Download - In this issue - cpm magazine · *the claim ‘best read specialist arable journal’ is based on independent reader research, conducted by the National Farm Research Unit 2014 Editorial

In this issue...Driven by data page 74Pioneers bring value to field information

Careful cultivations page 55

Oilseed earliness page 18Ways to win the establishment battle

Desiccation decisions page 89

Volume 19 Number 8July 2017

*the claim ‘best read specialist arable journal’ is based on independent reader research, conducted by the

National Farm Research Unit 2014

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EditorTom Allen-Stevens

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Machinery editorJane Brooks

Writers

Design and productionBrooks Design

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Rob JonesLucy de la Pasture

Tom Allen-StevensJane Brooks

Charlotte Cunningham

TechnicalTechnical news - Pipeline fungicide molecule well on its wayDow AgroSciences have given a preview of their pipeline fungicide active.Seed treatments - An insurance worth having?There are many factors to address when deciding on seed treatment.OSR establishment - Pushing the drilling windowOilseed rape establishment continues to be a tricky time in the crop’s life.Arable resilience - Tip the OSR balance in your favourProspects for oilseed rape look good, provided crops get off to a good start.OSR survey - Traits can temper the OSR challengeOilseed rape is a challenging crop to grow, with some of the key issueshighlighted in a recent survey.Tech Talk - Smart stubble strategiesGetting on-top of weeds in stubbles is a cost-efficient way of reducing theirimpact in the following crop and removing the ‘green bridge’.Brome identification - Not all brome is the sameAlthough an increasing problem do you know which species you’re dealing with?Theory to Field - GINs provide shot in the armThe Genetic Improvement Networks have revolutionised UK plant breeding.

OpinionTalking Tilth – A word from the editor.

Smith’s Soapbox – Views and opinions from an Essex peasant…..

Machinery Murmurs – News and views from CPM’s machinery editor.

Last Word – A view from the field from CPM’s technical editor.

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Harvest hygiene - Keep it clean to reduce blackgrassBASF has launched a campaign to spread the message on machinery hygiene.Cereals 2017 - Working demos pull in a crowdA round-up of highlights from last month’s event.Cultivations - Clod busting with careNo single solution fits the bill for the cultivation challenges faced by farmers.On Farm Opinion - The heat is onA Cheshire farmer chose to install a semi-permanent batch dryer.Balers - Less twine, less time from fewer balesBig square balers are packing more biomass into each bale in the field.On Farm Opinion - Quality counts in a premium productHarvesting Jersey Royals is an operation that demands reliability and performance from the kit that’s adapted to the island’s potato industry.

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Machinery

3crop production magazine july 2017

RootsPotato desiccation - Burning question over diquatMany growers are diquat-dependent at burn downPotato agronomy - More than meets the eyeSpotting problems in potato fields often happens late in the day.Sugar beet fungicides - Keep on top of rustThere has been an exceptionally early onset of rust in this year’s sugar beet crop.

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FeaturesInnovation Insight - The pivotal point of managing precisionTrue value from precision farming comes from having the right tools to capture the data, and the right platforms to help interpret results.Digital farming - ForwardFarm provides precision pointersNew apps and better implementation of precision farming techniques may have far-reaching benefits.Conservation agriculture - Rebirth your dirtConservation or Regenerative agriculture has long been the preserve of the no-till enthusiast, but are there valuable lessons for all?Real Results Pioneers - Putting ‘the best’ to the testA robust fungicide approach, based on Adexar, is routinely used to coachBorders grower David Fuller-Shapcott’s wheat into optimum performance.

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a worrying direction of travel.DUS testing of ornamentalsis a highly specialised job.NIAB has put a lot of

investment into thisexpertise, and isrenowned across

Europe as a result.European plant breeders

themselves have actuallypressed the EC to allow NIAB to

continue this work, since there’scurrently nowhere else in the EUqualified to do it. But the EC hasmade its decision in a movedescribed by NIAB chairman Jim Godfrey as “cutting off yournose to spite your face”.

And that raises worrying questions about the future of the EU common catalogues. The only agricultural plant andvegetable varieties that can bemarketed throughout Europe arethose that have passed DUStesting. Here in the UK, NationalListing is the process that determines that. The EU common catalogues ensure anyvariety registered by the relevantauthorities in any member stateis cleared for commercial useacross the EU.

It’s a sensible, rationalapproach that allows breeders toinvest in new varieties and newbreeding technologies, in anyspecific member state, safe inthe knowledge they can recovertheir investment through commercialisation across thewhole of the EU. And it works.Surely no institution would therefore want to direct a wrecking ball at a process thatclearly encourages innovationand progress?

But that’s exactly what the EC has done. It has to be said,DUS testing for most varieties,including combinable crops, is handled differently to ornamentals. It’s decided on anational basis, so inclusion in the common catalogue isindependent of direct EC intervention, through the CPVO.

However, it’s a clear indicationthat the EC is resolute in itsdetermination to protect what itperceives as its interests, even if that means making it hard forinnovators within the EU toprogress. It’s an inherent weakness in the system that has always stifled innovation.

Hopefully, we have a healthierattitude towards progress in the UK, and Brexit will allow usto explore this potential. Theopportunity is to lead by example, to demonstrate andmake clear the benefits, and tohelp usher in across Europe anew attitude to innovation. Thefear is that EU commissioners will be so clouded by the emotiveaspects of this Brexit divorce,they will fail to act on the tangiblepositives.

Digital DriveWith developments in precisionfarming, it’s always difficult toknow when to take the plunge –– too early and you’re theguinea pig, paying too muchfor the technology, with benefitsunclear and you’re expected toput up with teething problems.Too late and you’re behind thecurve and struggle to catch up with other tech-savvy businesses that are putting

When will the ECgrow up?

Tom Allen-Stevens has a170ha arable farm in Oxonand wonders whether theBrexit divorce will mean twolots of Christmas [email protected]

Any divorce is a messy affair.Decisions aren’t based on arational and objective approachto the best way forward. It’s aprocess through which years ofpent-up frustration are ventedin a futile and pointless attemptto belittle the other side, andit’s usually those caught in thecrossfire that suffer most.

You would have thought Brexitwould be handled in a moregown-up fashion. Sadly, the initial indication from the EUCommission is that it feels slighted, and where it can, it’llmake decisions that’ll hurt.

NIAB has become an earlycasualty. It currently carries outEU variety testing contracts commissioned directly by theCommunity Plant Variety Office(CPVO). But in a “shock” decision, the EC has said thesewill no longer be awarded to theUK after 30 March 2019.

The decision affects DUS (distinctness, uniformity and stability) testing of ornamentalcrop species, valued at around£600,000/yr. In a UK context,that’s not huge, but the implications could be, and it’s

the technology to good use.Data management is one of

those areas –– it can be a job toknow what it actually means in abusiness sense, let alone what thebenefits are. In truth, it’s fair to sayprecision providers themselveshave grappled with this conundrumover the past few years.

But now, we think this realm of digital delivery has come of age.The platforms that have beendeveloped and the technologylying behind them are relativelyrobust and there’s a clear focus onbusiness benefit. We’re exploringthis area over the next three monthsin a special series of InnovationInsight articles that will look behind the scenes at three of thepioneering companies that havedeveloped platforms to take thetechnology forward (see page 74).

Whether the time is right to takethe plunge remains very much apersonal decision, however.Farming knowledge isn’t just aboutthe soil, the crop and managing the varying conditions. In tandem,this exists in algorithms, throughobservations picked up by remotesensors and stored in a cloud.There’s only so much of this world farmers can be expected to understand. But the more youdo, the chances are, the more benefits it’ll bring.

Another summer. Another harvest. Another stint of incarceration in the combinecan. That time of year when all other elements of humanexistence are suspended.Everything it seems, frommeals to bowel movements,are relegated in importance,subjugated by the need to getthe harvest in.

You wonder if any other profession experiences anythingquite like it. Fishermen havecycles where the fish are plentifulor in season and when they arenot, but it’s peppered through theyear. Ice cream vans do morebusiness in hot weather, but theirseason can last half the year andheatwaves can occur from Easterthrough to the autumn.

Accountants get their peaksand troughs according to taxreturn dates in the calendar thatcan lead to some extra busy

periods burning the midnight oilbut seeing as it doesn’t involvegetting hands dirty, it can’t be

considered proper work. I suspect farming is the only

trade to experience thissix-week frenzied culmination of a working

year where all other distractions are avoided.

This was all imprinted on meat an early age when the soundof the roar of the combines in theyard signalled normal family lifewas now on hold. I like to think ifsomeone had told Dad that theQueen wanted to visit the farm inAug, his snap response wouldhave been “well, no one will beable to stop for a chat with her ifwe’re cutting”.

Twenty years on as a youngishmarried man, I remember onelate Dec morning proudlyannouncing to Mum and Dadthat my wife was six weeks pregnant. While mum was all tears and kisses, Dad’s unimpressed response was“that’s cutting it fine –– if she’s late you’ll be harvesting”.

It was as if I’d been unawareof the farming code of conductthat stipulated you should onlyrisk getting your wife pregnant as the days start to draw out.Unbeknown to me, during thecritical month of Nov, completecelibacy was expected. WhenDad eventually passed away ten years ago, appropriately hechose to go in mid-Sept, just

Don’t fear the reaper

Email your comments and ideas to [email protected]

Guy Smith grows 500ha of combinable crops on the north east Essex coast, namely St.Osyth Marsh –– officially the driest spot in the British Isles.Despite spurious claims fromothers that their farms are actually drier, he points out that his farm is in the GuinnessBook of Records, whereas others aren’t. End of.

after we’d finished the linseed.True to form, it was as if hewouldn’t have wanted a minorissue like his death or funeral toinconvenience the sacrosanctperiod that was harvest.

So harvest 2017 is now wellunderway here in north eastEssex with the earliest start since1976 (which doesn’t bode wellgiven 1976 was ‘the harvest ofdust’). This year we were into thebarley during the second week of July and to date, yields havebeen mixed.

We have an 18 acre (7.3ha)field on the farm that runs downto St.Osyth creek which hasgravel on the northern end andruns into some nice sandy clayloam. This, in turn, meets a beltof clay at the southern end wherethe land meets the estuary. At the top of field, the barley yieldclearly suffered over the graveldue to the spring drought. At theother end of the extreme in theclay things were compromisedby poor emergence due to theautumn drought. In the middle,what I like to think of the‘Goldilocks’ area, things were just right and the yield was wellabove our ten-year average. In the cab I’d subconsciouslytrained myself to only look at theyield meter in the better yieldingmiddle. The overall yield told an indifferent story but not a disastrous one, so I suspect thisvariation is going to be the storyof this year’s harvest.

The good news with the six-row barley was it did suppress the blackgrass and so proves another crucial non-chemical means of control.The bad news is it’s selling priceis a full £30 below feed wheat.So as I start to think about nextyear’s cropping, I don’t envisagea substantial increase in our limited barley acreage. Springpeas look a better option but,who knows, I might not be theonly one reducing the barleyacreage which will stimulate theprice to ginger upwards. So at the moment, next year’s cropping is being pencilled in only.

Meanwhile I’ll wish you agood harvest. As you emergefrom your tinted combine cabs blinking into the daylightsometime in late Aug or Sept, I hope your yields have givenyou the positive margin neededto make a year’s work rewardingand worthwhile.

6 crop production magazine july 2017

TechnicalTechnical news

Dow AgroSciences gave apreview of their pipeline

fungicide active last monthand the trials look very

promising. CPM reports.

By Lucy de la Pasture

Pipeline fungicidemolecule well onits way

New active ingredients are rather likehens’ teeth these days, but a fungicidewhich also has a novel target site is evenrarer. Dow AgroSciences has developedjust this, breaking away from its predominantly herbicide pedigree.

Branded Inatreq Active, the molecule(fenpixoxamid) is a member of a new classof cereal fungicides, the picolinamides.Significantly, it will be the first completelynew molecule with broad-spectrum activityto be added to the fungicide armoury inover a decade, says William Corrigan, Dowfungicide product manager for UK and IRL.

“Inatreq has a unique target site. It’s aQuinone inside Inhibitor (QiI) and inhibitsmitochondrial respiration in fungi at the Qiubiquinone binding site, binding to complexIII (the inner mitochondrial membranes),” he explains.

The EU registration dossier was submitted in 2014 and first approval isexpected for the new active substance in

William Corrigan explains Inatreq Active is thefirst new broad spectrum fungicide with a newtarget site in over a decade.

2018, for use by UK growers in the season2019-2020.

At a time when azoles continue to declinein efficacy against septoria and SDHI insensitivity is expected to increase, the new chemistry will be a potential lifeline to our current chemistry, he points out.

No cross-resistance“Inatreq shows no cross-resistance to any of the existing cereal fungicide chemistries,including azoles, strobilurins or SDHIs, so will be an essential new tool in an anti-resistance strategy.”

But Dow is keen to point out that Inatreqis also chemistry with a single target site so will also be at a medium/high risk ofdeveloping resistance. That means it can’tbe viewed as a saviour product and willneed to be managed with care from thestart, in order to prolong the useful life-spanof all three main groups of broad-spectrumfungicide chemistry.

“We’re in a constant arms race betweenpathogen and product,” adds ADAS principal research scientist, Jonathan Blake.“As we continue to bombard septoria withdifferent modes of action, it’s finding its wayaround them by evolving and developingresistance.

“Having new modes of action available isessential and using them in conjunction withexisting chemistry can slow the development

of resistance in other groups. Inatreq is highly active on septoria and appears to becurative and preventative, which is a keyattribute in the battle to control the most difficult pathogen we have in UK wheat

crops,” he comments.The new molecule is derived from a natural compound, UK-2A,

produced by soil borneStreptomyces species, explains William Corrigan.

The fungicidal effects of themolecule are enhanced by clever

formulation technology, adds Dowcustomer agronomist, Stuart Jackson.“When the Inatreq spray droplets

land on the leaf, there’s a very rapid redistribution across and down the leafridges, which translates to exceptional fungicide coverage,” he says.

“Once in the plant, Inatreq is convertedback to UK-2A by enzymic activity, therebyactivating its fungicidal properties,” he explains.

So how’s it looking in field trials atWellesbourne in Warwicks this season? At this stage in development, the molecule isbeing put through its paces alongside theindustry standards but not as part of the normal fungicide programme that would beused in practice, stresses Stuart Jackson.

“We’re trying to create a high diseasepressure to bring out the differencesbetween treatments. That means we’re using some ‘dirty’ varieties –– Torch to demonstrate efficacy on yellow rust and theseptoria-susceptible variety Consort. Theseptoria trial is also being irrigated in thecurrent dry weather to replicate rain-splashevents and keep septoria pressure high,” he explains.

In both trials, applications of fungicideswere made as a single treatment, GS45 inthe yellow rust trial and GS37 in the septoriatrial, to a previously untreated crop.

We’re in a constant arms racebetween pathogen

and product.

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Cover crops are a hot topic. Growing one hasbeen heralded a panacea –– helping reduce erosion, improve water retention, add organic matter and generally improve soil structure.There’s also been a huge amount of interest inhow they can help with blackgrass control ––after all, anything that can help with that is worth trying.

Last spring CPM visited a trial at NewtonPurcell in Bucks that compared direct drilling with strip tillage for cover crop establishment.A year on, the longer-term effects are coming to light.

Mike and David Markham, who farm on theBucks/Oxon border, have been particularly keen to learn more about how cover crops could helpthem. Their land is a mixture of soil types, withboth light soils and heavy clays on the farm.

Unsurprisingly, the heavy soils cause the mostheadaches, with drainage and blackgrass bothprime concerns. They’ve recently moved to a zero-till system, and believe the use of cover cropscould become an important part of their regime.

Cover crops can help make drilling a springcrop possible by improving soil structure and drying land out, provided they are sprayed-off at the right time, explains farm agronomist Andrew Richards of Agrii.

“But there’s also a lot of discussion about howthey can benefit blackgrass control, so we decidedto compare the effects of drilling with a low andhigher disturbance drill.”

Cover crops were drilled with a tine drill or Cross-Slot direct drill in autumn 2015.All subsequent crops –– spring oats then winterwheat –– were drilled with the Cross-Slot acrossthe whole area. The hypothesis was that striptillage would stimulate blackgrass so it could be

destroyed in spring before oats went in.Blackgrass numbers have been lower where

the cover crops were drilled with the Cross-Slot,and even though this field operation took place inautumn 2015, its effects are still apparent in the winter wheat crop which is about to be harvested.

The difference is confirmed by herbicide trials taking place on the farm, with a significantgap between the two strips, irrespective of treatment. Mike and David Markham used 0.6 l/ha Liberator (flufenacet+ diflufenican) plus 2 l/ha Defy (prosulfocarb) plus 15kg/ha Avadex(tri-allate) on the field and the trial results showthis was an effective option for this farm as control approached the critical 97% threshold.

The trial shows the value of cultural controlsbefore you even use any herbicides, says BenGiles of Bayer. “It shows it’s possible to improvefrom a difficult situation to a much better onethrough the judicious use of cover crops, springcrops and establishment.

After the relatively successful cover crops lastseason, this year has been a more chasteningexperience, with circumstances conspiring to allowblackgrass to overrun the cover crop. So whatwent wrong?

“Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to pick thebest option but this trial makes the point that stimulating blackgrass germination, to then spray-off, might not make much difference to the amount of blackgrass that germinates in thecrop, especially if the seedbank is large.”

One reason was the heavier land on the farm, including the trial field, was mole drainedlast autumn, following advice from soil and cultivation expert Dick Godwin.

“Over the farm, the land which has been mole

Establishment method has long-term effect

The Markham brothers believe mole-drainingcaused blackgrass to over-run their cover cropsthis year.

Untreated land assessment of blackgrass numbers season 2016/17.

Strip tillage cover crop Direct drilled cover crop – 2015 – 2015

Autumn plant count /m2 50 21.5

Spring head count /m2 390 236

% blackgrass control in herbicide trial, following cover crops.

Strip tillage cover Direct drilled covercrop – 2015 – 2015

Autumn plant count /m2 1.6 (96.9% control) 0 (100% control)

Spring head count /m2 25 (93.6% control) 11 (95.3% control)

* Drilled 14/10/16, herbicides applied 20/10/16

drained looks a lot better. In the field where thetrial is, the drainage situation was so bad that wedouble-moled, with four-foot centres rather thanthe usual eight,” explains Mike Markham.

But the effects of the mole drainage wereobvious, with straight lines of blackgrass germinating along the channels. Although themole channel looks relatively small, pulling theplough through the soil causes fissures and disturbance over a much wider area.

The blackgrass made establishing the covercrop more challenging, which was exacerbatedby selective rabbit grazing.

So could blackgrass be used as a cover crop?Not according to Mike Markham. It doesn’t rootvery deeply, so does little to restructure the soil.On top of that, a thick mat on the surface isn’teasy to drill a spring crop into –– pretty much theopposite of what you would want from a covercrop, he says.

To deal with this, he favours spraying his covercrops off early –– possibly even Dec or Jan. “Thisgives time for all the plants to die back, so thesun and wind can dry out the top of the surfacebefore drilling in the spring,” he adds.

Source: Bayer and Agrii trial to test how cover crops, establishment method and herbicidesinteract in a blackgrass control programme.

Source: Bayer and Agrii trial.

Stuart Jackson shows how well wheat in anInatreq treated plot has retained its green leafunder high disease pressure.

“Although you can’t draw too many conclusions from extreme trials like these, it does demonstrate performance under very high disease pressure,” he says. “Inboth demonstrations, Inatreq looks to beperforming at least as well and in some

cases better than industry standards interms of the amount of green leaf visible inthe plots. The next stage will be to look atthe place of Inatreq within programmes,” he promises.

The new fungicide is likely be suppliedas a co-formulated product and the recommendation will be to apply with amulti-site as part of a robust anti-resistancestrategy. n

Technical news


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TechnicalSeed treatments

Late-drilling used to mean areduced threat from aphids

and diseases, but warmerautumns mean there are

now many more factors toaddress when deciding

on seed treatments.CPM canvasses some

opinions on their value.


When you apply neonicotinoids as a seed treatment,there’s less selection

pressure for the evolution of resistance.

“

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An insurance worthhaving?

Late-drilled winter wheat has beenwidely adopted by many growers as part of their blackgrass strategy, butuncertainty around the weather at thattime of the year means that getting thepest control strategy right is crucial.

In Lincs, grower Ben Atkinson farms2,750ha of primarily combinable crops,

Growers and the wider arable industry have ashort window of opportunity to help influencethe Government’s position on neonicotinoidsahead of discussions in the EU.

In March of this year, the EuropeanCommission tabled new proposals that wouldban the use of certain neonicotinoid seed treatments in non-bee-attractive crops such as wheat, barley, sugar beet and vegetables.The proposals are due to be discussed at theJuly meeting of the Standing Committee ofPlants Animals, Food and Feed in Brussels.

Three things you can do to help fight theseproposals.l Adopt stewardship measures – particularly

minimise dust and uncovered drilled seed or spillages.

l Write to local MPs and MEPs, as well as Government Ministers to explain why seed treatments are important.

l Engage on social media #saveourseedtreatments

Neonics under threatwith a six-year rotation including winterwheat, winter barley, winter oilseed rape,spring barley, spring beans and sugarbeet –– a rotation that has evolved in recentyears due to issues with blackgrass.

“Until about five or six years ago, wewere growing all winter crops. But theblackgrass pressure was getting steadilyworse so we realised we had to bringmore spring cropping into the equation,”he says.

Blackgrass issueAlongside this, he takes proactive measures to deal with the blackgrassissue, including varying cultivations andusing low disturbance subsoil legs whendrilling the winter crop.

“We’re only cultivating the top inch or so of soil. So we’re not stirring up otherproblems and bringing up seed from adepth,” he explains.

When it comes to protecting his winterwheat in the early stages, Ben Atkinsonalso employs a comprehensive set ofchemical controls. But to tackle BYDV,


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According to Mark Bullen, seeds and seedcaremanager for Syngenta, latest generation SDHIfungicides are first and foremost for controllingdisease. But increasingly research is uncoveringa range of other beneficial side effects, over andabove disease control.

“In the case of the new SDHI-based seedtreatment Vibrance Duo (fludioxonil and sedaxane), newly available this autumn, its prime role is to protect emerging seedlingsagainst diseases that jeopardise crop establishment,” he explains.

“However, there is growing evidence that itsSDHI active ingredient, sedaxane, also providesadded crop health benefits –– particularlyduring dry conditions.

“Results released previously on sedaxanehave shown it led to increased root growth,even in non-diseased seed. Deeper roots provide improved scavenging for soil moistureand nutrients. But further research at the

Mark Bullen says that research is showing newSDHI seed treatment, Vibrance Duo, is helpingplants grow under adverse conditions.

University of Nottingham has also now shownsedaxane to produce a benefit to photosynthesisin wheat seedlings grown in drought conditions.”

Mark Bullen explains that normally,drought-stressed plants become less efficient at photosynthesis, which converts carbon dioxide into the sugars that provide fuel for crop growth. But carbon dioxide conversionin drought-stressed wheat treated with

sedaxane was found to be just as efficientas in un-stressed wheat, he notes.

“Sedaxane was found to turn up the activityof certain beneficial genes. In our own trials,we‘ve seen that Vibrance Duo has given bettercrop establishment during colder weather. Now,these drought findings could prove valuablewhen establishment conditions are dry.

“With unpredictable weather patterns,growers need to think about utilising these types of wider benefits. They could have contributed to some of the substantial yield

Vibrance by name, vibrant by nature

increases seen with Vibrance Duo in trials.“As well as boosting yield by more than

0.5 t/ha compared with untreated seed, VibranceDuo has also given an average yield increase ofnearly 0.15 t/ha compared with an alternativeseed treatment in trials in Northern Europe.”

Ben Atkinson believes a seed treatment to protectagainst BYDV is equally important in his later-drilled wheats.

Steve Foster warns that as the pressure on active ingredients increases, greater resistance is inevitable.

he says that it‘s seed treatment that‘sthe crucial tool for growers who havemoved to late drilling.

“If we’re drilling in late Oct, the weatherwindow soon shuts and it can be difficultto get on with the sprayer, especially whenit comes to protecting against BYDV. Weuse Deter (clothianidin) on our wheat seedto protect against the disease, and withlate-drilled wheat it is arguably moreessential now than ever.”

In the face of the European Commission’sproposed ban on neonicotinoids in fieldcrops, Ben Atkinson’s assertion takes on a

starker light. Without seed treatments,growers will face a paucity of optionswhen it comes to pest control strategies inlate-drilled wheat. According to Dr SteveFoster, entomologist at RothamstedResearch, the consequences for thosegrowing late-planted wheat could besevere.

“In a late sown crop, growers can haveless ability to spray. So having a diversityof options –– and something you can fallback on –– as part of your integrated pestmanagement is so important.”

Reduce diversitySteve Foster warns that a ban wouldunnecessarily reduce this diversity, resulting in a greater pressure on theremaining insecticides. With this comes anincreased risk of resistance building up inpests –– something that could make BYDVan even bigger problem for growers.

“When seed treatments were lost inOSR, extra pressure was put on pyrethroidinsecticides and we saw resistance developin cabbage stem flea beetle,” he says.

“I think the scenario will be the same foraphids if the ban occurs. We’ve alreadyseen resistance to pyrethroids in grainaphids, and as the pressure on activeingredients increases, greater resistance is inevitable.

“If we reach the point where we have a higher level of resistance in aphids, then the pyrethroids would probably stop working and BYDV would build

up in the cereal crops.”And according to Steve Foster, his

latest research reinforces his view.“When you apply neonicotinoids as a

seed treatment, there’s less selection pressure for the evolution of resistancecompared to a foliar application. And that flies in the face of what’s happening,where we may be losing the seed treatments and falling back on foliar insecticides.”

This is even more significant considering


Seed treatmentss

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The need for zinc and other micronutrients incereal crops is widely recognised, but becauserequirements are small and availability is oftendetermined by a range of interacting factors,deficiencies often go unaddressed, believesAndrew Robinson, manager at Heathcote Farmsin Beds.

Looking more closely at his crops nutritionalrequirements, zinc has become a core part ofhis ambition to regularly produce high yieldingcrops across 1150ha of predominantlyHanslope series clay.

The need for zinc is perhaps surprising given the farm’s soil profile, which suggestsmicronutrients should be readily available. Zincdeficiency is usually associated with sandy soilswith high pH and phosphate status (Index 5, 6,or 7). Manganese is another micronutrient he has found to be in deficit, despite the soilcomposition and pH balance suggesting itshould be freely available.

To counter the effects of manganese deficiency, he typically applies three applications of a foliar solution during thespring as a tank-mix with fungicides.The cost is roughly £35/ha each season,

Andrew Robinson is finding a seed treatment isboosting crops on his Beds farm where zinc issurprisingly biologically unavailable.

but one he considers worthwhile.“In my experience, it‘s money well spent.

The return more than justifies the expense,”says Andrew Robinson.

But to improve zinc availability, he uses aseed treatment, Radiate (7.0% N, 8.5% Zn,bio-stimulant), which is applied in conjunctionwith a standard fungicidal seed treatment.He has linked the improvement in yields to the greater root mass of treated seed. This correlation led him to investigate the possibleeffects of other nutrients known to promote rootmass, such as applying phosphate at drilling.However, he found zinc gave the greatestresponse.

“We tried Radiate in 2011/12 on the adviceof our seed-dresser. I was sceptical at the time,but after comparing the root weights of treatedand untreated crops at the start of spring, it wasclear something was happening,” he says.

“We followed it through to harvest with thetreated crop yielding an average 0.37t/ha morethan the untreated. All our home-saved wheatand barley seed is now treated with Radiate,”he adds.

He has come to regard it as a form of risk

Micronutrients give fair reward

management since the benefits of bigger rootsare greater in dry year.

“You never know what sort of season it willturn out to be when you drill the crop, but experience has taught me that complacency israrely rewarded. At about £10/ha it is anotherworthwhile spend.”

Take-all is a disease that has caught the attention this summer. The tell-tale white headshave become blindingly obvious in infected fieldsas compromised crops battle with dry conditions.

Traditionally, late drilling has been the mainroute to manage and control take-all as coldersoils naturally reduce biological activity of thetake-all inoculum.

“Drilling later, after 15 Oct, where growersare able to do so, is the most positive actionthat growers can take to mitigate the risk oftake-all,“ says Wynnstay’s seed manager,Richard Torr.

This isn’t always possible as growers haveto consider many factors when it comes todrilling dates, and sometimes it’s just not possible to put every field in at the ideal time to control every pest and disease.

“In this instance, a specialist seed treatmentis the next-best control option, meaning timing

Latitude gives a zone of protection from take-allpathogens around plant roots.

isn’t so paramount,” he adds.“Targeted take-all seed treatments are

essentially an insurance policy against theeffects of the disease, whether delayed drillingdates can be observed or not,” explains Certis’technical manager, Adrian Sisson.

“They offer a zone of protection around youngroots. This enables them to become establishedand robust enough to cope with the pressures ofthe take-all inoculum once they have grown outof this protected zone.

“This provides flexibility and works in conjunction with other control measures toreduce disease risk whilst the inoculum pressureis high. Trials have shown that a specialist seedtreatment, like Latitude (silthiofam), has thepotential to give a yield response of up to 0.55t/ha, meaning farmers can mitigate theeffects of the disease where second wheats are grown,“ he says.

Pre-empting take-all

Seed treatments

seed treatments can grant greater protection against BYDV due to sprayingrestrictions, as Tim Nicholson, Bayer’s commercial technical Manager points out.

“With a pyrethroid programme,

when you’re using something like lambda-cyhalothrin (Hallmark), you have a 5m compulsory arthropod barrier. Toensure control against aphids up to thefield edge, growers need seed treatments.

“Only Deter will deal with both vectorsof BYDV, the bird cherry oat aphid and thegrain aphid. With resistance to pyrethroidsalready been seen in the latter, it onlyincreases the importance of seed


s

Tim Nicholson highlights the role of Deter as partof a slug control strategy.

Deter is effective on both vectors of BYDV, thebird cherry oat aphid and the grain aphid.

Seed treatments

treatments as part of a grower’s toolkit.”Tim Nicholson also highlights that

aphids aren‘t the only pest that seed treatments can offer activity against inlater-drilled wheat.

“Deter has also been shown to reduceslug damage as well. Late-drilled cropsare more likely to be sitting in wet soil conditions, conducive to slug activity andincreasing the risk of grain hollowing,” he says.

“Treatments need to be part of an integrated slug control programme, including drilling to 4cm depth, a fineseedbed with rolling and slug pellets, ifneeded. However, with late-drilled wheat,growers may not have the time to applyslug pellets to the seedbed and wait forthem to reduce the slug population.

Late drillingSimilarly, if you’re drilling later into moistsoil, there’s an increased chance youwon’t be able to roll because the soilcould get wet after drilling. By using aseed treatment, you can have some activity against slugs in case you can’t get on with the rolls before the weatherbreaks down.”

The new metaldehyde stewardshipguidelines introduce a 10m buffer-zonerequirement, which is another area wherea Deter seed treatment may come into itsown, protecting otherwise potentiallyuntreated headlands, he adds.

Ben Atkinson agrees that the weatherplays a huge role in the good establishmentof late-drilled wheat, and that this can vary

from year to year. But he concludes thatgrowers can still take measures to make the best of the situation.

“Some years you get a really niceopportunity to deploy your late drilling, butin other years, if the weather goes againstyou, late drilling can be disastrous.

“That’s why the most important day in acrop’s life is the day you plant it, get it intoa good seedbed and off to a good start.To do that, we have to make sure we makethe most of cultural controls and thearmoury of tools we have. Seed treatmentis a big, big part of that.” n


Marcus Mann says his growers are looking atradical ways of keeping OSR in the rotation inCSFB hotspots.

TechnicalOSR establishment

Oilseed rape establishmentcontinues to be a tricky

time in the crop’s life. CPMinvestigates the impact time

of drilling has on the pestsand diseases that may lead

to poor establishment.

By Lucy de la Pasture and Rob Jones

It’s a bit of a balancing

act.

Pushing the drilling window “

”

At a recent field day, the idea of drillingconventional oilseed rape at the beginning of Aug was proposed byFrontier agronomist, Marcus Mann, as apotential strategy to limit cabbage stemflea beetle (CSFB) damage. Based inEssex, he says his growers in flea beetlehotspots are looking for radical ways tokeep OSR within the rotation.

“Providing there’s adequate soil moisture,there’s some evidence that drilling in earlyAug helps to establish the crop before theCSFB become most active, generally fromthe third week of Aug to the start of Sept,” he says.

Drilling OSR this early has implications forthe rotation as a whole, requiring a relianceon early-to-harvest crops, such as winterbarley. But what are the wider implicationsfor the OSR crop from manipulating drillingdates beyond the normal window when itcomes to pests and disease?

ADAS plant pathologist, Julie Smith, says

very early sown trials aren’t commonplacebut certain diseases might benefit from earlysowing and, for other diseases, sowing latermight be a better option.

“It’s a bit of a balancing act. Light leafspot (LLS) is often referred to as the ‘septoria’ of OSR because there’s a parallelwith the disease in wheat. If you drill OSRearly, you’ll have more problems withLLS because the crop is exposed to

ascospores for a longer period of time.

Increase in clubroot“Similarly, there would be a likely increase inclubroot if growers were to drill earlier. We’recurrently running an experiment whichshows that a delay in drilling of two weeks(in autumn 2016) resulted in an 80% reduction in clubroot, compared with the earlier timing.

“Soil temperature needs to be above16°C for clubroot infection to occur and it tends to fall below this temperature threshold when crops are sown a little later.It’s a very simple but effective disease avoidance strategy if clubroot is a problemon your land, but not all varieties are suited to late sowing so careful selection is a must.”

Julie Smith adds that although alternariaand powdery mildew are less common now, sowing early is likely to increase theirprevalence. She also warns that there issome evidence that earlier sowing favoursverticillium wilt infection.

That’s a view Andrew Blazey, agronomistat Prime Agriculture, agrees with. He saysthe threat of verticillium is something to

be cautious about if considering an earlydrilling strategy.

“Earlier drilled crops in tight rotations often exhibit more symptoms. Chemical control is not proven and data about varietal susceptibility is often only available a year or two after new varieties hit the market.”

Possibly the biggest advantage of earlydrilling for him in his area –– Cambs, westSuffolk and north Essex –– would be to help plants grow away from phoma stem canker.

“The bigger, stronger plants cope with thedisease better. The larger the plant, the lessvulnerable it is to phoma, which spreadsfrom leaf to petiole and then to the stem. Of course, a variety with good resistance tophoma and LLS will also help with diseasecontrol,” he adds.


s

Julie Smith points out that some diseases will bemore problematic when drilling earlier.

The effects of clubroot can be reduced bydelayed drilling.

Julie Smith agrees that by drilling earlier,plants have larger leaves and are morerobust and better able to withstand phoma.“If you have a variety with a good disease-resistance rating, you may get awaywith drilling later and won’t have issues.

But if you’re sowing a weaker-rated variety,then avoid late drilling because it’s the smallbackward crops that are most at risk fromhigh yield losses due to phoma.”

Downy mildew and damping-off diseases can also take hold more easily ifthe crop has been sown late and is a littlemore backwards, she adds.

“So from a disease perspective, sow lateto avoid LLS, Verticillium and clubroot, but sow early to avoid downy mildew, damping-off diseases and yield losses from phoma stem canker.”

ADAS entomologist, Steve Ellis, is familiar with the notion of drilling early as a management strategy for CSFB, but has concerns over its practicality.

“While, on the face of it, drilling earlymight seem like a simple solution, you needto be able to confidently predict when thebeetle migration will happen and changeyour sowing timing accordingly. It’s plausiblethat you could drill early, encounter an early migration and be no better off,” he points out.

“There’ve been attempts to predict when the CSFB migration will occur, but justa few days warning isn’t enough time tochange drilling plans. The other considerationis that crops may go into the winter tooadvanced and then there’ll be knock-onproblems for the rest of the season, primarilywith lodging.

“In Germany, they have a significant problem with cabbage root fly. Large plantscan probably tolerate some larval feeding

OSR growers should consider spraying in theevening or at night as an extra weapon in thefight against CSFB, according to one Herts agronomist.

Farmacy’s Jason Noy recommends theapproach to all of his clients as a way of boosting control from the limited spray options,but stresses that it‘s by no means the answer totackling CSFB in “hotspot” areas and must beused as part of an integrated strategy.

There are many factors to get right if OSRcrops are to have the best chance of establishingsuccessfully in the presence of flea beetles orany other pests. Night spraying pyrethroidsshould only be regarded as one option in thisarmoury, he says.

The theory behind the approach is that groundbeetles, such as CSFB, are largely nocturnal. Thismeans they‘re generally easier to find as nightapproaches, especially when temperatures arewarm (above 8-90C).

“There’s no set time that‘s best, but there‘sdefinitely a correlation between increased beetleactivity, fading light and warmer temperatures.We’ve also found beetles tend to be more activeafter a light shower or when there is dampness in the crop,” says Jason Noy

“We’ve had some really good success withspraying at night in areas where the responsefrom daytime sprays can be negligible.”

He acknowledges it’s hard to quantify howmuch additional control can be achieved with

Spraying for CSFB when they become moreactive at night makes sense to Jason Noy.

night spraying, but believes that if many morebeetles are active at night than during the day,there‘s ultimately a greater probability of hittingthe target.

Most of his growers use standard sprayers andwork lights rather than novel LED systems andtypically begin treatments from emergenceonwards, when adults migrate into crops and feedon young leaves. But flea beetle activity must bemonitored before the crop is drilled, he says.

“You often find flea beetle on trash,volunteers or stems of harvested crops, whichprovides a useful indication of the underlying pestpressure. It’s all about doing everything possible to give crops an edge and make the most of available products.

“The key with oilseed rape is to get plantsthrough to four or five true leaves and in mostcases we have been able to do that by focussingon the whole range of factors, including nightspraying.”

Recognising the issues with pyrethroid resistance, Jason Noy says where repeat insecticide applications are required, it‘s worthvarying active ingredients to minimise selectionpressure against any one mode of action.

Deciding whether repeat sprays are necessary is specific to individual situations, headds. “If you see a response from spraying andthe crop is still viable, then most growers will beloathe to write it off given the investment requiredto get to that stage. Equally, if you’ve applied two

Night spraying may give an edge in flea beetle fight

or three sprays and seeing little benefit, then questions must be asked about what to do next.”

AHDB crop protection scientist, CarolineNicholls, warns that natural predators to CSFB,such as carabid beetles, may also be more activeat night and will be vulnerable to pyrethroid sprays.

This must be considered when decidingwhether to spray, especially where resistance ispresent, she says.

“If resistant flea beetles are present, it doesn’tmatter whether you’re spraying during the day ornight; even if you get some level of control you‘llstill be creating selection pressure for resistantpopulations.”

Natural predators generally eat eggs and larvae not adult beetles, so their overall impact onCSFB populations is often not seen until later in the season when new eggs hatch, she notes.


OSR establishments

s

Choosing a variety that will establish quickly ifdrilling is delayed is a good idea, says Philip Marr.

Hybrids are the best option when conditionsbecome challenging, says Sarah Middleton.

Predicting CSFB migration is the major flaw indrilling early as a strategy to avoid damage,believes Steve Ellis.

l Select correct field and soil type to grow OSRl Ensure rotational position does not

compromise crop e.g. sulfonylurea residues from preceding wheat crops can inhibit OSR establishment

l Check macro and micro soil nutrition is sufficient

l Tailor variety choice to individual fieldsl Consider Clearfield varieties where SU

residues are present, or weed pressure is particularly high (may remove need for pre-emergence herbicide)

Tips for getting crops ahead of CSFB

l Drill early into moist, fine seedbeds and consolidate well

l Be prepared to switch to an alternative crop if suitable conditions do not occur before cut-off for OSR drilling (typically first or second week in Sept)

l Monitor pest pressure closelyl Spray pyrethroids at night if treatment

threshold reachedl Increase seeding rates to allow for feeding

losses (CSFB can account for 50% loss).

but young seedlings can be killed. As a rule of thumb, this pest isn’t usually a problem unless crops emerge before theend of Aug. If UK growers were to drill muchearlier, it may become more of an issue here too.”

For Steve Ellis, the best approach forcombatting CSFB is integrated pest management. He says that ADAS are currently undertaking analysis of datasets tounderstand the relationship between sowingdate, larval and adult populations. The goodnews is that he’s confident that soon they’llhave a clearer picture of how importantdrilling date is in terms of adult and larvalpopulations.

“Another strategy against CSFB is to drill later to avoid the main period of migration. The downside is this could create problems if the ground isn’t workableor conditions aren’t right. That’s where aresilient variety really comes into its own.”

Late drilling varieties is more commonplace than early drilling. OSR

specialist, Philip Marr, says it’s important to remember sowing shouldn’t always bedictated by calendar date.

“Over the years I’ve seen many growersdoing what we call ‘mauling the seed in’ so they can say they’ve got it all done by 20 Aug, or whatever their deadline is. You’ve got to drill when the conditions areright. That’s when you have the right soiltemperature and a seedbed that will givegood seed-soil contact. This will give theseed the best opportunity to germinate and get quickly up and away.”

Some growers may be concerned withdrilling later, but Philip Marr reassures growers that this is a viable option.

Adapt your plans“It’s okay to drill in late Sept, but you have toadapt your plans accordingly. That meansensuring you have a good quality seedbedin place, with adequate nutrition, especiallynitrogen to support the crop.”

He adds that variety decision-making is acritical factor in successful late drilling too.He points to the speed in leaf developmentas a way to understandhow a variety performs during establishment.

“Several of the popular conventionals areslow to develop. If you’d selected a varietylike this but couldn’t drill because the conditions weren’t right, you’re then forced to drill the slow variety late. Instead, I’d recommend selecting a variety with eitherthe flexibility to be sown in the ‘normal’ window or with enough resilience to be sownlate as well. For me that usually meansdrilling a fast-developing hybrid.”

Sarah Middleton, seeds and traits campaign manager at Bayer, agrees withPhilip Marr. She says it’s in the challengingconditions, such as a late drilled scenario,that hybrids really come into their own.

Bayer has been running trials for severalyears to compare the differences between

hybrids and conventionals to better understand where hybrids fit within the market.

“It’s clear hybrids come into their own inchallenging conditions. Previously growersmay have planted hybrids on their best landto get the most out of them, but increasinglywe’re seeing the best results when hybridsare exposed to difficult conditions such asdrought, pest and disease pressure, as wellas late drilling.

“In all the years we’ve been comparinghybrids and conventionals, this season thedifferences have been the most profound. At our trials site in Callow, Herefords, wedrilled hybrids and conventionals side byside on 29 Sept 2016. We saw that thehybrids were still able to grow away quickly,with our most vigorous variety, InVigor 1035,well established less than 10 weeks afterdrilling. By contrast, the market-leading conventional varieties had much lower green leaf areas.”

Philip Marr concludes that above all else,carefully monitor the conditions and askyourself ‘what will I do if I’m late?’ n


OSR establishment

s

The top performing OSR growers

have a strategy for establishing their crops

that adapts to the season.

“

”

Tip the OSR balance in your favourTechnical

Arable resilienceA deficit of European supplymeans prospects for oilseed

rape look good, providedcrops drilled this autumn

get off to a good start.CPM seeks the key

ingredients for success.

By Tom Allen-Stevens

For growers looking to build resilience intotheir system, oilseed rape offers potentialfinancial and rotational benefits, but cropmanagement can be a tricky call, notesFrontier head of technical services,James Moldon.

“At the moment, it’s a profitable crop ––most can grow it for £300/t or less and themarket price is easily the right side of that.The challenge comes when out of five fieldsyou grow, three are good, one is averageand one underperforms.”

Key to increasing the crop’s success is agood establishment, he says. “But it’s a falseeconomy to do the bare minimum to get acrop in case it fails –– you’ve potentiallyresigned yourself to losing the battle beforeit’s started. The top performing OSR growershave a strategy for establishing their crops that adapts tothe season, using moisture levels as theindicator rather thancalendar date.

“The secret is to tip the balance in your favour –– understand the challengesyou’ll face and build in the managementpractices that’ll guard against them.”

The secret for James Moldon is to understandthe challenges you’ll face and build in themanagement practices that’ll guard againstthem.

The first challenge to get to grips with isthe market, which can be highly volatile, butoffers UK growers some key opportunities,explains Frontier head of oilseed tradingPhilip Kimber. “Rapeseed is part of theoilseed complex, which is a truly global market place. It is driven largely by the predominance of soybeans with a globalproduction of around 350M tonnes, add tothat another 62M tonnes of canola, which weknow as rapeseed. Both of these compete invegetable oil and protein markets. Soybeanproduction is heavily dominated by Northand South America where the crops aremore vulnerable to severe and extremeweather, making it a volatile and difficult to predict production.”

Phenomenal growthSoya in particular has enjoyed “phenomenal” growth over the decades,buoyed by changing diets in China and Asia spurring on demand. “I don’t see thatchanging any time soon, and the productionvolatility elsewhere plays nicely into thehands of UK growers where we enjoy a more stable climate for oilseed production.”

What’s more, Europe is in deficit onrapeseed, and imports around 3-4M tonnesannually. “Here in the UK, the area of cropfor 2017 harvest is around 530,000ha, but we need around 650,000ha to fulfil crush capacity.”

Frontier’s parent company Cargill operates two large crushes in Liverpool andHull, with ADM running the UK’s largestcrush at Erith, A fourth, smaller crush atStratford is currently under construction.

“There’s good domestic demand andprocessors far prefer a relatively well pricedhome-grown crop of known quality crop overimported rapeseed. But if our domestic market is constantly undersupplied, future investment in UK processing could look lesscertain” Philip Kimber warns.

So how can growers consistently benefitfrom supplying this market but guard againstits volatile prices? “It’s always a good strategy to sell a percentage forward securing margins,” he advises. “For example,Frontier’s Harvest Plus contract allows growers to fix a minimum price, but still gainshould there be a later market upturn.

“Then there are Frontier pools where youcould get the benefit of sophisticated marketintelligence and monitoring from a tradingteam who will work throughout the season to maximise their pool growers’ margins.


s

Storage contracts are also available toallow swift harvest movement yet allow growers to remain in the market. With such volatility timing is certainly of prime

importance,” he advises.So the market’s there, it’s prospects are

good and there are ways you can protectagainst its volatility. But none of this information answers the question of whether

you should invest in the crop in the first place. “What you can’t afford to do is to put the

crop in and expect it to fend for itself,” advises Frontier crop production specialist Paul Cartwright. “If you invest in the crop in its

More than many other crops, nutrition plays amajor role in OSR establishment, believesFrontier national crop nutrition technical manager Edward Downing.

“The challenge for the crop is that it’s a verysmall seed, giving it limited energy reserves topush out roots and shoots. So once it germinates, it’ll be dependent on what it canfind in close proximity,” he says.

Coupled with this is the flea beetle challenge.“Without a seed treatment, you have to stack everything in your favour, so anything that will encourage the plant to get away will be of benefit.

“So you must do something to feed theemerging crop, and most importantly, do itstraight away, at or before drilling,” he advises.

Nitrogen is needed, but more importantlyphosphate in this early phase, he explains. “TheOSR root goes down and then out. Key to itsdevelopment is access to P –– that’s a nutrientthat doesn’t travel in the soil, so the root has tofind it. For this reason, placement of P fertilisercan be very beneficial but this relies on thecapabilities of the drill.”

Organic manures fit in nicely. “They’re fantastic for OSR, providing readily available Pand N as well as organic nutrients that willbecome available as the season progresses,”he says.

“You need to incorporate manures to avoid

ammonia loss, but note that ploughing themdown may put the nutrients out of reach of theyoung roots in the important early establishmentphase. Be careful that poultry manure, anaerobicdigestate and slurry aren’t applied at excessiverates, but biosolids often work well. Also watch forcompaction at application –– you’ll undo all thegood if you restrict taproot growth.”

Mineral applications must be made before,at or immediately after drilling, he says. “Again,focus on getting the P as close to the seed as you can. We’ve done plenty of trials worklooking at autumn nutrition and the differentways to apply it, and while kit on the drill can be very effective, the overriding factor is to getthe timing right.

“Diammonium phosphate (DAP) is the product of choice –– an application of 166kg/hadelivers 30kgN/ha and 76kg/ha of P2O5. If thiscan be placed at drilling, great but if not anoverall application immediately after drilling canstill be very effective (see chart opposite). Ifshallow cultivating, consider doing this beforedrilling so it’s incorporated into the germinationzone by the drill.”

Some drills can’t cope with true granular fertiliser, he notes, only being able to applymicro-granules or even liquid products.“But these can be just as effective as DAP in the establishment phase although note the total P applied will be lower when managing

Nutrition need at drilling

crop offtakes.”OSR plants will suffer if magnesium levels are

low, so these should be checked and rectified with an early spring application ofKieserite fertiliser (magnesium sulphate).Growers might also want to consider an earlyfoliar treatment if soil levels are low. Boron is alsoessential for bud formation, which takes place pre-Christmas, and helps winter hardiness.So again, an autumn foliar application can be beneficial, notes Edward Downing.

“Potash isn’t needed in great quantities untilearly spring, so immediately post-Christmas isthe best time to apply it. And as you go into thespring, manage the canopy, but the story that’soften lost here is total N need. Just because thecanopy is large, don’t assume you can cut backon total dose. You can’t deliver high yields onlow N rates, so the trick to canopy managementis timing the dose correctly,” he concludes.

The challenge for OSR is that it’s a very smallseed with limited energy reserves to push outroots and shoots, notes Edward Downing.

Response of OSR to an early biostimulant

Source: Frontier 3D trials, Haywold 2016-17; cv InV1030; seed rate 60 seeds/m2, drilled 9 Sept.

Paul Cartwright’s main tactic for overcoming fleabeetle is fast, sure and vigorous establishment upto the four-leaf stage.

Arable resilience


s

s

For Essex grower Alan Black, based at GrangeFarm, Tendring, success with oilseed rape is allabout ensuring the seed is sown in the right conditions.

“I go by conditions on the day, not calendardate,” he explains. “Last autumn, we waited untilwe knew there’d be enough rain, which didn’thappen until 9 Sept, which is when we drilled.Many other crops in the area had already failed by then.”

His OSR crop not only pulled through, but isone of the best crops looked after by Frontieragronomist Marcus Mann. “It’s a late drilled crop,but Alan has generally avoided large amounts ofcabbage stem flea beetle damage. I believe that’sdown to how the crop’s managed in those earlystages.”

The farm has 200ha of arable on mediumloam soils, with OSR the main break after twowheats. “We always try to put OSR behind Gallantbecause the straw chops to dust, which helpsestablishment,” says Alan Black.

The ground isn’t touched until a single passwith a 3m He-Va Combi-Lift and KRM seeder unitthat places the seed behind the six subsoiler legs.“You can put the discs in or out as necessary to

cover the slots, but the crucial bit is the packer roller.

“We then follow immediately with a 6mFarmforce Double Press, towing a set of DalboCambridge rolls, and if conditions allow, we’llmake another pass with the 12m DalboCambridge rolls. The Double Press does the mostgood, bringing up moisture from further downwhich helps get the seed germinating.”

Last autumn, 32ha of conventional varietiesOvation and Picto were drilled at 70 seeds/m2,aiming for a final population of 35 plants/m2. “I’vetrialled hybrids, but I reckon there’s no noticeabledifference in vigour. The speed of emergence isdown to how long the seed is sitting around waiting for moisture.”

Diammonium phosphate was applied at166kg/ha at cotyledon stage to feed the youngplant, reports Marcus Mann. “It should go onimmediately after drilling but there is the concern to spend on the crop until we can see it’s emerged.”

The same goes for the herbicide –– Elk(metazachlor+ quinmerac+ dimethenamid-p) was applied at the two-leaf stage. This was ollowed up with Astrokerb (aminopyralid+

Field-condition focus for a successful crop

propyzamide) in Nov. “Blackgrass and especiallyryegrass are a problem on this farm, and we’lloften use an early Crawler (carbetamide) orCenturion Max (clethodim) application to keepthem in check. But the key to grassweed controlis to get the crop established and away early on.

“We try to avoid pyrethroids and instead aimto give the young crop growth stimulants, so we’lluse Radix or Tauron at the 2-3 true-leaf stage.Refinzar (penthiopyrad+ picoxystrobin) at 0.5 l/hawas applied to keep phoma out and for rootenhancement, but again the main defence hereis to ensure it grows away well.”

Alan Black chooses drilling date by conditionson the day, not calendar date, and carefullymanages the early stages.

early stages, you’re more likely to reap the rewards later on.”

OSR establishment has come underscrutiny through years of Frontier’s 3D trials. These have honed managementadvice, he says, and highlighted some keyingredients that will stack the odds in yourfavour and deliver a crop cover into the winter you can rely on.

“Much of it comes down to how you manage your rotation and your system. The crucial aspect is to drill when you know the crop will grow straight away. That means it needs moisture and goodseed-to-soil contact.”

You can’t predict when the moisture willcome, but you can ensure your system hasthe flexibility to respond to the weather

windows when they offer themselves. “It’s a busy time of year, but OSR drilling needs to be prioritised. And a good entry in therotation, such as winter barley, rather thanlate maturing wheat or a spring crop, allowsyou to prepare the ground.”

Regarding pests, the number one nemesis is cabbage stem flea beetle, andPaul Cartwright’s main tactic for overcoming

Arable resilience

s

Arable resilience

UK Farming is facing changing times which willbring both new challenges and opportunities.Whatever happens, businesses that adapt andhave a resilient strategy in place will be betterplaced to weather the changes and emerge fitter and stronger, ready to take advantage of what lies ahead. But what does that mean on farm?

In this sponsored series, CPM has teamed up with experts from Frontier to examine theeveryday management decisions and explorewhat separates a resilient strategy from one that

leaves a business exposed. From rotations,nutrition and precision techniques, through seedchoice, genetics and markets to soil and planthealth, the aim is to highlight the elements thatensure the arable business thrives.

Arable resilience

it is fast, sure and vigorous establishment upto the four-leaf stage. “Much of the vigour willcome from the variety, so match conditionsto the variety you choose.”

Drilling date is a key factor, with earlybeing first half of Aug, mid to late Aug aboutaverage and late once it gets into Sept. “At the mid to late drilling dates, vigourbecomes more important.”

Grassweeds will be an issue for many,and Paul Cartwright advises growers with a serious blackgrass issue to considerwhether it’s wise to put those fields into OSR.“Are you in a get-fit phase or keep-fit phaseof dealing with blackgrass? If the former,spring breaks may be the better option.”

Once in the ground, nutrition is the key ingredient (see panel on p26). “But will the crop pick it up? Give it every encouragement to put out its roots, especially the taproot –– any compactedlayer will hinder crop development.”

There are other ways to encourage rootgrowth, and Paul Cartwright picks out one ortwo products that have done well in Frontiertrials. “A phosphite seed coating is a goodway to promote root growth. Then the plantbenefits from a top-up at the two-leaf stage–– we’ve found Tauron applied with the earlyherbicide or insecticide helps stimulategrowth. This contains zinc ammoniumacetate that alters the hormone levels in theyoung plant, stimulating root growth. Until itgets to the four-leaf stage, the plant is at itsmost vulnerable.”

Autumn is the time for phoma control andto start light leaf spot protection, he notes.“The right variety will help here, and a bigplant early on will reduce the potential damage from phoma infections.”

But all of this advice comes with a caveat.“It’ll be a nice problem to have, but you may end up with a crop that’s too big. Be

Yield responses to phosphate

Source: Frontier 3D trials.

prepared to apply a fungicide with a growthregulatory effect or Caryx (metconazole+mepiquat-chloride) before winter sets in.” n

50%

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15%

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5%

0%Flea beetle Slugs Pigeons Pollen beetle

What are the biggest pest problems you face in your area?

TechnicalOSR survey

Oilseed rape is a challengingcrop to grow, with some of

the key issues highlighted ina study conducted by DSV

and CPM. However, tacticalvariety choice can be a

useful tool in combattingsome of the biggest issues

growers face.

By Charlotte Cunningham

Using fast-growing, hybrid

varieties and not plantingearly can really help

mitigate the threat fromflea beetle.

“

”

Traits can temper the OSR challenge

There’s no denying that over the past fewyears, oilseed rape has seen a decline ingrower numbers on the back of highgrowing costs, pest pressures and stagnant yields. However, with priceslooking more promising and geneticimprovements making their way on to the market, OSR can be a viable growingoption once again.

As with any crop or livestock enterprise,markets are the main influence on the viability of OSR. So, it comes as no surprise that a recent survey undertakenby CPM and DSV reveals that the biggestincentive for farmers to grow OSR is ahigher price for the crops. Some 47% of respondents placed this as the topincentive, followed by less anxiety overestablishment, at 28%.

“UK oilseed prices are hugely dependenton both worldwide market and currency,so are open to fluctuations,” says ChrisGuest at Gleadell. “We’ve seen that ineffect over the past 12 months with OSRprices bouncing around a lot.”

Serious burdenAs well as financial pressures, pests have been a serious burden to growersover the past few years. Flea beetleappears to be the biggest problem facedby growers, with nearly 45% of the 260survey participants noting this as theirmain cause for concern (see chart above),followed by slugs (34%) and pigeons(21%).

“The flea-beetle pressure on OSR is

increasing, and in certain areas of the UKgrowers are struggling to even grow thecrop,” says Chris Guest. “The post-harvestperiod can be very dry, and limited moisture means that flea-beetle damageincreases. The pressure is particularlysevere in Essex, Cambs and Herts, butthis area is increasing.”

Mike Mann at DSV agrees. “Flea beetleis a big issue in most areas,” he says. “Inreality, for plant breeders it’s difficult asthere are minor differences in palatabilityin the field.”

So how can growers tackle this? It’s allabout drilling when conditions are right,explains Chris Guest. “For growers drillingearlier when there is more moisture, theyneed to be using varieties with very stiff


eSo, can the economics of growinga conventional variety stack upagainst a hybrid? As winter barleybecomes a more favourable inclusion in cropping plans ––allowing a better drilling windowfor OSR –– independent agronomist Richard Alcock reckons it can.

“Because of the climatic situation in which the UK findsitself, it’s essential to control therisk around growing a crop,regardless of whether it’s a hybridor conventional,” he explains. “In awell managed situation, there’sabsolutely the same potential forconventional varieties. There’s noright or wrong –– it comes downto the individual farm and personalexperience.”

The popularity of hybrids hasgrown markedly since their introduction, with farmers hungryfor varieties boasting strongeragronomic characteristics to helpbattle some of the biggest issueswith growing OSR. Of course, it’sno secret that OSR has beenhampered with pest pressures

over recent times so it’s no surprise that 53% of growersattribute better establishment andpest resilience as the biggestadvantage of hybrid varieties (see chart below).

“Increased pest resilience dueto establishment really is the truebenefit of hybrids –– particularlyin challenging situations,” saysChris Guest. “There are directlinks with pest resilience thanksto the strong vigour, especiallywith pigeons as they don’t likelanding on green cover.”

Aside from reliability, higheryields and disease resistance,11% of participants believe thereare other reasons to grow ahybrid variety. These includeincorporation of the pod shattergene and Clearfield technology.

“Clearfield is a very attractivetrait of hybrid varieties,” explainsChris Guest. “One of the biggestspends for arable farmers is pre-emergence herbicides –– this attribute helps minimisespending.”

Growers look for hybrid edge

If drilling’s delayed, Chris Guestbelieves hybrid varieties are ideally

suited due to their get up and go nature.

What do you perceive as being the biggest advantagesof hybrid varieties?

straw –– possibly semi dwarfvarieties,” he adds.

“For those looking to delaydrilling until the days are cooler–– and consequently flea-beetlemovement isn’t as strong ––then hybrid varieties are s

In terms of disease, phoma and light leaf spotcame out as the top concern, with 35% of growers rating each of them as their number onedisease issue (see chart below). AHDB estimatesthat phoma causes losses of around £100 millioneach season, making it one of the biggest threatsto OSR growers.

However, with chemical developments nowmaking phoma fairly straightforward to control,it’s a surprise this is such a major concern forgrowers, says Chris Guest. “Phoma is certainly a more controllable disease,” he explains.

“Alongside fungicides, variety choice can be auseful tool in combatting the disease. Selectingvarieties with a robust score also provides growers with flexibility in the autumn to hold offon their first spray to target optimum LLS timingand clearing up phoma at the same time.”

Perhaps bizarrely, while phoma ranked highlyin growers’ concerns, this isn’t reflected in salespatterns, says Mike Mann. “Some of the highestlist varieties have poor phoma scores –– growerscertainly don’t seem concerned in their buyinghabits.”

It’s less surprising to see LLS topping thetable, as it has become a real issue in recentyears, not only in its traditional territory ofScotland and northern England, but right acrossthe country. It’s estimated to cause yield losses of up to 1.5t/ha and costs the industry £30-160million every year.

Changing weather patterns have favoured thisyield-stripping disease, making varieties withhigher resistance ratings a more attractivechoice. “When selecting varieties, I’d recommendnot going lower than a six for LLS resistance innorthern regions,” says Chris Guest. “Look at allthe data available, and see if and how the scoreshave changed over the years.”

Location plays a huge role in disease pressures, and it’s important for growers to be

aware of particular threats in their area and plan for this, says Chris Guest. “I’m surprised verticillium wilt isn’t more of a concern,” he adds.“Recently, we’ve seen some severely affectedcrops in East Anglia.”

However, while resistance ratings can be auseful tool, growers shouldn’t overlook the importance of a pre-planned fungicide programme, says independent agronomist Richard Alcock. “The climatic situation is drivingan increased reliance on spraying rather thanresistance,” he explains. “It would be wrong tosuggest solely relying on disease ratings.”

This view is echoed by growers, as 57% don’t believe a higher rating on the AHDBRecommended List correlates to a lower spend on farm. Varieties with higher disease resistanceoffer higher insurance for farmers, but manygrowers still spray as a precautionary tool,says Mike Mann.

“Though there are varieties with good,growers should use variety choice in conjunctionwith a sound fungicide programme,” heexplains. “Farmers shouldn’t solely rely onresistance ratings to tackle disease; however,variety choice gives more flexibility when itcomes to spraying.”

By contrast, 43% of growers do believe there is a link between high disease ratings and lowerspend on farm. But with an undeniably high growing cost, growers need to be prepared toinvest in OSR to maximise its potential, saysRichard Alcock. “My advice is to never be in a situation where you don’t spray –– it should bebuilt into the programme to protect the crop.”

Though the RL has traditionally been the holygrail when it comes to variety choice, only 16% ofrespondents say it’s essential that the varietiesthey’re growing feature on it (see chart below).Some 57% of growers feel that it’s important butnot critical, with 13% believing it’s not at all

Look further than RL for OSR traits

important and 14% thinking it’s only slightly important. It’s therefore fair to say the overwhelming message is that growers are usingmore sources than just the RL to influence theirvariety choice.

So, why are growers less reliant on the RL?“OSR is a very interesting crop as there are a lot of options available for growers,” says ChrisGuest. “What it comes down to is this: What dopeople have trust in?

“The benefit of choosing varieties on the RL isthat the data is collated independently,” he adds.“Breeders are constantly improving and using better genetics so it’s always worth looking at atrial area of a candidate variety to give the bestchance at growing something with optimum grossoutput and disease resistance for your farm.”

However, Richard Alcock warns there’s less independent advice available on candidate varieties. “Arable farming is all about risk management, whether that is in terms of disease or market risk,” he says. “My adviceto growers is not to go near a variety that isn’t

on the RL –– you just don’t know what you’redealing with.”

While the big advantage of the RL is its independence, it doesn’t cover everthing,says Mike Mann. “Clearfield varieties aren’t recommended, for example, but for mainstreamtypes, the RL is the place to start.”

Though growers are almost spoilt for choicewith so many varieties on the market, what itcomes down to is deciding what works best for the individual farm. “Growers need to look carefully at all the data available to them and try to use independent data,” says Mike Mann.“It’s useful to seek advice from other growers as well as focusing on what characteristics are important and will work for them as an individual.”

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%Phoma Light Leaf Spot Downy Mildew Sclerotina Verticillium Wilt

What are the main diseases you are concerned with? How important is it that the varieties you are growing appear on the AHDB Recommended List?

OSR survey


Congratulations to John Charity fromPeterborough, Cambs, who’s the lucky winner ofa state-of-the-art DJI Phantom 3 drone for takingpart in the CPM/Dupont/DSV survey.

He responded to the survey and completedthe tie-breaker question with the reply deemedbest by the judging panel. “Good establishment,good rooting and good vigour equals good podsize, good seed size and good yield,” was his

winning answer to the tiebreaker question thatasked for the key ingredients to delivering betterperformance from oilseed rape.

The aim of the survey was to gather views onoilseed rape and the key decisions around varietychoice and disease control. To take part in the nextsurvey, make sure we have the correct details foryou by emailing [email protected]

Establishment proves a winning route

Mike Mann points out there some very goodvarieties, such as Clearfield, that haven’t made

it on to the AHDB Recommended List.

What proportion of your crop is grownusing hybrid varieties?

OSR survey

ideally suited due to their get up and go nature. If you’re drilling into Septthen hybrids are recommended –– itmakes sense to utilise genetic hybridvigour.”

Hybrids can play a huge role in reducing the effect of flea beetle, saysMike Mann. “Using fast-growing, hybridvarieties and not planting early can reallyhelp mitigate the threat from flea beetle,”he explains. “Growers have noticeablymore success when planting into Sept.”

Today, hybrid varieties make up around60% of OSR grown in the UK. But there isa real split between farmers, with 39% ofrespondents saying they don’t grow anyhybrids at all. In contrast, 28% only growhybrids, with 18% putting at least half theirOSR area down to hybrid varieties (seechart below).

This implies farmers are either completelyon board with the benefits of hybrids, or notat all, says Chris Guest. “When it comes tohybrids, there are two distinct grower types –– those who are cost sensitive and thosewho fully believe in the benefits of hybrid varieties,” he explains.

“There isn’t the same level of investmentas a few years ago –– many growers worryabout investing in a crop they could lose.The loss of treatments like neonicotinoidshas influenced a swing back to conventionalvarieties.” That said, of those growers

s

using hybrids right now, a greater proportion plan to increase their use than cut back in future. n

is also an effective means of removing the food sources forslugs, as well as facilitating low disturbance establishmentmethods.

Balanced with these considerations, stubble also provides an important source of food for seed-eating birds.

When does it start? The start of stubble management is dependent on the target weeds,but will be pre-harvest whereperennial weeds are present.Glyphosate can be used to controlcreeping thistle, couch and volunteer potatoes as well as anyother perennial weeds in the crop.

A good even chop of strawhelps with subsequent spray treatments. Straw residues that arespread evenly across the width ofthe combine cut are essential tominimise dense weed swaths,which may be competitive with the following crop.

Another area to pay considerationto at harvest-time is managing harvest traffic. Minimising extrawheelings, which increase therisk of compaction, is the aim.

Do cultivations help? Should a stubble be cultivatedimmediately after the combineleaves the field? This is the million-dollar question and mostlikely will depend on the weedyou’re trying to control.

Smart stubblestrategiesGetting on-top of weeds in stubbles is acost-efficient way of reducing their impactin the following crop and removing the‘green bridge’. CPM asks the experts forsome tips on how to get the best out oftheir stubble management.


Certainly, the move to minimum-disturbance cultivationtechniques has made the management of surface trash andabsolute removal of any weedsthat have got several weeks headstart, absolutely crucial elementsof successfully establishing a crop.

Getting the best out of stubblemanagement is very muchdependent on understanding the biology of the weeds being targeted. ADAS weed scientists,Dr Sarah Cook and Dr Lynn Tatnellexplain some of the sciencebehind successful stubble cleaning.

What’s the aim of stubblemanagement? Stubbles offer the best opportunityto control a wide range of autumn-germinating grassweedspecies, particularly blackgrass,brome and volunteer cereals. Thisyear, after the hot weather duringseed ripening in June, blackgrasswill be expected to have a low dormancy. This means that it willgerminate as soon as conditionsbecome favourable, allowing growers to spray off one or more flushes of the weed before planting.

Controlling weeds and volunteers will remove the greenbridge between crops, reducingthe risk of BYDV transmission andyellow rust inoculum on volunteerwheat plants. Cleaning the stubble

seedbeds as a crucial part oftheir blackgrass managementstrategy, as well as an opportunity to get on top of other troublesome weeds such as volunteer potatoes.

Growers looking to establish autumn cereal cropsneed to clean up weeds and volunteers in stubblesas quickly as possible.Volunteer oilseed rape cancause problems by shading emergingblackgrass and some broadleaf weedsare poorly controlled by conventionalglyphosate formulations.

Increasing problems with all-manner of grassweeds in therotation have promoted theimportance of agronomy beforethe crop is even planted, to alevel almost on a par with that in the planted crop. Many agronomists swear by stale

A whole field uncontrolled isn’ta sign of glyphosate

resistance.”“

Stubble management


Tech Talk

achieve the right balance betweenweeds and crop competitiveness,which is not always easy. In somecases, to assist with weed management it’s best to keepseed rates lower to allow weeds toemerge. In other cases, a verycompetitive cover crop is favouredto suppress and out-compete theweeds preventing emergence.

When it comes to destroyingthe cover crop, this should bedone before any weeds set seed.

What about dormancy? Dormancy is a mechanism to prevent germination during unsuitable ecological conditions,when the probability of seedling survival is low.

Innate or primary dormancy is a natural condition that develops as the seed matures. It preventspremature germination of the seedwhilst the seed is attached to the plant, or just after shedding. A period of dormancy also allowsfor dispersal of the seed to avoidpossible poor growing conditionsaround and competition from theparent plant.

Enforced or secondary

dormancy takes place when environmental conditions e.g. temperature or light areunfavourable. This type of dormancy can be long-term andseeds remain in the seedbank to germinate in future years.

If the weather during seedripening (June) is hot, then dormancy will be low. In practice,this means that any freshly shedseed will germinate rapidly if moisture is present. In contrast,when this period is cold then dormancy will be high and germination will be protracted.

Moisture is key for dormancy

Stubble management provides the idealtime to pick up on a multitude of sins,believes Dick Neale, Hutchinsons technical manager.

The rain at the end of June provideda short but hefty dose of rain in manyareas in what is turning out to be a predominantly dry season. That has leftmany growers uncomfortable with aflush of late weeds emerging in cropsthat have looked pristine up until now,he points out.

“Although it’s not pleasing to look at,these late weeds aren’t going to affectyields and are a perfect candidate forsome pre-harvest glyphosate. It’s akey time to get on top of weeds suchas thistles, volunteer potatoes and late-emerging weeds after the rain,such as fat-hen, groundsel, charlockand OSR.

“Tackling weeds in the stubble is akey time to get on top of increasinglydifficult broadleaf weeds. The questionwhether or not to cultivate reallydepends on whether you’re targeting

perennial weeds. These need to beintact or have re-growth to get enoughglyphosate uptake,” he advises.

Dick Neale highlights semi-glyphosate tolerant thistles as atough kill, along with small nettle andannual mercury on light land andchrysanthemum on the Fens.

“When targeting these weeds, youget an enhanced kill from Kyleo. Its formulation is a step-on from standardglyphosate,” he says.

When it comes to dealing withgrassweeds in stubbles, there’s nogeneric solution, he believes.

“We have to sit down with theknowledge we have and make a plan.Last season, we learned that with hightemperatures and dry conditions, it’sbest to leave as much blackgrass seedon the surface as possible and let UVlight do its work –– it desiccates veryquickly.”

One attribute Dick Neale suggests is needed when looking at stubbles ispatience. Even growers who have

moved to shallow tillage struggle to get out of the mindset that they mustcultivate as soon as the combinecomes out of the field, he points out.

“If you’re only moving the top 5cmof soil, you can make a seedbedstraight away so it’s best to sit backand let the sun do its work. Let anygreen that comes through take themoisture out of the soil, like a covercrop. Then you can pick and choosehow you manage your stale seedbed–– incorporate glyphosate usage withcultivations for mechanical death.”

As far as blackgrass is concerned,he’s expecting a low dormancy season.“If you get in too early with the cultivatorthen all you will do is protect the blackgrass seed by burying it awayfrom sunlight. So stand back and think‘I can afford to wait’,” he advises.

He firmly believes it’s best to createa seedbed when all conditions are right,and then go straight in with the drill.

“Some growers still knock downtheir seedbeds ready for mid-Sept,

even if drilling in Oct. But that extramonth of weathering creates aseedbed that’s too good and then canget wet. If you are going to work soilsearly, you need to leave a rougherseedbed to avoid this,” he adds.

If left alone, weeds will germinate successfully without theaid of a shallow cultivation andsome weed seeds actually need tobe left on the surface so they canripen –– rye, soft and meadowbrome are examples of seeds thatare immature when shed. Whenleft on the stubble surface, birdsand beetles will predate seeds thatare present.

Plan your main cultivation to prepare the seedbed. Ploughingcan successfully bury freshly shed

Fools rush in

weed seed but it can also bring upseed that was ploughed down inprevious seasons. For blackgrass,rotational ploughing every 3-4 years is the best way to control emergence from the seed bank.

No-till methods will leave weedseed on the stubble surface andthese can be controlled prior todrilling with a non-selective herbicide such as glyphosate or Kyleo (glyphosate+ 2,4-D).

On the other hand, a one-passsystem that mixes the soil to 10-20cm, will mix freshly-shed seed with old seed throughout the profile, making weeds moredifficult to manage.

Do cover crops help? Cover crops have many benefits,and in particular, they can improve the soil and increase soilorganic matter. But as for theireffectiveness for weed control,information is lacking, thoughsome claim a beneficial effect onmanaging blackgrass populations.

Often establishment of covercrops can be difficult, whichmeans careful consideration andcrop choices are required to

One attribute Dick Neale suggests isneeded when looking at stubbles is patience.


Sarah Cook points out that removingthe green bridge is an important partof pest and disease control.

Stubble cleaning is an ideal time todeal with volunteer potatoes andother broadleaf weeds.

Tech Talks

Stubble management:top tips

Kyleo is a highly optimised suspension concentrate formulationcontaining glyphosate, 2,4-D andhigh-tech surfactant. With a broaderweed spectrum, and faster actionthan glyphosate alone, Kyleo hasshown to be more reliable than conventional glyphosates under coolerconditions. Its unique surfactant system provides superior control of grass and broadleaf weeds.

The formulation is stronglylipophilic, adhering to and penetratingthe waxy layer of weeds very efficiently and providing excellent rainfastness. Radio tracer experimentsin cereals and OSR have shown 98%

Sponsor message

l Know which weed is the prime target – devise an approach to take account of its dormancy

l Prevent survivors – apply the right dose, at the right time under the right condition.

l Monitor your success – identifyreasons for any poor control and adapt approach if necessary

break. No moisture equates to non-emergence of weeds orcrops. Rolling is good, this consolidates the soil, retainingmoisture and improving soil toseed contact.

What about glyphosateresistance?There is no known glyphosateresistance in the UK. However,due to the risk of resistance WRAGproduced guidelines in 2015 tohelp prevent glyphosate resistanceand a two-page summary of theguidelines (AHDB InformationSheet 03) is available from theAHDB website –– ahdb.org.uk

The current guidelines arebased on four key resistance management principles:1. Prevent survivors: Avoid repeatapplications to surviving plants. 2. Maximise efficacy: Apply theright dose rate (reduced ratesincrease the risk of reduced efficacy), at the right timing, in the right conditions.3. Use alternatives: Use non-chemical options (such as cultivation), where practical, anduse other herbicides in sequence.4. Monitor success: Remove survivors and report potentialresistance issues to your advisorand/or the product manufacturer.

On production of the guidelinesit was evident that there were datagaps for optimum blackgrass control from glyphosate, so a 5-year project has begun, led byADAS Boxworth, ‘Minimising therisk of glyphosate resistance in theUK’ (2015-2020), funded by AHDBCereals & Oilseeds (project 6131),Syngenta, Monsanto, FMC,Albaugh Europe, NuFarm, withsupport from Agrii, Agrovista,Frontier, and Hutchinsons.

So what are the signs of possible glyphosate resistance instubbles? Contrary to what youmight expect, a whole field uncontrolled isn’t a sign ofglyphosate resistance. If small,distinct patches are starting to betroublesome, that’s where youshould be more concerned andimmediately remove all plants. To do this, hand rogueing is probably the best option.

How is the herbicide best used? As the guidelines suggest, thebest use of glyphosate is toachieve complete control and prevent any survivors. Keeping the rates up and considering thegrowth stage of the target weed is essential for effective control.Don’t be tempted to do lots ofrepeated low doses to cut costs.All this will do is to increase therisk of glyphosate resistancedeveloping.

Weather conditions aroundapplication are an important to factor in. Glyphosate doesn’tfavour colder conditions and


This season, blackgrass dormancy isexpected to be low so the first flushmay be early.

Lynn Tatnell says distinct patches ofuncontrolled weeds may be a sign of glyphosate resistance.

No-till methods will leave weed seedon the stubble surface and these canbe controlled prior to drilling withglyphosate.

Should the stubble be cultivated after harvest? This is the million-dollar questionand most likely will depend on the weed you’re trying to control.

of the glyphosate in Kyleo was taken-up by the plant within 48 hours,compared to just 74% with conventional glyphosate.

Repeated use of a single active canlead to resistance problems. Kyleo willhelp to reduce the risk of resistance tobroadleaf weeds, however no morethan two glyphosate-containing products should be applied to targetstubbles. Kyleo as a first spray shouldensure better performance from a follow-up with conventional glyphosate.

under these it may be slower to work effectively.

Another consideration is to look at other ways of spraying offcrops to take the pressure offglyphosate. For example, an alternative way to destruct covercrops could be by using a crimperroller, and trials are underway withthis technique as part of theInnovative Farmers field lab run by the Soil Association.

How do you monitor success? Monitoring your success is keywhen using stubble cleaning herbicides. Walk fields regularly,assessing for plant death and newemergence. Look out for shading,this can be seen when high populations of weeds have beentreated. Some broadleaf weeds,such as oilseed rape, can protectgrassweeds from receiving any herbicide and a second application may need to be made.

Shading can also happen

where only grassweeds are present and it’s important to identify this as a cause of lowerlevels of kill than anticipated. Itisn’t herbicide resistance. But ifthere is a concern that glyphosatehasn’t worked effectively on thefirst application, it may be beneficialto cultivate then apply a robustdose for the target weed growthstage (540g a.i. –– 1.5 l/ha of the360g a.i. glyphosate product –– orabove) when a new flush of weedshas emerged. n

Tech Talk

s

Technical Brome identification

Brome is an increasing problem on many farms, butdo you know which species

you’re dealing with? CPMgets some expert pointers onhow to differentiate between

the bromes and how to manage them.


Post-harvest management strategy

varies, depending on thespecies present.

“”

Not all brome is the same

Grassweed identification can be tricky but it’s massively important when itcomes to designing an effective controlstrategy, emphasises grassweed expert Dr Stephen Moss. For growers with abrome problem that means not just identifying brome, but pinpointing thespecies as well.

“There are five brome species that arecommonly found in arable fields, with sterile or barren brome (Bromus sterilis)the most predominant. It’s crucial to identify brome species because the post-harvest management strategy varies, depending on the species present,” he explains.

Clear divisionTo make matters easier, there’s a cleardivision between the bromes when itcomes to the best post-harvest strategy.Sterile brome and great brome (Bromusdiandrus) can be grouped together andare sometimes referred to as theAnisantha bromes.

“For these two species, light stops theseeds from germinating so a shallow cultivation, straight after harvest, willencourage a flush of the weed which can then be sprayed-off with glyphosate,” he comments.

But when it comes to the other

three species –– soft brome (Bromus hordaceous), meadow brome (Bromuscommutatus) and rye brome (Bromussecalinus) –– the opposite post-harvestmanagement applies.

“For these three bromes, sometimesreferred to as the Serrafalcus bromes, cultivations encourage dormancy becausethe seeds are immature when shed. It’sbest to leave their seeds on the surfaceimmediately after harvest so that they canripen, and delay any cultivations ideally for a minimum of four weeks,” advisesStephen Moss.

But there are possible exceptions tothese general rules, he adds. “Someresearch suggests that soft brome maybehave as sterile and great brome when itcomes to light exposure. The evidence isinconclusive but raises a question overwhether soft brome should be groupedwith rye and meadow brome when itcomes to post-harvest cultivation strategy.”

Ploughing has widely been regarded as


e

Stephen Moss believes that populations of ryebrome are probably underestimated.

Ploughing has traditionally been used for bromecontrol but isn’t always effective.

One grower who has seen a change in predominance of brome species on hisHerefords farm is Graham Watkins.

“Fifteen years ago, we had sterile brome butover the past ten years, soft brome specieshave been on the increase. Mostly brome hasn’t been too much of a problem on thefarm, but last season we had a real mess insome winter barley, so we’ve changed our herbicide strategy this year.”

So which brome species was it? Definitelynot sterile brome, replies Graham Watkins. Withthe brome identification leaflet in-hand, Grahamand his Procam agronomist, Tony Baker, set offacross the farm to pinpoint the culprit.

Brome was only evident around the headland in the winter barley, following aneffective autumn application of 0.5 l/ha

Graham Watkins and Tony Baker find threespecies of brome at Hawthorne farm inHerefords.

Liberator (diflufenican+ flufenacet) plus 0.3 l/haMovon (DFF+ flufenacet+ flurtamone). A fewsterile brome plants were easy to identify but themore predominant soft brome species provedmuch trickier to tell apart, says Tony Baker.

A spray-miss in a nearby wheat field provedrevealing, with poppy, mayweed and bromesstanding tall having escaped a spring applicationof Pixxaro (halauxifen-methyl+ fluroxypyr) and follow-up treatment of Broadway Star (florasulam+ pyroxsulam).

Back at the car, Tony Baker’s hand lens andknife come to the rescue, revealing tiny hairs on the spikelets of the two ‘soft’ brome speciesfound in the field.

“So it looks like we have soft brome and ryebrome,” says Tony Baker, with the shorterpedicels and more compact panicle distinguishing

Mixed brome population identified

the soft brome. To make absolutely sure, he findssome mature-looking seeds to cut in half. Sureenough, one of the cross-sections was a deep V-shape, indicating rye brome, while the other was the saucer-shape expected in soft brome.

Brome identification

the standard control method for allbromes, but this isn’t always the case withgreat brome, he points out. “Great bromehas a big seed, so seedlings can emergefrom depth. Keeping populations in checkusing ploughing wasn’t borne out in thelast brome survey, carried out in 1989,which may simply have been due to thedepth and quality of the ploughing,” suggests Stephen Moss.

Increasingly problems with bromespecies are being reported across the UK,says ADAS weed scientist, Laura Davies.For that reason, AHDB have commissioneda brome survey to get a better picture ofthe distribution of species and to developeffective integrated control strategiesbefore any major issues with the weedoccur, she explains.

“Currently we don’t know how the bromepopulation has changed over the past thirty years and whether this is linked toany issues with control. We expect somepopulations may be less sensitive to

herbicides, so as part of the project we’llbe using seed collected and sent in during the survey and conductingglasshouse experiments to select for thoseplants less easily controlled and so assessthe potential for resistance,” she explains.

Although resistance to herbicides inbrome hasn’t been identified in UK populations, this may be simply because it hasn’t been looked for yet, reckonsStephen Moss and he’s looking forward to seeing the results from the ADAS work.

“Brome populations in both France and Germany have been reported to beresistant to ALS and ACCase herbicidesso it’s something that needs looking at in the UK, especially as we rely heavily on the ALS inhibitor herbicides for brome control.

Variation in response“We do see variation in response to herbicides in different brome species.Great brome and rye brome can be harder to control with herbicides but theimpact of this in the field is unclear. As a self-pollinating weed, there is likely to be natural variation between different populations, which may not be resistancebut could indicate an increased insensitivityto herbicides,” he adds.

Stephen Moss believes that populationsof rye brome are probably underestimatedand certainly greater than reported in theAtlas of British Flora (2002). Surprisingly,no rye brome at all was identified in the1989 survey.

“It’s more difficult to distinguish betweensoft brome, meadow brome and rye brome

and I suspect many soft brome problemsare actually meadow or rye brome. Allthree species have oval-shaped spikeletswith shorter awns and the spikelet is narrower towards the tip, a distinguishingfeature from sterile and great bromeswhich have spreading awns on theirspikelet and are broader at their tip,” he explains.

To identify between this group of threebrome species, there are four botanicalcharacteristics that need to be assessed.Looking at the panicles can be conclusiveif the panicle is compact, with shortpedicels (panicle branches) and hairyspikelets –– the presence of all these


s

Sterile and great brome seeds are mature when shed so can germinate soonafter harvest.

Farmers and agronomists are beingasked to complete an online survey to help map the distributionof brome weeds across UK arablefarms. The results, alongsideexperimental data, will be used to map population changes and establish the implications

for weed management.The survey can be accessed

via cereals.ahdb.org.uk/bromeuntil Friday 18 August.

ADAS is also providing anoption to send in seed samplesfor identification and herbicidetesting.

Survey to check status of UK arable brome weeds

features indicates the softbrome species.”

“Meadow and rye brome aremuch harder to tell apart. Bothhave a looser, spreading paniclewith long pedicels. Meadowbrome has hairless spikelets butin rye brome, these can be eitherhairless or hairy. So a lack ofhairs on the spikelets isn’t a reliable indicator of species and these two species can’t be accurately told apart at the green panicle stage.

“To tell the difference betweenthe two, seed shape is the mostreliable indicator. When seedsare mature (late July-Aug) and cut in half, if thecross-section is saucer-shapedthen it’s meadow brome but ifit’s a deep ‘V’ or ‘U’-shape thenit’s rye brome,” he explains.

Differentiating between sterileand great brome is a much simpler affair which involveslooking at just two parameters,spikelet length and hairiness ofthe main stem of the panicle.

“Sterile brome has spikelets40-60mm long and a virtually

hairless panicle stem, whereasgreat brome has longerspikelets, 70-90mm long andthe panicle stem is distinctlyhairy,” he points out.

Stuart Jackson, customeragronomist for DowAgroSciences, further explainsthat the seeds of sterile andgreat brome are mature at thepoint of harvest, which is why they will easily chit withlight cultivation. Furthermore, if their seed is left undisturbedthen the exposure to light will make them go dormant, he adds.

“For these species, avoidany sort of deep cultivationimmediately post-harvest asthis will just enforce dormancy.Both sterile and great bromewill flush very easily in theautumn so stale seed beds and delayed drilling offer good control.

“For the other three species,there may not be the sameopportunity to stale seedbedafter cultivations have beendelayed for at least four weeks

s

Inside this month’s issue is a new brome identification leaflet,written by Stephen MossConsulting and produced atRothamsted Research for theCroprotect knowledge transfer initiative. Dow AgroSciences and UPL have jointly funded printing and distribution.

Laura Davies explains the Survey willhelp us understand how the bromepopulation has changed over thepast thirty years and whether this islinked to any issues with control.

post-harvest to allow the seedsto ripen.”

He recommends drilling fromthe second week of Oct into afine, firm seedbed, and applying1200g/ha pendimethalin plusflufenacet if blackgrass is alsopresent (often applied in co-formulation as Crystal).

A further option to consider inwheat as part of the herbicidestack is ethofumesate (Xerton),adds Pam Chambers, UPL’stechnical support manager.

Container trials“Xerton has activity on sterilebrome but only pre-emergenceof the weed. ADAS has carried out container trials toinvestigate the efficacy at bothpre- and post-emergence application timings and thebest control is obtained whenused as a pre-emergenceherbicide,” she explains.

The current Xerton label isfor post-emergence applicationbut UPL are working on gettingthe earlier timing as a label recommendation, as well as evaluating its activity on otherbrome species.

“Ethofumesate has a mode of action classified as class N, which is the same as prosulfocarb and triallate, but different to the ALS inhibitors(such as Broadway Star andPacifica) so would be a good

stacking partner as part of ananti-resistance strategy, as wellas supplying additional control,” she adds.

“Any further flushes of bromein the autumn tends to be fast,so aim to follow up withBroadway Star (florasulum+ pyroxsulam) plus a further 800gpendimethalin (1.75 l/ha StompAqua) plus a good wetting,penetrative adjuvant,” advisesStuart Jackson.

“Ideally any follow-up withBroadway Star needs to beaimed at the 2-3 leaf stage ofthe brome and applied whenit’s actively growing. Thismeans application should be ina window when there’s two or more fine days either side.But if the weather turns cold,then it’s important to wait untilwarmer conditions return, whichis typically a Feb-Mar spraywindow,” he adds.

As grass weeds increase in size, the efficacy of graminicides reduces. So ifbrome species reach a growth stage beyond mid-tillering,there will be a drop-off in herbicide performance, he highlights.

“Soft brome also has aspring flush, so there’s a casefor delaying any follow-upapplications to the spring timing when this is the main species. But it’s abalancing act.

“It’s important to takeaccount of the size of the weed because any spring germination will be smaller thanthe one that occurred in theautumn and the most importantthing is to not allow autumn germinated brome plants to get too big before treating,” he emphasises. n


Malcolm Hawkesford explains all the traits beinginvestigated in WGIN are to counter the ‘perfectstorms’ brewing in the face of climate change,intensive production and resistance issues.

The traits being investigated are

all to help improve cropresilience.”

“

GINs provideshot in the arm

Growers are at the sharp end of crop production –– facing the very real problems of increasingly insensitive pests and disease populations and an ever-decreasing number of activeingredients at their disposal. Solutionsfound in the genes of plants are routinelysought after to bolster crop productionwhere pesticides have nothing left to offer,but it’s akin to looking for a needle in ahaystack.

Commercial plant breeders have beenworking hard to find new resistance traits for pests and pathogens, but it’s the workcarried out by pre-breeders and facilitatedby the Genetic Improvement Networks(GINs), that has given the whole industry a shot in the arm, explains Dr MalcolmHawkesford, Head of Plant ScienceDepartment and Rothamsted lead on theDesigning Future Wheat programme.

The four GINs –– WGIN (wheat), OREGIN (OSR) VeGIN (brassicas, leafy salads, onions and carrots) and PCGIN(Pulses) –– are DEFRA-funded and were set up in 2003, with the overall aim of generating pre-breeding material carryingnovel traits so breeding companies couldultimately produce improved varieties, he explains.

Plant-breeding disconnect“At the time of WGINs conception, it waswidely felt that there was a disconnectbetween academia and commercial plant-breeding companies. The idea was to bring them together to improve collaboration and communication betweenresearchers and industry. WGIN has succeeded in doing this and much more,proving to be the catalyst for an explosion of further joint projects across the industry.”

WGIN, now in its third round of DEFRA-funding, is a project with scientists collaborating from eight differentorganisations, representing the substantialmajority of the UK’s expertise in wheatgenetics and breeding.

The Network’s activities have been managed through a management teamcomprising representatives from the partners(Rothamsted Research (RRes), the JohnInnes Centre (JIC) and the University of Nottingham (UoN)), Defra and with representation from ADAS, University ofBristol (UoB), NIAB, AHDB, BBSRC and all

the UK-based plant-breeding companies. As well as facilitating networking,

science remains the raison d’être for all theGINs, stresses Malcolm Hawkesford. In particular, the generation of genetic andgenomic resources is at the core of WGIN,free for use by all plant breeders in theircommercial programmes with no IntellectualProperty (IP) attached.

Key to WGIN’s ability to produce pre-breeding material are several historiccollections of wheat seed, one of which isthe Watkins collection, curated by JIC.

“The Watkins collection contains

The Genetic ImprovementNetworks have revolutionisedplant breeding in the UK. CPM

reports on the achievementsof the GINs and how they willcontribute to the varieties of

the future.


s

Before the GINs were set up, there was a gap–– often referred to as ‘the valley of death’ ––separating great research and plant breeding,explains Dr Penny Maplestone, chief executiveof the British Society of Plant Breeders.

“There was no meeting in the middlebecause commercial plant breeders simply don’thave the huge resources needed to carry outpre-breeding work. Likewise, the research institutions didn’t have the funding to reachacross the gap either,” she explains.

Penny Maplestone acknowledges the GINs as a fantastic initiative, generating a publiclyavailable output, stimulating collaboration andeffectively bridging the valley of death. But whatdoes she believe the GINs have contributed froma commercial point of view?

“One of the achievements of the GINs is thedevelopment of the genetic resources they nowhave available. The numerous collections ofgermplasm haven’t been of much direct use to plant breeders in the past, but the GINs have allowed academia to characterise the collections, bringing order to chaos. They’vethen made these organised characters and

traits available to breeders, allowing them tocreate diversity in their breeding programmes,”she says.

A further benefit she identifies is the development of a much closer relationshipbetween commercial breeders, who’ve discovered it’s to everyone’s advantage to work together on pre-breeding programmes.

“At the pre-breeding stage, there’s no commercial competitive advantage to be gained so working together makes good sense,”she points out.

And there’s been a spin-off from this closercollaboration between plant breeders. “By bringing commercial companies together in this way, new ideas have been generated and funding found beyond the GIN initiative,accelerating the improvement in the varietiesplant breeders are bringing through to market.”

The GIN projects are something PennyMaplestone believes have been very successfulin fulfilling their objectives of generating geneticresources and building networks and she’s keento see GINs continue.

“We need to generate new ideas to keep

Bridging the valley of death

plant breeding fresh and relevant, moving inthe direction that will be of most use to growers to help them tackle the challengesthey face in the field,” she concludes.

Penny Maplestone says the numerouscollections of germplasm weren’t of much use to plant breeders until WGIN bought order to chaos.

selections of landrace wheats(durum and aestivum forms) from 32 countries around theworld, assembled as a workingcollection in the late 1920s by A. E. Watkins in Cambridge, whoused the official channels of theBoard of Trade in London torequest materials from abroad.

“The collection initially consisted of several thousandaccessions, which were used tostudy the genetics of a range ofear characteristics includingawning and colouration of theglumes and grains. Over timeand due to poor storage duringWWII, a great many of thesewere lost.“The current collectionstands at 1291 accessions andoffers a unique snapshot ofgenetic diversity and geographicdistribution in wheat prior to modern plant breeding and thegreen revolution. Some veryinteresting traits are containedwithin this collection,” commentsMalcolm Hawkesford.

As well as generating pre-breeding material, WGIN is also exploring several traitsidentified in collaboration with

commercial breeders. The sixmain traits being explored arenitrogen use efficiency and grain quality QTLs (quantitativetrait loci), drought tolerance,resistance to take-all disease,introgression of extreme resistance to septoria leaf blotch from a diploid wheat and resistance to aphids.

All the traits being investigatedare to counter the ‘perfectstorms’ brewing in the face of climate change, intensive production and resistanceissues. The grain aphid (Sitobionavenae) and bird cherry oataphid (Rhopalosiphum padi) forexample, are vectors of BYDV, apotentially increasing robber of

Theory to Field


WGIN has catalysed a boom in pre-breeding research.

s

s

yield in the UK as control options becomemore limited.

“Discovering a heritable plant resilience to aphid attack would be highly desirable,for both sustainability and ecological reasons, but phenotyping studies conducted to date have shown little or no resilience in elite hexaploidy wheat varieties or Watkins collection wheat landraces,” explains Malcolm Hawkesford.

“Phenotyping studies have revealed morepromising results with diploid wheat species,particularly goat-grasses, Aegilops tauschii

and Aegilops speltoides, and einkorn wheat(Triticum monococcum). In these species,aphid nymph production and survival were significantly reduced or absent in some lines.”

In the earlier WGIN1 and WGIN2 projects,a global collection of T. monococcum accessions was assembled at RothamstedResearch, with the aim of identifying novel traits that could be used for theimprovement of modern hexaploid wheat,and a small number of accessions weregenotyped for aphid resistance.

As part of WGIN3, some of these promising mapping populations are beingfurther investigated to see if this trait can eventually be transferred into elite hexaploid wheat.

“The traits being investigated in this thirdstage of the WGIN project are all to helpimprove crop resilience to ensure goodyields in difficult seasons,” he adds.

WGIN deliveryAHDB senior scientist, Dhan Bhandari, is a member of the WGIN steering groupcommittee and says the project is beginningto assess its output and quantify the manythings that WGIN has delivered, over andabove the science which is at its core.

“One of the unanticipated spin-offs fromthe GINs has been a large number of collaborative projects and major new funding for wheat research using WGINknowledge and resources. The £4.52Minvestment in WGIN from DEFRA has yieldeda further £27M of BBSRC-funding for wheatresearch, £13M from other sponsors, £29Mfor WGIN project leads and collaboratorsand a further £11M won by non-WGIN project leads,” he highlights.

Malcolm Hawkesford adds that the WGINproject has led to a longer and larger pre-breeding project –– ‘Wheat ImprovementStrategic Improvement’ (WISP). Funded by BBSRC, the WISP consortium bringstogether experts in wheat genetics andbreeding from five institutions –– JIC, NIAB,University of Nottingham, University of Bristoland Rothamsted Research.

“But the ultimate consequence of WGINhas been the setting up of a co-ordinatedUK programme of wheat breeding research–– ‘Designing Future Wheat’ (DFW). For the first time ever, a fully-integrated, cross-institutional consortium has been set-up, funded by BBSRC and it involvesmore than 30 groups.

“DFW will take forward the pre-breedingwork of WGIN and WISP to produce a minimum of 96 pre-breeding lines, and all the genetic markers and information

Dhan Bhandari says that although the output togrowers isn’t an immediate process, the traitscurrently being developed will prove a hugebenefit to growers.

s

Theory to Field

The GINs are DEFRA-funded, supported by AHDB in-line with their Strategy2017–2020 (Inspiring Success), whichstates “Pre-breeding research and development is regarded as long term,high risk and expensive and already covered by organisations such as theBiotechnology and Biological SciencesResearch Council (BBSRC). Compared to the impact AHDB can have on the industrythrough funding more near marketresearch, this is seen as a low priority forAHDB which will aim to retain influence in this area without co-funding.”

Research round-up

Work is being done to discover and transfer newtraits to modern hexaploid wheats.

Theory to Field

needed to provide ‘breeder toolkits’ of genetic material, free of IP,” he explains.

Although the concept of WGIN has beentaken on and expanded in these further projects, WGIN continues to produce useful output, embracing new technologiessuch as UAVs and phenotyping platforms,soil probes, rapid genome analyses forpests/pathogens, wheat gene editing andthe development of F1 hybrid wheat crops,in the quest for germplasm that will underpin UK growers move towards

more sustainable intensification.“Within WGIN, we’re developing remote

sensing technology using drones on the input trials, where we’re looking at crop performance in relation to its nutrient use efficiency and yield stability. We’re also developing onboard technologies and post-capture analysis of images to helpassess the performance of input traits across the trials, and identify varieties that are more stable.

Remote-sensing technology“In the latest phase of WGIN, new genetictools are being used that will have a hugevalue in the future, helping us to speed upthe generation of genetic markers andanalyse traits,” he adds.

The latest developments in WGIN will be discussed at a meeting held atRothamsted (30 Nov) for all stakeholders,including farmers and agronomists, highlights Malcolm Hawkesford. And forthose put off by the mysterious world of genetics, it’s not just a meeting for‘high-brow’ scientists.

“There will be a mixture of presentationsfrom market related to technical. Usuallythere’s a ‘panel’ discussing a hot wheattopic, looking at applied issues that would

be of particular value to growers,”Summing up, Dhan Bhandari believes the

spirit of collaboration, both within WGIN andcatalysed by the project, is benefiting theresearch and breeding communities in theUK and internationally. Although the outputto growers isn’t an immediate process andnew varieties take a while to reach market,the traits currently being developed will provide a huge benefit at the sharp-edge of farming in years to come. n

Driving through the fields ofWarwicks in late June, it’s evident that many crops arewell on their way to harvestreadiness. Unfortunately, theravages of blackgrass, wildoats and poppies are alsoclear to see.

I can remember my fatherhand rogueing and burningarable weeds. In recent yearsI‘ve spent many hours diggingup ragwort and consigning it toa bonfire, conscious that theweed spreads with remarkableease.

The increasing weed burdenin arable and grassland areasis a main topic of conversationat many gatherings of farmersand growers, so how timely thatBASF have launched its “Keepit Clean” campaign, whichfocuses on the importance ofkeeping machinery weed-freeduring harvest and autumn cultivations (see article opposite.

Most of BASF’s advice isbased on common sense anddoubtless most farmers are fully aware of the dangers oftransporting weed seeds fromone farm to another, but it neverdoes any harm to be remindedto be vigilant, which is reallywhat the campaign is doing.

Also at this time of year, withmachinery running in and out ofgrain stores, practically 24hrs a day and a general sense ofurgency around the process of

bringing in the harvest, on-farmsecurity is often something thatgets overlooked. Gates are leftopen, machinery is not alwayssecured and tractors or trailers

sometimes left overnight in fields.

Last year, an NFU Mutualstudy pinpointed ATV/quad

bikes, machinery, farm and commercial tools and

livestock as the top five itemstargeted by thieves. Older and vintage tractors and LandRovers are also vulnerable asthere’s a ready export marketfor them.

The NFU advises ensuringthat machinery is securitymarked and immobilisers fitted,additionally tracking devicesmay not deter theft, butenhance the chances of recovering stolen goods.

A vehicle identification number etched on glass windows is also an effectiveand relatively inexpensivemeasure, as it makes vehiclesmore easily detectable andthieves have to grind out thenumbers.

Our home market for second-hand plant equipmentis also vulnerable to fraud and theft. In 2016 some 2996stolen items of plant werereported by PANIU, the Plantand Agricultural NationalIntelligence Unit. So being ableto buy in the knowledge thatchecks have been made toensure items offered for sale are not stolen is prettyessential.

The Equipment Register(TER) checks at machineryauctions have helped identifymillions of pounds worth ofstolen equipment. It’s thelargest register of plant andequipment theft in the UK, with an average success rate of 1 in 11 searches resulting in a match.

TER helps protect the reputation of auction houses

Harvest help?

With a background managing the family farmin Northants, Jane Brookslives in Warwicks and balances time pursuingstories with time in the tractor cab, helping herhusband’s [email protected]

across the UK and Europe, andthey’ve recently announced itwill be present at Cheffins auctions, checking all lotsagainst its database. Cheffins’sale ground in Cambs is a regular haunt of ours, both fortheir vintage sales and themonthly machinery sale. It’s valuable peace of mind that anyequipment we buy has come to us legitimately, and thesechecks help us all keep a lid on rural crime.

Data tagging is one way to help curb the rise in rural crime.

The Agricultural EngineersAssociation (AEA) have reportedthat UK registrations of agriculturaltractors (over 50hp) remainedahead of last year for the month ofMay, showing a marginally smalleryear-on-year increase than April at4.1%. Every month of the year tothis point has seen a rise, and thefive-month total is in fact up16.7% at 5,104 units.

Perhaps more interesting factsand figures released by AEA earlierthis year were on UK exports ofagricultural and outdoor powerproducts, which rose by 3.1% in2016 to £1.76 billion. The figuresare based on AEA analysis of datafrom HM Revenue & Customs.

Within this total, exports ofagricultural equipment slipped to

£1.53 billion, largely due to fallingexports of tractor engines.However, excluding them exportswere up 7%. Exports of outdoorpower products rose by nearly athird to £229 million, largely due to increased shipments of non-agricultural mowers.

The EU remains the UK’s keytrading partner taking 62% of allexports, an increase of 2% from2015, whereas North America’sshare of exports dropped to 17%.

Germany overtook the USA tobecome the leading single marketfor UK exports for the first time,the USA having been the leadingmarket for seven out of the lasteight years. The figures makesobering reading as Brexit tradenegotiations get underway.

Tractor registrations rise



One of the ways of preventing the

spread of arable weeds is by keeping your machinery

and vehicles clean; it really is just as simple

as that.”

“

Keep it clean to reduce blackgrass

Kit hygiene is not just good practice, it’svital to prevent the spread of the invasiveblight that is resistant blackgrass. That’sthe view from BASF’s Ruth Stanley, who’salso an arable farmer and advocates awhole agronomic approach to weed control, including cultural measures.

“We’ve been told of RRR resistant blackgrass in previously unheard-of placesin the UK, including the far north east ofScotland, south west England andNorthumberland,” she adds.

Ruth Stanley suggests that one cause of this could be seeds brought in on kit, and she also believes the movement ofstraw could be a culprit. Some of her topcombine-cleaning tips are to:l Remove large build-ups of debris by handl Open all panels on the machinel Use a leaf blower to remove finer debris

and get to places the hand can’t reachl Check around the wheel axles for seed

and chaff build-up

MachineryHarvest hygiene

BASF has launched a ‘Keep it Clean’ campaign to spread

the message that goodmachinery hygiene is a

vital tool in the fight against blackgrass. CPM attended a

recent press briefing at JohnDeere’s Langar facility.

By Jane Brooks

l Open the stone trap and clean inside and don’t forget the header.Weed seeds are tiny and can easily lodge

behind or in structural parts of arablemachinery, so undertaking diligent cleaningof combines, balers and other farm machinery during harvest and baling operations is also the recommendation from John Deere’s James O’Meara.

He points out that in common with mostmanufacturers, John Deere combines havean in-cab ‘clean’ function, which onceselected enables the operator to blow outthe combine without leaving the cab.

Eric Wright of Wrights Agriculture farmsan area of 2600ha across Notts and Leics –– a mixture of his own land and contract-farmed areas. He recommends that combines are also blown down and then followed by a good run through of thecombine’s moving parts, all of which shouldbe carried out on a suitable clean-down areaof the farm where the work’s been done.

He also points out that bale chasers and bale trailers can be sources of seedcontamination. When engaging agriculturalcontractors, farmers should ensure theirmanagement procedure includes cleaningmachinery, in particular combines andbalers, between clients, he suggests.

“You really do need to be careful whenimporting any farmyard manure, unless ofcourse you’ve supplied the straw and knowexactly what’s in it, otherwise weed seedscould be imported that way.”

What’s more, he believes that when moving a baler between different farms it’sadvisable to have an empty bale chamber

to avoid any transfer of weed seeds frompart-made bales.

David Sedgley of Silverwood Farms, nearOakham, Rutland, manages 900ha of arableland. “We have blackgrass in every field,we’ve worked hard to clean the bad areasand had some success. I’d like to say we’rewinning the battle but it’s an awkward weedand I really can’t say if we are or not.”

He points out one of the first lines ofdefence is to avoid harvesting heavily infested areas until the end of the season toavoid introducing weed seeds to other fields.

“In common with many farmers with harvest pressure and tight timescales, it can be all too easy to let things slip, we do harvest heavily infested areas last, tomaximise combine hygiene, we also finddelayed drilling helps.

“We bale where the weed burden is badto get it off the fields and those bales alwaysgo for power station use,” explained DavidSedgley, before adding, “Of course, in addition to farm machinery and vehicles just about everything on the farm has thepotential to spread weed seeds, from agronomists’ wellies to people walking dogs along public footpaths.”

There’s more information on the BASF‘Keep it Clean’ campaign online, includingtop tips from other farmers, practical adviceon arable weed control, weed fact sheetsand you can leave your own top tips.https://basfrealresults.co.uk/awc/

The website also offers the opportunity toparticipate in the BASF national arable weedsurvey, designed to help understand thenational weed situation. n

The 400hp tractor recently set

three new world recordsfor fuel efficiency and

maximum drawbar performance.”

“

MachineryCereals 2017

Local manufacturers and distributers were joined byinternational brands at thisyear’s Cereals Event which

was held at Boothby Graffoein Lincs last month. CPM was

there to study the latestmachinery.

By Jane Brooks

Working demos pull in a crowd

Official figures show attendance numbersat Cereals 2017 were down on previousyears. But there were still plenty of growers who flocked to Syngenta’sSprays and Sprayers arena where a number of self-propelled and trailed models were put through their paces.

French Manufacturer Berthoud demonstrated its high-end trailed sprayer,the Vantage, with its memorable ‘Dark’colour design. The Vantage was this year’swinner of the prestigious Sprayer of theYear award at SIMA, Paris. The range consists of five models with tank capacities

of 2800, 3500, 4300, 5500 and 6700 litresthat can be fitted with five boom typesranging from 24-44m.

High-tech sprayerBerthoud says the Vantage has all the features expected on a modern high-spectrailed sprayer –– axle suspension (ActiflexII), Dualmatic operation and its motorizedversion Dualelec. This is where the controlpanel permanently displays the volume of liquid in the tank and allows a volumeto be programmed for filling with an automatic switch-off function, reducing therisk of overflow. It provides access toISOBUS technology using either theBerthoud VT Tronic touch screen orIsotronic directly on the virtual screen of the tractor.

Also on display was Berthoud’s new generation of smaller tractor-mounted‘Hermes’ sprayers, which feature a newmodern and compact design. A narrow profile reduces overhang by up to 30cm.Additionally Berthoud says its close coupling improves weight distribution on the tractor, allowing its use on smallertractors.

Hermes sprayers have a choice of threetank sizes –– 800, 1000 or 1200 litres ––

and a new range of ALSR 15m, 16m or18m rear folding booms. The machinesfold to a width of just 2.55m on the road.

Suspension on an Axiale central pivot system brings the boom stability and good performance on slopes, turns andheadlands, says Berthoud. Robust and compact due to its “L” structure, it complies with the regulatory road width of 2.55m.

‘EcoMatic’ operation completes theHermes package, which the company sayssimplifies the machines control. The maininnovation lies in the assembly of functionvalves fitted directly to the body of the

Kubota’s top of the range M7171 model is theflagship of their three-model M7001 range.


Cereals 2017

Gama 105 or 130 l/min spray pump and its unique control mechanism.

Visitors had a chance to see JohnDeere’s carbon-fibre booms, which werefitted to their R4050i sprayer. John Deereclaims the lightweight and low inertia of the

carbon boom has beneficial effects onboom stability, promoting improved boomride and allowing even greater sprayingspeeds of up to 28km/h to be achieved.

The carbon-fibre boom is about fivetimes lighter than a steel boom and allowsthe boom structure to flex without damage, additionally John Deere says boom repairscan be easily carried out on farm, with noneed for special tools or equipment.

The Househam Predator self-propelledsprayer is powered by a MTU 230hp engine. The engine’s rear-mounted positionoptimizes the machines weight distribution,and it’s fitted with Househam’s ownExcalibur Cat 4 cab.

Capable of road speeds up to 50km/h,there’s a two-speed cruise control systemfor fieldwork. Track width can be manuallyadjusted from 72-84cm.

Featuring a new, specially developedchassis, the Predator will run on MichelinSprayBib 380/90 R46 rowcrop tyres orMichelin 650/60 R38 low ground pressuretyres. Ground clearances are 1.10m and1.05m respectively.

Weighing in at 10,440kg unladen for the5000-litre model with a 36m boom and rowcrop wheels, Househam says thePredator is lighter than similar-sized

Lemken’s mounted sprayer the Sirius 10 isavailable with tank volumes of 900-1900litres. The HorizontalExtend boom with package folding is available in workingwidths of 12 and 15m. For 15-24m workingwidths, the rear-folding, fully hydraulicSectionExtend boom is available. The squareboom profile increases stability and offerssufficient space for housing large nozzlebodies. The sprayer has a transport width of less than 2.50m

The Pentair Hypro ProStop-E nozzle valve is anelectrically actuated nozzle valve that allowsindividual nozzle control for precise matching of spray swaths.

sprayers. The stainless-steel spray tankhas had a 4000-litre option added withlarger capacity spray tanks planned for thefuture. Boom sizes range from 24-36m.

Jolly Green giant John Deere’s new record-breaking flagship 8400R tractor made its first UKappearance at the Cereals Event. The400hp 8400R tractor is the manufacturer’slargest-ever standard tractor and recentlyset three new world records for fuel efficiency (field and transport) and

s

Stage IV compliant engine and featuring ane23 transmission with Efficiency Manager,the 8400R delivers up to 450hp withIntelligent Power Management (IPM). This tractor is also fitted as standard withJDLink telematics, including remote displayaccess (RDA) and wireless data transfer(WDT) linked to the MyJohnDeere.comwebsite portal.

Kubota bravely ventured into new territory a few years ago when they built afactory at Dunkirk and launched a range of 130-170hp tractors. Having purchasedKverneland back in 2012, it was inevitablethat an expanded tractor range would follow.

With the intention of becoming a big player in the European tractor market, adealer network is being set in place. Herein the UK, most areas are covered withmore dealers coming on board to fill the gaps.

The company’s top of the range M7171model was certainly getting attention fromvisitors. The three models in the M7001range share Kubota’s 6.1-litre, four-cylinderturbocharged engine, which delivers170hp in the M7171. The M7151 andM7171 are rated at 130hp and 150hp andhave a boost capability of an extra 20hprespectively.

The 50km/h (Road mode) KVT (KubotaVariable Transmission) is sourced from ZF.Powershift is also available as an option. A look in the cab reveals what looks to be controls that are pretty easy to use and good visibility with a lot of glass. Kubota says that various options are available, as well as standard and premium specifications.

Precision adviceAs well as the precision farming adviceavailable on the precision and technologytrail, there were demonstrations of the latest nozzle technology, such as PentairHypro’s ProStop-E nozzle valve. This is anelectrically actuated nozzle valve that allows individual nozzle control for precisematching of spray swaths and can virtuallyeliminate spray overlaps. Pentair Hyprosays that reductions of 2.5% in sprayedarea and therefore the overall chemicaland liquid fertiliser bill have been recordedin initial farm-scale trials.

Bayer and German spray technologycompany Agrotop were demonstrating

maximum drawbar performance at theDLG test station in Germany. It beats itsnearest competitors by almost 23% in drawbar performance and lowers the combined fluid consumption figure for fieldwork to only 247g/kWh.

This translates into 6% higher pullingcapacity and a reduction in fuel consumption of up to 2% compared to theprevious top of the range 8370R model,enabling wider implements to be used toincrease productivity and maximise total fluid efficiency.

Powered by a new John Deere nine-litre

All 5-20 litre cans with the industry standard63mm opening will fit onto the easyFlowadaptors.

Cereals 2017


Amazone says the simplicity of a conventionalseed drill without a fan and improved rearwardvisibility still appeals to many end users. Its newCataya 3m conventional drill has a 1270-litreseed hopper with an extremely favourable centre of gravity to keep tractor lift capacityrequirement at a minimum. Filling is quick andeasy with a wide hopper opening and lid profiledesigned to prevent spills.

Features include the Precis metering system–– a new peg-wheel metering system that’s easyto switch between fine seeds and cereals at thepush of a slide. The electrically driven seed shaftgives infinite variation of the seed rate from thetractor seat and push-button calibration. It’s available with singulation or in two halves offering full width automatic GPS-based

headland shut-off or half-side, 1.5m ‘boom sections’ on the headland.

The seed set-up, calibration and seed emptying functions are controlled from a centralised operator station to the left-hand sideof the drill. Electric metering operates throughan in-cab ISOBUS terminal or via the optionaldrill-mounted TwinTerminal 3.0.

The ISOBUS machine ECU comes as standardwith TaskController TC-BAS, TC-GEO and TC-SCfor full documentation transfer and SectionControl as well as supporting all AUX-N functions for tractor joystick operation. The drillcan be controlled either by one of the AmazoneISOBUS terminals or via a third-party controller.

Cataya seed drills are mounted onto theredesigned Series 1 power harrows and rotary

Back to the future

cultivators, which feature new easy-adjust sideplates, parallelogram guided depth control forthe tine depth and a roller-mounted levellingboard. A new range of wheel track eradicatortines are also available.

Coulter pressure can be infinitely variablyadjusted up to 60kg/coulter and the Cataya is available in row spacing of either 12.5cm or 15cm.

EZ ballast from John Deere is a flexible system to quickly link a 1.7t ballast weightto the bottom of any 7R tractor chassis,from the operator cab. To attach the ballastthe tractor is driven up and over it. With theweight in position underneath the tractor adedicated hydraulic cylinder is lowered andcatches a shoe on the ballast frame. Theweight is then raised and a second lockengaged using an in-cab control.

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Cereals 2017

The Kongskilde Stonebear 2.60 is speciallydesigned for the removal and collection ofstones from cultivated land in one operation.It’s capable of moving stones up to 50cmdiameter and works in depth of up to 7cm.It has a working width of 6m and its hopper

will hold up to 5t of material.

Claydon’s new inter-row hoe the TerraBlade M6 is a low cost mechanical method of controlling weeds incombinable, band-sown crops.

the easyFlow M, which is a closed transfer, metering and cleaning system for liquid chemicals. It can be retrofitted to sprayers, either free standing orattached to the side.

All 5-20 litre cans with the industry standard 63mm opening will fit onto theeasyFlow adaptors. It connects to the suction line, induction bowl or any induction system, allowing transfer of

the entire container or exact measuringand dosing, down to a minimum amount of60ml. The transparent measuring cylinderis also inexpensive to replace.

Bayer currently has 80 units being evaluated on farms around the country and anticipates the system will cost around£600 when it becomes available. BillericayFarm Services will be the distributer.

Precision Decisions Topple Alarm andRural SIM have given lone workers in rural areas an added level of protection.

Topple Alarm is a GPS-based trackingdevice, which is available for tractors orquad bikes.

This allows real-time monitoring of vehicle position as well as incorporating programmable tilt sensors, which willremotely notify a pre-determined mobilenumber of an overturn or similar incident.Additionally, a user code can be programmed into the device to enable onlyan authorised operator to start the engine.

The system uses a roaming Rural SIM

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The new adjustable Double SteelRunner offersfull depth reconsolidation and clod breaking.

Techneat designs, develops and manufacturesa range of specialist application products foragricultural and amenity markets. In addition toshowing its range of Avadex applicators andother products, one nifty item on display wasits recently launched 220-litre fuel bowserthat’ll fit under a pick-up truck rollover cover.A recent addition to its tank range and suitable for diesel or ad blue, the tanks aremanufactured here in the UK from high-gradepolyethylene with stainless steel fittings.

card, which maintains 2G, 3G and 4G connectivity over three networks ––Vodafone, O2 and EE –– automatically moving networks when necessary. The SIMcard is also available on its own as a payas you go option.

Drills and cultivationSulky Burel had its latest seed drill the 3mXeos Pro Evo on the stand. The seedingunit is 400kg lighter than its predecessorand fitted with a 1000-litre hopper. The drillcan be used with tractors from 130hpupwards.

Cereals 2017

Sulky Burel says that in optimum conditions, working speeds of 12-14km/hcan be achieved when fitted with CultilineXR cultivation discs. In heavier conditions, or after ploughing, the Cultiline HR rotaryharrow with four rotors per metre can beused for seedbed preparation.

A new Duo hopper is available onSulky’s range of Xeos HD, Pro and TFpneumatic seed drills, enabling precisionplacement of slug pellets, or an additionalseed alongside the main seed.

Seed rates of between 0.5 to 15kg/ha are possible via Sulky’s Vision Duo in-cabconsole, which independently manages themain metering device and the Duo hopper.

Italian manufacturer Alpego had its newcompact pneumatic combi-disc drill the Jet-X on its stand. Available in 3m or 4mworking widths the Jet-X has a forward centre of gravity, electronic seeding management and is ISOBUS compatible.

Claydon was showing its new inter-rowhoe, the TerraBlade M6. A low cost mechanical method of controlling weeds in combinable, band-sown crops, it clearsweeds from between crop rows that mighthave been missed by agchems or wheresuch products can’t be used.

Band sowing at 300mm leaves a 14-15cm wide unseeded strip betweenrows that can be mechanically hoed. The TerraBlade is designed to be used on any tractor with a Cat II front linkageand travels at speeds of up to 6km/h at a depth of up to 30mm, covering up to40ha/day with a 6m unit.

Väderstad launched a new DoubleSteelRunner soil packer for its range ofCarrier L and XL disc cultivators.

The new adjustable Double SteelRunneroffers full depth reconsolidation and clodbreaking and is already a feature on theTopDown. Extending it to the Carrier

range through the L and XL models complements existing Double SoilRunnerand SteelRunner packer options.

The Double SteelRunner ensures cultivated soil dries faster. The opendesign of the packer results in minimisedbulldozing and a low draught requirement.

Both models in the range have 51cm and 61cm diameter notched-edged discs.Multiset allows the working angles of thediscs to be adjusted.

Discs are interchangeable betweenCarrier models, while the CrossCutter Knife and CrossBoard can also be fitted.

Transport wheels can be lowered in wetfield areas or for shallow cultivation andworking depth is adjustable from the cab.The transport width is 3m and transportheight 4m. n

Alpego had the new compact pneumatic combi-disc drill the Jet-X on the stand.

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Ploughing continues to be an

essential part of manyfarmers’ cultivation

rotations. ”

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Clod busting with careMachinery

Cultivations

No single solution fits the billfor the cultivation challengesfaced by British farmers, andchoice ranges from complete

inversion to no-till drilling.CPM takes a look at some of

the kit currently on offer.

By Jane Brooks

Back in March, Kuhn added hydraulicallyfolding 6m and 7m versions to the 4m and5m models already in its Performer rangeof non-powered, one-pass deep tine-disccultivators.

A 3m version has now been added to therange to meet the requirements of lowerhorsepower tractors.

The Performer can be equipped with two rows of 510mm independent andhydraulically adjustable discs (22 discs in total, spaced at 289mm centres), and fourrows of non-stop hydraulic (900kg) tinescapable of working to a maximum depth of350mm (10 tines in total). Eight hydraulicallyadjustable levelling discs can also be used.

A choice of shares for mixing or looseningsoil, including standard 80mm shares, 50mmsubsoiling shares or wing shares, can bespecified, and, in common with its larger siblings, the Performer 3000 uses the sameHD Liner 700 notched roller with up to225kg/m of hydraulically adjustable pressureto provide soil consolidation.

Single-pass solutionKuhn says the Performer offers an effective single-pass solution and differentmodes suiting various soil conditions andcultivation requirements. Discs and a rollercan be used for surface cultivation, tinesand a roller for sub-soiling, discs and tinesfor more aggressive work, or a roller-freeconfiguration for non-consolidation work.

There are low service requirements thanksto the use of maintenance-free hubs andbearings and drop-forged tines. It usesKuhn’s signature central beam design foradded robustness and has an under-frame clearance of 850mm.

The Performer 3000 is fitted with hydraulically or pneumatically operatedtransportation wheels and has an in-transitwidth of 2.95 metres. It has a maximum tractor power rating of 250kW (350hp) and weighs 5000kg when fitted with the HD-Liner 700 roller.

Opico has launched He-Va’s new 3msplit-folding V-Profile Front Press, an addition to its range of front presses. The machine hydraulically splits into two vertical sections for a 2.13m transport width.

“This new 3m folding front press will allowcustomers working with narrow lanes to haveaccess to a best-selling product so that,whatever their soil type, road width and fieldentry, they can use this simple one-pass cultivator ahead of the drill,” says Opico’sJames Woolway.

In common with the rigid 3m and largerfolding models, the press is available witheither a 600mm or 700mm castellatedpressed steel V-profile ring to offer optimum consolidation, whilst having a sharp rib to maximise clod crushing.

Available with spacing of 125mm (600mmrings) and 156mm (700mm rings), with ascraper between each ring, the press offersfull width consolidation on light or heavyland.

The rings can turn individually but arelinked by a series of lugs that ensure they all drive together, meaning the machinewon’t be phased even by the wettest, sticky conditions.

There’s an optional shattaboard, hydraulically adjustable from the tractor


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The National Association of AgriculturalContractors (NAAC) warns that rising input costs could lead to rate increases.

Publishing the NAAC 2017 charges, NAACchief executive Duncan Russell notes that priceshaven’t risen significantly since last year. “Butthe time’s coming that increases are inevitable.We’re seeing rapidly increasing machinery purchasing costs, alongside hikes in spare partsand tyres, which simply can’t continue to beabsorbed by the contracting sector.”

An estimated 91% of farmers use a contractor and many sectors are increasinglyreliant on their services.

The way contractors work with their customers needs to become a closer partnership, reckons the NAAC. This will allowcontractors to make the massive investment incapital costs required to purchase and maintainmulti-million pound fleets of machinery.

“I just want to provide a good service, ontime to my customers,” says NAAC chairmanand contractor Martin Hays. “It’s what most contractors want, whilst earning a living.However, as machinery costs continue to climb,alongside the costs of other inputs, I’m lookinghard at my charging schedule and other contractors should be doing the same.

“Machinery costs aren’t static so neithershould our charges be. While we may be doingOK this year, when it comes to upgrading ortrading machines and tractors in coming months and years we may easily find our costs have fallen behind and we can’t make up the shortfall.

“Farmers will have exactly the same problems and we need to work together so that contractors can make those long terminvestments in labour and kit to keep the farming industry sustainable for the future.”

Contracting prices rises ‘inevitable’

Current NAAC Contracting Charges, whichare given as a guide are based on data collectedacross the UK, are available on the NAAC website. www.naac.co.uk

NAAC chairman Martin Hays says that asmachinery costs continue to climb, he’s looking hard at his charging schedule.

Pottinger’s wave disc has a wavy profile, which isangled in the direction of travel.

Maschio’s range of mounted reversible ploughsfor tractors from 120hp to 300hp are nowavailable in the UK.

seat, it increases the cultivation action allowing the machine to level, crush andconsolidate in one pass ahead of the drill.

The Front Press has a long headstockeffectively becoming an extension of thefront of the tractor when attached. The headstocks are designed to take the forcesproduced even when using a shattaboard.

Low disturbance Austrian machinery manufacturer Pottingerunveiled a novel low disturbance discdesign this spring –– its 510mm wave discwhich is available on Terrasem R3 and R4and Terrasem C4, C6, C8 and C9 seed drillsand all models with direct fertilisation.

True to its name the wave disc has a wavy profile. With a diameter of 510 mm andavailable with row spacings of 12.5cm or

Cultivations

16.7cm, working depth is infinitely adjustedby a hydraulic system. Each disc is positioned in front of the seeding coultersonly cultivating ground near the seed.

This, Pottinger says, allows minimum soil disturbance when tilling a new crop,moving only 36% of ground on 12.5cm rowspacings and 27% in 16.7cm rows.

The minimised soil movement leaves no cavities or clods in the cultivated arealimiting germination conditions for weedssuch as black grass, wild oats and brome.

Pottinger claims as well as reducing fueluse due to more efficient operation, the new discs will work in a wide range of soil conditions.

As an addition to its C-Mix shares,Amazone has introduced the C-Mix-Clipquick-change system for the Cenius mulchcultivator series.

In common with C-Mix shares the C-Mix-Clip share system consists of a guideplate and tip. On the C-Mix-Clip system, theguide plate is fixed to the tine and the tip isthen fixed on the quick-change system.

After the initial, simple assembly of the C-Mix-Clip bracket on to the tine, differentshare tips can be attached with the aid of an easily detachable locking pin.

The securing pin is guided at the reverseside of the tine through a hollow bolt andthus holds the relevant share tip safely onthe C-Mix-Clip bracket.

Amazone offers a 80mm-wide tine, whichis particularly suited to intensive loosening atworking depths of 12-30cm. A 100mm wideshare tip is available, suitable for 10-20cm

working depths as well as deeper stubbletillage and primary soil tillage.

Also available is a 320mm-wide goosefoot share tip, which is used for the shallow and overall stubble tillage of 3-10cm. A special tool is available to firmly push the share onto the C-Mix-Clipbracket.

Using an innovative lateral folding system,the Brock Sub-V subsoiler can be used withor without the rear packer/roller.

The versatile subsoiler is capable of soilpreparation down to depth of more than0.75m. The tough design suits the largesttractors and allows a working width of up to8m; however, it folds to a transport width ofwithin 3m.

Derry Morton of Brocks Sales Managerexplains: “The Sub-V doesn’t rely on a packer for depth control but the rear drawbar allows it to tow a separate press.We featured it with a Simba UniPress at last


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Hubert Ploughs are available from 5f to 10f tosuit horse powers up to 600hp.

month’s Cereals Event.“It can be run with any other following

equipment but the main thing about not relying on a packer is that you can keep on working in less favourable conditions.”

Breaking new groundMaschio’s range of mounted reversibleploughs for tractors from 120hp to 300hp are now available in the UK.

“We’re starting off with mounted units toget the ball rolling,” says Maschio salesmanager Robin Immink, “but semi-mountedmodels will follow in due course.”

Importer Opico feels that a plough is

the logical thing to complete the Maschiotillage range.

“We felt the timing was right to bring the Maschio plough into the UK,” saysJames Woolway. “Despite changes in tillagepractices, ploughing continues to be an essential part of many farmers’ cultivation rotations and we wanted to beable to offer our customers the full range.”

There are two model ranges –– the 3f to 5fmid-range Unico M suitable for tractors up to200hp and the 4f to 6f heavy duty Unico Lwhich is built to cope with up to 300hp.

Key features include fast front furrowwidth adjustment; a double-arm parallelogram linkage ensures the line-of-pull remains straight and true, as front-furrow settings are altered hydraulically. Quick-fit, rapid-adjust skimmers with a simple pin and hole set-up, helps achieve optimal trash burial.

Mechanical or hydraulic vary-width, boltadjustment provides fine-tuning in 5cmincrements –– 27-54cm (depending onspec.) while on-the-move hydraulic adjustment runs from 25–55cm. Inter-bodyclearance is 95cm and underbeam clearance 80cm, other options are available.

Turnover memory function closes the bodies up automatically when turning the

plough over, ensuring nothing hits theground, returning to the pre-set positiononce back in working position. However, itdoesn’t do it by closing up the vary widthlinkage, instead it uses the beam alignmentram, which means pins; bushes and linkrods don’t wear with every turnover.

Hydraulic auto-reset –– centralised hydro-pneumatic circuit with piston nitrogen accumulator makes for fast legreset. The first body’s fitted with a largerdiameter cylinder for higher trip pressure as the leading point’s going into unbrokenground.

Maschio says switching between sizesand types of mouldboard just involves loosening a few bolts. Slatted and

The Brock Sub-V subsoiler’s innovative designallows it to operate with or without a packer, ofwhich there are many options including the Brock soil packer.

Cultivations

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incorporating

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Grimme’s latest addition to their GT Tilla range the GF600 hydraulic three-bed foldingTilla was originally shown as a prototype atLamma 2016.

Grimme spent two years developing theGF600 alongside UK growers to ensure maximum reliability.

The GF600 features a heavy-duty CAT 3linkage, sprung loaded hoods and a specifiedworking width of 5.4m (three beds). It’sequipped with a 325hp or an optional heavy-duty 500hp central gearbox, driving the two “Speed Blade” rotors through 250hprated end gearboxes.

Growers have the choice between BFBedForma or Shapeforma ridging bodies for

potato beds. Optional crumbler roller or vegetablehoods are available, showing that the GF600isn’t just for potatoes. Additional options includehydraulic folding markers, parallelogram linkagesand wheel track eradicator tines.

Not just for potatoes

Grimme spent two years developing the GF600hydraulic three bed folding Tilla alongside UKgrowers to ensure maximum reliability.

Cultivations

conventional bodies are available many are interchangeable with other ploughs on the market.

A range of wearing metal gives a widechoice of bodies. Maschio’s MP4WD mouldboard works at depths from 15-35cmand can run at up to 50cm wide or bewound right in to 30cm.

There’s a combination depth/transport

wheel and optional hydro-pneumatic suspension.

British-built ploughsFollowing Dowdeswell Engineering ceasingplough production in Aug 2015, Suffolkbased Agrihire now manufactures a range of reversible ploughs. Agrihire wereDowdeswell dealers and parts suppliers

for many years and have a guaranteed parts supply from Dowdeswell’s sister company DPS.

Branded as Hubert Ploughs, these successors to the Dowdeswell plough rangeare available from 5f to 10f to suit horse powers up to 600hp. In furrow and on landoptions are available, with a choice of bodies including DD, DDS, UCN, SCN, andslatted. They also come with single-boltskimmer adjustment, heavy-dutydepth/transport wheel and rear disc option.

Using a combination of genuineDowdeswell parts and some modernupdates i.e. box section main beams, onepiece leg carriers and parts manufacturedfrom weldox plate, they’ve produced aplough where all parts are completely interchangeable with the old Dowdeswellmodels.

Ben Clowes of Agrihire explains that oneof the modern updates to the Dowdeswelldesign is the use of high tensile Swedishsteel box section for the main beams.“Currently our ploughs have manual vari-width adjustment and shear bolt stoneprotection, which suits our customers, however if the market dictates we’ll look intoauto adjustment and stone protection ––everything is an ongoing development.” n

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MachineryOn Farm Opinion

A Cheshire farmer chose toinstall a semi-permanent

re-circulating batch dryer atthe heart of his new grain

store. CPM visits to find outhow the design was

thought through.

By Jane Brooks

It’s minimising our capital investment,the dryer should have

a good residual value andit gives us a good sample

– what’s not to like? ”

“

Relocating the farm buildings can often be the driver for a rethink in how grain is stored and processed. That was thecase for the Broster family, farming in N Cheshire, for whom Diggle GreenFarm near Warrington is now the operational base.

The family has farmed in N Cheshiresince 1934. Relocating the main farm to a better position in the middle of their operations created the need for new on-farmgrain drying and storage capacity. It’s arecent iteration in the journey the farmingbusiness has taken as its diversified over the years, explains Dave Broster.

“Together with our yards at Wigan and

Irlam, we run a green waste compostingoperation alongside our farming activities.We also have Brosters Environmental at Todmorton, which is an in-vessel composting facility.

Compost operation“We spread compost on our own ground,saving on potash and phosphate and onlybuying nitrogen. The beauty of the compostsite is that it enables us to provide fullemployment for 21 members of staff.”

On the farming side there’s 320ha ofarable ground growing milling wheat, oatsand barley. There’s a further 325ha of grassland producing conventional hay balesand haylage for the equestrian market.

“We’ve used Opico dryers since I wasyoung –– we started with a 6t model, upgraded to 12t in about 2000, then in 2010 added a second 12t dryer which wentback-to-back with a hopper in between.”

The Opico Magna 4810 batch dryeroffered them the 48t capacity they werelooking for, he continues. “We explored otheroptions, such as a 60t continuous flow system, but it was going to be £500,000 with buildings included. The entire projectincluding the Magna 4810 has come in ataround £200,000. The lower capital cost and

good residual values were definitely a factorin our decision to buy the Magna 4810.”

Not that he has anything against continuous flow drying, he adds. “But theMagna’s easy to remove, providing a trade-in option in eight or ten years. We’lldetach the auger, take the top panel off thebelt, unwire it, put a tractor on the front andwheel it out.

“However, the main reason we decidedon a batch dryer was its ability to removescreenings, clean and polish the grain,

To obtain the appropriate planning permission,Dave Broster had to determine the type of dryerand size of building well in advance of making an application.

The heat is on


On Farm Opinion

which will increase hectolitre weights.Basically, batch processing gives us a bettersample –– it’s all about getting a clean crop.”

The oat crop goes to Mornflake Foods inCrewe for porridge oats, and the buyingspecification is generally set at a minimum of52kg/hl. “The sample must be clean, as wedon’t want to be penalised on screenings.We cool to below 26°C before we store –– itcan take an hour to reduce the temperaturebut in that time it’s also freshening the grain.”

The Magna dryer is self-contained withinits own building and is fitted with an OpicoSkyVac. Because of the size of the schemea full planning application was made to thelocal authority, explains Dave Broster.

“The application was validated in Dec2015 and a decision issued in April 2016.The only hiccup was when the planningauthority wanted to restrict operating hours,but dropped the idea when we pointed out itwould probably be the only grain dryer in the

country with limited operating hours.”Graham Heath Construction erected

the buildings, while the ground works, concreting and fitting of the conveyor wasmanaged in house. Then Opico came in andbuilt up the dryer. “We were also removing a system at our composting site –– John Herbert belting was used there for in-vessel composting. We recycled that and incorporated it into the grain store conveyors.”

A 350kVA three-phase diesel generatorpowers the dryer and elevator system,although the peak load requirement for the

The Brosters did all the ground works, includingconcreting and fitted the conveyor.

All 2017 specification Magna grain dryers nowhave galvanized or stainless steel componentsin areas that are susceptible to corrosion.

A small price increase should be offset byan extended working life, thereby resulting in alower cost of ownership and a higher residualvalue due to less corrosion, says Opico.

The Magna dryer modifications were madeas the result of more than 12 months of collaboration between Opico and the batch dryers’ manufacturer.

The plenum and main bin frame areexposed to a lot of moisture and steam duringthe drying process, so the whole upper bin and

plenum are now constructed of stainless or galvanised steel to give more protection against corrosion.

The bottom well, loading hopper and intakeauger tube have also been galvanised completely.Opico says these upgrades have slightly increasedthe build cost of the dryers, but should give long-term benefits and ultimately reduce the cost of ownership and cost per t of drying.

All 2017 season Magna grain dryers will come with the stainless steel and galvanisedcomponents. The dryer range offers holdingcapacities of between 12t and 48t, and can be powered by pto, electricity or diesel.

Spec upgrades extend working life

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dryer is 240kVA, and kerosene fuels the burner. Loading, drying, cooling and unloading grain is all automatically controlled, together with a programmablecooling cycle.

Once loaded, grain circulates through thedryer and is heated by a Duax Heat Coreburner. The barrel shaped steel burnerchamber is lined with heat retaining bricks.As they heat up, the core of the burner heatsair, which is pulled through by a centrifugalfan producing 1700m3/min.

Opico quotes a drying capacity of 5%moisture reduction from 21% to 16% at a rate of 20t/hr, which includes loading, heating, cooling and unloading time.

The Magna 4810 has an operating heightof 9.24m with the SkyVac fitted, althoughDave Broster allowed a height of over 10mfor his building. The dryer’s top section hasto be dismantled for transport, which thenbrings the height down to 4.3m, and takesabout a day to refit, so Opico suggeststhey’re probably better left in situ for the drying season.

There’s a fully contained loading bay tothe rear of the dryer building, where atrench-conveyor feeds the dryer. Adjacentto this are two grain stores, one of which isdivided in half with grain panels. A cleverlydesigned system of suspended dual conveyor belts, each fitted with a couple ofgrain shoots, can be switched to delivergrain to the front or rear of the building or to either side of the grain wall.

A similar system feeds the secondbuilding enabling three separate crops to be stored in close proximity. High roller-shutter doors allow fully raised graintrailers to enter or leave all the buildings.When the sheds are empty they’re used tostore fertiliser and machinery.

“The dryer sits in its own place, it’s hard

wired in to the building, there’s a duct underneath to a cable which goes to thegenerator. We didn’t want a loading hopperor a pit in the unloading bay, so haveinstalled a flat floor with a trench conveyor totake the grain into the dryer. The auger isconcreted into the ground. We’ve made aframe so that if you back over it with a tractor and trailer you don’t squash theauger –– we’ve made it idiot proof.”

Vermin proofThe auger is sealed at the bottom, lifts out for cleaning and there’s a vermin proofplate over the top when it’s not being used. “In fact, we’ve sealed all the grain-storage buildings to make everythingas vermin proof as we possibly can,” addsDave Broster.

“A horn sounds 30sec before the elevators come on and the dryer empties,additionally a SMS text message lets meknow what’s happening. The grain storageareas also have override switches to cutpower in an emergency.

“Between 12pm and 5am it can processtwo loads, so can dry around 90t while I’masleep. We pile it up on the floor over thetrench so it loads itself twice. It’s the nearestthing to a continuous flow system we cancome up with.

“You can also programme it to top up withmore grain every five or ten minutes or halfhourly, depending on what you’re drying. It’s so easy, 48t out and before you can eventhink it’s refilling, you’re just busy with theteleporter.”

The SkyVac comes in for some credit. “It’s just fantastic and fetches a lot ofwhiskers out. On oats, it brought out emptyshells, which looked like grain coming outbut they were empty. Last year we had an

excellent sample because we got thescreenings out.”

The barley came in at 12-13% moisture,so didn’t need heat but was given a 2.5hrconditioning cycle with the SkyVac toimprove the specific weight. “We grow six-row hybrid barley, Volume and Bazookafor feed. We don’t have the best of land sotwo-row barley isn’t really favourable for us.”

This year they’ve lowered seed rates from112kg/ha to 90kg/ha. “The crop looks well atthe moment. We also have one field wherehalf is sown at 115kg/ha in Bazooka and theother half with Cassia, a two-row barley sownat 150kg/ha, so that’ll be an interesting comparison.”

The soil type is very heavy clay, he continues, but spreading compost hasreinvigorated it. “There’s a noticeableincrease in organic matter. The compost weuse is weighed and mapped to the field, sowe know exactly what’s being spread.

“Our agronomist Paul Sweeney has takensoil samples and in composted fields the soil is Index 3 on average for potash andphosphate. By comparison, similar soil in anearby field that’s not spread with compostis still Index 1. The compost has improvedthe soil and the combines yield monitorsrecord better crops where we’ve spreadcompost.”

With the recent purchase of a 7fKverneland plough, Dave Broster hasreturned to ploughing. “We have generalryegrass and weed problems, but minimalblackgrass. We’ve been using a Sumo anddiscs, but with min-till I’ve found lower yieldsthan we’d achieve with ploughing. For oursystem ploughing is better.

“We’ve recently changed to a 6mVäderstad Rapid drill –– it’s very accurateand everything is thriving. I was dubiousabout the drill because of its weight

Dave Broster didn’t want a loading hopper or a pitin the unloading bay, so installed a flat floor witha trench conveyor to take the grain into the dryer.

Dave Broster is very pleased with the SkyVac andthe quality of sample he gets as a result of usingit to get the screenings out.

Redundant belting from the Broster’s in-vesselcomposting site was recycled and incorporatedinto the grain store conveyors.


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On Farm Opinion

When we were doing the barley it was takingtwo and a half hours to condition, polish andget all the whiskers off.

“It takes a while to implement a new system but there were no teething problemswith the dryer itself. We did have troubleturning the elevators to empty, but that wasan electrical problem on our side of the job.

“When we did the autumn barley the grain shoots were up in the auger and withwinter wheat we never closed them so wheatflooded the belt out, but that was nothing todo with the dryer.

“Overall the dryer’s been fine, the burner flicked out a few times, but I think thatwas how we set it up. The burner works wellon kerosene –– last year I filled the tank at22p/l, but I haven’t priced this season’s fuelyet. The dryer has a 1000-litre fuel tank,

Farm facts

Brosters (Farming and Agriculture), DiggleGreen Farm, Culcheth, Warrington, Cheshirel Farmed area: 325ha arable 300ha

grassland and 240ha contractingl Cropping: Oats, barley, wheatl Soils: Improved heavy clayl Elevation: 20m above sea level l Mainline Tractors: Fendt 936, 9300,

724, 720, 820, 2x Fendt 516; New Holland TS100, TSA135

l Telehandler: JCB 536; John Deere 3215l Combine: New Holland CR9.80, CR90.70l Drill: 6m Väderstad Rapidl Plough: Kverneland 7fl Sprayer: Hardy Navigator 5000 with

36m booml Fertiliser spreader: Kuhn 4.5tl Muck spreader: 3x Bunning 150; ECEl Staff: 21 full time staff

–– over the weighbridge it’s 8340 kg precisely. But we tried it on demo and it was good on the heavy land.”

With land up to seven miles in eitherdirection from the farm, at harvest time threetractors and trailers cart grain. Every loadgoes over the weighbridge before beingtipped in the grain store and the field it camefrom is recorded. This information is thencombined with the dryer readings, fuel use etc., and analysed to provide detailedperformance information.

“Last year’s final weights were close to the weighbridge records, as we conditioned more than we dried, particularlyon the oats and barley. We burnt 3500 litresof kerosene on 1100t of wheat –– somecame in at 14.5-15% moisture but when we started combining it was 18%.

“We can fill the dryer with barley in about18mins and unload in 36mins. It takes abouttwo hours to add 4kg/hl to a fully filled dryer.

High roller-shutter doors allow fully raised graintrailers to enter or leave all the buildings.

A cleverly designed system of suspended dualconveyor belts and grain shoots can be switchedto deliver grain to where it’s to be stored.

I added a 5000-litre external tank and we’vepiped it direct so we won’t run out if we’redrying over a bank holiday weekend. Initiallythe dryer seemed complicated but it’s not –– its brilliant and I’m very pleased we went for it.” n

On Farm Opinion

I think most people who want

heavy-duty high-densitybalers are mainly goingfor the improved bale

weights.”

“

MachineryBalers

Big square balers are packing more biomass into

each bale in the field, andcome bristling with new features. CPM picks out

the highlights.

By Jane Brooks

Less twine, less timefrom fewer bales

Although probably only feasible for large-scale farmers or agricultural contractors, it’s the lower carting costs,less time in the field and reduced storagecapacity that’s leading to growing interest in high-density, high-outputsquare balers.

That’s the view of Toby Morley, balersales manager for Ernest Doe and Sons,who also believes that power stationdemand is driving bale size and density.“In our area, most power stations nowaccept these bigger 1290-sized bales, soin future you can see them all going this

way. Hence why companies have beendeveloping high-density balers of thissize,” he explains.

Earlier this year, New Holland introducedits largest baler yet, the flagship BigBaler1290 Plus. It features a 2.3m pick-up and an 80cm longer bale chamber than the previous model delivering up to 10% moredensity. New Holland says costs per baleare lower as there are fewer bales per haand fewer bales to transport, cutting downon handling time.

The baler’s fully ISOBUS-compatibleIntelliCruise feed rate control system regulates tractor speed in relation to output, ensuring an optimal crop feedingrate. The SmartFill feed flow directionsensing system indicates which directionoperators should drive over the swath foreven bale formation.

A new biomass kit makes short work of biomass material and the MaxiSweeppick-up design improves productivity, says New Holland. It also has a doubleknot system designed for high bale density, but with lower knotting strain,

reducing the risk of twine snapping. Toby Morley reports that two New

Holland BigBaler 1290 Plus models willshortly be wending their way to customersfrom Ernest Doe and Sons.

“We’re also running a BigBaler 1290Plus demo model at the moment and hada test machine last year. I spent a coupleof days with it towards the end of the season; we put around 350 bales of wheatstraw through it over a weekend when itwas on demo with a local farmer. It wasbaling a nice and uniform square bale, I think the longer it stays in the chamberthe better, and it also had noticeablystraight edges.

“Actually the farmer that had the demomodel for most of the season last yearended up buying one, so he was happywith the product.”

New line-upThe 2017 Claas Quadrant baler line-uphas seen the 2200, 3200 and 3300 rangesreplaced by 4200, 5200 and 5300machines, although the Quadrant 4000


s

Kuhn’s WS 320 BIO is a front mounted specialistbiomass shredder for harvesting high volumeenergy crops such as Miscanthus. It’s designedto be used in conjunction with a baler for single-pass shredding and harvesting.

It has a 3.23m working width and is fittedwith a central rear opening and hydraulicallydriven worm screw for windrow formation.72 Y-shaped shredding knives are mounted on a 220mm rotor which turns at a relatively lowspeed to deliver a coarse shredding action: the

machine typically produces chopped fibres inexcess of 15cm in length, making it easier forthe following baler to pick up the crop.

Cutting height can be adjusted from 4 to15cm and the machine has a recommendedtractor power requirement of 150-300hp.

Kuhn says that by using the shredder in conjunction with a baler it’s possible to reduce the shredding and baling process to a one-person, one-pass operation for faster,more efficient harvesting.

Field shredders for biomass baling

Kuhn’s WS 320 BIO is a front mounted specialistbiomass shredder for harvesting high volumeenergy crops such as Miscanthus.

The Claas Quadrant 5300 delivers improved output and bale density, with heavy-duty drive systems,strengthened knotters and a powerful cleaning package.

Balers

(80cm x 50cm) and 2100 (80cm x70cm) models remain the same.

The new balers deliver improved output and bale density, together with 5%increased bale chamber length on the4200 and 11% on the 5200/5300 extendingbale chamber length to 3.45m on the5300. There are heavier duty drive systems, strengthened knotters and a

more powerful cleaning package.An option of hydraulic drive for the

pick-up reel, double crop roller and PowerFeeding System (PFS) auger enable thepick-up speed to be adjusted according to the crop. What’s more, the auger andpress will reverse to aid blockage removal.

Claas’ new-patented AutomaticPressure Control (APC) system is standard

on Quadrant 5200 and 5300 models andoptional on the 4200. APC automaticallymaintains bale weight by monitoring theknotters and the stress on the drive system.

The required bale density and quality ofbaling string being used is entered intothe ISOBUS terminal, then by monitoringsensors recording the deflection of themain beam and knotter tension on three ofthe knotters, APC automatically maintainsthe target chamber pressure.

The knotter system fitted to all threemodels features a new bill hook, stringguide finger and string clamping plate and disc design, which creates a single,improved shape of knot with longer endsfor greater ‘hold’ in all baling conditionswith no string waste.

Available as an option on the Quadrant4200 and standard on the Quadrant5300/5200, the Knotter Control System(KCS) uses sensors to monitor stress onall six knotters to detect any broken stringsor a missed knot, triggering an alarm on

s

Krone’s VariCut system on its BiG Pack HDPbalers features 51 knives mounted in a cassetteproducing a nominal chop length of 22mm.

the control terminal to alert the driver ifthere’s a problem.

High capacity balingKuhn Farm Machinery has added a newhigh-density, high-capacity machine to its LSB square baler range. The new LSB 1270 DX completes the company’srange of large square balers in the 120cm x 70cm (24) sector.

The LSB 1270 DX is capable of producingbales 10% more dense when comparedwith previous models and can increaseworking capacity in dry or bulky swaths byup to 15%. Pick-up intake width is 2.3mand bale chamber length is 3m.

The baler is equipped with a doubleknotting system –– six knotters tie the balehalfway along the bale’s length as well asat the bale end. The system is constantlymonitored by the machine’s electroniccontrol terminal, which manages twine tension and gives a knotter failure alert,additionally the new Xtra gearbox designgives up to 30% extra load capacity compared with the previous model.

A revised ‘Xtra’ main frame and balechannel handle the increased loads created by the Xtra gearbox and largerdiameter bale channel cylinders create

Balers

greater friction in the bale channel therebyincreasing bale density.

An optional, mechanically driven croproller, protected by a cam clutch, furtherenhances baler capacity by up to 15%compared with standard machines.

Chop and changeNot every farmer is in the market for arange-topping high-output square balerand the good news is that round balermanufacturers are also now supplyingmore high-density options.

Lance Howey of Broomiebank Farm inthe Scottish borders was offered a demoof the new Pottinger Impress 185V Proround baler from Lloyds of Kelso.

“We decided to try it out on a field ofsilage that had been cut the day before.The baler handled a large quantity ofgrass well, with us putting three 8ft (2.4m)rows into one with our Pottinger twin rotor rake.

“As the day progressed we went on to bale a field for hay and with the threestage of density adjustment, we madesome good shaped bales of hay as thesun shone.”

The Austrian manufacturers heavilyanticipated Impress round balers finally

broke cover at last month’s Muck andGrassland Event with general availability in late 2017.

The Impress is available in Master or Promodels, with fixed or variable-chambers,together with a bale-wrapper combination.

New Liftup technology, using Pottinger’spatented spiral configuration of rotor tines,means the crop can enter the bale chamber at an ideal angle. Pottinger saysthis results in high intake capacity andhigh baling performance with very low disintegration losses.

The crop is actually fed over asopposed to under the pick-up reel. Thefeed rotor is positioned above and behind s

Balers

the pick-up reel and rotates backwards.What’s more, the bale chamber is fed

more uniformly across the whole width,greatly reducing the need for any left orright steering correction and weaving.

The “Flexicut 32” short chop systemoffers up to 32 twinblade reversible knivesand Pottinger’s individual knife protectionsystem. The knife bank is located over thefeed rotor; for servicing it can be pulledoutside of the bale chamber at whatPottinger call workbench height.

Various knife configurations can be chosen. When all 32 are in use a theoreticalchop length of 36mm is possible, whichPottinger says enables higher crop compression for a higher density bale.

Developed to meet the high-capacityrequirements of contractors and largerlivestock farms, John Deere’s new C441Rpremium wrapping baler incorporates aheavy-duty drive system rated at up to210hp with 1000rpm pto.

Further enhancementsThe new 18-roller bale chamber hasincreased in width, from 117 to 121cm.The baler features further enhancementsdesigned to improve the machine’s overalldurability and performance in heavy, wetgrass crops and dry straw.

The wrapping unit now has a 15% fasterwrapping arm working at 40rpm, and the18% faster table transfer system delivers a further big increase in productivity.

There’s a choice of 2m or optional 2.2mpick-ups, feeding a high capacity MaxiCutHC rotor with 13 or 25 knives. The baleralso incorporates a full width parallel drop-floor system operated from the tractor cab, which enables blockages to be removed instantly.

The machine is available with a singleaxle or with an optional tandem axle chassis for improved stability.

Krone’s BiG Pack balers are now availablewith the company’s VariCut (VC) cutting system. Available on the BiG Pack 1270 and BiG Pack 1290 HDP, VariCut features51 knives mounted in a cassette and can

be used in standard combinations of51/26/25/12/5 or 0, with 51 knives producinga nominal chop length of 22mm.

Krone says the VC system producesshort chopped straw in the field, which iseasy to handle and use. The crop is fedthrough the knives by a rotor cutter, featuring a forth row of tines to maintain a smooth flow of crop into the variable fillsystem pre-chamber and achieve higherthroughputs.

Knife combinations are easily engaged

John Deere’s C441R wrapping baler has a wrapping arm that works at 40rpm and the 18% faster tabletransfer system delivers a further increase in productivity.


s

Balers

The new Kuhn LSB 1270 DX is capable of producing 10% more dense baleswhen compared with previous models.

German manufacturer Krone havecome up with an alternative to baling or ensiling forage or straw–– the Premos 5000, which theysay is the world’s first full in-fieldpellet harvester.

The trailed machine is a similarconcept to a tanker harvester, butproduces pellets from windrowedmaterial directly in the field, cuttingout the need for chopping or anyother pre-treatment. In effect, itreplaces the entire harvest chain of baling, bale collection, haulage,handling, storage and pelleting.

Furthermore, the machine usesonly half the energy normallyrequired for pellet production bystationary plants. Krone say a production rate of up to 5t/hr isachievable and that the pelletshave a higher bulk density thanstraw bales, which means greaterquantities of material can be

transported at less cost.Another advantage of Premos

5000 is the fact that it can also beused year round to produce pelletsif buyers opt for a bale splitter.

James Duggleby of Krone says that the machine should becommercially available within thenext two years or so. “It has created a lot of interest becausepeople see it as a viable alternativeto baling straw. Potentially pelletscan be produced to suit varioususes such as for feed, bedding orin the renewable energy sector.

“There’s an integral intelligentwetting system if the materialbeing pelleted is too dry and also the option of a molasses pre-treatment to improve feedquality. There’s also on-goingresearch with regards to die sizes to enable the production of different sized pellets.”

In field pellet production

Krone’s alternative to baling or ensiling forage or straw is the Premos5000, an in-field pellet harvester.

by the turning of a camshaft. An integral air-cleaning systemminimises material build-uparound the knives and protectionsprings. The blade cassette and

floor can be lowered with minimum effort to remove blockages. The cassettes are also quickly removed forcleaning and maintenance. n


MachineryOn Farm Opinion

Harvesting Jersey Royals isan operation that demands

complete reliability and performance from the kit

that’s adapted to the constraints of the island’s

potato industry. CPM takes atour while harvest is in

full swing.


Quality counts in a premium product

Everything in Jersey is

bespoke.”“

Drive around the small, narrow roads of Jersey in May, and you won’t go farbefore you see the island’s potato harvest in action.

Chances are it’ll be the distinctive red livery of a Grimme harvester bringing in the crop –– either a two-row or single-rowmachine. There’s also quite a fair chance the crop coming in will be for the JerseyRoyal Company.

Set up in 2004 by a consortium of farmers, it’s now Jersey’s largest single potato producer and was bought in 2014 byProduce Investments. The company farms1800ha (or 8200 vergées –– the Jersey unitof land measurement) across the island,which means at any one time there could be18 harvesters operating from a total fleet thatcomprises 17 single-row SE machines, sixGT170s and five GZ1700s.

Looking after that fleet, as well as thecompany’s 96 John Deere tractors, itsplanters, bed-tillers and all the equipmentin the packing and grading facility, is ateam of 15 mechanics, headed up by senior maintenance engineer Ricky Gallon.“I’ve been in the role for two years, and I’mstill getting my head round it, to be honest.It covers all the kit from winches to harvesters –– there’s a lot of variety.”

Difference in climateJersey’s just nine miles by five –– smallerthan Greater London –– and lies 85 milessouth of the English coast. But the landacross the island varies, he explains. “It’s very heavy in the East, but sandy andlight in the West. There’s a big differencein climate, too, though you wouldn’tbelieve it. The north coast gets the mostrainfall and St Clements in the South/SouthEast is 1-2°C warmer. It’s a bit of a microclimate and is known as the ‘Golden Mile’. Then there’s the côtils.”

These are steep, south-facing slopes on which the potatoes are planted andharvested by hand. It’s said that the firstJersey Royal potato was grown in 1880 ona côtil. Today, these areas form the earliestpart of the uncovered crop, lifted in earlyto mid April, using ploughs that arewinched up the hill, with the crop hand-picked.

Almost the entire Jersey potato crop isgrown to this one kidney-shaped variety,with its distinctive flavour and paper-thinskins. For the Jersey Royal Company,

it’s the only variety grown, with 20,000tgraded, washed, packed and sent to theUK mainland on the same day, or day afterthey’re harvested. These are sold to amarket that’s worth around £4000/t at thestart of the season, with prices thendeclining fast.

“We sell to major supermarkets and harvest to orders that come into the packhouse that day,” says Ricky Gallon.“Typically, that’ll be 450-500t that we’llneed to bring in –– there’s no storing thecrop in the fridge for a few days, it has togo straight off to the mainland. This meanswe need a reliable harvest system, butone that’s also gentle on the crop ––Jersey Royals are like eggs, very fragilewith a skin that isn’t set.”

Around 300ha (1700 vergées) aregrown for seed, and it’s at planting thefocus on achieving a premium productstarts. The company has a Grimme GL32BAuto Quad cup planter and two beltplanters –– a GL42K and GB215. “TheQuad puts the seed deeper and it takeslonger to emerge, but you can get betterresults. It’s set to 32in (80cm) rows,” he says.

“But around 80% of our crop is hand-planted, which is partly down toslopes and field size –– the average is just4.5 vergées (0.8ha). Precision is also veryimportant for our premium crop. There’s nomachine yet that can do as good a job asa hand-planter at placing the tubers so thechits are in the right direction.”

Spacing is also key, and it can be a job


to maintain accuracy when you’re plantinga kidney-shaped seed, he notes. “The beltplanter can handle irregular-sized seed,but it’s graded to four or five sizes, and

Ricky Gallon heads up a team of 15 mechanicsresponsible for making sure all the company’splant and machinery run smoothly.

There are two models of the GT170 two-rowpotato harvester –– the GT170M has a shorterfront end, built for agility and maximum visibility,says Grimme. Easier to move from field to fieldand working in tight spaces, it’s the high-outputharvester of choice for Jersey’s narrow roadsand small fields.

It’s more powerful sibling is the GT170S ––faster, even gentler to the crop, claims Grimme,and better suited to tough harvest conditionsand high yielding crops. There’s a separateintake web which increases the sieving outputand improves haulm separation, as it’s turnedover for better presentation to the first haulmextraction unit.

Apart from this, the models are pretty muchidentical, and have a number of notable featuresand options that make them a popular choiceacross the UK, as well as in Jersey. Foremostamong these is Terra Control, that earnedGrimme a DLG Innovation award in 2005. Thesystem uses special hydraulic cylinders, guidedby the diablo as it runs over the ridge, to set thedepth of the share. A strip of sensor tape insidethe ram monitors the diablo position as it movesup and down and passes this informationthrough to the control panel.

The result is the digging depth remains thesame all the time, irrespective of how uneventhe ground is and it’s independent for each row.Within Terra Control there are three functions –– depth control, ridge pressure and depth sensitivity. The system allows the operator to

adjust the depth control according to field conditions. So if working on sandy conditions,for example, additional pressure can be addedto the potato ridge to improve flow withoutaffecting digging depth.

The MultiSep ensures good trash separationoccurs in cloddy, sticky conditions and with soilwith small stones. Four roller pairs, each with aPU-segment roller and one plain rubber rollerclean the crop. The Double-MultiSep has eightroller pairs and each can be independently setfrom the operator terminal to adjust hydrauliclevelling adjustment and speed of the rollerpairs. The height, distance adjustment and drivedirection of the clod rollers can also all be setindependently.

All the main hydraulics and electronic components of the GT170 have been swept towithin the side frame of the machine to guardthem from soil and damage and ensure smoothrunning. For maintenance, the wide opening sidepanels and chassis design ensure easy accessto all components.

There are three harvesting systems available:a mechanically driven rotary agitator is fitted asstandard equipment. There’s also manual heightadjustment in relation to the main web ––to change the intensity of the agitation –– orhydraulic adjustment is available as an option,to adjust the agitator while in work.

The hydraulic rocker agitator is an option that increases sieving but ensures very gentleharvesting, says Grimme, even in changeable

Full of features and gentle on the crop

conditions. The company’s CascadeSystem has a “wavy-web” system that performs in apowerful, effective but gentle way –– importantfor large and heavy potatoes as well as in lowtemperatures.

The GT170M has a shorter front end than theGT170S with no digging web.

Terra Control uses special hydraulic cylinders,guided by the diablo as it runs over the ridge,to set the depth of the share.


s

the larger tubers aren’t managed too well by a beltplanter.”

There’s also the need to geta lot of seed in the ground in ashort period. Following the previous harvest, land generallygoes into either forage crops as a land swap with dairy colleagues within the farmerconsortium, or green manures,which are mown in late autumn.Then in Jan, fields are ploughed,with one of five Lemken 4fploughs or additional contractor

The potatoes, destined for mainland supermarkets, are washed and packedon the island, usually the same day they’re harvested.

Throughout harvesting and processing, Jersey Royals must be treated likeeggs as they’re very fragile with a skin that isn’t set.

equipment, power harrowed andplanted on the same day. “Wenever plough too far aheadbecause of the weather.”

An application of fertiliser isplaced at planting, 5cm to theside and below the tuber. “Itputs the fertiliser within reach, but not too close to the tuber.”

Harvesting the bulk of the cropstarts in mid April, and this iswhere Jersey growers value asmaller, more compact machine.“Everything in Jersey is bespoke–– it’s a real problem with our

roads restricting transport.”Grimme has worked with

farmers on the island to adapt harvesting kit to theirrequirements –– the single-rowSE harvester has a shortenedbunker, for example. It’s anessential tool to open up fieldsand Ricky Gallon finds themachine’s agility and flexibilitybrings better overall resultsfrom Jersey’s small, slopingfields than the higher-capacitytwo-row machines.

Machine of choiceWhen it comes to two-row harvesting, the GT170M tendsto be the machine of choice onthe island. Again, this has been modified for Jersey byGrimme, with the axle tucked inunderneath on the right-handside to comply with road-widthrestrictions. The picking-offtable has also been adapted totake the standard team of sixpickers, with waste put into acentre conveyor, rather than at the side.

“For us, getting the rightspec from the crop starts in the field. As well as clods andstones and green tubers, anything over 55mm is waste ––50-100t/day can be wasted onsize alone, making a total wasteof 100-200t/day. The industry’stried a number of steps toaddress this, but no one wantsthe oversized tubers, so they’rereturned to the field.”

One feature of the GT170Mhe likes is Terra depth control

On Farm Opinion

(see panel on p71). “You dignormally for 100m, then turnthe Terra Control on, and itautomatically keeps the shareat that height. It does a goodjob, although you have theoption to dial out or in if youneed to.”

There’s no digging web onthe GT170M, but that doesn’tworry Ricky Gallon –– “theless drops the better.

“Haulm separation is generally pretty good in normal conditions with all the harvesters. But in the wet,that’s when the MultiSep inthe GT harvesters comes into its own –– it does a fantastic job. You get a better presentation and finish,compared with the SE, thatdoesn’t have one.”

There’s functionality andfeatures on the machines, butnot too much to get to gripswith, says Ricky Gallon.“That’s important for us,because our turnaround ofstaff can fluctuate –– youneed to be able to train people up quickly. There’s not too much to adjust on themachines, not too much to gowrong, and they just work forwhat they’re needed for.”

The main mechanical issueshe’s had come down to drivererror. “You’d be surprised howeasy it is to bash into a wall onthis island. We have had theodd web snap, but generallyit’s a robust harvester, even intesting conditions. Machines

s


GT170M GT170SLength From 9765mm From 10730mm

Width From 3090mm* From 3090mm

Weight From 5960kg From 6730kg

Power requirement From 60kW From 70kW

Intake web - 1631mm wide; 2.4m2

Main webs 1631mm wide; 6.2m2 (1st); 1.3m2 (2nd)

Intake width 540, 580 or 620mm per row

Row width 750-900mm

Separator Star roller; Options – MultiSep; Roller separator; TwinSep/Bypass kit (for roller separator)

Cart elevator 120t/hr; 3.5m loading distance; 4m loading height

*(modified in Jersey to less than 3m)

GT170 – tech specs

Harvesting must cope with an average field sizeof just 0.8ha.

Anything over 55mm is waste, making a totalwaste of 100-200t/day which is returned to the field.

On Farm Opinion

of a lesser quality would be ripped apart.”Part of Ricky Gallon’s responsibility is to

ensure the harvester fleet works at peakperformance throughout the season, asany drop in output or downtime can bevery costly.

“We have leeway in the system, with 28

harvesters, of which we use only 18. Buteverything is serviced religiously everyyear. In Oct, we assess the machines andlist the new parts we need –– it’s notunusual to put in an order for £100,000.Clod rollers and webs are the main wearing parts.”

It’s a high cost, he admits, and at anyone time, there’s around £85,000 of sparesin store in case of breakdowns. “Grimmeparts are expensive, but we wouldn’t substitute them for anything else –– it’s asmall price to pay compared with the costof downtime. We’re a company thatbelieves in premium quality, and that’s not just with the crop, but the kit used to harvest it –– quality counts.” n


The user-friendly feel of

Axis drives adoption inthe field.”“

Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that technology has become a major influence on farming practices. Over thepast few years, tight margins and theneed for increased efficiency have ledmany growers to base management decisions on increasingly accurate data,from historical nutrient applications to targeted spray use with pinpoint precision.

With all this data being collected, farmers

FeaturesInnovation Insight

True value from precisionfarming comes from having

the right tools to capture thedata, and the right platforms

to help interpret results. Inthe first of a three-part

series, in which CPMexplores pioneers who have

developed this space, welook at Agrovista’s Axis.

By Charlotte Cunningham

are wanting to make better use of theinformation available to them, without thehassle of sitting down every evening tohours of data inputting. The solution:Management software.

Gap in the marketAgrovista identified this gap in the market at a regular strategy meeting in 2012, triggering a chain of events that would eventually lead to the birth of its web-basedmanagement platform, Axis: AgrovistaeXchange Information System. “We held a blue sky thinking meeting looking at allpossible options,” explains Lewis McKerrow,head of precision technology at Agrovista.

“We looked at our current customer baseand what our customer of the future was likely to need, as well as what people likedand disliked about existing systems. Wecame to the decision that they would expecta web-based platform to deliver information –– which is how Axis started.”

So, what does it do? In a nutshell, Axis isa technical information exchange systemthat allows agronomy and precision farmingdata to be uploaded and shared in real time.It can be used as a free service to access

Agrovista account information as well asvariety, fertiliser, grain market and regulatoryinformation. Alternatively, users can subscribe to one of four different modules for a more in-depth management platform.Subscription modules boast useful featuressuch as gross margins and precision mapping, meaning users can manage anylevel of data, from soil to drone maps.

Phase one of Axis focused on creatingsomething that was bespoke to each customer, as well as building the informationparts of the system. “To make it work, wehad to gather a lot of information about varieties, seed and grain markets,” saysLewis McKerrow. “We benchmarked by looking at lots of different information from a variety of sources –– such as AHDB ––which allowed us to create the fundamentalearly demo system.”

Difficulties came when Agrovista begantrying to utilise different systems and serversto enable features like mapping and forecasting. Axis was trying to do somethingtotally new and some of the advanced mapping tools they created had never beendone on a web-based system, explainsLewis McKerrow.

The pivotal point of managing precision


s


Innovation Insight

“There’s a limit to what browsers arecapable of and there was an element ofchallenge in trying to make systems workseamlessly together and talk to each other,”he adds. “We had to go back to the drawingboard and shrink down the vast amount ofdata we were using, and spent a lot of timeworking with developers.”

They finally cracked it in 2013 after developing a more precise mapping systemthat could work on the web –– and it wasaround this time that the firm partnered withMuddy Boots software to help progress thesystem. “Agrovista has worked with MuddyBoots for a long time, utilising its expertiseand software,” explains Lewis McKerrow.“When Axis started to develop, we worked very closely together to tailor ourrequirements and ensure a seamless flow of information.”

The partnership benefited both firms asMuddy Boots was already thinking about aweb-based platform as the next generationof software, explains Muddy Boots’ JeffGoulding. “The engine room of Axis is ourGreenlight Grower Management system thatwas developed about five years ago ––

designed to capture, share and managedata,” he adds. “What impressed us aboutAgrovista was its innovative approach to engage with farmers and improve service-level delivery.”

As cropping plans can change veryquickly, Axis allows changes to be madeand passed between users at the click of abutton. “The user-friendly feel of Axis drivesadoption in the field, meaning users are easily able to capture and record data via aphone or app,” says Jeff Goulding. “In turn,this provides both farmers and associatedprofessionals with higher quality information,which drives higher performance and betterdecision making.”

Market leaderThough Lewis McKerrow always believedAxis would be a success, 2015 was themoment he felt the platform might just be a market leader in innovation. “We neverdoubted Axis, but all the way through, youdo wonder –– will it work? Are people goingto use it? You can do as much research asyou like but you can never be quite sure.”

Fast forward to June 2015 –– the officiallaunch at the Cereals event. “The initial reaction was positive, but there were a number of key features that were undeveloped,” explains Lewis McKerrow.“Farmers were hungry for more functionality.”

Over the past 12 months, the firm hasdeveloped additional features including fieldand fertiliser recording –– which were only inthe early stages last year.

Today, Axis boasts around 1500 customers, growing rapidly as more functionality is added to the platform.“Farmers can really benefit from the subscription modules,” says LewisMcKerrow. “Axis Field Pro is great for recordkeeping, covering elements like cropping,inputs and costs, allowing users to begin to build up gross margins for the farm,” he explains.

“The Axis MapIT Pro option focuses more on precision farming and uses aGoogle-based mapping system to manageany level of data –– including soil and dronemaps –– and can also be synchronised withmachinery.”

So, how do farmers feel about it? The useof technology is becoming increasinglyimportant as margins are squeezed, farmsget bigger and machinery gets more complicated. However, there needs to be a visible benefit to attract usage, says Jeff Goulding. “The overall message we’vereceived is that if technology adds value,farmers are interested. They’re reluctant tospend and invest unless there’s something

tangible to be gained –– there has to be areal benefit.”

One producer who’s using Axis on hisfarm is mixed beef and arable farmer, Alistair Kingan. Farming 486ha in south westScotland, Alistair Kingan has found Axis tobe an extremely useful tool for managing abusy mix of enterprises in one place.

“We began looking into the software lastyear, but this is our first full season usingAxis,” he says. “I now manage the wholefarm from my phone and for me this wasvery important –– it massively reduces theamount of paperwork in the office.”

Using Axis predominantly for costings, as well as keeping a record of data sheets,such as cross compliance information,Alistair Kingan found his workload hasreduced significantly, maximising efficiencyon farm. “I also run a contracting business

Lewis McKerrow reckoned farmers would expecta web-based platform to deliver information,which is how Axis started.

What impressed Jeff Goulding about Agrovistawas its innovative approach to engage withfarmers and improve service-level delivery.

A seed zone map can be easily created usingimported data.

The software allows you to import data, such asthis conductivity map.

Axis is a technical information exchange systemthat allows agronomy and precision farming datato be uploaded and shared in real time.

s

CPM would like to thankAgrovista for kindly sponsoringthis article, and for providingprivileged access to staff andmaterial used to help put thearticle together.

Innovation Insight

and it’s great for time saving,” he explains.

“Before we started using Axis,there would often be occasionswhere chemicals would be delivered and I’d forget to printthe spray sheet off to give to the operator, or the agronomisthadn’t sent them over, meaningI’d have to make an unnecessarytrip back to get it. Now, everything is in one place ––it certainly speeds things up;

my spray operator loves it.”As well as condensing

information in one place, the platform is very easy to use, saysAlistair Kingan. “It’s fool-proof,”he explains. “I’m using it for general management through the growing season and it’s veryeasy and straightforward ––everything is just there.”

It’s not just farmers who arebenefiting from the Axis system.Soil testing and liming company,S & S Agricultural Liming, haverecently turned to Axis in a novelway. The firm specialises in pHand soil testing and is using theMapITPro module to create limevariable-shape files for use by its tractors and lime spreaders.“As a company, we were alwayslooking for software that allowedus to carry out pH mapping,”explains Lace Twigg at S & SAgricultural Liming. “We’re reallyhappy with it and it’s a nice, easy,

The Axis MapIT Pro option cancurrently manage drone maps, butthere are plans to integrate the dataand put it all on one platform.

Being able to manage and view farm data from a smartphone can massively reduce the amount of paperwork in the office.

simple system to use.”The company uses the tools

on both MapITPro and MapITProAdvance to create a farm map,draw on boundaries and markthe pH level at various test pointsas the advisors are walkingthrough the field. The data is thensynchronised and sent back tothe computer, creating a pH map–– detailing different zones andthe rate of lime needed for eachzone. This can then be savedand downloaded as a shape file and used in sync with the kit spreading the lime, says Lace Twigg.

“It’s the way forward for us,”she adds. “The real turning pointfor us was when we tested theshape files on our tractors and itworked. It reduces the time spentin the office and improves theaccuracy of what we’re doing ––everything is just more concise.”

Agronomists love it too. StevenGate, an agronomist at Agrovista,has been involved with Axissince its conception and beganusing it on farm 18 months ago.“I mainly use the field icon –– allof my recommendations go onthat, meaning farmers have theinformation at their fingertips,” he explains. “MapIT Pro is alsovery useful for measuring fields;particularly if the fields are newor split, they can be easilymapped –– I get a lot out of it.”

The remote access also helpsto reduce workload and improveaccuracy for agronomists, which is equally beneficial tofarmers, says Steven Gate.“Farmers are very much onboard,” he explains. “The fact itencompasses a lot of farm datain one place –– whether it’s from the agronomist, the sprayoperator or the farmer himself –– is key. The exchange of information is crucial.”

This exchange of informationmakes for much more accuratedecision making and providesthe tools to assist with big decisions, says Steven Gate.“Axis allows for much more interaction and helps both farmers and agronomists look at the full picture and take intoaccount historic farm records.”

Interestingly, the younger generation appears to be the most excited about theupcoming technology availableto them. “There seems to be abuzz within the youth in the farming community to take on this technology,” says Steven Gate.

Often, it’s the fear of theunknown that makes the oldergeneration somewhat hesitant to embrace technological developments. However, the simplicity of the Axis system isone of its strongest points, he

explains. “The icons are veryuser friendly and navigation isextremely straightforward. We’re no longer in an age ofworking with a box full of diaries,everything has moved online,and this is a very simple system.”

Of course, the innovationdoesn’t end there and technology is evolving on a dailybasis, so what is in the pipelinefor Axis? Over the coming yearsit’ll see a redesign to give it anew fresh feel, and will becomemore mobile friendly throughoptimised browser technology.“We’ll also be looking at how we integrate drone technology,”says Lewis McKerrow. “At themoment, we send out a link tousers to access the data fromdrones, but this change will putall the data on one platform.

“Axis is great tool for improving efficiencies on farm and helps to fast trackknowledge of the land,” he adds.“It’s important that everyone ismaking use of data –– this platform enables all users to form closer relationshipsbetween all the data that’s available to them.” n


Innovation Insight

I believe we can build in some

flexibility in how new products are

regulated.”

“


FeaturesDigital farming

New apps and better implementation of precision

farming techniques mayhave far-reaching benefits

that go beyond local cost savings or yield

enhancements. CPM travelsto Brussels to find out.


Bayer has unveiled a suite of digital farming solutions it says will help ensurefarmers deliver the right spray at the rightdose and timing to the right place. Usheringin a new age of digital connectivity, themanufacturer believes such developmentsin precision technology could even ease theregulatory path for future crop protectionproducts.

Three new apps were previewed at theend of June at an event on Bayer’sForwardFarm –– a 148ha unit near Brussels,where the company’s been trialling anddemonstrating precision farming technologysince 2009. The Digital Farming apps are setto be rolled out to growers across Europeand further afield over the next 18 months:

Digital Farming solutions help meet Society’srising requirements, improve farming efficiencyand reduce documentation workload, says Thilo Königs.

l Scouting identifies weeds by image recognition, with pests, diseases and other recognition to follow.

l Timing gathers weather data, which whencombined with field-specific information, optimises application timing.

l Field Manager provides field zone-specific maps that allows applications to be optimised to crop potential.Society has a high expectation of farmers,

points out Thilo Königs, responsible for global commercialisation of Bayer’s digitalproducts. “But we need to balance society’sexpectation with science, and farmers mustremain profitable. Digital Farming solutionshelp meet those rising requirements,improve farming efficiency and reduce documentation workload.”

So how has Bayer developed these solutions? The company’s gathered a wealthof data over the years on how its productsare best used, explains Thilo Königs. Morerecently, it’s brought a number of small companies together that have developedsolutions that can digitise the data.

“The aim for Bayer has always been tooptimise crop production. To do this youneed data from the field, combined with digitised knowledge about the productyou’re applying and the conditions in whichto do so.”

And now the platforms in agriculture aredeveloping through which to achieve this,

he says. There are currently 26M connectedfarming devices globally. “That’s not actuallyvery many, but by 2020, this is expected torise to 97M. 70-80% of new farming deviceshave internet connectivity, and this shouldrise to 100%.”

When it comes to improving efficiency ofcrop protection products, he believes there’sconsiderable scope –– research suggests25% of all weather-related harvest damagecan be prevented with prognostic weathermodelling and precision agriculture techniques. What’s more, European Crop

ForwardFarm providesprecision pointers

s

The use of Yara’s N-Tester in France has sky-rocketed following acceptance by authorities of the results as justification forgrowers to vary N to wheat crops based on crop status, rather than being limited bynitrate restrictions.

The N-Tester is a hand-held leaf nitrogenmeasurement tool (also available in the UK)that takes readings in a growing crop toestablish its exact nitrogen status. It measuresthe chlorophyll content of the leaf, as this isrelated to the nitrogen status of the plant.This is used to indicate how much nitrogenthe crop requires.

The tool has been evaluated through aseries of trials and in France this has beenendorsed by the applied research institute for arable crops, Arvalis. In 2012, new legislation governing the use of N, tightly regulated in France, allowed those who could reliably justify an increase to exceed the standard limits.

“Use of the N-Tester took off from 16,000 recommendations to over 87,000 last year,”notes Pedro Parenti, head of marketing at Yara.“It’s now used on 21,000 French farms testing710,000ha of wheat and generates €19M inextra revenue for those farmers as a result.”

The N-Tester allows French growers to reliablyjustify an increase in nitrogen applications abovethe standard limits.

Tool is N-Tester-ment to precision prowess

Spot a weed in yourcrop, and the Scoutingapp can scan it andcompare it with 60,000 images in thecentral database toidentify what it is.

Getting accurate, relevant data to assess field conditions is one of the most important elements ofdigital farming, notes Eric Teuwsen of John Deere. The company has developed a field weatherstation with leaf wetness sensors and this soil moisture probe that can provide valuable localinformation to tailor input dose and timing.

Protection Association figures indicate thateven where inputs are applied, farmers suffer yield losses of up to 40%.

The Scouting apps will be the first to landon European smartphones, although theywon’t be available in the UK until sometimeafter they’re introduced on the continent.Essentially, these are fully digitised versionsof the old Schering guides, but with a wholeheap more intelligence and functionality.

Spot a weed in your crop, then set the

app to scan it. This is then compared withmore than 60,000 images in the Bayer database to determine the culprit you haveto control. “Currently it’s being trained on 50of the most common weeds, and is focusedon the early growth stages. The success ratevaries depends on the available data perweed in the image database.”

So perhaps not quite time to make theagronomist redundant. What’s more it can bea slow process, especially if connectivity is

poor, although it’ll work offline, and then goonline as and when bandwidth becomesavailable.

“It’s early days, but the app will improvethe more it’s used –– it has a self-learningalgorithm that’ll get smarter as more andmore images are loaded up,” says Thilo Königs. There’s also geolocational functionality, so you can map your weeds for your own reference, and it’ll build up apicture of global incidence.

This could become especially handywhen the disease and insect apps come onstream, that are currently in development.Nutrient and yield estimation, as well as leaf-damage detection are also in thepipeline.

Field-specific serviceBayer’s Timing app is based on expert.com–– a web-based and field-specific serviceused by farmers and advisors in parts ofEurope to optimise the use of fungicides and insecticides in various crops.It analyses the infection process of fungaldiseases, the development and migration of pests (in oilseed rape) and storage risk,based on weather information.

Using data from the nearest weather station to your location, you receive an optimised selection of spray timings, appropriate pesticides and a recommendation with adjusted doses. It’ll work out if you need protective performance from your fungicide or a slug of curative control and calculate thelikely duration of action of insecticides.

Field Manager takes this one step further.It’ll take images of your field, either by satellite or drone, and evaluate zones withinthe field for tweaking the dose applied.“Currently this is determined by NormalizedDifferenced Vegetation Index (NDVI) ––essentially plant green area. But in thefuture, sensors will be able to pick up disease that doesn’t even show to thehuman eye. The algorithms we use now candetermine how disease risk will grow, and


Digital farming

s

The work Bayer does with digital farming technology at its ForwardFarm near Brussels is not just about developing tools of practicalbenefit to growers, according to Marc Sneyders,the company’s sustainable operations managerin Belgium.

“We bring many stakeholders here to showthem what’s possible, including food chain representatives, politicians and importantly regulatory authorities. We can do very specialised work looking at how these technologies can reduce the impact of plantprotection products on the environment, anddemonstrate this. The challenge is how fast the regulations can be adapted to the new technology that’s available,” he explains.

When a new herbicide is evaluated, forexample, the worst-case scenario is alwaysassumed for environmental and regulatory purposes, and then statutory limits on its useare set accordingly. “Any pesticide will alwaysbe capped at a certain level, but if we can provethat there’s an optimised dose rate for specificconditions, and we can show that we can control those conditions, I believe we can buildin some flexibility in how new products are regulated. But we’re not there yet,” he counters.

Bayer started working with fourth generationfarmers Jan and Jesse Peeters at Hof Ten Boschat Huldenberg, near Brussels, in 2009. There’s57ha of potatoes in a four-year rotation acrossthe hilly fields on well drained and fertile sandyloam soil. Wheat, sugar beet, corn, oilseed rapeand barley make up the other crops, totallingaround 140ha in the arable rotation. Projects are undertaken in collaboration with public andprivate partners, such as University of Ghent,John Deere or Yara.

“We started with disease prediction, usingfarm-based weather station data, connectedwith other local stations, to get a more accuratepicture of disease risk. For potato blight, forexample, it can help to know where you are inthe disease cycle and whether a protectant orcurative product is best used, and at what rate.More accurate data can help you reliably predictwhich product is best applied within a 12hr window,” explains Marc Sneyders.

The potential benefits for technologies suchas auto shut-off and autosteer have also beenassessed. “In a potato crop, plants next to tramlines have access to more light, water and fertiliser, so you can increase plant density,we’ve found. This, along with more precise pesticide application and steering technologyhave delivered benefits worth €3000-4000/yr on this farm,” he notes.

He believes there are four important steps toensuring digital farming solutions are bringingtangible benefits to a farming system:l Measure –– this is the most important part,

he says. The drive for efficiency and expansion has resulted in a generation of farmers less in touch with their land and crops than their fathers or grandfathers. Current technology,such as soil and crop scans, and weather stations, allows growers to reacquaint themselves with crop performance on anintra-field scale.

Marc Sneyders believes that by proving there’san optimised dose rate for specific conditions,and through controlling these, some flexibilitycan be built in in how new products areregulated.

Regulatory hope for precision technology

l Advise –– this is the most difficult part,and turns the gathered data into

recommendations and actions. It relies on good knowledge and robust algorithms, and the industry together with the farmers are “getting there”, he says.

l Implement – this is where farmers started with precision technology, in many cases,and is the easy part, provided the equipmentworks and technologies are compatible.

l Evaluate – Yield-mapping, benchmarking and sharing results are essential ways to assess how it’s working at a farm level,and progress the technology.And the potential rewards are high, he

stresses. “Precision application encourages trustin the food chain, and regulators should takegreater account of this technology. Farmersdon’t always need robust dose rates of a pesti-cide applied over a whole field. If we’re to facemore stringent caps in the future, we needtechnologies that can focus effective control where it’s needed to limit overall use of inputs. If we can show such flexibility works and is reliable, this can ensure a moresustainable future for farming,” concludes Marc Sneyders.

Food chain representatives, politicians andimportantly regulatory authorities are amongstakeholders Bayer brings to its ForwardFarmnear Brussels.

Digital farming

The Timing and Field Manager apps gatherweather data to optimise application timing on a field-specific basis.

A colour-coding system along with notificationsalert growers to disease risk, while Bayer isdeveloping the algorithms that will refineprediction.

we’re constantly improving these,” notesThilo Königs.

The Autopilot function within the app bringsyou notifications to take action at the righttime. “Then you just take a USB stick, plug itinto the terminal and let the sprayer go.”

Currently under test with about 400-500farmers, the first commercial versions will berolled out across France and Germany forwheat in 2018 and will use satellite imagesas the input data. There’ll be versions forsoya in Brazil and canola in Canada, withthe Brazilian app using drone images. Rollout thereafter will depend on success of theinitial versions. n


Features Conservation agriculture

Conservation or Regenerativeagriculture has long been the

preserve of the no-till enthusiast, but are therevaluable lessons for all?CPM gathers knowledge

from Groundswell and on-farm trials.



Rebirth your dirt

Groundswell, that took place in Herts lastmonth, could be viewed as the gatheringpoint for disciples of regenerative agriculture, expounding minimal soilmovement with metal, where bare earth is viewed with disdain andbiology is the celebrated saviour of an enlightened tilth.

But that could be pigeon-holing anevent that has a lot to offer mainstreamagriculture –– look around the stands and

the packed seminars and you’ll find progressive, inquisitive arable farmers,rather than ecological activists.

“It feels a bit like Glastonbury Festivalmeets conventional agriculture,” notesNorthants grower Andrew Pitts. “There’s ahint of organic evangelism, blended withand endorsed by professional realism ––the event seems to embrace the best ofboth worlds. Is this the new Cereals?”

Drew a crowdOne person you probably won’t find at Cereals, but who drew a crowd atGroundswell is geologist from the Universityof Washington David Montgomery. His trilogy of books charts the degradation and rescue of soils, and the effect on society.

“Throughout history, communities thatfailed to look after their soil have suffered.Erosion takes place at 1mm/yr, whichsounds slow, but to a geologist, that’sscreamingly fast.”

It’s meant that those who farm in theflood plain, such as the delta of the Nile inEgypt, benefit from fertile farmland at the

expense of places like Ethiopia andSomalia, from where the soils are washed,he says.

But equally, he’s been surprised at the“transformative change” to soils whereconservation agriculture has been adopted. There are three core principleshe expounds that are the mantra of regenerative agriculture and resoundedaround the event:l Minimise soil disturbancel Keep the ground covered throughout

the yearl Have a diverse crop rotation

It’s inspired farmers like KeithThompson, with 1000ha near Osage City, Kansas in the United States.“Regenerative agriculture is about keepingsomething growing in the ground all thetime. The key for me was cover crops, andthe power of the mix –– you put a load ofdifferent plants in the ground and there’s a symbiosis that goes on.”

All he does to his soil to put thoseplants there is “cut, place, firm, cover”,with his drill that’s adapted from a JohnDeere 750A. “I know my soil’s improving

There’s a hint of organic

evangelism, blendedwith and endorsed

by professional realism.”

“


Make Model Row Spacing (mm) Hopper (litres) Weight (kg) Coulters Price (£)Dale Drills Eco L 125/250/ 500 3 or 4 tonnes 7000 max 48 66,000

Horsch Avatar 6 SD 167 3500 9300 36 80,000

John Deere 750 A 166 2300 6300 36 100,862

Primewest(NOTE: 5m width)

Ryetec Ma/Ag SS P 60 T 182 2500 6250 33 69,495

Simtech T-Sem 600AC 188 4100 5550 32 70,000

Sly Boss 167/188/ 200/250 2000 6000 max 36 From 54,000

Sumo DD 6 200 3600 8300 30 87,243

Weaving GD6000T 168 3800 9000 36 64,400

6m no-till contenders at Groundswell

Conservation agriculture

Progressive, inquisitive arable farmers crowded around stands and packed out seminars at theGroundswell event in Herts.

because I’m getting much better infiltrationrates. But every farmer can do it –– I’venever met a farmer who doesn’t want toleave his soils in a better state than hefound them.”

Could mycorrhizal fungi be the key todoing this? For Jamie Stotzka, head ofR&D at PlantWorks, these essential soilorganisms form part of a symbiosis withplants that rarely gets the credit it

deserves. “Both partners get somethingout of it, with plants getting better accessto nutrients and water and organic carbontransferred to the fungus,” she explains.

“We think it also upregulates the efficiency with which plants process water and nutrients. It’s a relationshipthat’s been in existence for 460M years,so plants probably couldn’t have survivedwithout it.”

Soil fertilityMycorrhizal fungi perform certain services, in terms of soil fertility “The mostsignificant is cycling and mineralisation ofnutrients. They work with N-fixing bacteria,but there’s also a lot they do to make Pavailable. Manage this activity correctlyand you don’t need to apply any.”

Research suggests that in the presenceof mycorrhizae, plants will opt to get thefungi to do all the work on processing P.This is also known to take place to a pointwith N and with zinc.

“The symbiosis the fungi has with the plant root also has the effect ofincreasing overall surface area of ‘root’

by 100-1000 times. The fungal networkextends into the soil far further than the root itself, and it’s also very fine,accessing resources that would otherwise be unavailable to a plant.”

There are other services the fungi perform, she explains, including:l Improving soil structure –– through the

physical properties of the fungal ‘root’ network

l Supporting healthy plant growth –– microbiota work with the plant

l Stress alleviation –– they aren’t anti-pathogenic, but are believed to upregulate the plant’s natural immune system

l Drought tolerance –– through the extended ‘root’ network

l Degrading pollutants –– they help break down pesticides and can clean up heavy metals from the land.There are different types, but one

of the most significant are arbuscularmycorrhizal fungi (AMF), continuesJamie Stotzka. “These actually grow intothe root cell. 90% of crop plants want tosupport this symbiosis, but some don’t s

Cross Slot PW5-23 217 2600 8000 23 135,000


Blackgrass does not make a good cover crop.That’s the conclusion from the first year ofadopting a no-till and cover-crops approach atCollege Farm, near Huntingdon, Cambs, now theUK showcase farm for the system favoured bySky Agriculture.

The plan is to emulate the success of Fermede la Conillais in Britany, N France, (see CPM,May 2016) that hosts training sessions for farmers, alongside trials and rotations that have developed a system focused on soilimprovement.

At College Farm, there’s 100ha of arablecrops, that sit alongside 120ha of grass grazedby the farm’s flock of pedigree Suffolk sheep.The mainly Hanslope series clay “grows blackgrass well”, says James Woolway of Opico,the UK distributor for Sky whose family farm at

College Farm. “But blackgrass leaves the soilsour,” he adds.

Having sold the machinery last July, all cropshave been established with a Sky EasyDrill. Thefirst year of trials have revolved around threefields –– Gypsy Lane Field was “reset” with theplough in the autumn, with peas established thisspring into bare soil, explains Joe Redman,product specialist for Sky Agriculture, who’sbeen carrying out the trials.

“In hindsight, we should have ploughed earlier and established cover crops, becausethere are wheelmarks now in places that wouldhave held the traffic better if there’d been coverover the winter,” he says.

Home Field has gone into spring wheat, andthe plan had been to trial direct-drilled againstmin-tilled cover crops. “In the end, the trial didn’t come to anything because of the dry conditions last autumn. There was some coverwhere it was direct drilled, but in the cultivatedpart, only blackgrass grew.

“However, there was a difference in soilstructure –– where the cover crop grew well,you dig up a good spit with the spade. Wherejust blackgrass grew, the land is blocky, sad and difficult to dig,” he reports.

In Brickyard, three different dates for establishing cover crops was tried –– August,Sept and Oct. “The earlier two were much moresuccessful than the Oct-established part.

“In the spring, we’ve found that if blackgrassis well established, you need to spray it off well

Lessons learned in first year of trials

before establishing a crop. We left two tramlinesunsprayed until close to drilling, and this areadid not establish well. But where there is a successful cover crop, you can spray later and drill with ease.”

This first year reflects the lessons learnedfrom La Conillais, notes Christophe de Carville of Sky Agriculture, and it’s often seen as farmsmake the transition from “metal to biology” asthe main means of working the soil. “It looks amess, but with a good cover crop, you can sprayit off just before drilling and go straight in withthe EasyDrill,” he says.

“Cover crop roots will go far deeper than anymetal you can pull through the soil. Establishthem early and you will feed your soil, turningfree sunlight into roots, rather than tilling it withmetal driven by diesel that you pay for.

“But don’t rely on blackgrass as your overwinter cover. Yes, you’ll get it to chit, but it will leave your soil in a poor state,” he says.

Christophe de Carville (left) notes theexperiencesof Joe Redman (right) are typical of those farmsthat make the transition from metal to biology.

The spring wheat is growing clean of blackgrass,but where it overwintered, it left the soil sour.


For geologist David Montgomery and biologistAnne Biklé, it’s possible to bring transformativechange to soils.

Jamie Stotzka believes mycorrhizal fungi formpart of a symbiosis with plants that rarely getsthe credit it deserves.

–– oilseed rape, sugar and fodder beet, cabbage and quinoa are the main ones.

“So if you grow OSR, for that growingseason your population of AMF will start tobe depleted, unless you are companion

cropping with another host plant. If AMF do not find a host plant they will die back,”she notes.

It also exclusively and profusely produces glomalin. This is a glycoproteinthat was only discovered about 20 yearsago and is understood to be one of the key components that binds soil particles, helping improve water stability anddecreasing soil erosion. “If you want more organic matter and to build carboncontent of your soil, you need AMF –– without it you will waste a third of the carbon you apply.”

Requires a scientistSo how do you tell if you have AMF? “You can’t see it with the naked eye. Youcan do a test, but it’s not simple andrequires a scientist,” says Jamie Stotzka.

But you can influence it. “Soil disturbance has the biggest destructiveeffect. So min-till and no-till systemsencourage AMF. Keeping continuous

crop cover, ensuring there is always a host plant, will keep the populationhigh. Also be careful with your rotation –– brassicae will not help AMF, and mustard may actually drive down the fungal community.”

s

Cover crops established this autumn could counttowards the Ecological Focus Area (EFA) of your2017 BPS payment, notes Ian Gould of seedspecialists Oakbank. “You can only claim themas part of your 2017 EFA if you’ve already completed and submitted the paperwork,”he points out.

“However, those who have claimed for an EFA cover crop could use that same crop astheir 2018 EFA, assuming the rules remain the same.”

This option may be especially useful for thoseplanning not to crop part of the area they’re putting down to cover crops. “For a farm thatneeds 20ha of EFA for the 2017 BPS claim,you’d need to establish 67ha of cover crops thisautumn, and it must remain until 15 Jan 2018,”he explains.

“If you leave 20ha of that area, you can claimit as fallow in your 2018 BPS, giving you yourfull 20ha of EFA, provided you don’t crop the

land until after 30 June. Under EFA rules for fallow, you can cut it as often as you like after15 Jan, although you can’t forage harvest orgraze it.”

What’s more, plant the right mix and it’ll do wonders to the soil, he points out.Demonstration plots at College Farm, Cambs,have been planted with different crops or mixtures to see how they perform. “Before youplant, be sure to check the current approved listof species for your EFA Cover Crops –– oilradish has been added for 2017, for example,”he notes.

“Radish is an excellent phosphate (P) hunter,and roots can go down as deep as 1.5m. It willstimulate legumes in a mix to fix N, because itscruciferous roots will draw the N out of the soil,although cruciferous plants don’t encouragemycorrhizae.” He favours Daikon radish, thatputs its energy into the root, or oil radish, whichputs more into the leaf.

“Rye has strong roots and will scavenge N well, but be careful as it has a high carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio, so may take up a lot of N as it decomposes,” advises Ian Gould.

Sunflowers and buckwheat don’t qualify forEFA, he notes, but grow fast and make goodcatch crops, capturing energy from the sun andturning it into biomass that can be destroyedbefore a late autumn crop.

“Buckwheat germinates in extremely lowmoisture, and it covers the ground very quickly.Sunflowers can be drilled deeper into moisture,but you only need 3-4 seeds/m2. They’re alsogreat at encouraging mycorrhizae.

“Linseed is useful as it’s deep-rooting and adifferent crop type to others in the rotation ––

Double the EFA benefit from the cover-crop conundrum

worms like it a lot. The same goes for phacelia,which has a lovely fine root structure creating agood tilth and it’s incredibly easy to establish.

“Vetches do well if left in the ground for afew months –– they’re legumes that fix N.They cover the ground and will keep the moisture in the soil.

“It’s best to establish a multi-species mix that aids nutrient-cycling and creates a lot ofsynergies between plant types. These may costa little more (£30-40/ha), but you can bring thecost down if you bulk it up with home-growncereals, such as oats or your own field beans,”notes Ian Gould.

Those who have claimed for an EFA cover cropin 2017 could use that same crop as their 2018EFA, notes Ian Gould.


Daikon radish, that puts its energy into the rootand is an excellent phosphate hunter.

Jackie Stroud is investigating earthworms atRothamsted Research to gauge the extent to

which Lumbricus terrastris underpins successfulzero-tillage agriculture.

The use of fungicides is known toreduce AMF, although the effect differs byproduct. “But it won’t wipe them out, andfungicides aren’t nearly as destructive as cultivation. Most herbicides are compatible.”

You can also apply AMF, effectivelyinoculating your soil. It comes as a granule, a bit like Avadex, and would beapplied with a similar applicator at a rateof around 10kg/ha. “Each granule containsactive propagules including spores,hyphae and colonised root fragments, andthe germinating seed needs to find thespore for the symbiosis to start. So a highseed rate is recommended,” she says.

PlantWorks supplies two products suitable for broad-acre crops. SmartRotations 2 (SR2) contains AMF and plantgrowth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR).

These complementary bacteria work with the AMF to fix nitrogen, produce phytohormones, solubilise P, and enhance plant systemic resistance, says Jamie Stotzka. SR3 is a purely bacterial inoculant.

“SR2 costs around £38/ha and is bestapplied to a cover crop with a high seedrate so that the population has built readyfor the following cash crop. SR3 comes inthree crop-specific formulations, andgrowers should specify this when ordering.The cereal formulation costs £23/ha,” she says. n



A robust fungicide approach,based on Adexar, is routinely

used to coach Borders grower David Fuller-Shapcott’s

wheat into optimum performance. CPM visits to

find out how the system andthe approach are evaluated.


Yield is king and I do

believe in investingin the crop. But itshouldn’t come at

any cost.”

“

It takes a few minutes to find the markerthat denotes where the underpants areburied in amongst the grasses and coverof the field margin. The search isn’t madeany easier by the rain that’s teeming downnear Kelso, just 12 miles from the Scottishborder, on a mid-June day when the restof the UK is experiencing record-high temperatures.

Eventually David Fuller-Shapcott finds themarker and unearths the pants that hadbeen carefully buried eight weeks earlier togauge the level of biological activity in thesoil. “They’re really quite unscathed, and thatsurprises me,” he notes.

“I thought the activity in the soil on thefield edge would be quite significant. But theunderpants I buried in the field itself lookedfar more tattered when I uncovered them,which shows we must be doing somethingright to the soils here.”

Soil-improvement focusThere’s been a firm focus on improving theseBrown Forest and Gley heavy clay soilsacross the 400ha he farms, based atSweethope Farm, with the aim of movingeventually to a no-till regime. This has gonehand-in-hand with attention to optimisinggrowth above ground. “It’s about the journeythe crop takes from the moment you put theseed in the ground to when you combine it,”explains David Fuller-Shapcott.

“You want it to be as short as possible ––not time-short, but in terms of ‘distance’. Youdon’t want to knock the plant off course, butkeep it going on a consistent straight line,letting it make the most of the resources itfinds and maximising the light it intercepts.”

This is what’s led him to join BASF’s RealResults Circle –– a group of 50 growers coming together and sharing results fromon-farm trials to find out what really works inthe field (see panel on p87). “Yield is kingand I do believe in investing in the crop.

RealResults

Pioneers

But it shouldn’t come at any cost –– theinvestment has to be managed, and youmust be sure you’re putting the best regimein place to achieve it,” he says.

The potential rewards are high –– thisarea of Scotland, with its mid-summerdaylength and soils noted for their inherentfertility, can push out record-breaking crops.First wheat yields at Sweethope Farm average between 10-12.5t/ha.

A fourth-generation farmer, David Fuller-Shapcott moved with his family toScotland from Wilts in 1988, shortly after thedeath of his grandfather. “At the time, the

The underpants recovered from the field edge arerelatively unscathed, showing there’s surprisinglyless biological activity in the field margin than inthe crop.

Putting ‘the best’ to the test

oat-based mix is fantastic for soil conditioning and adds a huge amount of organic matter.”

On headlands around OSR, a radish-based mix, including berseem cloverand gold of pleasure, is established. “OSRheadlands get pounded and never come to anything, and there are often chemicalissues. With a net margin from the stewardship payment of £700/ha, this puts profit into parts of the field that wasn’tthere before,” he notes.

With chicken muck applied before winterbarley to boost autumn N, and only thewheat straw removed, he’s finding the combination of rotation, cover crops and

David Fuller-Shapcott has somewhat turned theBASF Real Results challenge on its head for the13.5ha crop of KWS Barrel under test.

“I work quite closely with the local BASF staff,and already use Adexar across the wheats to optimise their performance. So in the trial,we’ve purposefully set out to find a fungicide programme that we feel will challenge thatapproach,” he says (see table on p88).

Sweethope Farm is among 50 farms that havejoined the Real Results Circle –– an initiative thatwill allow farmers to conduct their own on-farmtrials, backed by BASF.

Seven tramlines have been set out, and theseare being monitored and assessed throughout theseason by ADAS and AgSpace, who are providingtechnical support and helping to apply a reasonable degree of scientific rigour to the trials.

The main difference in the programmes undertest at Sweethope Farm is the extra strobilurinapplied at T1 in the non-BASF approach, pointsout David Fuller-Shapcott. “The crop did show alittle N stress early on during the dry spell,

although the fact our soils barely cracked after sixweeks of dry weather is testament to their abilityto retain moisture. We did apply some amino acidproducts to destress the plants, however. Now thewhole field looks fantastic and you can’t tell thedifference between the two regimes.”

Within the 50 Real Results farms are five CPM readers whose progress is being closelymonitored, with updates provided throughout theseason in subsequent issues of CPM and throughwww.cpm-magazine.co.uk There are full profileson the CPM featured farmers, progress reports,Real Results Pioneers features and links to moreat www.basfrealresults.co.uk

In Essex, Tom Bradshaw’s Real Results trial sitsin a 21ha field of KWS Siskin on Hanslope serieschalky boulder clay. Elatus plus epoxiconazole hasbeen pitched at T2 against Librax. “It’s been apretty simple season for disease control providingspray timings have been right,” he comments. “It’llbe interesting to see how the potential longevity ofElatus performs against Librax in keeping diseaseat bay, especially brown rust.”

Richard Hinchliffe’s field of Grafton in Yorks is“clean down to the base”, he says. He’s put Ascraacross much of the farm at T2, set against Libraxin the trial. “Considering the weather this season,I’m not predicting any yield difference ahead of the combine,” he says.

The progress and details of the five demonstration farms and the 50-farmer trial can be followed at www.basfrealresults.co.uk

Trialling a different approach to the Adexar norm

In the trial, they’ve purposefully set out to find a fungicide programme that will challenge theAdexar-based farm programme.

move came as a complete surprise to me,but it meant we could retain the sameacreage at a third of the land value. This isman’s land, however, rather than the boy’sland we left behind –– manage these soilsright and they can achieve double the yieldswe used to get in Wilts.”

And it’s a delicate balance on soils thatdon’t forgive a lapse in management, henotes. “There’s a field where ruts were created by pea viners during a very wet harvest, and you could still see these in the crop 10 years later.”

He’s now moved away from the plough, in an area of Scotland that still very muchdepends on it as the primary cultivation tool.A 3m Weaving Subdisc, combining sevenleading tines, a row of discs and a Guttlerpacker roller, makes a single pass straightafter harvest, working to a depth of around200mm. “We’re aiming to bring the depth upas the soil improves,” he adds.

“We currently drill with a 4m Kuhn power-harrow combination. It’s not kind tothe soil, and we’re looking towards a morerestricted tillage regime. But we pull this onour slopes with a 150hp Massey Ferguson6480, which is a relatively low power requirement, so I think we’re heading in theright direction.” Likewise, there’s a relativelysmall 6m header fronting up the John DeereT560 combine, reducing weight and potential damage to soil at harvest.

Brexit-proof rotationThe rotation is geared towards a regimeDavid Fuller-Shapcott feels is “Brexit andIndy-ref 2-proof”. First wheats follow bothoilseed rape and spring oats, with a springthen a winter barley completing the six-yearcourse.

“Second winter wheats don’t pay and thetiming is difficult to manage, so we major onthe first wheats, while everything’s aimed atsoil health and building in resilience. Theprocess revolves around harvesting logistics–– wheat after OSR is easy, and so is winterbarley after spring barley, although springoats into winter wheat is a challenge.”

An option under the Scottish RuralDevelopment Programme Agri-Environmentand Climate Change Scheme now puts 15haof this spring oats area into cover cropsinstead. A mix of black oats, vetch, berseemclover, crimson clover and phacelia followsthe overwintered stubble, which is thentopped and incorporated in Aug. “This

David Fuller-Shapcott aims to keep his wheatcrop on a consistent straight line, letting it makethe most of the resources it finds and light itintercepts.

Over the past two years, the farm has earned abronze and a silver YEN award.


Real Results Pioneerss

Farming in the UK has never before been confronted with such a perfect storm of uncertainty.

Uncertainty over where the industry is headed post Brexit; uncertainty of returns,because of fluctuating prices and stagnatingyields; uncertainty over the removal of chemicalactive ingredients from the arable toolkit, anduncertainty over which of the mind-boggling arrayof new products, technologies and tools would bebest to try to get to grips with.

To combat growing uncertainty, BASF and CPM are encouraging everyone with a passion for UK farming to unite. We want to help form an agricultural knowledge network of experts,industry specialists, agronomists and farmers.

We want farmers to share their knowledge and conduct on-farm trials. By coming together to face challenges as one, we can find out what really works and shape the future of UK agriculture.

The Real Results CircleThis year, BASF’s Real Results Circle is

exploring wheat fungicides and oilseed rapeprofitability. This series of articles in CPMprofiles some of the growers who’ve joined the Real Results Circle, giving an insight intohow they optimise returns from their crops.We’ll also have topical advice and expert guidance from ADAS on how to get the bestfrom on-farm trials.

To keep in touch with the progress of these growers and the trials, go towww.basfrealresults.co.uk

straw incorporation is bringing more lifeinto the soils.

“Most of it’s down to management and I feel it’s important to recognise what the various crop roots are doing and how theywork different parts of the soil. Heavy rainfallcan also make these soils unworkable ––they won’t let the water through. But get theworm population right and the difference todrainage is remarkable.”

The difference above ground is remarkable, too, notes Catriona Bancroft ofWallace of Kelso –– the farm’s agronomist.“With our cold springs, it’s about getting thecrop moving early on, and the soil oftendoesn’t do what you’d expect.”

An N-Min test taken after cover cropsgave a very low result, for example. “The aimis not to fix N but to improve soil health andyou can tell just by walking over the field thishas been achieved –– the soil condition isremarkable. This has allowed for investmentin the crop and David’s not cutting corners,here. There’s a robust approach and itshows.”

The farm is now part of ADAS’ YieldEnhancement Network (YEN), that closelymonitors crop growth and helps growerstowards achieving a higher percentage oftheir crop’s potential. Over the past two

years, David Fuller-Shapcott has earned abronze award with 78% and a silver awardwith 63.5%.

“The YEN report is fantastic,” he says. “It’s very thought-provoking and does focusyou on how you can change things toimprove the percentage of potentialachieved. We’re doing much more routinetissue and soil-testing, and one thing thishas highlighted is that zinc levels could beimproved, for example –– this can affect ear fertility.”

Bigger jobHe also believes fungicides do a bigger jobthan just disease protection, and CatrionaBancroft reckons this is key to capturing lightand turning it into yield. “In this part of theworld, crops are slow growing in the spring,but there’s a very long period between theT3 spray timing and harvest meaning weneed longer disease protection. Building the crop up so it has optimum performanceduring that long grain-filling period is thesecret to success.”

The BASF Real Results trial is about

putting this approach to the test, she says.An essential element of a system that worksis to put in the time and effort to evaluate theresults. “David’s prepared to turn things ontheir head and change agronomic practice.He’s pushed the boat out and thought aboutthings in a different way. Our industry is currently starved of good applied research–– the best of it’s now happening on farm.So it’s only where farmers put the time andeffort into good on-farm trials that you’ll getthe progress in crop productivity.” n

Timing Sweethope Farm BASFT1 Variano (1.25 l/ha) + CTL Adexar (1.25 l/ha) + CTL

T2 Ascra (1.3 l/ha) Adexar (1.25 l/ha) + CTL

Both plots received a T0 spray of chlorothalonil (CTL) plus cyproconazole and a T3 of prothioconazole plus tebuconazole; Adexar contains fluxapyroxad+ epoxiconazole; Ascra contains bixafen+ fluopyram + prothioconazole; Variano contains bixafen+ fluoxastrobin+ prothioconazole;Elatus contains benzovindiflupy

The aim has been to improve soil health and youcan tell just by walking over the field of barleythis has been achieved.

On headlands around OSR, a radish-based mix isestablished and the stewardship payment putsprofit into parts of the field that wasn’t therebefore.

Catriona Bancroft believes the secret to highwheat yields in Scotland is to build the crop up so it has optimum performance during the longgrain-filling period.

Sweethope Farm’s Real Results trial

Real Results Pioneers


s

Based on diquat’s trackrecord of five

decades of safeuse, concerns are

unfounded.”

“

Burning question over diquat

growers who depend on it for good qualityproduction at affordable cost,” he says.

The expiry date of the EU registration ofdiquat has been extended by a year recentlyby the EU Commission and will now end inJune 2018. This will allow the Commission tocomplete the review process, he explains.

Withdraw approval“The European Commission proposed towithdraw the approval of the registration ofdiquat in March 2016, which is based onconcerns related to re-entry of workers,bystanders and residents; and to birds.

“It’s Syngenta’s opinion, based on diquat’strack record of five decades of safe use,these concerns are unfounded and arebased on an extremely conservative, precautionary risk assessment, which isinconsistent with other evaluations. Thisopinion is supported by a number of EUMember States,” he confirms.

Hans Buth believes that without diquat,the sustainable production of potatoes wouldbe seriously undermined.

“Given its unique role as a fast-actingdesiccant, diquat helps protect the quality of the potato by preventing the spread of

diseases such as blight and viruses to thetuber and improving skin set, helping toensure production of high quality potatoes,”he adds.

But in the light of the uncertainty, it makes sense to Frontier’s Stuart Maltby to

Roots Potato desiccation

Many growers are diquat-dependent at burn

down. CPM gathers opinionfrom those looking at the

alternatives.


A question-mark hangs over the future ofdiquat, though the truth is no one reallyknows what the regulators will decide,believes Frontier potato specialist, StuartMaltby. But according to Hans Buth,Reglone asset manager at Syngenta, it will be very much business as usual thisautumn as far as diquat is concerned.

Outlining the current position with diquat,he says that Syngenta remains hopeful thata positive decision to approve the renewal ofdiquat (Reglone) in EU28 can be reached.

“Syngenta and relevant stakeholders continue to advocate that a correct technicalassessment can lead to a positive decision.Diquat is particularly important to potato

s

Stuart Maltby says desiccation is a more complexdecision-making process when diquat is removedfrom the equation.


For members of Montrose-based cooperative,Grampian Growers, control of tuber size for thecorrect market is a critical factor in the productionof their premium quality seed and baby potatoes.

In the past, the cooperative focused its attention on growing stalwart varieties, such asMaris Piper, Maris Peer and King Edward. But withrecent advances in breeding, together with abespoke programme facilitated by the JamesHutton Institute in Dundee, they’re now growingan exclusive variety, Gemson. The new variety isproviding a greater proportion of the crop at thedesirable size of <45mm, affording the co-op’sgrowers greater returns.

General manager, Sandy McGowan, is keen to point out that, although the group specialises in seed production, Gemson is very much a dual-purpose variety.

“It’s fast becoming a premium baby potatovariety in the UK. Grampian Growers have planted185ha of certified seed this year and because of its flexibility, we plan for around 35% of thecrop at <45mm to be sold for packing and the remaining 65% retained for seed. That’sbudgeting on a gross yield of 45-50t/ha.”

Out of 6000t of Gemson grown by the grouplast year, less than 100t ended up in the lessdesirable upper >55mm range.

It’s purely a numbers game, says SandyMcGowan. “Gemson has the ability to produce20-35 tubers/plant, compared to Peer at 12-15tubers/plant for the same gross yield. That meansa higher proportion of the valuable <45mm fraction, where we accurately control the sizemanagement. Peer is more of a 50/50 ratio,whereas Gemson can reliably perform at 65/35.”

The genetic advantages that Gemson bring tothat market are one thing, but for the variety todeliver commercially, crop management is crucialand especially so at burn off.

Growers are encouraged to accurately flail thetops when the tuber size ratio is optimum andthen desiccate rapidly after 48 hours usingSpotlight Plus, to ensure that growth is halted and quality preserved by reducing the chance ofinfection by tuber blight.

“We encourage our growers to be as preciseas possible when flailing. Generally, remainingstems should be about 20-30cm in length beforewe apply the T2. If conditions don’t allow for that,then we might use diquat, followed by theSpotlight Plus, but we’ve noticed a significantincrease in size where that’s the case. The moreaccurate the flailing, then the less work there isfor the carfentrazone-ethyl to do.”

For Aberdeenshire potato grower RodneyHarrison, of Clarence Murray (Potato Growers andFarmers), variable weather conditions over his

seed and ware crop can often prove testing,across an equally variable mix of soil types.

With 122ha destined for seed and a further49ha for the ware market, precision crop management is an essential and integral part of his remit, especially when it comes to cropdesiccation and post-growth and harvest care.

He’s also an advocate of paying attention todetail when it comes to flailing and believes thatif the flailing is carried out precisely enough, it’sa lot easier for the desiccant to work.

“Following flailing, we’ll apply a reduced rateof diquat to assist with any further green leafdesiccation and then within a week, follow upwith a second reduced dose of diquat and a full-rate of Spotlight Plus. In some situations,and with certain varieties, a second applicationof carfentrazone may sometimes be necessaryat the lower rate of 0.6 l/ha, just to finish thejob off.”

Moving away from diquat dependency

investigate alternative systems of desiccation should the unthinkable happen.

“When sulphuric acid went, we thought itwould be the end of the world but it wasn’t,we developed alternatives. We had worriesthat diquat would cause internal browningbut have learnt that this was being causedby the shock to the plant rather than thediquat itself,” he says.

The big problem for potato growers is thatthere’s no like-for-like replacement for diquatand the alternatives will prove to be moreexpensive.

“As a T1, diquat is very good at removinggreen leaf, leaving stems exposed for a fol-low up treatment. The alternative desiccants,Gozai (pyraflufen-ethyl) and Spotlight Plus(carfentrazone-ethyl), are best targeted atstems, so naturally slot into the T2 position,”explains Stuart Maltby.

That leaves mechanical methods, such as flailing, as a T1 for green leaf removal. It’s an effective strategy but creates its ownset of problems as well as having someadvantages, he explains.

“When removing green leaf with the flail,debris will be spread over an area, so it’sreally important to be on top of any diseaseproblems, such as blight or blackleg, beforeconsidering this change of tack.

Rodney Harrison applies a reduced rate ofdiquat after flailing, to assist with any furthergreen leaf desiccation and then within a week,follows up with a second reduced dose of diquatand a full-rate of Spotlight Plus.

Sandy McGowan encourages his Grampian Growers to be as precise as possible when flailing.

s

Potato desiccation


s

Sean Sparling says flail and spray is becoming apopular method of desiccation.

That means applying a blight sprayimmediately in front of the flail may be advisable, he suggests. “Flailing wounds the crop, so it’s more vulnerable to infection. It also opens up the crop, exposing anycracks in the soil so tubers are potentiallyvulnerable to blight spores on the debris. A mixture of cymoxanil and fluazinam wouldprovide kickback and protection againsttuber blight in this situation,” reckons Stuart Maltby.

For those who have already moved to flailing, the increased number of wheelingscan be a problem in a wet season, thoughsix-row machines are available which reduce the problem. On the plus side, in a dry season, toppers can be fitted withridge-rollers to assist with closing up cracksin the soil and reducing the number ofgreens, he points out.

Stopping regrowth of the potato canopyusing desiccation at the first attempt –– using chemicals with or without flail and spray –– is the key to maximising marketable yield. That means cutting corners by reducing application rates or the number of applications will almost certainly prove to be a false economy, adds independent agronomist and AICCchairman Sean Sparling.

He says that flail and spray has become an increasingly popular method of desiccation, particularly because of thepotential restrictions if diquat is withdrawn.

“With diquat under so much regulatorypressure, an alternative option is needed,and flail and spray works just as well atopening up the crop.

“The key to achieving good control isbeing efficient at the first attempt. I movedaway from using diquat as my main desiccant about four years ago, and it hasbeen replaced with Spotlight. We generallydon’t need to go in again with a secondapplication as the initial crop kill is usuallyeffective enough, but if the season dictates,

Stopping regrowth of the potato canopy throughdesiccation at the first attempt – using chemicalswith or without flail and spray – is the key tomaximising marketable yield.

When removing green leaf with the flail, debriswill be spread over an area, so it’s reallyimportant to be on top of any disease problems.

we use the lower fixed follow-up rate of 0.6 l/ha.

If a reduced dose rate has been used the first time around it’s far more likely thatsecondary growth will occur, he says.

Stuart Maltby comments that the numberof applications after flailing are likely todepend on the time of year and the howgreen the variety is when you’re trying tostop the crop in its tracks.

“Processing crops are often in full growthwhen you need to burn them off and twoapplications may well be necessary to stopany regrowth,” he says.

Little differenceIn terms of performance, Stuart Maltbybelieves Gozai and Spotlight are on a par,with very little to choose between them. Inthe field, you’d be hard pressed to tell thedifference between them, he adds.

“Choice of T2 is a personal preferenceand can come down to the blight sprays themanufacturers will back in a tank-mix. It’simportant to maintain as much curativeblight cover as possible, while being mindfulof harvest intervals,” he says.

Sean Sparling says this year has been anunusual one –– a long drought post-planting,followed by heavy rain means that crops arenow growing away strongly. Monitoring thesize of tubers is essential and when the timecomes to stop it growing, it needs to bestopped as quickly and reliably as possible.

“My advice is the same for any year.Once the tuber has reached its optimummarketable size, the haulm should be flailedor otherwise opened up immediately, but aquality operation must be achieved.

Both agronomists highlight the need toallow any debris to wilt after flailing before

going in with a follow-up treatment.“It’s essential to ensure that if you flail, the

flailed stems and canopy must not lie acrossany part of the plant that is still attached, so itmakes sense to leave the freshly flailed cropfor about 48 hours before going in with adesiccant such as Spotlight to kill off theremaining stems,” says Sean Sparling.

Both Gozai and Spotlight are contactmaterials, which means that any stems covered over with debris from the flail will not be exposed to the chemical, easily leading to irregular coverage and increasingthe need for a follow up treatment, addsStuart Maltby.

“It’s a more complex decision-makingprocess when diquat isn’t in the equation,with lots of different factors to weigh up.Flailing is fairly harsh and stops growthquickly which can introduce the ‘shock’ factor under some conditions, especially if crops are still in full growth at the time offlailing,” he explains. n

s

Potato desiccation


The increased number of wheelings can be a problem when flailing in a wet season, though six-rowmachines are available which reduce the problem.

Roots Potato agronomy

Spotting problems in potatofields often happens late inthe day. CPM learns how an

eye-in-the-sky is being usedto improve crop monitoring

and performance.

By Rob Jones

More than meets the eyeOur role

as agronomists will change.”

“

Diseased potatoes are fickle. It’s notuncommon for small areas of infection to remain hidden until late into the growing season or, worse still, when in cold stores.

Sprayer operators are the vigilant eyesthat usually spot problems early on, but atspeeds upward of 7km/hr, the need tofocus on checks like nozzle shut off,manoeuvring at field boundaries and tankreserves, means even the best can missthe small signs.

There are also limitations for even

the best potato agronomists; the timepressures on them are immense, particularly this year following the highrainfall and humidity over recent weeks.Very rapidly, the benign, easy-plantingstart to the season has morphed into anincredibly high blight-risk period for most,at a very bad time in the growing season,according to Agrovista’s potato specialist,Andy Steven.

“Every agronomist has a huge area of ground to cover and we are now in a high-pressure situation,” he says.

Persistent rainfall“In Morayshire in early June, we had105mm of rain in just four days. It was so intense that farmers lost part of theirfields. The persistence of the rainfall also prevented early blight sprays from beingapplied when they were needed,” he says.

Beyond blight, there are other diseasesthat need sharp spotters. One of these isrhizoctonia, which is well-known to causeblack scurf following desiccation.

“The disease stresses the plant and

when it’s really bad, the roots will contract,stolons drop off and you’ll lose tuber numbers,” he explains.

“The way the fungus works is that it laysresting spores on the tuber in Aug, whichwhen the crop is desiccated, creates the tell-tale black scurf that makes thepotatoes ‘rejects’ when they’re washed in the pack house.”

Over the course of this and previousseasons, Andy Steven and his colleague,Lewis McKerrow, Agrovista’s head of precision services, have been flying theirfleet of drones over a large area of potatoes. The sites range in soil type, variety and market destination but theiraim has been to capture detailed, birds-eye maps of growing crops for R&Dpurposes, as well as to support the in-fieldagronomy.

“Using a drone in any season providesuseful information for us as agronomists,but this season, they will be a really valuable agronomy tool,” he says.

“To walk a 10-15ha field for a fullassessment of the crop’s health takes a s


Foliar-applied maleic hydrazide (Fazor) couldprove a valuable addition for farmers and agronomists to improve the quality of their marketable crop, claims Don Prendergast,product development and technical manager at Arysta LifeScience.

“For the industry to provide a year-long supply of key crops such as potatoes andonions, the control of sprouting is essential.Tubers for crisping and chipping need to bestored at a higher temperature to minimise theconversion of starch to sugars, which adverselyaffects the fry colour. Of course, this means they are more susceptible to sprouting.

“Unlike other sprout suppressants, maleichydrazide is different in that it’s applied to the

crop whilst it’s in the field, not in storage. Usedin addition to other products, it can help growersto extend the sprout-free storage period.”

Following a reduction in total dose rate ofwidely-used sprout-suppressant, chlorpropham(CIPC), growers are seeking alternative products.With correct application, maleic hydrazide provides sprout suppression in potatoes for up to four months and often beyond, whilst alsooffering several other key benefits including volunteer control.

“But it isn’t just for suppressing sproutingwhen the tubers are in storage. Fazor’s highlysuccessful in reducing the number of volunteerpotatoes, which become a problematic weed fora wide range of crops,” adds Don Prendergast.

“The active ingredient, maleic hydrazide, istranslocated down to the tubers, inhibiting celldivision, making it an ideal tool for volunteercontrol and limiting secondary growths.”

Interest in maleic hydrazide grows

Maleic hydrazide is a useful tool to preventsecondary growths and control of volunteerpotatoes in following crops.

Andy Steven says that even the best potatoagronomists can’t physically get round all theircrops when disease pressure is high.

A drone map gives the all-important whole-fieldview and the resolution is so good that theagronomists can zoom in to individual plant-level detail.

good 1-2 hours, and at a walking man’seye-level height of 2m, there’s a limit to what can be seen as the canopy develops.

“The other limitation, in contrast to afield of cereals, is that a potato crop canonly be walked up and down the rows,rather than being criss-crossed. So whatyou see may not be representative of thewhole field, nor of specific problem areas.”

And this is where a drone map comes inuseful. It gives the all-important whole-fieldview and the resolution is so good on the cameras Agrovista uses, that theagronomists can zoom in to individualplant-level detail.

“In the maps we’ve generated, we’vepicked up stunted areas of growth –– theearly indicator of rhizoctonia –– and othersigns of stress,” adds Andy Steven.

“This information can be particularlybeneficial in spotting problems like PCN

or rhizoctonia early, as well as for loggingfields with problems that we need to beaware of before growing another potatocrop.”

The drone maps also provide veryaccurate plant counts, which are useful fora number of reasons. “It’s very likely that agrower will have a plant count plan fromthe outset, but these can be up to 10% out because of inaccuracies such as thesetting of the planter and small errors in planting.

Earlier desiccation“Getting counts wrong has an impact. With seed crops, if plants are too far apart,the crop desiccation date may need to beearlier than planned to ensure the correctmaximum tuber size. For a ware crop, ifplants are too close together, the tubersmay never reach the size specificationsthey need to be, whilst if too thinly planted,they get to size quicker than you mayhave anticipated.”

To any business, this kind of data accuracy also helps with supply chainmanagement, particularly where retailercontracts and supply dates need to be met.

“It’s currently difficult to put a value on thisinformation, but processors are looking atthe technology to better understand growers’crops, which has both positive and negativeramifications for supply chain relationships,”he suggests.

“One thing’s certain, the more marketdata there is openly available, the more it will influence market prices, as wealready see in the futures markets forarable commodities.”

Plant counts can also be valuable

information for seed inspectors. For example, if counts are 10% higher thanplanned, there will be more flexibility inlevels of disease permitted in a seed crop.

Another area that Agrovista is advancingis the opportunity for variable rate and targeted application of all inputs, highlightsAndy Steven.

“With nutrients and seed, we alreadyhave the variable application technologyto use the information from drone maps.As far as spraying is concerned, we aren’tthere yet,” he says.

“We’re now able to spot-spray specificproblems in vegetable crops, but vari-spraying isn’t yet a reality in broad-acre crops like potatoes and cereals. We aren’t a long way off though,and when it comes, it will be invaluable


s

Potato agronomys

Potato agronomy

A new, liquid formulation of maleic hydrazidehas just gained CRD approval for use in potatoes this season. Itcan SL 270 (MAPP17957) is being marketed in the UK by GeminiAg for approval holder, Kreglinger Europe NV.

Itcan should be used at a maximum rate of11.1 l/ha, which delivers 2997g of maleichydrazide, equivalent to Fazor at 5kg/ha.

James Kennedy, commercial director ofGemini Ag, believes a liquid formulation will be welcomed by spray operators.

“Itcan is an easy to use liquid formulation

with comparable efficacy to market alternatives. It has an established track record in Europe and is proving popular,gaining an increasing market share.”

The new product is available in 15 or 200-litre drums and 600 or 1000-litre IBCs.“IBCs are delivered with a pump and flowmeter to allow easy and accurate dosing, whilereducing operator exposure,” says JamesKennedy, adding that IBCs have the addedbenefit of reducing waste disposal issues.

New liquid maleic hydrazide available

Lewis McKerrow has been flying drones over alarge acreage of potatoes to capture detailed,birds-eye maps of growing crops for R&Dpurposes, as well as to support the in-fieldagronomy.

From the aerial maps generated, Agrovista havepicked up stunted areas of growth – the earlyindicator of rhizoctonia – and other signs ofstress which can then be investigated on the ground.

for potato growers.” Both drone mapping and vari-spraying

are unlikely to be of value in managingblight, because it’s very fast and very visual in the crop. But for weed controland targeting hand-roguers to problemzones in the crop, there are huge gains to be made, he adds.

“From what we’ve seen in our dronemapping so far, a single flight can showup stress levels as low as 0.5% of the fieldarea. If this stress is from a disease likeblack leg, where there’s no chemical control, rogueing is the only option.

“The drone will show a grower exactlywhere the roguers should work, minimisingthe time and cost of employing them. But

importantly also pinpointing exactly wherethe infected plants are, thereby reducing the risk of bacterial spread resulting fromwalking through wide areas of the standingcrop to find infected plants,” commentsAndy Steven.

Mapping every fieldThe value of the data gathered over multiple fields and seasons can’t be underestimated, he believes. For a biggrower, mapping every field in productioncan build a picture by field, by variety andby season over time, all of which can beused to make strategic planning decisionsacross many areas of the business –– such as labour needs, machinery andvariety choice.

Looking to the future, Andy Steven foresees the drone market for agriculturebeing ‘massive’.

“Drones won’t do everything and aren’t a replacement for good agronomy, but Ienvisage that in five years’ time, all youngfarmers will get a drone for Christmas andwill be mapping their own crops. They’ll stillneed an agronomist to work with them to

interpret and act on the findings, but our role as agronomists will change.

“Using technology, like drones, is all aboutdoing things smarter, something that farmershave always been good at.” n


s

Roots Sugar beetfungicides

There has been an exceptionally early onset

of rust in this year’s sugar beet crop. CPM

gets some timely advice.

By Rob Jones

Keep on top of rust

According to BBRO lead scientist Dr Mark Stevens, rust (Uromyces betae)was first seen on 7 June, which is one ofthe earliest confirmed cases ever in the UK.

“Timing is crucial if good control is to beachieved. BBRO experience suggests thatwhere the first application is too late thenyou’re fighting a rear-guard action by the timeof the second application 28 days later,” he says.

When it comes to combatting rust in sugarbeet, azoles have been found to be veryeffective. In the UK the majority of the sugar beet crop is treated with Escolta(cyproconazole+ trifloxystrobin) for this reason.

“It pays to apply fungicides at diseaseonset. If timings slip with either the first or second application, then it provides anopportunity for rust to develop further. If you’rea grower lifting after the end of Oct, I’d advocate a second application of fungicide.”

Rust has displaced powdery mildew asthe principal disease affecting sugar beet inrecent years and Mark Stevens suggests thiscould be due to recent weather patterns and the diligent use of fungicides decreasingthe amount of inoculum that survives over the winter.

“The powdery mildew forecast modelserves as a reliable indicator of pressure, but

it was developed before the widespread useof fungicides. With fungicides providing sucheffective control of powdery mildew, this hasclearly impacted on the epidemiology of thedisease and reduced the number of inoculumsources being carried into the winter.

Stark reminder“It’s an anecdotal observation only, but itserves as a stark reminder of how diseasesdiffer. There will be many who wish the samecould be said for potato late blight inoculum.”

Currently, there’s no disease forecast forrust, but recent seasons have shown howquickly the disease situation can change,says Mark Stevens.

“2015 was a bad year and the 2016 season began in a similar vein, with widespread pressure early in the summer. Buthot weather in Aug and early Sept changedthis and the pressure eased. This was seen clearly in BBRO trials last year when cropsstayed clean heading in to the winter.

“The pressure facing crops this seasonhowever will be very different, although a lotdepends on the weather as to how this seasonunfolds.”

A complicating factor is the degree ofdrought stress many sugar beet crops

are under, and it’s important not to apply fungicides when the crop is showing

signs of wilting, he warns.Less than 5% of the UK crop

is irrigated and when thedemand for irrigation on othercrops such as potatoes andcarrots is also very high, sugar

beet inevitably is a lower priority.However, it is estimated that on

average 10% of potential beet yield is lost to drought stress in the UK.

Typically, plants with 75-100% full canopieswill use between 2mm per day on dull days, to more than 6mm per day on bright sunnydays. Based on average rainfall figures forJune many crops will be currently running adeficit well in excess of 60/70mm and wouldclearly benefit from irrigation if available, he says.

For several years, BBRO advice has beento apply the first fungicide at full rate with a second application four weeks later at half rate. This year, if growers missed diseasewarnings and rust took hold early, along with other diseases potentially making anappearance, his advice is to consider applying the second fungicide at full rate.

“Rust typically comes in towards the end ofJuly. Where crops are under pressure, there’sthe option to make the second application atfull rate. With roughly 20,000ha more beet inthe ground than last year, it’s likely to be alonger campaign, so it may well pay to keepon top of disease to preserve canopies forearly frost protection as well as to protect yield and sugar levels,” he says. n

Product Powdery Mildew Rust Ramularia Cercospora

Armuredifenoconazole+ propiconazole

Escoltacyproconazole+ trifloxystrobin

Fortressquinoxyfen

Furlongcyproconazole+ picoxystrobin

Operaepoxiconazole+ pyraclostrobin

Priori Xtracyproconazole+ azoxystrobin

Source: BBRO Sugar beet reference book 2017.

Fungicides for sugar beet disease control

3 3 3 3

3 3 3 3

3 8 8 suppression

3 3 3 3

3 3 3 3

3 3 3 3

A lot depends on the

weather as to howthis season

unfolds.”

“


When agriculture makes it onto theBBC 10 o’clock news, it’s a suresign something big is afoot. And itwas.Newspaper headlines went astep further and invariably linked‘neonicotinoids’ to ‘killing bees’.All strength to the arm of thosecalling for a ban, already the neonicotinoids have been tried by a kangaroo court and judged guiltyas charged.

If you haven’t read the researchpaper ‘Country-specific effects ofneonicotinoid pesticides on honeybees and wild bees, published in theJune edition of the journal Science,then you need to. And when youhave, I think you’ll agree that it’s hardto understand how this piece ofresearch has led to the dramaticheadlines. Possibly the way it waspresented to the press by the Centre

of Ecology and Hydrology maywell have something to do

with it.This paper is

important because it isa pan-European study

and the first to take placeon a field scale. In many

ways, it adds to the knowledge base around the effects of the neonicotinoids on bee populations,and much of what the paper findsisn’t negative at all. Unsurprisinglythis isn’t considered news worthyand has gone largely unreported.

The part of the research thatlooked at honey bees found no differences’ between beesforaging on treated and untreatedcrops in 238 of the 258 analyses thatwere undertaken. In seven colonies,there were positive effects on thebees where the bees were foragingon the neonicotinoid treated OSR,and in only nine colonies were negative effects reported. Theremaining four were unreported due to the poor quality of the data.

Curiously the authors made noattempt to explain the positiveeffects, in fact they were glossedover in the press mêlée.

The interpretation of the resultsbecomes even foggier when itcomes to the statistical analysis usedin the wild bee studies. This lookedat neonicotinoid residues in nestsand its correlation to queen

Lies, damn liesand statistics

Based in Ludlow, Shrops,Lucy de la Pasture hasworked as an agronomist,while among the Twitterati,she’s @[email protected]

production in bumble bees or reproductive cell production in solitary bees.

The authors found neonicotinoidexposure resulted in increasedcolony size for bumble bees inGermany, though the oppositeapplied in both the UK and Hungary.

The issue here is in the way theseeffects were reported in the Sciencepaper –– for some reason theauthors chose to aggregate the datafrom all three countries rather thanlook at each country, in its own-right.After all, statistics are like bikinis ––what they reveal is suggestive, whatthey conceal is vital.

And this is where my warningbells begin to ring and I thank myAgric lecturers at Wye College fordrumming into us that we needed tounderstand statistics –– as painful asit was at the time. If you’re interested,then take a look at Adrian Little’sblog (http://cropscience.bayer.co.uk/news-and-opinion/categories/farming-matters-blog/) where he conducts a country-specificanalysis of the research data, whichreveals a very different picture to theone published.

In the paper, the authors saythat ‘the country-specific responsesof honey and bumble beesstrongly suggest that the effects of neonicotinoids are a product of inter-acting factors’. Levels of disease were higher in UK and


Hungarian hives and queens werealso smaller than in Germany. These‘other’ factors perhaps need to belooked into before any meaningfulconclusions can be drawn fromthe data.

But it’s a peer-reviewed paper, so it must be right? Not necessarily.Science is all a matter of opinion andfinding evidence to support it. Thescience in this paper isn’t bad butthe interpretation may be flawed bythe choice of statistical analyses.

The trouble with the world we livein is that headlines become fact,even if they have no real substance.So it’s important to find out the proper facts and be prepared toengage with those who haven’tlearned that you can’t believe everything you read –– no disrespectto fellow journalists intended.

Right now we need to stick up for the neonicotinoids –– personallyI’m not willing to send them to thegallows on the evidence that’s beenpresented. I’d prefer a world wherewe’re using less rather than morepyrethroids. Don’t they actually killsome of our insect good-guys?