with AHDB recommendations.

Fans move air, Polycool grain cooling pedestals distribute the air evenly through the bulk. When planning a store, we begin with the intended stored tonnage to calculate the quantity of fans needed, then we look at how many pedestals are required to move the volume of air, without any areas under ventilated.

If air drawn through the crop is always colder than the crop itself, the only result can be cooling. Too often running fans is mismanaged as autumn time pressures create distractions from store monitoring. For e ective cooling, air temperatures are ideally 4–6°C lower than that of the crop (therefore a di erence in the temperatures).

A di erential controller, such as Grain Fan Assist (GFA), monitors the storage temperature, compares it to ambient air temperature and decides when fans should be turned on and o – invariably be between 2am and 6am during early autumn.

The AHDB states that in some situations di erential temperature control can save up to 40% in electricity costs over a manually controlled system. With electricity prices increasing, it’s worth using di erential temperatures to your advantage and to save on electricity.

Regular monitoring of storage temperatures and cooling rates is key. Modern technology means no one must be there but fan running times need to be correct and storage temperatures need to be monitored so problem areas can be dealt with quickly. FG

Crop Cooling Systems

The tough grain cooling pedestal

• A vertically standing, crop cooling and conditioning system. • Draws heat out of floor stored crops, helping to maintain crop quality and price. • Cost e ective and flexible solution that ensures crops stay free from moulds and insects.

Stronger by Design

• Recommended for small seeds like Oil Seed Rape. • No need to have an additional filter for small seeds.

• Louvred slots are less likely to block so equal air distribution is maintained through the crop.

Grain Ventilation Fans

• British Manufactured, built to last. - Cast Aluminium Case - Pressed Steel Impeller - Thermal Overload - Class leading air flow • Our fans used on UK farms for over 50 years.

• Used in grain stores worldwide.