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ROBUST FUNGICIDE PROGRAMMES ADD OVER £200/HA THIS YEAR
Date added: 11/04/08 |
Four spray programmes could produce yield responses worth over £200/ha this year compared with two spray programmes at current wheat prices, according to ProCam’s 4cast agronomy system.
With Septoria remaining the priority disease this year and over half of wheat varieties in the ground being susceptible to the disease, this is not the year to takes short cuts with fungicides, the company says.
“After last year when brown rust took us by surprise, there has been a lot of comment about the high levels of brown rust susceptible varieties being grown and indeed over 60% of wheat varieties have disease ratings of between 3 and 5 this year,” explains ProCam Group senior agronomist Nick Myers.
“But a similar trend appears when it comes to Septoria susceptible varieties such as Cordiale, Consort, Solstice and Gladiator. Also when you consider the potential yield loss from Septoria of up to 50%, it makes sense to focus on this disease at T0 and T1 timings.”
Information from Procam’s powerful 4cast agronomy database indicates that a well timed and robust fungicide programme reaps significant rewards when it comes to yield.
“Last year a one spray fungicide programme resulted in wheat yields of 6.01 tonnes/hectare. A two-spray programme yielded 8.67 t/ha. A three spray programme gave 8.83 t/ha and a 4 spray programme lifted this to 9.15 t/ha. A five spray programme resulted in an even higher yield of 10.33 t/ha.
Over a three year period, the average yield bonus between a two spray and four spray fungicide programme was over half a tonne, which is well worth having.”
A four-spray protectant regime could lift output by as much as 1-2.25t/ha compared with a basic two-spray triazole programme.
Nick reports that many growers have started their disease programme with a T0 spray targeting Septoria tritici. He considers chlorothalonil (Bravo/Sonar) and mancozeb (Laminator) as good protectants against this disease, with mancozeb having the edge in rust-prone varieties. A rust-active triazole such as cyproconazole (Menara) could also be considered at this first timing.
“Septoria has been developing on lower leaves in the wheat canopy, yellow rust is spreading in Robigus and there is some brown rust, although well below the levels of last year.
“Growers should ensure that they keep their spray intervals tight, no more than 3 to 4 weeks between T0 and T1 and use a robust T1 spray such as Capalo and Cello) in order to keep on top of Septoria and other foliar diseases and to protect their considerable investment in this crop,” says Nick Myers.
PRM178
11th April 2008
For further information please contact Nick Myers, ProCam Ltd., Royston, Herts. Telephone: 01763 261592.
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