Grain drying Winter OSR - cpm magazine€¦ · and 7% of total plantings respectively –– occupy...

Profitable crops through better management

ßCrop Production Magazine June 2009

The top four varieties in profileThe top four varieties in profile

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How well are you prepared for harvest?

How well are you prepared for harvest?

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GGrraaiinn ddrryyiinngg WWiinntteerr OOSSRR

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CPM Crop Production Magazine

Editorial & Advertising SalesWhite House Barn, Hanwood, Shrewsbury,Shropshire. SY5 8LP

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Publishing Editor Angus McKirdy

Sub Editor Charlotte Lord

Writers Louise ImpeyRob JonesJo PalmerMartin RickatsonMick Roberts

Design and Production Brooks Design

Advertisement Sales Angus McKirdy

Advertisement Co-ordinator Peter Walker

Volume 11 Number 5

June 2009

Smith’s SoapboxViews and opinions from an Essexpeasant…..

Best variety for next season?

Many OSR growers have spent much of this season wondering whether they made the right variety choices. So could next season see some wholesale changes?

Act now to improve drier performance

Following on from two wet harvests,what can be done to ensure maximumdrying efficiency –– just in case we getanother one?

Drill selection dilemma

Thinking about buying a new min-tilldrill but still unsure whether to opt for a tine or disc-based model? CPM provides some answers.

More than just a makeover?

New Holland’s CR9090 –– the largest-capacity combine available –– made itsentrance at last year’s Cereals Event.CPM meets up with the machine’s firstUK user.

Brave new world Cambridge University Farm is developing a new approach to potatoagronomy to help boost marketableyields. CPM takes a closer look.

Crop Production Magazine –– June 2009 3

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FeaturesFeatures

Agriculture on cusp of a new era?

One leading economist believes weneed a return to industrialised farmingto feed the world’s increasing demandfor grain. CPM reports from a recentGrowhow conference at the East ofEngland Showground.

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Slug pellets –– metaldehyde.

Iron could help maintainexisting actives

A new ferric phosphate-based slug pellethas been launched –– partly to helprelieve the pressure on metaldehyde and methiocarb.

Tolerating beet cyst nematode

With the geographical spread of beetcyst nematode now increasingly wide,growers in affected areas should consider looking towards resistant varieties to maintain their yields.

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Barn-filling bread-wheat?

Syngenta Seeds has launched a newvariety which some consider to be the plant breeder’s Holy Grail –– a high-yielding bread-wheat.

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Meeting the secondwheat challenge

CPM recently conducted a survey of its readers to find out their attitudes togrowing second wheat. Find out more on p36.

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Second wheat surveySecond wheat survey

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CPM Volume 11 No 5. Editorial, advertising and sales offices are atWhite House Barn, Hanwood, Shrewsbury SY5 8LP.

Tel: (01743) 861122. CPM is published nine times a year by CPM Ltd and is available free of charge to qualifying farmers

and farm managers in the United Kingdom.

In no way does CPM Ltd endorse, notarise or concur with any of the advice, recommendations or prescriptions reported in themagazine. If you are unsure about which recommendations to

follow, please consult a professional agronomist. Always read thelabel. Use pesticides safely. CPM Ltd is not responsible for loss or

damage to any unsolicited material, including photographs.

36

Fear of foreign toilets?I’m not exactly the most seasoned oftravellers –– my teenage kids have probably knocked off more continentsthan I have countries –– and it would begood to think that this dull tendency ofmine is due to my ethical concern overmy carbon footprint. But in truth, it’sprobably more to do with a fear of foreign toilets.

However, when I do venture to foreignparts, I always like to spend some timelooking at the farming there and I knowI’m not alone in this respect. Most of thefarmers I know bore their families todeath by analysing the state of the crops which they pass on their way tothe beaches and other tourist attractions.

Similarly, at a tour of a local vineyard,while the rest of the tourist group are listening to the guide illuminating on theintricacies of making wine, the farmercan be found round the back of the barn peering into the tractor cab or chatting with the workers about hydraulic systems.

One wonders if there are other professions who are equally prone totake their work on holiday with them? Do hairdressers find themselves gawpinginto hair salon windows, rather than visiting the city cathedral? And whensight-seeing, do accountants go out oftheir way to meet up with their foreignequivalents to discuss double-entrybookkeeping? One suspects not.

4 Crop Production Magazine –– June 2009

Anyway, to celebrate a recent keybirthday (I won’t mention which one, but suffice to say, I no longer get birthday ‘greetings’, rather birthday ‘congratulations’ –– by which I infer I’mbeing congratulated for making it to sucha grand old age), I took Mrs Smith for along weekend to Andalusia in southernSpain. The weather was hot and theRioja seemed a much better vintage than we get at home.

We found a rather imperious hotel thathad been converted from an old fortress,sited at the cliff edge of a hill-top town. It had the most splendid views lookingout over the Andalusian countryside.

Several hundred feet up, looking down onto a vast plain of arable landchequered gold and green, even Mrs Smith agreed that the panoramaunfolding before us was as breath-takingas it was beautiful. The gold was ripewheat, and the green was sunflowers.

As I sat there on the terrace, munchingon an olive or two, I speculated as to whatthe usual critics of modern British farmingmight make of this view. A cynic might saythat it’s nothing more than prairie farming–– a vast monoculture of just two crops,and very little else.

On reflection, it was a rather featurelesscountryside –– not unlike some of theother arable farmscapes I’ve seen innorthern France, northern Germany and the American mid-west.

And it was, of course, somewhat incontrast to what’s commonly found in the UK, with its patchwork of fields andwoods linked together with thousands of miles of conservation margins andhedges, interspersed with thousands of ponds and wet ditches –– an environment where you can always see birds in the air, and you don’t have to walk very far before you noticesigns of mammalian activity.

If you could in some way measure thebio-diversity and the calories of food to

be found on an average hundred acresof UK farmland, I’m confident it wouldoutweigh other farmed landscapes threeor four-fold. I recollect here the words ofBill Bryson, the American writer who now lives in Norfolk.

On becoming president of the CPRE in2007, Bill made the observation that theBritish countryside was as a “ beautifulfarmed garden” when compared to theindustrial agriculture of his native Iowa.

I then wondered if there might be avocal army of campaigners in placessuch as Andalusia, the Pas de Calais orIowa, ready to condemn and vilify theirlocal farmers for allegedly ‘spoiling thecountryside’ or ‘denuding it of wildlife’.

In truth, I doubt if there’s anything like the number of well-funded pressuregroups abroad as we have in the UK –– ready to turn a critical eye on the look of the countryside and then feedjournalists half-baked stories of a‘degraded landscape’.

The more one considers the issue, the more one realises us British farmershave got quite a task on our hands. I’m convinced that, in future, we’re going to be increasingly expected todeliver efficient food production by our bank managers, and landscape-cum-bio-diversity by a host of others.

But the trick in all this isn’t just managing the landscape –– it’s in promoting what we do and what weachieve as well.

As they say in Andalusia –– Si ustedquiere tener cinco mujeres entoncesusted necesita cinco lenguas! (Try Googling it! – Editor)

Email your comments and ideas [email protected]

SMITH’S

SOAPBOX

http://www.bayercropscience.co.uk

Best variety for next season?

Winter rape has been severely tested this season–– from the day it was sown in many cases.

CPM takes an in-depth look at how the variety market might evolve next season.

By Louise Impey

‘Excalibur and Flash are likely tofare relatively better than Castille

and Es Astrid next season.’

he four winter rape varieties which topped UK plantings lastautumn are up against some

fierce competition for market share this summer.

“There’s no doubt that growers havespent much of this season wonderingwhether they chose the right rape varieties,” says Barry Barker, nationalseed business manager for Masstock.

“It’s certainly been a challengingyear,” he states. “The difficult conditionslast autumn delayed drilling considerablyand saw many crops going into fairlypoor seedbeds.

“Since then, many have struggled andsome have been abandoned altogether.Those that survived had a very dry runup to the flowering period, so their harvest performance will be awaited with much interest.

“Seasons like this are when you really see the varieties which have made the grade.”

With hindsight, it’s clear that any variety would’ve struggled when facedwith the combination of circumstancesthat arose on many farms last Augustand September, admits Barry Barker.

“Autumn 2008 reinforced the importance of hitting the optimum

drilling date –– and also the need forgood seedbed preparation and rapidestablishment. Those basic factors arefar more relevant than whether you optfor a hybrid or a conventional variety.”

However, he believes hybridsappeared to establish better across a wide range of drilling dates and conditions last autumn. “And there’s certainly been a swing to hybrids overthe past two seasons –– from 8% of thewinter crop in 2006, to just under 30%this year.

“But conventional varieties still takethe lion’s share of UK drillings becauseof the advantage of being able to farm-save seed, with Castille remainingthe most popular variety –– currentlyaccounting for 25% of the national winter rape area.”

New generationBehind Castille comes the hybrid,Excalibur, which was the first of the new generation hybrids –– taking around14% of current sowings, continues Barry Barker. “What’s interesting for thefuture is that Excalibur now leads thecertified seed market, with a share of21%.” Its early harvesting and reliabilityseem to be particularly valued by growers, he adds.

Es Astrid and Flash –– representing 8%and 7% of total plantings respectively ––occupy third and fourth place this season,he notes. “Astrid’s long-lasting popularity is down to its ease of management, whileFlash has attracted a lot of interest due toits high gross output rating.”

Three of the top four varieties are now well-established on the HGCARecommended List, he notes.

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“However, they face much more of achallenge this coming season. We’ve gotnew additions to the list which appear tohave a better gross output, as well as ahuge number of promising candidates.”

That means the variety selectionprocess won’t get any easier, he predicts.“In the east and west region alone, the

NIAB and Masstock have come to thesame conclusion on autumn vigour –– it’s all down to the size of the seed.

“The bigger the seed, the faster thevigour,” says Philip Marr, northern technicaldevelopment manager for Masstock, who’s been investigating oilseed rapeestablishment for the past eight years.

“Hybrids aren’t the solution to autumnvigour but if they have a high TGW, theywill tend to emerge before those with smaller seed.”

He drilled four varieties this season –– Hammer, DK Cabernet, Flash and Excel –– all on the same day. Both

Hammer and DK Cabernet had a goodseed size (with TGWs of 8-9g), while theFlash and Excel seed was significantlysmaller (at 3-4g).

“The larger-seeded varieties emerged six days after drilling, and the other twocame through three days later.” NIAB haswitnessed the same effect in its trials, he adds.

That means conventional varieties performed better than the hybrids lastautumn in many cases, notes Philip Marr.“The only downside with big seed is that it needs more moisture to germinate in a dry autumn.”

Autumn vigour

Nottinghamshire grower John Baker hasthree of the four top-selling winter rape varieties in the ground this year.

His top yielder, Es Astrid, has been grownfor the past three years at Thoresby Estatesnear Ollerton, giving consistent results fromrelatively early drilling dates.

“There are three basic reasons why wegrow Astrid,” says John Baker. “It’s a slowdeveloping variety; it gives high yields; andit’s a low biomass type. All of these thingsare important to the system we have here.”

Es Astrid’s slow speed of developmentmeans it can be drilled early, he explains.“We always start our winter rape drilling programme with Astrid, which can be anytime from August 10 onwards.”

Two subsoilers are used to establish thecrop, which covers 539ha this season. Inaddition to Es Astrid, John Baker is growingExcalibur and Castille as well this season –– both of which have also performed well in previous years.

“Establishing rape with a single passallows us to stick to the optimum drilling window in most seasons,” he says. “The aim is to get the crop established early so it comes out of the winter well and starts to grow away strongly in the spring.”

This is especially important on outlyingland, where pigeons are often a problem, he says.

John Baker plans to stick with Es Astridnext season. “It’s always yielded well ––

regardless of the plant stand achieved ––and it can be direct combined which savesus a lot of time and trouble. It’s been a veryconsistent variety on this farm.”

He will also grow Excalibur again nextseason, but is considering replacing Castillewith the RL candidate variety, DK Cabernet.“It looks impressive, so we shall be trying itas well.”

His other option is Es Alienor –– a varietywhich failed to make the Recommended Listlast year. “We’re interested in it because itappears to be one of the first varieties togrow away strongly in the autumn. That’s a characteristic we look for on the outlyingland, so that the pigeons don’t do too much damage.”

Es Astrid experience

“Seasons like this are when you really seethe varieties which have made the grade,”says Barry Barker.

breadth of breeding material beingassessed means there could be as many as 15 varieties with the potential to outperform Castille.”

So growers could be facing an even

greater array of varieties to select from infuture, he predicts. “But it’s good to seeimprovements coming along. However,there’s still a great deal to be sorted out,and this harvest is going to be very


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important. It’s certainly going to be a ‘proving’ year.”

Looking ahead, Barry Barker predictsthat both Es Astrid and Castille will loseground this autumn. “They’ve both beenaround for a while and growers will betempted to try some of the newer offerings.But they’re vulnerable for that reasonalone –– not because their performancehas been disappointing.”

Moreover, he expects Es Astrid toremain popular in the eastern countiesdue to its combination of low biomassand good stem canker resistance.

Flash is being grown for the second year bySomerset farmer, Colin Keevil, after it proveditself “against all the odds in 2007”.

He farms a total of 500ha of land over twosites in the north of the county, and chose todrill Flash two years ago when delays with anew tenancy agreement prevented him fromgaining access to land at Chapel Farm, EastKnoyle until mid-September.

As a result, a block of 31ha of rape had tobe drilled on 14 September –– around threeweeks later than planned.

“We had the added challenge of workingwith chalky land for the first time,” he recalls.“We lost a fair bit of moisture from the soilbecause I chose to cultivate the groundtwice but with hindsight, that was a mistake.”

Colin Keevil admits he thought the crop would fail. “But by working with myagronomist, Richard Alcock, we managed to turn things around.”

This involved making four separate fertiliser applications, instead of the normaltwo, and matching the crop’s requirement for nutrients to its Green Area Index.

“Once the nutrients were applied, the cropreally took off and having a vigorous hybrid

variety really made all the difference.” It alsoseemed to be less palatable to the pigeons,he adds.

A “very respectable” yield of 4.4t/ha wasthe final result, says Colin Keevil. “We didhave to take care of the crop but it proved to be extremely worthwhile.”

This year, he is growing 83ha of Flash and says he’s very pleased with its appearance.

Richard Alcock notes there were numerous obstacles to achieving a goodlevel of establishment last autumn, with the variety managing to overcome all of them. “Its ability to compensate has been phenomenal –– especially on such an exposed site.”

About half of his rape area is down to hybrids this year. “We’ve seen goodestablishment from the hybrids in what’sbeen a difficult season –– they certainly went into the winter in better condition.”

He believes it’s very important to adopt acanopy management approach with nitrogenwhen growing a variety like Flash. “It allowsus to fine-tune the top dressing inputsaccordingly to get the right number of pods.”

The total nitrogen requirement can be anywhere between 100-200kgN/ha, he adds.

Excalibur is another hybrid variety whichhas proved popular in the Somerset/Dorsetarea, he continues. “It’s done well on thelight, brashy soils although it doesn’t seemto be quite as vigorous as Flash.”

Castille and Es Astrid have also beenpopular, although he says there appears to be less loyalty to the latter now. “It’s slipping away a bit but its stem canker resistance has been important.”

Virtually all of the winter rape crops in the region are established using min-till methods, reports Richard Alcock.“Plough-based establishment trials show the best yields more or less every time butthat’s no longer feasible on most commercialfarms for workload and financial reasons.”

He reckons most growers choose rapevarieties mainly on their gross output and disease resistance rankings, but notestheir ability to perform in less-than-perfectconditions is becoming more of a key consideration.

Success with Flash

“These two qualities are rated particularlyhighly by growers in the east.”

Excalibur and Flash are likely to fare relatively better than Castille and Es Astrid next season, he continues.“There are alternatives in terms of highergross output now in the case of Excalibur,but it’s been a particularly consistent variety and its early maturity is a bonus.

“Flash still has one of the highestgross output ratings on the list and if itperforms well this year, it will maintain its market share.”

The newly recommended challengers

include the hybrids, PR46W21 andDimension, with Vision being the only newconventional variety. In the north, Cuillinand Emerson bring excellent light leaf spot resistance to the new regional list.

Kent-based Agrovista agronomist, Ian Turner, has seen a gradual shift away from conventional varieties tohybrid types in his part of the country,although the pace has quickened recently, he says.

“There’s been a big change during the past year or so,” he says. “Excaliburand Flash have taken much more of


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A new fungicidal-and-insecticidal seedtreatment will be available to OSR growersthis autumn, with manufacturer SyngentaCrop Protection claiming the product willdeliver outstanding crop establishmenttogether with excellent early pest and disease control.

Cruiser osr is based on three active ingredients –– thiamethoxam, fludioxanil andmetalaxyl –– and was first submitted for PSDapproval in 2002. “We’re confident it will beworth waiting for,” says Will Holmes, seedcare business manager for the company.

The product offers “broad-spectrum,long-lasting” pest and disease controltogether with increased plant vigour –– leading to improved establishment,higher yields and enhanced gross margins, he claims.

“Cruiser osr gives good control of downy mildew –– a disease that was fairly widespread last autumn and whichmost other seed treatments struggle tocope with.” In trials, it has given 100% control of the disease in addition to “excellent” control of seed-borne phoma,pythium spp. and alternaria –– reducingthe level of disease inoculum overall, says Will Holmes.

“And on the pest control side, it helpsprevent cabbage stem flea beetle andsawfly, as well as mealy aphid and peach potato aphid, which are responsiblefor transmitting Turnip Yellows Virus

–– one of the key yield robbers in rape.”Will Holmes claims Cruiser-use in trials

resulted in increased yields of 0.32t/ha ––valued at over £80. “Taking into accountthe cost of the treatment, plus the potentialsaving of a pyrethroid spray, this would’veresulted in an extra margin of £88/ha forthe grower.”

Syngenta technical manager, Michael Tait, claims Cruiser osr acts as a “vigour trigger” for the crop. “It’s beenshown to increase the length and mass of the root system –– enabling crops to emerge faster and establish better.

“In 30 trials in Germany, the untreatedplots had an average root length of15.19cm, whereas the Cruiser-treated plots had an average root length of15.68cm. And in 16 trials in the Ukraine,Cruiser-treated crops had 36% more rootmass than the untreated.”

He claims treated crops are able toestablish quicker –– coping better withphysiological stresses, such as poor nutrition or drought. “The theory is that thiamethoxam has a positive effect on the plant auxins which are responsible forroot and shoot growth. By fixing itself to thecell membranes, the thiamethoxam keepsthe auxin channels open leading toenhanced rooting.

“Moreover, Cruiser osr appears to perform better than most competitor treatments in preventing Turnip Yellows

Virus (TuYV). In trials in Germany last year,the product reduced TuYV infections from94% in the untreated plots to 64% wheretreated.” Growers can expect around 6-10 weeks persistence on aphids from the treatment, he adds.

Cruiser osr out-yielded Chinook (beta-cyfluthrin+ imidacloprid) in 70% of trials across Europe (numbering 90 intotal), he claims. “On average, it gave anextra 0.13t/ha more yield than Chinook and in 76% of the trials, it also out-yieldedModesto (beta-cyfluthrin+ clothianidin).”

Dr Mark Stevens of Brooms Barnexplains that TuVY is a very widespreadbut largely overlooked problem in the UKand Europe. “This may be because it’s so difficult to recognise in the field, beingeasily confused with physiological or nutritional deficiencies.”

TuYV infects the leaves, stems andpods but is generally not seen until afterstem extension, he says. “Transmitted byaphids, it has a wide range of host plantsincluding all brassicas and lettuce, plus a range of weeds, such as chickweed and shepherds purse.”

Mark Stevens warns that around 7 outof 10 aphids carry the virus, with “blanketinfection” south of the River Humber last year. “TuVY can reduce the yield by as much as 26%, so a seed treatment that helps prevent the disease is well worth considering.”

New seed treatment

the area, with the former having beenparticularly consistent and reliable.” He adds that Flash has been a strong

performer this season in what has beena difficult year for oilseed rape.

Although this market share adjustmenthas been at the expense of varietiessuch as Es Astrid, Ian Turner stressesthat the reason isn’t because of poor performance.

“Astrid is bombproof,” he explains.“For growers looking for a non-hybridvariety which is reliable –– with good harvestability, strong phoma resistanceand first-class vigour –– it remains one of the best choices.” Moreover, it can be home-saved unlike the hybrid alternatives, he adds.

The reason farmers have moved over tohybrids is the widespread use of min-tillestablishment methods, he believes.

“They’re looking for a bit of extravigour since the seed is often beingdrilled into non-ideal conditions followingjust one primary cultivation. Seed-to-soilcontact may not therefore be as good asit should be, and there’s often a higher

level of trash to contend with –– so any extra seed vigour is vital.

“If they don’t get good crop establishment, everything else goes out of the window.”

Autumn is the critical time for theoilseed rape crop, he continues. “But it’s important to realise that a hybridvariety won’t plug the gap created by apoor seedbed or late drilling date –– thisseason has been the proof of that.”

Growers should aim for earlier drillingof oilseed rape wherever possible to getthe optimum level of establishment, he advises. “Sowing a bit earlier meansthe crop will have a better recovery ratewhen it comes to the battle with pigeonsand rabbits later on.”

Ian Turner says he’d be surprised if there was a big swing back to conventional varieties this autumn. “In the past, growers have stuck with reliable conventional types –– with Apex and Astrid good examples of that.


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“Astrid is bombproof,” believes Ian Turner.“ Moreover, it can be home-saved –– unlikethe hybrid alternatives.”

http://www.kws-uk.com

Excalibur is reinforcing its reputation forvigour and consistency with Scottish growers this season –– coping better than almost any other variety with the most challenging establishment and earlydevelopment conditions in recent memory,reports Jim Rennie, technical director forCSC Crop Care.

“With the exception of Aberdeen and the far north, we’ve certainly had morethan our fair share of oilseed rape growingchallenges across our arable heartland thisseason,” he stresses. “Huge harvestingdelays and waterlogged fields meant theonly rape drilled in Forfar, Perth, Lothianand the Borders didn’t go in until the second half of September in most cases.

“It subsequently emerged to cope with a series of early frosts as the prelude to our coldest winter since 2000/01.Altogether, Scotland had 43 days of airfrost between December and February,with an exceptionally cold first half ofJanuary and absolutely no mid-winterrespite to come to the aid of backwardcrops. So, many of them have really suffered from winter kill.”

While the ground remained very wet

until mid-February, the winter challengewas compounded by little significant rainand drying winds since spring growth started, he says. “This really restricted the uptake of spring nitrogen and allowedlight leaf spot to take hold in a major wayin vulnerable crops.

“All in all, it really isn’t surprising our winter rape came into flowering in as poor a condition as I’ve ever seen it. Thin and gappy in many cases, our crops generally flowered around two weeks later than normal.”

The scale of this season’s challenge hasthrown the value of good root developmentand varietal robustness into sharp focus,believes Jim Rennie.

“Crops vigorous enough to get theirroots down well from the late start havebeen able to withstand the cold better thanmost –– not to mention hungry pigeons.

“That has left them far better placed than the majority to compensate for thinnerstands and lower plant populations throughgreater pod numbers and better fill over the summer.”

While he singles out the hybrid,Excalibur, as coping with the conditions

especially well, Jim Rennie insists thestrength of its early vigour and springgrowing ability isn’t simply down to itshybrid nature.

“Excalibur may have shown better establishment vigour and winter hardinessthan most varieties but it certainly hasn’tbeen alone in this,” he notes. “Interestingly,the pure-line, Catana, has come throughevery bit as well so it can’t be down tohybrid vigour alone.

“Whereas Excalibur’s core strength lies in its ability to establish itself rapidly and survive the sort of difficult early seasons we seem to be getting more of these days,with Catana, it’s more a matter of all-roundtoughness –– typified by the way it handleslight leaf spot infections, and appears to tolerate some clubroot.

“The fact that both varieties are shorterthan most is probably also valuable fortheir consistency too –– especially when it comes to harvesting,” believes JimRennie. “And Excalibur’s early maturity is valuable in this respect –– particularlyin later areas.”

Rising to the Scottish challenge

Castille continues to be the UK’s favouritewinter oilseed rape. Since it joined theRecommended List four years ago as the first-ever low biomass variety, it hasattracted a more enthusiastic grower following than any oilseed rape since Apex.

A nationwide study of well over 500 growers, conducted last year, suggests it’s likely to remain popular in the coming years.

94% of participating growers said theywere happy about Castille’s value on their farms, with ease of harvesting, shortness of stem, gross output, resistanceto lodging and performance consistencyidentified as the variety’s five most valuable characteristics –– in each case by more than seven out of every 10 participating growers.

Disease resistance, establishment ability and early maturity were also mentioned as key traits by around half the respondents (see figure opposite).

“Castille isn’t a Recommended List topper and it never has been,” admits Anne Williams of breeder, Dekalb. “But it’salways been near the top of the RL andhas remained up there while other varieties

have declined and disappeared. “More importantly, it’s been a great hit

with growers from the word go because of its consistency and manageability.

“We asked the growers taking part in thesurvey to give us their honest opinion ofthe variety and the overwhelming majoritywere completely positive about it.

“Typical of the feedback were the Lincs-based growers who told us that they took a gamble with Castille as a new,untested variety and have never lookedback. Similarly, one Essex producer ratedCastille as the best performing rape he hasever grown –– averaging just under 5t/haover three years.

“Growers in Worcs commented that itwas a very consistent variety year-in-year-out, standing well and harvesting easily togive lower losses and high yields, whileothers from Hampshire insisted it was a‘joy to harvest’. And a major Northants producer said simply it was his most widely grown variety –– consistently producing the best margins.”

“With the exception of Excalibur, I reallycan’t see any currently recommended variety knocking Castille off the Number

One spot in the coming season.“Our experience with Castille, and the

other pure-line and hybrid varieties we’veintroduced since, is that trial gross outputis very much just the starting point as faras OSR value is concerned.

“Consistently good performance in tough years like this one is the real test of a variety. In the time it’s been on the list, Castille has seen a large number ofvarieties come and go. Like the growers in our study, we’re confident it will outlast a good many more in the years to come.”

Castille growers highlight variety value

80%Ease of harvesting

Proportion of growers identifying

Shortness of stem 78%

Gross output 77%

Lodging resistance 75%

Performance consistency 74%

Disease resistance 50%

Establishment ability 49%

Earliness of maturity 46%

What characteristics do you mostappreciate about Castille?

Source: Dekalb grower survey


“But hybrids are here to stay –– especially with so many growers broadcasting seed from the back of theirprimary cultivation equipment nowadays.”

His final note of caution is on varietalchoice. “There’s a great deal of noisemade about certain varieties, some of which still are yet to be proven commercially.

‘Stick with consistency’“So make a note of the varieties whichhave done well on your farm and in yourarea recently, and stick with the mostconsistent ones. Moreover, devote more time to planning your cultivationand drilling strategies this summer and autumn.”

Dave Robinson of TAG has had a lot of experience of growing the varietyExcalibur, and believes it makes a goodchoice for both the north and the south of the country.

“If spring vigour is important, hybridshave to be your starting point,” he says.“They seem to be very responsive early in the spring.”

But opting for this extra vigour bringsother characteristics too, he points out.“Hybrids tend to be tall, so they need far more management time and extrainputs to get the right canopy. They’re adifferent plant model to the low biomasstypes, so you need to be ready for that.”

Excalibur has proved to be the mostvigorous variety in the early spring in hisown trials. “That’s also been the casenationwide, with growers reporting thesame findings at a field level.”

Higher seed costs are a “fact of life”with hybrids –– despite the lower seedrates involved, he notes. “For that reason, they need to provide anagronomic advantage.”

But Dave Robinson doesn’t anticipateExcalibur having the hybrid market all to itself next season. “The newly recommended PR46W21 is anotherstrong performer for the south –– it’s certainly done very well in our trials.”

For the north, he picks out another newly recommended hybrid, Cuillin, for its high yields and excellent light leafspot resistance. And Castille is one of his selections for growers wanting togrow a conventional variety. “There arealways plenty of farmers who want tohome-save seed.”

Castille hasn’t faltered at all over theyears, he continues. “It’s been a veryconsistent variety –– growers know andlike it, and it has the ease of harvesting

advantage that some require. It’s only139cm tall and none of the others areanywhere near that.”

However, Vision –– which yields 3%above Castille –– could also be a goodalternative to consider for the autumn, he suggests.

“It looks very handy, performing slightly better than some of the established hybrids and with better disease resistance as well.”

With that in mind, and with the promising potential of some of the candidates, Dave Robinson believes theswitch to hybrids could start to be reversednext season. “If a couple of the candidateshave as good a year this year –– as theyhave during the past two –– we’re going to see some significant changes.” n

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Hybrids need to provide an agronomicadvantage because of their higher seed cost,says Dave Robinson.

http://www.dsv-uk.co.uk

reach their equilibrium moisture contents,the drying process will slow to a haltbecause there’s no vapour pressure difference to drive it.”

Colder conditionsColder conditions reduce the air’s ability to carry moisture –– so it actually needs tobe drier (i.e. having a lower RH) to havethe same effect, says Andrew Kneeshaw:“Air in the summer at a temperature ofabout 15ºC, and with a relative humidity of about 65%, will be able to get the graindown to 14.5% moisture.

“But later in the year when the temperature falls to about 5-6ºC, colder air –– even same RH –– will probably only be able to achieve about 16%.

“Alternatively, if heat is applied earlyand the fan is left running, it meansthere’s less drying left to do in these more adverse conditions.”

It pays to get on with the job early whendrying grain, he stresses. “A little bit of

Adding heat to an ambient on-floor drying system can make it a lot more cost-effective, says FEC.

Act now to improvedrier performance

Efficient grain drying is all aboutmaximising the amount of air delivered per tonne of grain.

Last harvest stretched many grain drying systemsto the limit. But investing time in some pre-season

maintenance, and a few simple improvements,can boost the performance of near-ambient

on-floor stores ready next time.

By Mick Roberts

rain drying is invariably a race againsttime, believes Andrew Kneeshaw ofthe Farm Energy Centre.

“Delaying the use of heat and switchingfans off at night to save costs is oftencounter-productive –– not only because it fails to dry the grain quickly, but alsobecause it costs more in the long term.”

The most cost-effective approach with a near-ambient on-floor store is often to run the fan constantly day and night sincethe higher summer temperatures generallyprovide air at a low relative humidity forfree, he believes. “If farmers fail to exploitthis early season advantage straight away,the air will only need to be supplementedwith extra heat later on.

“So it’s also a good idea to add heat

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from an early stage of the drying processto modify the relative humidity (RH) of theair to around 55-65%.” In the summer, it only takes a small amount of heat toreduce the warmer air from around 70% to 55% RH, he notes.

“But later in the season as the temperature falls and the humidityincreases, it will take considerably moreheat to boost the drying ability of the air.”

Early heating costs less because the airis already generally fairly dry and warm,continues Andrew Kneeshaw. “So it mightonly be necessary to heat it by say 1ºC (i.e. reducing the RH by about 4.5%) toaccelerate the drying process.” However,as the season progresses and the ambienttemperature falls, a greater temperature lift has to be employed to keep the air in“good drying condition”, he adds.

“Also, as the grain is becoming drier –– requiring lower moisture content air tomaintain the drying rate –– it’s important to remember that, as the grain and the air


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It’s therefore vital to ensure that nothingis allowed to impair the efficiency of thedrying process, says Andrew Kneeshaw.“For example, blocked ducts increase theamount of back-pressure, and gaps allowair to escape.” Simple steps, such asensuring that the ventilation holes in thefloor vents are clean can provide relativelylarge gains, he adds.

“That means getting down on yourhands and knees, and poking out trappedgrains and muck –– if one in twenty areblocked, it represents a 5% reduction inthe level of airflow.”

A relatively common problem is that a restricted fan intake means it’s unable to draw in enough air, explains AndrewKneeshaw. “A simple check is to open thefan house door while the fan is running –– if you struggle to open the door, itmeans the fan is sucking too hard.

“Check that the louvres aren’t blockedwith leaves and debris, or whether something outside has been stacked too close to the inlet.”

Having ensured that sufficient air is getting to the fan and out of the floorvents, it’s a good idea to check for air losses as well, he continues. “Old tin ductscan bend and open up gaps –– as candamage to the floor and tunnel. Turn onthe fan and simply listen for a hiss from

“It pays to get on with the job early whendrying grain,” says Andrew Kneeshaw.

well controlled heat in the summer goes a long way –– even if it may not seem necessary at the time.”

He recommends setting the system to produce 62% RH, and heating to ‘available’ from the very start. “This usually produces the fastest and cheapest results.”

However, he admits that farmers can get their grain dry without heat in perfect conditions –– albeit that this is ahigher risk strategy because it inevitablytakes longer to dry, meaning more risk

of running into cold, wet weather.The control system which automatically

maintains the RH at a set level is probablythe best value item that can fitted to a drier, believes Andrew Kneeshaw. “It’s easy to install and very cost-effective–– in truth, it’s an essential tool to helpimprove drying efficiency.”

However, he stresses the importance ofhaving the system checked and calibratedregularly by an engineer. “If you set it to62% RH, it needs to be precisely that ––not 55% or 70%, since this would eitherover- or under-dry the grain.”

Ensuring the controller works correctlyshould be just one part of a thoroughclean and check of the store before harvest, he continues. “Paying attention to small details can make the differencebetween effective operation and poor performance.”

Efficient grain drying is all about maximising the amount of air delivered per tonne of grain, he continues. “Thereare two ways to do that –– either toincrease the volume of air, or decrease the level of grain.

“But specifying a larger fan is an expensive option –– and similarly, reducing the grain depth can also presentdifficulties because so many stores arenow working at close to capacity.”

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Andrew Kerr reckons his Trayler drier has more than paid for itself after just two season’s use.

where the air is escaping, then fill the gaps with sealant.”

It’s crucial to have a good seal aroundthe doors in the tunnel to control the airflow to sections of the floor. “If these areshut while ventilating a half or a quarter of the store, the losses from gaps in damaged doors can be quite significant.”

He advises repairing any damage and fitting draft excluders to help prevent themfrom leaking because the losses have a disproportionate effect on the system’s drying efficiency.

“Cleaning the vents, sealing gaps and reducing air losses can make a big difference in the volume of air available to dry the grain –– as much as 20%. And that will probably lead to a 30% cost saving due to the disproportionate returnfrom drying the grain more quickly.”

Cost-effective storageThe combination of an on-floor store, a batch drier and storage capacity at a nearby grain co-op, provides a relativelycost-effective solution for one Essex farm.

Andrew Kerr grows 260ha of arablecrops at Newhouse Farm, North Wealdnear Epping and while he admits this “isn’t the perfect system”, it’s one whichhas evolved to match the tighter productionbudgets which have resulted since he

started farming on his own in 2006. Having coped with the past two wet

summers, he believes the system hasproved it has the capacity to cope with the farm’s 1,800t of wheat, barley andoilseed rape.

The bulk of Andrew Kerr’s wheat land is down to Solstice, along with smallerareas of Cordiale and Oakley this season–– accompanied by 80ha of Markant andExcalibur oilseed rape, and 26ha of Sequel six-row winter barley.

“Most of the milling wheat goes straightto Camgrain where my storage capacityhas been expanded to 500t for this year.While this isn’t a cheap option, the serviceis excellent and I reckon it helps insure the premium paid on my grain.

“Moreover, it means I don’t have toworry about mycotoxin, Hagberg or protein issues because the store cleansand blends the grain accordingly.”

He uses Camgrain principally because it offers him “safety and security” for his Group 1 wheat, he says. “They alsomarket the grain for me –– mainly to try to achieve a pool price as good or betterthan I can get myself.”

However, he admits that he’s still a little unsure about letting somebody elsemarket his crops for him.

While acknowledging that the co-op

storage capacity does have a tangibleasset value, he admits he would prefer to have the asset on-farm. “I’d very muchlike to put up more storage here but, forthe moment, I’m working within theparameters of what I can afford.”

When Andrew Kerr branched out on his own, he left behind 1,800t of qualitystorage at the family farm, which meant he needed to build extra capacity atNewhouse Farm. The quickest and lowest cost option was to modify an existing 1,160m2 steel span building by putting in a new concrete floor. The building was also upgraded with concrete grain-wall panelling. s

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If 1-in-20 ventilation pin-holes are blocked by grain or debris, it represents a 5% reduction in airflow to the crop.Cleaning is the only solution.

Make sure that the fan inlet allows enoughair to get through –– also ensuring that thelouvres aren’t blocked by debris.

“These two features were not only relatively low-cost and straight-forward to install, the panels provide high security,if ever we were to change the building’suse.” Moreover, it presents an immediatebenefit because a couple of sections arebeing used as a large workshop andequipment store, he adds.

“In my first season here, all I had wasthe grain walling and a concrete floor ––with no drying facility apart from aerationvia the pedestals. I knew I needed someform of drying and was fortunate enoughto find a 15t Farrell, trailer-based batchdrier at a farm sale in Norfolk that hadbeen used for only 600hrs.

“It’s been an absolute Godsend and I reckon it’s more than paid for itselfalready. I was originally just buying a bit of ‘insurance’ but it’s ended up being atremendous investment. It will dry anythingfrom grass seed to winter beans –– and it’sstill worth probably more today than I paidfor it.”

The drier was like a “get out of jail free card” last harvest, admits AndrewKerr. Having sold his combine a couple of years ago, he now uses a contractor tocut all of his crops so he can concentrateon managing the grain storage and drying instead.

Pre-harvest Roundup (glyphosate) was

applied to the Cordiale in July last seasonand by the end of the month, it was cut by the contractor using a tracked ClaasLexion 580.

“The drier meant I was able to sell it virtually off-the-field for £155/t. I’ve alsofound there’s a big demand to hire-out the drier, which again helps it pay its way.”

The Farrell Trayler Drier (now called theTurbodan, and marketed in the UK byColchester-based Tey Farm Systems) lookslike a normal farm trailer but with a largefan at the front and stirrers inside the body.Andrew Kerr reckons the 15t capacity version can dry its load from 19% to14.5% in about two hours.

On-board generatorThe drier is driven via a 1,000rpm tractorpto which powers a 400V on-board generator. The system has an integraldiesel-fired burner that feeds the airthrough a plenum chamber and into thetrailer body through a vented floor. A set of stirrers then move the grain allowing hightemperatures to be employed to promotefaster drying.

Running costs were estimated at around£10/t to take grain from 20% to about14.5% last harvest –– including fuel for the tractor and burner –– and this cost was more than recouped by the high early season prices last year. “Low priced diesel is obviously key to keeping the costs down.”

Andrew Kerr also added an on-floorambient drier to his drying set-up last season. “This was installed on top of thebuilding’s existing concrete floor but thelimited electricity supply restricts the fan power to 22kW –– which means the storage capacity is restricted to about 500t at a depth of 3m.”

The current fan and drying tunnel areabout 30-years-old and were moved fromthe previous store at the original homefarm. “While we would’ve liked to increasethe capacity, we were constrained by theelectrical power of just 65KVA on-site.”

In 2006, his local energy company quoted £32,000 to uprate to 200KVA,which he decided wasn’t a cost-effectiveoption. “This was another reason we decided to invest in the batch drier instead.”

Andrew Kerr installed the tunnel and fanhimself, but had the new wooden dryingfloor installed professionally by Welvent. “I chose the floor because it’s able to storeand dry any type of grain. Moreover, withducting inside the tunnel, I can control theairflow and dry in sections, where required.

Grain drying tipsl Dry as much as possible quickly

l Apply heat early

l Run the fans both night and day, with heat to correct humidity

l Colder air carries less water, so drying will be slower

l Constant heat and air is better than incremental steps

Drier checks4 Fan output

4 Grain height

4 Airflow

4 Seal leaks

4 Heat capacity

“I’d obviously prefer to have a state-of-the-art store but this whole system cost just £18,000.” Aside from that, the mainadvantage is that his current set-up is more‘hands free’ than a mobile drier –– albeitslower, he says. “That means I can be outdrilling, for example, rather than tying upmy only tractor on the Farrell.”

The system is electronically-controlled by a Welvent monitor, which also camefrom the previous store. “This is equippedwith a sensor to measure the relativehumidity of the outside air, as well as the temperature of the grain itself –– automatically controlling the humidity of the drying air.

“When I first started farming on my own,I used to drive the combine myself and that meant I didn’t know what was going on at the store. Switching to a contractor forharvesting –– when it’s convenient for usboth –– means I can now manage the storemyself,” he explains. “That means I can getrid of the combine and sell forward –– ortake advantage of a ‘weather market’.

“I can either dry quickly or slowly, choosing the system that suits best at thetime.” However, he admits he does need tomove some crops out quickly because ofthe limited storage capacity.

Adding heat to an ambient on-floor system is also an important part of his drying strategy –– supplied by a simplediesel-powered Master BV290E portableheater which provides an output of 285k Btu.

“I spent quite some time at the LAMMAshow looking for a decent diesel-firedheater. The down-side of diesel is the risk of exhaust gases tainting the grain, so it’sobviously important to use an indirectheater with a separate system to vent

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Farm FactsNewhouse FarmNorth WealdNr. EppingEssex

l Area: 260ha – all arable

l Rotation:Wheat; wheat; barley; oilseed rape

l Varieties:154ha wheat – mainly Solstice, plus some Cordiale and Oakley 80ha OSR – Markant and Excalibur 26ha winter barley – Sequel

l Grain drying system:1,160m2 building with concrete grain walls

500t near-ambient on-floor drier, 22kW fan

Master BV290E diesel-fired portable heater

Grain Butler portable stirrer

Range of used portable pedestal vents 15t capacity Farrell Trayler drier (now called a Turbodan)

500t capacity at Camgrain for harvest 2009

When Andrew Kerr first bought this 15tFarrell Trayler Dryer, it was his onlymeans of drying grain. An on-floor system with heat has since been added.

out the exhaust fumes so they don’t mix with the hot air.

“The Master was one of the few I foundthat could do this, with a simple heatexchange system on the exhaust pipe.”

He thinks this is such a good idea thathe has decided to become a dealer for theheaters in his area. “It’s large enough todo the job –– and because the heat outputis adjustable, its 105 litre fuel tank meansit can go for a whole day without the needfor refilling. Then in winter, it can be usedwith a thermostat to provide economicalwarmth in the workshop.

“This extra heat is key to achieving fast,efficient drying with my on-floor system.The heater is placed outside in front of themain intake for the fan, which draws in the hot air.” Crucially, that means theexhaust fumes are kept outside the building, he adds.

“The heater is used virtually all the timeonce the grain is below 18% MC. The fancontroller, which is linked to an exteriorRH sensor, is switched to ‘manual’ so itdoesn’t turn off automatically when theexternal humidity increases.” That way, he reckons the system can reduce the RHfrom 25% to 15% on a ‘good drying day’.

Aware of the fact that high drying temperatures can cause problems in on-floor systems, Andrew Kerr also uses

a portable Grain Butler stirring auger, supplied by BDC Systems. “This simpleauger digs into the heap and then movesitself along, lifting the grain from the bottom to the top, which improves aeration and helps prevent ‘hot spots’.

The system does require a bit of management but this just involves checking its progress and moving it to anew position when it gets close to a wall,he says. “The stirrer helps to preventcrusting of grain near the surface andreduces risk of insect build-up.” He plansto rent it to other growers this autumn tohelp spread the cost.

Andrew Kerr also invested in someadditional “monitoring sophistication” at this year’s LAMMA show in the form of a small Thermo-hygrometer, costing just£16. “The plan is to fit this into the tunnel

wall, with the sensor inside and the displayon the outside, to provide a quick and fairly accurate check of the drying air’s RH and temperature.” n


http://www.nickersonseeds.co.uk/alchemy

Drill selection dilemmaMin-till drill buyers have the choice of two basic

coulter designs –– disc or tine. But varying soiltypes and straw volumes, and fluctuating

summer and autumn rainfall levels, mean the choice is far from simple.

By Martin Rickatson

‘The key is to maximise output inthe drilling windows available.’

or anyone considering the purchaseof a new min-till drill, the first decision to make before comparing

different types and specifications iswhether to go for tine or disc coulters.

And if discs are the favoured option, the next dilemma is whether to go for a single or double row.

Whilst the leading manufacturers agreethat both disc and tine machines havetheir place, they beg to differ on whatworks best in different situations.

Mark Littleford of Väderstad UK suggests tine coulters are particularly wellsuited to direct drilling work because oftheir ability to pull the drill into the ground.“But for the mainstream min-till market,our sales remain focused on disc-basedRapid drills.

“Despite all the different drill typeswe’ve tested and developed over the years,we’ve found no reason to move away from

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the Rapid coulter design concept as it still offers the greatest degree of flexibilityand performance in the widest range of conditions.”

Simba Horsch offers both disc-coultered (i.e. Pronto) and tine-based (i.e. Sprinter /CO) drills, with sales director,Guy Leversha, reporting that 60% of lastyear’s sales were of the former machines.

But while disc coulters are clearly the more favoured drill type among thecustomers of the big two suppliers, thereare some significant advantages fromusing a tine-based drill.

“For starters, Sprinter/CO drills are 15-20% cheaper to buy than Pronto disc machines of the same width.”

Guy Leversha notes that the popularityof each drill type has remained fairlysteady in recent years, with a number of users changing from one system to theother each season for a variety of reasons–– including issues with trash and/orstones, or perhaps a desire to cut runningcosts, he says.

As well as being cheaper to buy than

a disc machine of the same width, tineddrills are also simpler to operate, withlower running costs –– and with a potentially higher residual value becauseof this, claims Guy Leversha. “But disc-based machines offer some inherentadvantages that tine versions cannot.”

However, it’s rarely as simple as recommending all growers on one particular soil type should consider just a single type of drill, he acknowledges.“Much depends on the stone content ofthe soil, plus the crop type and variousother factors as well.”

Crop residueManaging the crop residue to ensure that it breaks-down quickly is a critical part of min-tilling so the crop can emergeunimpeded, with good seed-to-soil contact, continues Guy Leversha. “Some perceive disc drills as being proneto ‘hairpinning’ trash into the seed slot.

“But the root of the problem lies withthe combine, and the effectiveness withwhich it chops and spreads the straw.”

Tines are designed to sweep trashupwards and away from the seeding zone to ensure the seed is always placedin a trash-free zone, he says. “But discscan sometimes force shorter strands of chopped-straw into the slot they’re creating –– particularly if it’s wet –– meaning the seed is placed onto straw, rather than soil.

“Tine drills also offer more clearance –– aiding the flow of soil and straw aroundthe coulters and under the coulter frame.”

Väderstad’s Mark Littleford agrees with s

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Tine or disc coulters –– prosand consTine

Simpler

Cheaper to buy

Low running costs/maintenance requirements

Lower power requirement

Higher residual value relative to purchase price

Can hairpin longer bits of trash

Seedbed not left as neat as with disc machine

Can hook large stones and leave smaller stones on the soil surface

Seed slots may be difficult to close in some conditions

Poor contour-following ability

Single-discProduces a tidier finish

Less prone to hairpinning trash; better slicing action

Half the number of discs to wear/replace on a double-disc drill

Better contour following

Less coulter bounce

Can stall on light soils

Can compact ground beneath discs and smear seed slot sidewalls

Can force shorter trash into the seed slot

Bearings and moving parts mean higher maintenance costs

Lower resale values?

Double-discProduces a tidier finish

Wear on each disc halved

Pulls straight even when worn

Better contour following

Less coulter bounce

Greater rolling resistance and penetration surface area

Wider seed slot harder to close; can reopen in dry conditions

More bearings and moving parts mean higher maintenance costs

Lower resale values

Can smear seed slot sidewalls and compact ground beneath discs

“Band sowing spreads the seed over 70% of the soil surface, rather than just 20%covered by a disc drill,” says Guy Leversha.


Guy Leversha’s views on the problem of hairpinning but suggests the design ofthe disc coulter can make a significant difference.

Väderstad focuses almost exclusively on

disc drills –– its only tined units being theSeed Hawk, which it acquired when itbought a share in the eponymousCanadian firm two years ago.

“A single-disc –– particularly the serrated/notched type used on Rapid drills–– isn’t susceptible to hairpinning, as theleading edge is narrower and the surfacearea of the metal being forced into theground is less,” he claims. “Notchededges slice through the trash more readily,rather than forcing it apart.”

The way in which the coulter is suspended from the machine also makesa big difference, explains Mark Littleford.“A fixed-pressure machine, with coultersdirectly beneath the centre of gravity, cantransfer the coulter weight to the groundmuch more efficiently than one withadjustable pressure coulters that hang

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“Väderstad single-discs aren’t susceptibleto hairpinning because of their notched-and-serrated design,” says Mark Littleford.

out at the rear of the frame. “Rather than trying to force it in with

hydraulic pressure, the Rapid actuallyholds the coulter out of work to set thesowing depth.”

While it won’t slice through debris, tinedrills will ‘sweep’ it away from the seedingzone –– parting the soil in the process ––ensuring the adjacent coulter places theseed into soil, rather than trash, maintainsGuy Leversha. “All Simba Horsch tinedrills place seed in bands rather than rows–– with just 16 coulters fitted to a 4m drill–– with these coulters sowing fewer butbroader bands of seed with narrower gapsin-between.”

The effect of this is to spread the seedover 70% of the soil surface, rather thanjust 20% covered by a disc drill, heclaims. “This aids growth, providingstronger early root development andimproving seed access to moisture in dry conditions. However, it’s a systemwhich is currently only available on tine-coultered drills.”

Tine drills can be equipped with different types of coulters to make themmore adaptable to sowing a wide range of crops, says Guy Leversha. “Moreover,the Duett coulters fitted on Horsch drills

can also be used for precision fertiliserplacement –– working well in all seedbedconditions.”

As the coulter passes through the soil,its underside forms a firm pad onto whichthe seed is spread evenly in a band beforethe soil is closed and firmed on top.

“A Solo-type coulter –– essentially a single outlet version of the Duett, with a25cm row spacing –– allows beans to bedrilled into a loose, friable tilth to a depthof up to 15cm.

“Conversely, the Delta coulter is particularly well suited to trashy conditions–– with the point raising the straw, andwith the seed placed evenly in a 175mmband in tilth underneath it.” The tinepoints also loosen the soil beneath where the seed will be placed, alleviatingcompaction in this area and aidingdrainage and root growth, he adds.

It’s this particular feature which is the other main benefit of tines, with some suggesting that discs ‘microcompact’ the ground beneath each one, he says.“But where a tine drill is to be used, thefield surface needs to be well consolidated and level ahead of the operation for it to work effectively.

“As the coulters on most tine drills

don’t have an individual contour-followingcapability, any levelling of the seedbedneeds to be done when cultivating, and not by or with the drill itself,” says Guy Leversha. “We offer full-width front tyre packers for our tine drills butcustomers should look first at whether they could achieve the required effect during their cultivations.” s

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depending on its type, size and volume.”“While discs can ‘ride’ over larger

stones, forcing the coulters up out of work, tine coulters can hook them, causing problems at harvest, while alsobringing smaller ones up to create a more stony surface.”

So while tine drills have some majorpluses –– not least their simplicity and cost –– there are also some significantdrawbacks. “But the same applies to disc-coultered machines.

“That said, the finish left by disc drills is generally perceived to be better on theeye than tine-coultered machines, and this accounts for some of their sales success,” believes Guy Leversha.

Less of a problem?“While discs can hairpin trash into theseed slot, tines can drag trash so one isn’t necessarily any better than the other.But on drier ground or lighter brash soils,and also where the straw is baled, there’sless of a problem. Again, it’s a matter ofgetting a good chop and finding whatworks best on a particular farm.”

Both tine and disc drills tend to work best on firm, consolidated ground,although with the latter, it’s more to do

with getting “good disc grip” –– with loosesoil resulting in both ‘disc stall’ and poordepth control, notes Guy Leversha.

“The tyres ahead of the coulters on aPronto are designed to press the soil toensure the discs can grip well –– with thedrill following the contours better than atine machine since each coulter has itsown press/depth-wheel sited as close to the coulter as possible.

“Surface cultivation is left to the leadingseparate disc elements which can beraised out of work if not required –– reducing soil disturbance, and thereforemoisture loss.” The straight disc coultersdon’t create any tilth themselves, he adds.

However, disc drills obviously require aset coulter pressure to keep the coulters to the depth required, he acknowledges.“The ideal solution is to buy the widest drill you can pull, so improving the level ofoutput and timeliness –– minimising anyneed to drill in less-than-ideal conditions.

“The key is to maximise output in thedrilling windows available.”

However, Mark Littleford suggests farmers should be cautious about buyingthe widest drill they can pull –– and afford.

“It often makes sense to go for a slightlynarrower machine, with the ability to travel

Tine drills generally have a lower powerrequirement, and will place seed accurately–– irrespective of soft or hard ground –– because they “pull themselves into the soil”, he continues. “But they can’tcompensate for uneven seedbeds by contour-following, and adding levellingboards will eliminate their low poweradvantage.”

Moreover, in certain conditions, tinescan create slots in clay soils which maynot be closed properly by the press wheels,he notes. “And both coulter types havetheir problems in dealing with stones ––with the right machine for a particular farm

Seedbed levelling should be done whencultivating, and not by or with the drillitself, says Guy Leversha.

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faster when conditions allow.That way, if the weather turnsbad, it’s still possible to pull themachine and carry on drilling.

“Having a little more tractorpower than is actually strictlyrequired will help to keep thedrill moving. A machine with a fixed coulter pressure cancope with huge variations inthe soil type across a field, without the need for any coulter depth adjustment.

“When it’s necessary toadjust the coulter pressure toachieve a desired depth setting,it usually requires re-setting foreach soil type anyway.”

Regardless of type, discs can smear the seed slot sidewall in wet clay soil, while dry conditions canimpede penetration, suggestsGuy Leversha.

Check disc wear“Moreover, operators need to observe disc wear levels tomaximise their trash cuttingability, and higher maintenancecosts can be an issue with thistype of drill since they havemore bearings and movingparts –– and therefore fasterdepreciation and lower resalevalues. But it’s the disc coulter format that makes the difference in performancebetween types of disc drill.

“A double-disc coulter willalways pull straight, while a single-disc can wear and crabmore once worn. With two discs cutting the slot, wear oneach one is effectively halved.They also protect the seed boot from wear and soil/trashbuild-up, whereas in wet conditions, soil and trash can get in between the discand the boot on a single-discdrill –– increasing the powerrequirement and slowing therotation of the discs.”

But Mark Littleford suggeststhat a double-disc coulter, by its nature, opens a wide slotwhich, on soils with any degreeof clay content, is less effectivelyclosed by the press wheels –– particularly if the ground is too moist.

“Adjustment on a double-disc coulter is absolutely criticalto its performance as the gapbetween the two discs growswider with wear, with soil entering the system and causing blockages –– reducingthe coulter’s ability to penetrate firm soils as well.”

He adds that the seed slotcan open up again when thesoil begins to dry out. “That’swhy the only drill on which we use double-discs is theSpirit, recommended for lightland which isn’t subject to this problem.

“The other main downside of a double-disc coulter is thatit means double the surfacearea to force into the soil ––requiring more penetrationpressure. So single-discs work best on medium to heavyground, but for lighter soilswhere penetration isn’t a problem, double-discs workwell which is again why discpairs are used on the Spirit.”

Because they run straight,double-discs act like a wheel on medium-heavy land, causing them to ‘ride out ofwork’, increasing their rollingresistance through the soil andmaking them harder to pull,continues Mark Littleford.

“Conversely, on extremelylight ground offering little or no resistance, a single-disc canoften ‘stall’ or lose traction, andthat’s why we sell single-discmachines for medium-heavysoils.” To address the stall/traction issue, the Rapid’s single-discs are set at a threedegree angle, he says.

“As well as helping the discto grip, this also provides anelement of cultivation aroundthe seed slot to improve thelevel of seed-to-soil contact, as well as protecting the coulter from wear.

“From a running cost perspective, a machine is only cost effective if it’s doingwhat you want it to do –– andsometimes the cheaper optionends up costing more throughlost yield or the requirement forextra cultivation passes.” n

http://www.nickersonseeds.co.uk/panorama

incorporating a second turbine sited after the main turbocharger –– powered by the exhaust gases departing from it.

Leaving the main turbo to do its job of forcing more air into the engine, thesecond unit actually transfers its powerdirectly to the crankshaft via a set of gears–– helping the 13TCD to produce a maximum of 591hp (over 60hp more than the standard 13).

‘Lower fuel consumption’And as it generates this extra power without requiring any more fuel, the system cuts fuel consumption in relativeterms by around 5% over the standardengine, says New Holland. This is backedby a reworked diesel tank holding 16% more fuel than the standard unit’s 1,000 litres.

It may not be a particularly output-enhancing feature, but the engine’s standard dust/chaff removal system ––another unique feature of the CR9090 –– is designed to minimise the risk of fire, and as such should contribute toreducing the overall running costs bykeeping fires at bay, and therefore insurance premiums down.

For two seconds in every two minutes,an electrically-driven motor rotates a multi-outlet pipe across the exhaust manifold and turbo –– with pressured airblowing off the chaff and dust to reduce

More than just a makeover?

New Holland says its new CR9090 combine flagship is about more than simply extra power

and a wider header. CPM quizzes the firm –– and the machine’s first UK user.

By Martin Rickatson

‘Rotary combines work by creating a large amount of

centrifugal force.’

ngineering extra power into an existing machine is a fairly standardmanufacturer method of creating

a ‘new’ model to top a product line. But additional power can only produce

so much extra performance without theinternals being adjusted accordingly, andfarmers are often rightly wary of the extraoutput claims for what perhaps amountsto a simple tweak of the fuel pump –– particularly if there’s little evidence of a redesign from the outside.

Although there may be little to differentiate New Holland’s CR9090Elevation from the CR9080 externally, the new model is a significant step forward in performance terms, accordingto the company.


For a start, the CR9090 is claimed to be capable of 10% more output than the CR9080 –– the company’s previousflagship combine –– translating into potential average workrates of around 70t/hr.

“We’ve given the machine more horsepower using some significant newtechnology and this is more than just a makeover,” explains New Holland combine specialist, Adrian Woods. “The extra power isn’t there simply to pushmore crop through a machine of the samedimensions, but to drive a bigger header,and hence take in and thresh more crop,as well as chopping greater volumes ofstraw and distributing it over a wider area.”

While its fuel ‘mapping’ has been altered slightly (i.e. more fuel supply), the engine is actually the same electronically-governed Iveco Cursor 13 as used in the 9080 Elevation, albeit inTCD (Turbo Compound Diesel) format. The TCD motor is also used in NewHolland’s T9050 articulated tractor

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the crop in the threshing element of therotor cages for longer.”

There’s also a new self-levelling Opti-Thresh cleaning shoe providingincreased sieve throwing strokes, steeperthrowing angles and a 6.5m2 cleaningarea. The grain pan, pre-cleaner and top sieve all work independently so each element’s movement is optimised.

A claimed first is that the shoe allowsopposite movement of the grain pan andupper sieve –– increasing the cascadeheight for greater separation capacity and more aggressive cleaning, with a lower level of vibration overall.

New Holland’s new Grain Cam system–– only available on the CR9090 –– takesboth red/green/blue and ultraviolet imagesof the grain in the ‘clean’ elevator. Fromthis, the operator can determine what the quantity of ‘material other than grain’ ispresent in the sample, as well as identifyingthe percentage of cracked grain.

This information is shown on a displayon the new touchscreen IntelliView IIImonitor –– another CR9090 introduction–– allowing on-the-move alterations to bemade to the beater/concave gap, rotorsand/or fan speed.

“It gives the operator instant feedbackon the quality of the grain without havingto take a sample from the tank, or waitinguntil emptying, before making a decisionon any threshing adjustments,” saysAdrian Woods.

The tank itself has also been redesignedto ensure that greater throughput doesn’tmean the machine will spend more timewaiting for trailers. Capacity has beenupped by 2,000 litres to 12,500 litres by modifying the top of the tank and its lids –– with the latter folding out toaccommodate the extra grain.

The unloading auger remainsunchanged, with a 110 l/sec unloadingspeed and sufficient clearance to cater for the broader cutterbar (although New Holland is currently making someimprovements to the auger for the coming harvest).

Going to a wider header presented thedesigners with as many challenges at therear of the machine as the front, continuesAdrian Woods. “The Opti-Spread residuemanagement system was designed specifically for the CR9090 and its 10.7m header.

“A conventional chopper in its normalformat can’t spread straw effectively acrossthis width of cut,” he maintains. “Whatwe’ve done is to incorporate a pair of largediameter spinning discs at the chopper

the fire risk. The rotation blasts the dust in different directions, preventing it fromre-settling in the same place when the fan stops.

But it’s what the engine actually powersthat makes the CR9090 different. Thedevelopment of a wider header meansNew Holland now joins its competitor,Claas, in the 10.5m cutterbar category.However, the former takes a differentapproach to overcoming the design difficulties posed by having a header this wide.

“One of the biggest challenges in developing our 10.7m header was maintaining the strength of the knife, reel and auger across their whole length,”says Adrian Woods. “Our engineers wereable to design single piece items in all cases.”

Reel and auger tubesThe diameter of the reel’s inner tube has been increased from 194mm to273mm, while both reel and auger tubesare both designed in five sections –– withthe middle and inner pieces made fromthicker, heavier-grade steel than the outerones, keeping the header weight low without compromising its strength.

“In addition, both have larger overalldiameters than those on our 9m header –– and increasing the auger diameter by 50mm to 660mm has allowed theauger speed to be lowered slightly.” The header’s chassis has also been completely redesigned, featuring a newtrapezoidal frame for increased rigidityover the complete width, he adds.

The header also features a stronger

wobble box drive and mounting which propels a sturdier knife, continues AdrianWoods. “Aside from its greater length, thisknife strengthening exercise is necessarybecause it operates up at 1,300 cuts/min,as opposed to 1,150 cuts/min on our 9m header.

“The VariFeed movable knife is fitted as standard, offering movement of 460-1035mm from the auger –– 75mmmore that on the 9m cutterbar.” Slidingsections mean there’s no need for fillerplates, he adds.

To cater for the higher crop volumecoming into the machine, the most significant internal tweak is to the trademark twin longitudinal rotor threshing system. “The introduction of the CR9090 emphasises our commitment to and belief in a twin, rather than a single, rotor design.”

Centrifugal forceRotary combines work by creating a largeamount of centrifugal force, he points out.“The twin rotor design affords a tighterturning radius in the rotor cages, whichpromotes early separation. The fact thateach one is handling just half the cropmeans the rotors can work at higherspeeds –– up to 1,450rpm on the CR9090–– requiring less torque to drive them.

“The other advantage of twin rotors isthat the crop distribution onto the grainpan and sieves is split equally across both sides of the machine. With only one crop stream coming from it, a singlerotor combine tends to throw material toone side.”

There’s little change at the front end,with the two 0.56m diameter rotors –– each 2.6m long –– being fed by a1.56m x 0.40m beater with 54° concavewrap angle. The first 0.39m section oneach rotor acts as the auger intake, whilethe second 0.74m element is responsiblefor threshing the crop. Some 1.09m ofeach is then devoted to separation, while a discharge section of 0.42m makes upthe rear.

The big difference on the CR9090 is that the vanes on each rotor areadjustable, allowing them to be altered to reduce the number of revolutions the crop makes in the rotor cage to increasethroughput, and hence operating capacity.“In truth, the only reason users might want to retard the vanes from the standardposition would be to reduce rotor loss indifficult working conditions.

“For harder-to-thresh material, they can be set more aggressively –– keeping

“The rotor-based Opti-Spread system hasbeen specially developed for the CR9090 todistribute chopped straw across the entirecutting width,” says Adrian Woods.


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Though now fully available, only a smallhandful of CR9090s were on hand in the UK last year –– most being New Hollanddemonstrator machines.

Moreover, just one combine was availablefor sale in time for harvest 2008 and this wasbought by John Shepherd, farm manager forH Bourn, at Wragby, Lincs.

The business has been building itsfarmed area in recent years by adding suitable land whenever it’s become available–– with a total of 4,000ha of land now beingcropped, comprising 2,100ha milling wheatand 1,240ha oilseed rape, with the balancedown to spring barley, spring wheat, springrape, peas and beans.

“We were already running three NewHolland CR980s –– all with 9m headers –– so with the addition of 1,200ha of landlast year, it meant we needed to bring in anadditional combine,” explains John Shepherd.“One of our three existing CR980s was upfor renewal anyway, having already donefour seasons, so I decided to replace it witha year-old CR9080.

“I was considering buying another onewhen New Holland asked if I’d be interestedin having the one CR9090 that was availablelast year.”

Each of the combines is fitted with front tracks, which he believes is “moneywell spent”.

“We tried a wheeled machine a couple of seasons ago with a driven rear axle but it was no match for two-wheel-drive withtracks,” he says. He also reckons the triangular units work better than ‘flat’ ones.

While the track units bolt straight onto theaxle on the 9080s and 980s, the 9090 had tobe fitted with drop plates (supplied by Tidue)to keep the combine height under 4m –– butthis hasn’t caused any problems. “My aim isto get ten years from each set, retainingthem when each combine is sold.

“We’ve kept things simple by sticking withnon-suspended units, as there’s no greatbenefit from suspended ones on a combine–– but we do have bigger 600/65 R28 reartyres on the 9090 which are a good matchfor the track footprints.”

This is the farm’s second VariFeed header–– with extensions and filler plates used on the other cutterbars –– albeit the first10.7m unit. John Shepherd has found little to fault it.

“There’s no doubt that the IntelliSteerGPS guidance takes a lot of stress off thedriver with a cutterbar of this width, and itdefinitely works better than the laser-basedSmartSteer system.” All of the farm’s combines will be fitted with IntelliSteer for the coming harvest, he says.

Despite having more power on tap in addition to its greater throughput, theCR9090’s refuelling intervals are actuallylonger than those for the farm’s other combines, he reports. “The combine appearsto cope well with threshing and separatingthe volume of material coming in from the bigger header, and the rotor vane

redesign helps significantly in this respect.“The angle settings we used depended

a lot on the weather conditions last harvest,but the damp crops often had to be retainedin the rotor cage a little longer. And the higherrotor speed also helps –– you can hear thatit has a different ‘buzz’ to the other machines.

“We consistently achieved outputs of65t/hr –– around 15t/hr more than the othermachines –– and our spot rates were oftenwell over 100t/hr. But we weren’t forsakinggrain retention for output, and I wasn’t afraidto look into the swath for losses.”

John Shepherd says he has found fewissues with straw distribution from theCR9090’s new Opti-Spread system, six-row chopper and chaff spreader.

“We had the same unit fitted on ourCR980s two years ago and it makes a lot ofdifference. Cross-winds blowing from the leftcaused a few problems occasionally lastyear, but the chop and spread was generallygood –– despite the damp straw.”

With cattle on the farm, and a turkeyenterprise as well, a lot of the straw is baledanyway, he continues. “Setting the rotorvanes more aggressively doesn’t seem tohave any detrimental effect on the straw.”

Nine 16t trailers back up the farm’s combines, unloading onto a concrete yard from where a loading shovel feeds a 170-200t/hr capacity drier. Despite theextra header width, both combine and trailer drivers have found few problemsunloading on the move.

This season, the combines are likely to work together in rape –– splitting into two teams for the wheat.

“The new machine has worked well and I think that, as the others come up forrenewal, we’ll replace them with CR9090s.Going to a bigger machine hasn’t posed usany problems at all –– in fact, if an evenlarger model became available, I’d look seriously at it.”

On-farm experience

exit, operating at 200-600rpm and set at a slight angle.

“These can be positioned to throwchopped straw up to 12m, with a keypadin the cab allowing the operator to controlthe distribution.”

The CR9090 weighs only a tonne morethan a CR9080, at 16.7t, and is availablewith Tidue tracks in place of 900/60 R32or 800/75 R32 tyres (with the formeroption costing an additional £23,000). The downside is that tracks reduce the

Lincs farm manager, John Shepherd,bought the first CR9090 in time for last harvest.

maximum road speed from 30km/hr to 21km/hr. l The list price of a 10.5m CR9090 Elevation is £45,000 more than the still-to-be-marketedCR9080 at £300,000. n

New Holland claims it has engineered sufficient strength into its 10.7m header by using progressively larger tubing for the reel and auger. Knife speed is 1,300 cuts/min.


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performs well across all the regions. “On the current HGCA list, Gallant yields103% in the dry East region, 105% in the wetter West and 102% in the North,compared with Solstice at 98% in theEast, 99% in the west and 97% in the North.

“Similarly, its treated yields have beenconsistent over the past three years ––104% in 2006 and 2007, and 103% in 2008 –– so growers should be very confident of its reliable yield performance.”

Grain qualityThey should also be assured of its consistent grain quality, she continues.“Over the 2006, 2007 and 2008 seasons,the Hagberg Falling Number averaged250+ –– the minimum threshold used by most millers.”

In Syngenta trials, it gave an HFN of340 in 2006, 289 in 2007 and 307 in2008, she claims. “Over the same periodof time, Solstice gave 327, 226 and 271respectively –– falling below the requiredstandard in 2007.”

She also reports that over the samethree year period, the mean protein content for Gallant –– a key considerationfor loaf volume –– was comfortably abovethe threshold demanded by millers.“Moreover, its average specific weight of 77.3kg/hl was above the 76kg/hldemanded by buyers.”

Samantha Smith points out that

Barn-filling bread-wheat?

Significantly, the variety has achieved aconsistent milling quality sample everyyear it’s been tested –– regardless of the season.”

With a treated yield rating of 103%, it’s 5% higher than Solstice and 2% higherthan the Group 2 market leaders, Einsteinand Cordiale, he notes. “In trials, Gallantgave over 0.52t/ha more yield thanSolstice which –– at a cost of £115/t plus a £45/t premium –– means it would beworth over £80/ha more to the grower.”

This yield performance also puts it inthe same league as many feed wheat varieties, claims Robert Hiles. “Its yield figure is actually higher than several Group 4s –– Humber, Alchemy, Gladiatorand Timber.”

Over the past five years, Group 1 millingwheat has traded at an average price premium of around £18/t over feed wheat,he continues. “This year, it looks like it willbe a lot higher at around £35-45/t, so it’ssuddenly looking like a very attractiveproposition to grow milling wheat again.”

Syngenta Seeds cereal specialist,Samantha Smith, points out that Gallant

At last, winter wheat growers have a bread-wheatvariety that rivals feed wheat yield performance.

By Jo Palmer

Insider’s viewInsider’s view

‘Gallant is provisionally rated as a ‘ukp’ bread-wheat for export.’

erhaps better known for its barleybreeding programme, SyngentaSeeds has recently launched a

new Group 1 wheat variety which shouldset them on the road to having a morerespectable share of the UK wheat market.

New to the HGCA Recommended Listfor 2009/10, Gallant features a uniquecombination of consistent grain quality and high yields.

“In the past, many Group 1 varietieswere capable of fulfilling the millers’ grainquality requirements but they couldn’tproduce the yields,” says Robert Hiles, UK head of cereals for Syngenta Seeds.“That meant growers had to accept loweryields whenever they were growing abread-making variety.

“However, Gallant looks set to give growers access to the premiumbread-making market, yet it offers a yield comparable with many feed wheats.

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“Gallant will give growers accessto premium bread-makingmarkets –– with a yieldcomparable to many feedwheats,” says Robert Hiles.

Gallant is provisionally ratedas a ‘ukp’ bread-wheat forexport –– opening up overseasmarkets and helping to spreadthe risk for growers.

Moreover, the variety isclaimed to have a straightforwardmanagement package. “Of thesix Group 1 varieties on the current Recommended List,Gallant is one of the earliest to ripen –– similar to Cordialeand around three days earlierthan Solstice.

Early maturity key“If you look back at the past few wet summers, it’s clear thatearly maturity can be important–– spreading workloads andmaking the difference betweenharvesting the crop safely, or itbeing left out in the field.”

She points out that Gallanthas relatively good standingpower and comparatively stiffstraw, and can be drilled early–– from the first week ofSeptember onwards. “It has amoderate-to-slow developmentup to the stem extension stage,but it then grows faster inthe spring.

“This makes it very well suited to the early drilling slot ––yielding 4% higher than Cordiale

in early drilled trials.” Secondwheat trials suggest it could be suitable for this slot too, she adds.

“Its disease resistance is perhaps a little weaker thansome other Group 1 varietiesbut overall, it has a balancedprofile which will require goodfungicide management.”

Trials evaluationMasstock has seen Gallant intrials for the past two seasons,and is one of its principle multipliers of certified seed.Arable seeds product manager,Barry Barker, believes the variety’s disease profile isn’t its strong point.

“But it does have reasonabledisease resistance across theboard. Its rust susceptibility willneed managing but its septoriaresistance is similar to Solstice.”

Significantly, it does seem toproduce very consistent yields,he says. “However, it does haveslightly weaker straw than someother varieties, and that may be a concern for farmers onstrong land.”

He believes Gallant’s earlymaturity will be of interest tomany growers. “Cordiale wassimilar and it attracted a gooddeal of interest –– it’s certainlytrue that, during the past 2-3 years, earliness has proved its true value, with fields being harvested beforethe rains came.

“On paper, Gallant andCordiale are meant to be threedays earlier maturing thanSolstice but in practical terms, it could be twice that –– with a 6-7 day earlier start being a big help during the busy harvest period.”

Barry Barker reckonsGallant’s specific weight andprotein content are similar toSolstice, albeit with a slightlybetter Hagberg. “There’s nothingproblematic with Gallant whenit comes to meeting millers’quality specifications.

“But it’s still early days andsince every variety is viewedslightly differently by the millers–– they’ll obviously want to

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Barry Barker expects Gallant to take the top quality-wheat spot over the nextfew years.

learn more about it over time.“But overall, it looks to be a very useful

new variety and one that I would expect totake the top quality wheat spot over thenext few years.”

He believes the key factor which willdetermine its popularity is the premiummillers are prepare to pay. “Most are putting Gallant at a similar level to Solstice–– the current Group 1 leader.”

He believes the 5% yield advantage will attract a lot of grower interest too. “It surpasses all Group 1s and most Group 2s when it comes to yield –– theexceptions being Panorama and Ketchum.

“According to sales on our books so far,it’s the established milling wheat growersand the major farming companies whoappear most interested in growing Gallantnext season. I suspect that the followerswill have a look-see and assess its valuefirst before jumping in wholesale.”

Barry Barker reports that there isn’tmuch Gallant seed availability now for thisautumn but predicts a rapid expansion inthe area grown over the next few years.“Solstice currently has about 10% of thetotal certified seed market and I’d seeGallant possibly taking a 10-15% market

share in future –– with some of it comingfrom Solstice.

Other Group 1s, such as Xi19, have asmall but loyal grower base –– generallybecause of its performance in the latedrilling slot, he concludes.

Robert Hiles says a total of about 5,500 tonnes of seed will be available forthis autumn –– enough for a 2-3% marketshare next season.

“While the UK has seen a decline inGroup 3 wheats in recent years, Group 1and 2 varieties have remained relativelyconstant at around 30-40% of total wheatplantings. The shift between Group 3 and4 has depended on yields of the variousvarieties with varieties like Alchemy drivingthe recent shift towards Group 4’s.

“The UK is currently about 85% self-sufficient in milling wheat –– with a

market demand of around 5.7Mt eachyear. We hope Gallant will help maintainfarmers’ enthusiasm in growing wheat forthe bread-making market.” n

Yield and quality comparedGallant Solstice

UK treated yield 103% 98%

Endosperm texture hard hard

Protein content (%) 12.0 12.1

Hagberg Falling Number 259 193

Specific weight (kg/hl) 77.3 77.6

Source: HGCA Recommended List

Agronomic characteristics Gallant Solstice Xi19

Mildew 5 5 6

Yellow rust 6 9 9

Brown rust 4 3 6

Septoria tritici 5 5 5

Eyespot 5 5 5

Lodging without

PGR (%)

Lodging with

PGR (%)

Height without

PGR (cm)

Ripening

(days =/-Claire)

Source: HGCA Recommended List

Insider’s viewInsider’s view

7 8 4

8 9 6

86 96 97

-2 +1 0


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More than seven in 10 growers reportapplying earlier spring nitrogen and delaying drilling until October –– with fewer spending time preparing betterseedbeds, improving their crop fertilisation,or employing different approaches to foliar disease control in second wheat (see figure 2).

“An impressive 48% of growers are currently employing all four key secondwheat management techniques, and noless than 75% of those using a take-allseed treatment are also delaying drillinguntil October to achieve the greatest overall early disease control benefit.

Earlier N“Using a take-all seed treatment appearsto be equally important to growers ––whatever their level of risk from the disease,” continues Susan Mintern.“However, noticeably more of those facing a higher-than-average take-allimpact are applying earlier spring nitrogen in particular.”

Under these circumstances, it’s not surprising that the vast majority of participating growers (80%) are having all or most of their second wheat seedtreated for take-all –– regardless of thelevel of disease impact (see figure 3).

Of those using a take-all seed treatment,over 70% are currently opting for the specialist dressing, silthiofam (Latitude)while just over 20% are using the multi-purpose treatment, fluquinconazole(e.g. Jockey, Galmano) –– with the remainder using a combination of the two actives (see figure 4).

“This represents a slight swing awayfrom the multi-purpose treatments during the past season,” says SusanMintern. The survey suggests the trend will continue this autumn –– with nearly85% of participating second wheat growers planning to use silthiofam on its own this autumn, and just 12% intending to use fluquinconazole.

Can second wheat be grown profitably with therecent hike in input costs? A recent survey of

CPM readers suggests that it can.By Rob Jones

‘It’s not surprising that the vastmajority of participating growers

are having all or most of their second wheat seed treated

for take-all.’

econd wheat growers across thecountry appear to be rising to the challenge of managing the

crop with a range of specific husbandrypractices –– which they intend to developfurther next season.

That’s one of the findings of a survey of CPM readers, conducted in March,which drew responses from more than230 growers –– collectively responsible foraround 88,000ha of cropping. The surveyparticipants have a total of just over38,000ha of wheat in the ground this season –– 15,000ha (39%) of which is second wheat.

The overwhelming majority (95%) are growing second, as well as first wheat, this year. And while slightly fewerparticipants are intending to grow wheatnext season, a slight increase in the totalarea of second wheat is planned within a virtually static overall wheat area. Thiswill lead the proportion of second wheatgrown to increase to around 41%.

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The study shows a typical yield gap of 1-1.5t/ha between first and secondwheat –– primarily attributed to take-all.Just under 40% of growers see a lower-than-average second wheat yield gap as being indicative of a lowertake-all impact, while 25% noted a higher-than-average yield gap and moreimpact from the disease (see figure 1).

But regardless of the level of impact,take-all control is seen as by far the greatest agronomic challenge in secondwheat production, with eyespot and/orsharp eyespot control being the only otherchallenge identified as being important (by just over half the participating growers).

Fertiliser planning, straw and seedbedmanagement and weed control are seen as key challenges by notably fewer growers, while foliar disease control is rated as the least important crop challenge.

“On average, farmers are employingmore than four out of eight of the mainmanagement techniques used to addressthe challenge of second wheat production,”explains study co-ordinator, Susan Minternof Monsanto.

“Selecting suitable second wheat varieties, and using a take-all seed treatment, are by far the most commonlyused techniques –– mentioned by over85% of growers in each case.”


Meeting the second wheatchallenge

8%

36%

21%

4%< 0.5t/ha 0.5-1t/ha 1-1.5t/ha 1.5-2t/ha > 2t/ha

Proportion of growers

31%

Figure 1: By how much do your first wheats generally out-yield your second wheats?

Exclusive

report


recorded in 2001, the eight-year-trendclearly shows second wheats are now closing the gap (see figure 6).

ProCam agronomist, Nick Myers, says:“Our first wheats performed exceptionallywell last season averaging a good 0.5t/hamore than we’ve ever recorded. While wesaw some excellent second wheats too, a relatively small number of crops in the 5-6t/ha bracket pulled the average down.

Second wheat surveySecond wheat survey“As well as its consistently positive

cost:benefit, the growing popularity ofLatitude, compared with the multi-purposealternatives, almost certainly stems fromthe relatively low priority growers are placing on foliar disease control in theirsecond wheat management these days.

“It also tallies well with the main management improvements they’re planning to make over the coming season. For instance, 4-5 out of every 10 growers are looking to improve theirnitrogen timing, select better second wheatvarieties, improve seedbed preparation andtreat all of their second wheat seed against

take-all this autumn –– with some alsoplanning further delays in the drilling date,improvements in their foliar fungicide programmes, and changes to their choiceof take-all seed treatment (see figure 5).

Confidence vote?“With 56% of growers already having all of their second wheat seed take-alltreated, and with just under half the restlooking to do so next season, it meansalmost three-quarters of second wheatgrowers are set to treat all of their seed this autumn,” she observes. “That’s a very impressive vote of confidence in aproduct which has only been available for less than a decade.”

Demonstrating the extent to whichgrowers are improving their second wheatmanagement, ProCam Agronomy hasseen the performance disadvantage ofsecond wheat shrink noticeably in recentyears amongst its customers.

Harvest records from more than 1,200 crops –– drawn from the company’snational 4cast performance database –– show second wheat yielding an average of 8.49t/ha last year, comparedwith 9.55t/ha for first wheat. Although this 1t/ha deficit was identical to that

“There’s been a slight swing away from the multi-purpose treatments towardsLatitude during the past season,” says Susan Mintern.

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8%

29%

33%

38%

73%

74%

86%

93%Using a take-all seed

treatmentApplying earlier spring

nitrogenDelaying drilling until

OctoberPreparing better

seedbedsImproving P, K or other

nutrient fertilisationUsing different foliar

fungicidesUsing lower seed

rates

Selecting good secondwheat varieties

Percentage of growers using

Figure 2: What techniques are you using to optimise second wheat performance?

http://www.certiseurope.co.uk

consideration in minimising the impact oftake-all –– together with the correct seedrate –– and doing everything possible toensure the optimum root development.

“Alongside better crop nutrition and improved fungicide and PGR management, it’s essential that thesemeasures are applied together as a package for the most consistent benefit.”

Masstock advises its growers to selectvarieties that give both the highest actualyields as second wheats, together with thehighest yields relative to their first wheatperformance.

On that basis, David Langton reckonsvarieties like Battalion, Duxford andGrafton are likely to be the best choices.“Although Einstein has been the benchmark second wheat for some time now, recent Masstock experiencebacks-up trials evidence suggesting that it’s becoming outclassed by the likes of Battalion and Grafton, with theirparticularly strong eyespot resistance.

“It’s worth remembering too that millingwheats can be particularly valuable in the second wheat slot,” he points out.“After all, many growers use the yield limitation of second wheat cropping as a way of improving their chances of making the milling spec by ensuring high protein levels.”

But regardless of variety, Masstockadvocates using a seed treatment which is effective against take-all in all secondwheats, as well as wheats after spring barley, as a matter of course this seasonunless the risk from the disease has historically been very low.

“We see the specialist fungicide, silthiofam (Latitude), as more valuablethan either of the fluquinconazole-baseddressings, Jockey or Galmano, where thetake-all pressure is high,” explains DavidLangton. “Under these circumstances, anaverage yield benefit of 0.7t/ha has beenrecorded in our trials –– with associatedspecific weight improvements of 1-2kg/hlas well.

“But where the take-all pressure islighter, there’s less to choose between thetwo actives –– with both delivering yieldbenefits of around 0.3-0.5t/ha. However,the cost:benefit of Latitude at currentwheat prices is such that many growersmay prefer to err on the side of safety andgo for the specialist treatment –– unlesssome early season foliar disease control is also considered important.

“Whether you use a take-all seed treatment or not, the close correlationbetween the drilling date and take-all

“Second wheat yields were well up last season –– around the 8.5t/ha mark ––which is the best we’ve had in recentyears,” says Nick Myers.

disease, we know that the best time to sow wheat for the maximum yield isSeptember –– so it was very much a caseof swings and roundabouts. Under the circumstances, most people just acceptedthat second wheats were the ‘poor relation’and made the best of a bad job.”

The arrival of Latitude has led to an extra0.25-0.5t/ha in yield –– with the greatestimprovements being from the earliestdrillings, he continues. “And the very factthat treated second wheats can be drilledearlier without an increased take-all riskhas been a tremendous boon for growerskeen to minimise the risk of failing to get drilled-up.

‘Attitude change’“But what we’ve really seen in the pastseven years is a change in attitudes ––growers have been keenly focused on cutting the second wheat performance gap. And as they’ve done so, they’ve started treating their second wheat as adistinctly different crop –– for example,choosing varieties specifically suited to thisslot, as well as drilling earlier, taking stepsto enhance autumn establishment, andimproving spring fertiliser, fungicide andPGR management.

“It’s this attitude change more than anything else, that’s behind the secondwheat progress we’re recording these days.

“However, we still have more variabilityin second wheat yields than we’d like andthere’s no doubt that first wheats remainmore profitable on average.”

4cast figures show the top 25% of second wheat crops earning gross marginsof £1,034/ha, compared with a first wheataverage of £883/ha. “So many growers areclearly doing the job very well these days.”

David Langton of Masstock SMARTFarming insists that second wheat can consistently deliver a handsome return on investment –– with the right management. “That means taking a very different approach to first wheat.”

He and his colleagues have set out the latest technical understanding for growers in a 20-page second wheat management guide, as part of theirSustainable Rotations Initiative.

“At least 50% of the important secondwheat management decisions need to be made before the crop emerges,” he stresses. “With take-all and, to a lesser extent, eyespot being the biggestchallenges, correct variety choice is vital.But so too is choosing an appropriate seed treatment.

“Drilling date is another important

All

Most

Some

Little

None

8%4%

9%

24% 56%

Percentage of growers

Figure 3: To what extent do you have your second wheat seed treated for take-all?

Latitude

Jockey

Galmano

1%6%3%

19%

71%

Percentage of growers

Latitude & JockeyLatitude & Galmano

Figure 4: Which main take-all seed treatment are you using in 2008/9?



s “Even so, second wheat yields were wellup –– around the 8.5t/ha mark –– which is the best we’ve had in recent years.

“And while this shows average firstwheat yields have increased by about0.5t/ha since 2001, second wheat performance has improved at almost double that rate.”

Nick Myers sees the narrowing of the second wheat performance gap as just reward for the efforts growers andagronomists have been putting into raisingsecond wheat yields in recent years ––underlining his long-standing belief thatthe performance of second wheat can bebrought far closer to that of first wheat withimproved agronomy.

“Until 2001, the only defence we had against take-all was to delay drillingand while this helped us minimise the

The lucky winner of our second wheat survey prize draw is James Thompsonof Carrington Farms near Boston, Lincs,who will receive sufficient Latitude to treat up to 10t of seed –– applied freeof charge.

James Thomson grows around1200ha of wheat each year, 450ha of which is second wheat. He routinelytreats all of his second wheat seed with Latitude, as well as selecting good second wheat varieties and putting particular efforts into seedbedpreparation to optimise crop performance.

Latitude – prize draw winner

impact always makes it advisable to sow second, third and fourth wheats last–– giving priority to first and continuouswheats which are at far less risk,” he recommends. He says he would never consider sowing a second wheatbefore October without an appropriateseed treatment.

Unless the sowing date is particularlylate, or the seedbed especially difficult, the Masstock guide suggests there may be some take-all management benefitfrom reducing the seed rate. As well assuffering lower levels of infection rates,less densely-drilled crops tend to be better able to cope with take-all by virtue of their greater root mass, believesDavid Langton. “Equally, of course, seed dressings will be more economic in this situation.”

Well-prepared and well-consolidatedseedbeds are also highlighted as important in both inhibiting early take-alldevelopment and encouraging maximumnutrient uptake and root proliferation.

Good nitrogen, potash, phosphate andmanganese nutrition are recommended asparticularly essential with second wheatstoo, he continues. “They should always be

prioritised for early spring N applications,with a small amount of autumn N as wellin some cases –– subject to justificationfrom a FACTS-qualified agronomist to satisfy the Environment Agency.”

Although their take-all effect is quitesmall in well-managed second wheat, he also sees the use of suitable strobilurinfungicides as being of some help in theabsence of a specialist seed treatment.Equally, he remains adamant that T1 spraying decisions should take into account the need to control the stem-base diseases complex (e.g. eyespotand sharp eyespot) as well as the keyfoliar threats, Septoria tritici and the rusts.

“Undoubtedly, the single most important ingredient for success with second wheat is having the right attitude,”concludes David Langton. “More than

anything, the key to getting the best possible returns is to recognise the particular challenges the crop faces and doeverything possible to overcome them.” n

10

9.5

9

8.5

8

7.5

7

6.5

62001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

First wheat Second wheat

Figure 6: ProCam UK Wheat Performance Trends (2001-2008)


8%

14%

27%

34%

44%

49%

50%

54%

Select better secondwheat varieties

Improve seedbedpreparation

Treat all seed againsttake-all

Delay drilling untilOctober

Improve the foliarfungicide programme

Change take-all seedtreatment

Reduce seed rates

Improve nitrogentiming

Percentage of growers planning

Figure 5: In what ways are you looking to improve your second wheat management in the coming season?


http://www.nickersonseeds.co.uk/einstein

Pest controlPest control

‘The cost –– around £25/ha –– puts it broadly in line

with methiocarb.’

he active ingredient isn’t new andthe manufacturer acknowledgesthe pellet isn’t more efficacious

than competitor products. Yet Certis claims its new, more

concentrated formulation of ferric phosphate –– recently launched as Sluxx–– will help relieve some of the pressureon the existing active ingredients, metaldehyde and methiocarb.

“Sluxx will help prolong the life of existing products by offering a suitablealternative to growers in regions where

T

A new slug pellet has been launched –– partly to help alleviate some of the pressure on the

long-established active ingredients, metaldehyde and methiocarb.

By Martin Rickatson

Iron could help maintainexisting actives

watercourse contamination issues exist”(also see article on p62).

The need for an alternative pellet hasbeen exacerbated by two wet autumnswhich not only boosted slug populations–– and therefore the overall amount of pellets applied nationally –– but also ledto more field-water run-off, suggests technical manager, Peter Boyne.

Sluxx ‘wet process’ durum wheat formulation is what makes it palatable toslugs –– making it effective in a range ofcropping situations, he claims.

“The use of ferric phosphate as a molluscicide isn’t new –– we already offer a product that contains the sameactive (i.e. Ferramol) –– but the existingformulation has a 1% concentration,meaning it’s only suitable for certain


situations (e.g. high value veg crops).“Sluxx has a more concentrated

formulation (3%) which means it hasgreater killing power in combinable cropsituations. It also means the applicationcost per hectare is much lower than for Ferramol –– with Sluxx having a maximum individual dose rate of 7kg/ha,and a total of 28kg/ha per season.”

The cost –– around £25/ha –– puts it broadly in line with methiocarb, and its efficacy is more or less comparablewith metaldehyde in trials, he claims.

Baiting pointsBy using the maximum dose of Sluxx, thenumber of baiting points is approximately66/m2 which maximises the chances of aslug coming across a pellet, continuesPeter Boyne. “Reducing the rate to 5kg/hain lower pressure situations still provides47 baiting points/m2.

While the ‘Get Pelletwise’ good practicecampaign is urging growers to respectbuffer zones when applying metaldehydeand methiocarb, ferric phosphate has anadvantage in this respect –– with noLERAP or buffer zone requirement.Moreover, aquatic invertebrate and mammalian toxicity studies have shown

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“Sluxx makes a good alternativemolluscicide in areas where metaldehydehas been detected in water,” says Peter Boyne.

Growers need to calculate the total cost of slug damage, and the degree of contamination and loss if they’re to gain a true financial picture of magnitude of theproblem in any one season –– especially in a higher-value crop such as potatoes,suggests Dr Gordon Port of NewcastleUniversity’s Mollusc Centre of Expertise.

“It’s important not to forget all the factors involved. As well as actual croplosses, there are the costs of sampling and monitoring to consider, as well as theactual pellet and application costs and, if necessary, re-drilling.

“Plants may be affected so severelythat they may not be able to recover orcompensate, and patchy crops caused by slug damage allow weeds to becomeestablished more readily.”

However, damage to the seed tends to be more of a problem in cereals thanleaf grazing, with the average cost of thedamage put at £2-3M/yr for cereals alone,he estimates. “In potatoes, it can be ashigh as £7M.”

Of the 30 species found in north-westEurope, the field slug, round-back andkeeled types are the main threats to UKcrops, continue Gordon Port. “Feedinghabits remain similar across all types,although the keeled slug is particularlyproblematic in potatoes as it has adapted

to living below the field surface.“Growth and development can often

be rapid in good conditions, and vice versa in colder or drier weather.”

Although slugs are hermaphrodites, theyaren’t usually self-fertilising, he continues.“Activity is greatest in moist conditions butthe temperature is important too as slugsdon’t like extremes.

“In cold winters and dry summers, slugs remain inactive –– resting below thevegetation or in the soil –– and in extremelydry conditions, they move into the cracksand crevices and can be found up to 2mdeep.” However, this doesn’t generally helppopulations protect themselves, he adds.

“Trying to predict the spatial distributioncan be very difficult as it tends to be quitepatchy –– being governed by the egg distribution and soil type variability,” notesGordon Port. The treatment thresholdsshould be for four slugs per trap prior tocultivation in wheat, and one slug per trapin oilseed rape, he adds.

However, growers should avoid usingpellets in traps as this is against usageguidelines, he stresses.

The sites most at risk include heavysoils; land which grew heavily-canopiedcrops the previous season; coarseseedbeds; shallow-drilled crops; and those with a history of slugs.

Gordon Port urges growers to developcontrol programmes which include as many aspects as possible of integratedmanagement.

“There’s no doubt that min-till helpsboost slug populations. As well as keepingthe soil surface weed-free, cultivation causes physical damage to slugs andexposes them to predators, such as beetles and birds, as well as the weather.”Estimates suggests cultivations may kill upto 50% of the slug population, he says.

Biological control is also possible andencouraging large carabid beetle speciesthrough beetle banks may help, suggestsGordon Port. “And with molluscicide use,the degree of success will depend on identifying at-risk areas; discriminatingbetween sites with large and small populations; predicting the timing of attacks (i.e. after drilling wheat or rape);and treating when conditions for feeding are good.

“Applications can often fail, so theirefficacy needs to be monitored properly,”he stresses. “But there’s little trials datashowing the scale of the yield responsesthat can be achieved from controlling slugs –– and relying on them being able to find and feed on pellets is still a crudetechnology, but it’s the best we have available at the moment.”

‘Calculate cost’

no detrimental effects on any studyspecies –– including birds, worms, beetles, fish or algae, he says.

“Iron-III-phosphate is naturally occurring in soil, and is used by the food industry as an additive in certainfoodstuffs. Its extremely low mammaliantoxicity is chiefly due to the fact that it’s virtually insoluble in water, which is

what also makes it a suitable alternativemolluscicide in areas where metaldehydehas been detected in water.”

Mode of actionKey to the product’s effectiveness is itsalternative mode of action, compared with metaldehyde or methiocarb, claimsCertis. “While over-stimulation of mucusproduction is the easily recognisable effect of metaldehyde in particular, ferricphosphate works in multiple areas of theslug’s body once ingested –– includingthe bloodstream and digestive system.

“This physiological effect gives immediate protection to crops because the slugs stop feeding within 1-2 hours of pellet ingestion,” says Peter Boyne.“They then take 2-3 days to die but willcause no further crop damage duringthat time.

“But because of the slow death, therewill be little sign of dead slugs on the soil surface.”

Masstock technical manager,

Clare Bend, says growers will thereforeneed to get used to assessing the efficacy of Sluxx by observing reducedlevels of plant damage together with a lack of slug activity (i.e. rather than evidence of dead slugs).

“It appears to have some distinctly different characteristics to other slug treatments that growers and advisers will have to understand clearly,” she cautions. “Slugs are arguably slower to be killed with Sluxx but there’s a pretty instant cessation to feeding which is different to what happens with metaldehyde.

“There’s also an absence of slime, and slugs appear to consume more pellets than they might with a differentactive ingredient –– which may worrysome growers until they understand howthe product works. But it’s a timely new introduction given the metaldehydeissues in water.”

Sluxx will be a “useful strategic tool” to have in the product armoury given


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Metaldehyde should not be used on fieldsdirectly adjacent to watercourses, fieldheadlands or poorly-drained heavy soils,says Robert Lidstone.

its environmental profile and safety characteristics where beneficials are concerned, she says.

“It’s likely to be used alongside current products, rather than replacingthem wholesale, with its use targeted in catchment sensitive areas, such as alongside watercourses and on headlands.”

Most UK agronomists have yet to seeSluxx at work in the field, although Certishas revealed selected data from trials conducted last year. Among these is a 3% higher plant population in a GermanOSR trial, compared with metaldehyde;11% less plant damage in a French OSRtrial (assessed against metaldehyde 14 days after treatment); and 10.6%more plants in a German winter wheattrial (observed 51 days after application).

And in separate rainfastness trials,Sluxx showed good integrity, comparedto two other ‘pasta’ based pellets, claimsPeter Boyne.

While Certis hopes to continue sellingmetaldehyde, Sluxx is likely to be thefirm’s biggest selling slug pellet withinfive years, predicts marketing manager,Robert Lidstone.

“It’s an addition to our mollusciciderange –– not a replacement for any individual product –– and we’ll continue to offer a range of options for different situations,” he maintains. “Sluxx offers analternative to metaldehyde in places suchas vulnerable water catchment areas;catchment-sensitive farming areas; fieldsdirectly adjacent to watercourses; fieldheadlands; poorly-drained heavy soils; andin multi-treatment crops, such as potatoes.

“While the cost of applying Ferramol tocombinable crops would be prohibitive (i.e. around £40/ha), the introduction of Sluxx means the benefits of ferric phosphate can be more widely available.”

The product is supplied in a 20kg pack giving growers the option of doserate flexibility according to level of threat, he suggests. Certis is currently in discussion with crop processors andprotocol operators to ensure Sluxx is fully recognised for its advantageous environmental profile.

“Moreover, ferric phosphate is approvedby Organic Farmers and Growers, but not yet under the Sluxx brand name,”continues Robert Lidstone. “We’ll betalking to LEAF, as we feel the nature

of the product fits in well with their farming philosophy.

“But we remain committed to metaldehyde, and want to encourage the rapid adoption of Sluxx to protectmetaldehyde use in areas where it isn’tan issue in watercourses.” n

http://www.opico.co.uk/he-va

Brave new worldA new approach to potato agronomy is being

developed from Potato Council-funded research,carried out by Cambridge University Farm. By

gaining an insight into the agronomic principlesinvolved, growers should be able reap the benefits.

By Rob Jones and Jo Palmer

‘A higher stem population willincrease the rate at which yield is

formed –– producing more tubers.’

To help arable farmers improve their margins through better cropmarketing, Bayer CropScience is

sponsoring a series of three features–– the first of which puts the spotlight on potato agronomy.

ave you ever wondered if you’remissing a trick with the potentialof your potato crop?

Perhaps if you stripped the agronomyback to its fundamentals, then built it upagain using the latest R&D thinking, youcould make a step-change to improvingyour returns from the crop?

However, you’d need to be convincedthere was going to be a decent return towarrant changing your current agronomicpractice. And then there’s the question ofhow to tap into the latest R&D knowledge–– and how to apply it to your own crops?

For five prominent potato growers, this is a step they’ve already taken. TheGrower Collaborations project puts intopractice Potato Council-funded research,carried out by Cambridge UniversityFarm (CUF), and brings together manydecades of research from a number ofagronomic angles –– with seed rate andnitrogen practice being the main two.

The key focus of the work has been toimprove marketable yields –– the fractionof the crop suitable for the markets being

targeted. The research confirms thatthere’s considerable flexibility to use cropinputs more efficiently –– but in order forthis to happen, growers and agronomistsneed to be more fully aware of the latestdevelopments in both agronomy andcrop management.

Test farmsThe collaboration principle has been putto the test on five farms during the pastthree seasons. In 2007, North NorfolkPotato Growers, Notts-based StrawsonFarming, Staffs-based W B Daw and theSouth-West Agronomy Group were thefirst to be involved, with Lincs-based A H Worth joining the project last year.

Each farm’s standard agronomyapproach has been pitched against amodified husbandry programme, drawnup by CUF. Researchers have workedclosely with the growers concerned todraw up the initial recommendations –– recording crop progress right throughthe growing season.

The monitoring programme has been

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http://www.deere.co.uk

Lincs-based Duncan Worth is one potatogrower who isn’t afraid to push the boundaries. He’s now in the second season of the Grower Collaborations project.

“I’m always aiming to obtain a bettermarketable yield, and being involved in the trials brings me closer to leading-edgegrowing practices,” he says. “We can really push the boundaries of what the crop can do.”

The 1,820ha farm includes 300ha ofMaris Piper, Marfona, Cara, Desirée andMelody. As one of the five farms involvedin the project, the aim is to take researchout of the lab into commercial operations to gain practical and usable data.

Although relatively time-consuming,close monitoring helps CUF analyse thecrops right through the growing season.One trial at Worth Farms near Spalding

last season consisted of two agronomicvariations within the same crop ––increasing the seed spacing from 28cm to CUF’s recommendation of 38cm, andcutting back the nitrogen from 180kgN/hato 150kgN/ha.

Duncan Worth says the results from just one year were “inconclusive”, with small changes in both the yield and tuber size hard to attribute to the CUF-modified approach, rather than some unrelated variable.

“But the first year has been something ofa learning process for us, and gaining anunderstanding of the mindset has been veryhelpful. Now we’re in year two, we can buildon what we’ve learnt –– and we should be able to start reaping the benefits.”

The current year involves a differentplan of action, with two separate trials,

rather than two variables within a singletrial. The Maris Piper has received a lowerrate of nitrogen, while the Estima has beenplanted at a reduced seed spacing.

Duncan Worth is keen to see the Potato Council-funded work reach a wider audience. “It’s important that growerssee how the latest findings are working in a commercial environment, so they can implement changes more readily in the future.”

By working closely with CUF, he hopesto gather meaningful data which will bepresented to growers at an East Midlandspotato day, taking place on his farm on 30 June.

“I’d urge any grower who wants to get a higher marketable yield to come along to one of the field events to find out more.”

Seed spacing and N rate variations

fairly intensive, with the participatingfarms submitting detailed records of theircurrent practice using a comprehensiveset of protocols and templates for datarecording. That has included general

crop information for set-up, plus data tocalculate individual seed, fertiliser andirrigation requirements.

Throughout the season, for example,data on ground cover and from test

digs has been forwarded to CUF, andresearchers have collected their own additional data to complement growerrecords. In 2008, pyranometers were set-up at each site to measure sunshine

s


–– illustrating the degree of detail involved.“But this is the level of monitoring

that’s required,” explains project leader,Dr David Firman of CUF. “We need it for retrospective analysis, to assess theresults and review future agronomicstrategies. The data also helps us predictthe final crop outcome –– for example,the number of tubers and the yield –– which helps with the marketing.”

Lower inputsMore often than not, inputs are reducedunder the CUF-modified approach,bringing savings in itself, he claims.Years of replicated trials at CUF haveestablished that, the correct agronomicapproach, can bring yield benefits aswell as providing more control over themarketable yield.

The first two years’ results (see table,right) suggest this is indeed the case –– although David Firman stresses thatthe aim of the project hasn’t been togenerate any more data.

“It’s been more about giving growersthe confidence to adopt a modified agronomic approach, and to develop andadapt it to a farm’s specific requirements

and conditions to understand how to getthe best out of it.”

To achieve this, it requires a level of understanding of the principles behind the research, he continues. “With the seed rate, for example, previous recommendations have focused simply on optimising the yield for ware production.

“But our recommendations recognisethe importance of both tuber size andtuber numbers to the value of the crop.”

The factors that influence the numberof tubers in a given crop are largelydetermined relatively early in the growingseason –– before 1 July for a maincropvariety, for example, says David Firman.“If you know your target yield and canpredict tuber numbers, you can begin

“The correct agronomic approach canbring yield benefits as well as providingmore control over the marketable yield,”says David Firman.

Grower Collaborations project –– combined results for 2007 and 2008 Crops Change Total yield Yield >40mm

(t/ha) (t/ha)

N reduced 5 -52kg/ha +4.06 +3.16

Seed rate reduced 15 -0.63t/ha -0.66 +0.11

Seed rate increased 2 +0.27t/ha -0.35 -1.20

Source: Cambridge University Farm


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http://www.certiseurope.co.uk

to build an accurate picture of the marketable yield.”

The research has taken this a step further by looking at what points you caninfluence these numbers, and thereforethe tuber-size distribution achieved, hesays. “For example, if you’re looking forbakers, you’ll need a low number oftubers for a given yield –– and the agronomy needs to be based on a plan that will deliver this.”

Mean tuber size and yield are

interrelated, and these can be changedby manipulating the stem population,says David Firman. “With a low stempopulation early in the season, you willgenerate a canopy slowly and produce a low number of tubers.

“Conversely, a higher stem populationwill increase the rate at which yield isformed –– producing more tubers.”

Larger tubersSo for a given yield, lowering the stempopulation can actually increase thetuber size, he notes. “Similarly, with an increase in yield, if you wish to maintain your target marketable fractionof the crop, you’ll need to increase thestem population.

“The key to optimising marketableyield is to strike the balance between the total yield and the stem number.”

Seed size is a key way to influence the stem population –– with bigger seedtubers tending to produce more stems,says David Firman. “Tightly-graded seed can improve crop uniformity and predictability.”

More recent research has establishedthat seed age –– measured as the periodfrom emergence of the seed crop toplanting of the ware crop –– also has aninfluence, he continues. “Crops grownfrom late-produced seed produce fewerstems than those grown from seed thatemerged early in the season.

“This relates to the emergence date

of the seed crop –– so you’ll need extrainformation about the provenance of yourcrop before you can use it to influencethe stem population.”

CUF has now quantified this relationship, and a table is included inthe Potato Council Seed Rate Guide forEstima –– with additional variety tables to be published later this year.

The total amount of sunlight a cropreceives also has an effect but will tendto influence tuber numbers per stem,rather than stem numbers, notes DavidFirman. “The critical period is aroundtuber initiation –– if a crop absorbs moreradiation than normal, it will tend to produce more tubers, while lower numbers will be produced if it’s dull.”

Incident radiation (i.e. the amount ofsunlight a growing crop receives) andground cover will both affect the totalamount of sunlight the crop receives, he continues. “So for those looking topredict tuber numbers –– if you’re growingsalad potatoes or bakers, for example –– it’s a good idea to start measuring the ground cover of all crops.”

Nutrient uptake is another key factorwhich has been under investigation atCUF, and figures from the British Surveyof Fertiliser Practice show many growershave been able to achieve considerablenitrogen savings over the past 20 years–– without compromising yields, pointsout Dr Marc Allison of CUF. “The averageapplication rate was 202kgN/ha for

Initial concerns about the scale of the seed and fertiliser input reductions adoptedunder the CUF approach have provenlargely unfounded, admits Norwich-basedfarmer, James Harrison –– a member ofNorth Norfolk Potato Growers.

He’s also keen to see the CUF researchtaken up more widely on-farm and believesdirect involvement with growers is a keypart of the process. “You get fewerimprovements from just a single change –– the most substantial gains come frommanagement of the whole system. And thebest way to implement that is throughresearchers operating systems on-farmwhich integrate the research findings into current agronomic practice.”

Using the CUF approach, the seedspacing was widened from 28cm to 40cm on the variety Hermes, and the nitrogen was dropped back from

240kgN/ha to 180kgN/ha on Saturna.“You do need to have faith in what

you’re doing. We were quite nervous abouta 35% reduction in the plant population,and we’ve also been very dependent onkeeping the nitrogen rate high to feed ourSaturna crops right through the season. It goes against the grain to cut back too far and risk seeing it die back early.”

But the strategy appears to be working,admits James Harrison. “The cost savingsamounted to £139/ha on seed and £51/haon fertiliser –– with no loss in marketableyield between the CUF approach and thefarm’s own agronomy programme.

“And in the end, we saw very little difference in the level of ground coverbetween the CUF-managed crop and our normal farm practice.”

As with all the farms involved in the project, there has been some intensive

crop monitoring and data collectioninvolved, but this proved to be a valuableexercise, he says. “You can’t underestimatethe importance of taking good accurate datawith this exercise –– the support we got fromCUF was essential.”

If carried across the entire Hermes area,the seed saving would have amounted to£13,500 last season, says James Harrison.“So the modified approach is now beingput into practice elsewhere on the farm.

“We have a tight 40-95mm contract specon tuber size and are wary that opening upthe seed spacing too much may take moreof the crop into the oversized fraction –– although pretty much everything wasmarketable last year.”

The work is continuing this season soyear-on-year comparisons can be made.

‘Concerns unfounded’

One trial at CUF showed that increasingthe total nitrogen applications to MarisPiper from 65-145kgN/ha extended the season length by a month, says Marc Allison.


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The only way to minimise risk in growingpotatoes is to identify a specific market,then try to ensure the crop fulfils thebuyer’s demands as precisely as possible,says Rob Burrow, market information manager for the Potato Council.

“Every potato grower –– regardless ofwhether they grow for the fresh bag, packingor processing sectors –– will be looking toproduce the best quality crop to secure theoptimum return. Each sector stipulates theminimum quality criteria –– including tubersize, clear skin, absence of disease, delivery times and, for processing dry matter and suitability for frying –– andgrowers must aim to fulfil these minimumstandards as consistently as possible toget the right price.

“If the quality is exceeded, they maybenefit from a bonus –– but if it falls short,there will ultimately be a price penalty.”

The grower’s main priority should be to find the right market for their land, soiltype, storage facilities and enterprise as a whole, advises Rob Burrow. He adds that growing under contract has become

more popular in recent years –– mainly tosafeguard against risk.

“It’s estimated that around 50% of potatoenterprises now grow under a pre-seasoncontract, with a further 25% looking tosecure a committed sale to a grower groupor supplier –– and with the remainder targeting the speculative market.

“Some farmers are natural risk-takersand enjoy the challenge of speculative risk.But when you consider the huge range ofprices on offer –– for example, from around£50/t for the lowest quality crops up to£200/t+ for high quality packing potatoes, it can be a substantial gamble to take.

“Most growers prefer to have a moresecure sale –– either by contract or via a committed outlet –– and certain marketsectors tend to have a higher level of contract uptake.” For example, around95% of potatoes grown for crisps, andabout 85% of crops grown for chips, are sold under pre-season contracts nowadays, he says.

This marketing approach changed substantially around five years ago, with

a large number of enterprises movingtowards more secure sales strategies,notes Rob Burrows. “Moreover, there’s a wider range of contracts available now (e.g. minimum/maximum price, and splits of fixed price with an element of free-market pricing).”

Rob Burrow says the crops most likelyto be targeting at the free-market are mainly destined for the fresh sector –– in particular, the bagged trade for fish and chip shops, and the wholesale markets. “Very few farmers commit 100% to contract.”

He says that another key factor influencing growers is the storage facilitiesthey have available. “Some farmers will sell off the field to avoid storage costs, but most contracts and committedsales specify quantities required on amonth-by-month basis.

“So you need to be realistic about whatyou can and can’t do when it comes tomaintaining tuber quality and manageablevolumes in-store.”

‘Safeguard against risk’


Of the potential robbers of marketableyield, it’s blight which has arguably taxedgrowers’ minds the most over the past two years.

Grower Matt Bere of Fordgate Farm,Bridgwater, Somerset says the very difficult2007 season prompted a review of theblight control strategy for B&B Potatoes (of which he is a director), which grows80ha of potatoes for a wide range of markets –– including first earlies, bakersand chipping potatoes.

“After that year, we were certainly motivated to be more focused on blight and last season, we fitted wider wheels to the sprayer so it could travel in wetter conditions –– starting the spray programmeearlier, and aiming for five-day spray intervals to give us the confidence that,even if we were delayed by the weather,we would still hit seven days.

“We’ve learnt that this is a much saferapproach than trying to hit seven-day sprayintervals –– then running the risk of beingstretched to ten by the weather.”

Last year’s blight programme startedwith a rosette spray of Shirlan (fluazinam),followed by repeat applications ofpropamocarb through the rapid canopygrowth-phase –– then alternating betweenInfinito (fluopicolide+ propamocarb),Ranman (cyazofamid) and Revus

(mandipropamid) from the canopy-completestage onwards.

Matt Bere’s main fungicide selection criterion was to use good products with theresilience to maintain disease protection if the spray intervals were stretched underhigh blight pressure.

He’s also convinced of the importance of thorough desiccation after the final blightspray has been applied. “We want 100%removal of green material and no re-growthbefore lifting to minimise the risk of tuberinfection.”

He stopped using sulphuric acid sevenyears ago but has since found the flail-and-spray technique to be equally effective.

“We’ve tried all three desiccants andhave found Harvest (glufosinate) to be themost thorough –– plus we can get awaywith just one spray. Reglone (diquat) looksquicker but after three weeks, there’s nodifference. And sometimes we’ve had to goback in with a second spray of Reglone orSpotlight (carfentrazone).”

Matt Bere says the refinements to theirblight control tactics last year enabled B&BPotatoes to keep on top of the disease“surprisingly well”. As a result, a similarapproach is being adopted this year –– theonly change being from a product selectionperspective to comply with the Tesco’sNature’s Choice scheme.

That includes a maximum total dose percrop for propamocarb (set at 4,500g/ha) –– raising the question of where best totarget its use.

“Our priority has to be the rapid canopy growth phase since propamocarb-containing products are the only real systemic option now. Three-to-four spraysmay be required, so we’re planning seehow much of the allowance we will use bythe canopy-complete stage and modify the programme from thereon accordingly.”

As a member of the South-WestAgronomy Group, Matt Bere has beenactively involved in the CUF GrowerCollaborations project. He admits to having discovered some unexpected agronomic benefits.

“CUF’s modified nitrogen recommenda-tions have helped us avoid the creation of lush, thick canopies which may lookimpressive but are much more difficult toprotect from blight.” Better targeting ofnitrogen has also helped with desiccationtoo, he adds.

“By the time you want to stop the crop, it’s already starting to senesce naturally, making it easier to burn-downwith quicker skin-set as a result. So gettingthe agronomy right doesn’t just improve the marketable yield –– it makes the cropeasier to manage as well.”

Narrower spray windows

maincrop and second early potatoes in the period from 1982-86, comparedwith 149kgN/ha for 2003-07.

“This equates to a total saving of£6.55M, compared with the amount of nitrogen fertiliser British growers were applying 20 years ago.”

But there’s still scope for further savings and for targeting inputs moreclosely to actual crop requirements, he believes. “Recommended rates in thelatest RB209 vary from 160-220kgN/ha forvarieties in RB209 group 2, such as LadyRosetta –– albeit that capitalising on theopportunities to do this requires a knowledge of the crop’s physiology.”

Growers should be aware that the bigger the total crop uptake of nitrogen,the better the canopy persistence, saysMarc Allison. “But for the same totaluptake, Estima tubers accumulate nitrogen at a faster rate than RussetBurbank, for example, so Estima willdeplete the haulm of nitrogen faster.”That’s why Estima typically senesces

before Russet Burbank, he adds.Season length, and therefore yield,

depends on crop N uptake, he continues.“For example, one trial at CUF showedthat increasing N applications to MarisPiper from 65-145kgN/ha extended theseason length by a month, and furthertrials have revealed nitrogen will alsoinfluence canopy growth.

N timing key“Applications of more than 150kgN/ha atplanting can slow the emergence of thecrop, while late applications more than 50 days after emergence aren’t used efficiently by the crop. So it may be prudent to apply most of the nitrogen atplanting-time, with the remainder going onno later than the tuber initiation stage.”

The fertiliser formulation is also important, notes Marc Allison. “If appliedas a prill to ridges, some nitrogen will roll into the ridge bottoms and may notbe used effectively by the crop.” Soilnitrogen spatial distribution trials, carried

out by CUF, show more than double theconcentration of N at the ridge bottoms,compared with at the centre of the beds,he says.

Soil conditions can have a significantinfluence on N uptake and thereforeyield, he continues. “If the soil is compacted, some of the yield penaltycan be removed with careful irrigation.”Compaction can also be alleviated byapplying more N, although the effect is less consistent, he adds

Other factors, such as planting dateand soil type and condition, are alsounder investigation by CUF, with furtherPotato Council-funding in the pipeline. l Grower Collaborations project progresshas been summarised in the guide‘Improving Marketable Yield’, which has been sent to all levy-payers. Moreinformation on specific projects can be found in the publications section of the Potato Council website, www.potato.org.uk n


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‘The nematode is worst on blackfen soil where it’s been a problem

since the 1930s.’

he number of confirmed beet cystnematode (BCN) cases in Englandis increasing year-on-year.

Moreover, based on the geographicalspread of the samples sent into Broom’sBarn for testing in recent years, the distribution of infected fields confirmsthat the pest is no longer restricted to theFens and surrounding areas (see figureon p54).

According to Broom’s Barn crop protection group leader, Dr Mark Stevens, a number of samples are “almost certainly” from farmers who haven’t seen BCN before. “Those who know theyhave it already are able to recognise thesymptoms –– and they then try to adapt to live with it.”

In his view, the warmer springs andearly summers of recent years have tended to encourage the development

T


As the first variety with in-built beet cyst nematode tolerance is added to the latest NIAB

Recommended List, CPM assess the true extent of the threat to UK crops.

By Rob Jonesof the pest by increasing the number of generations per season.

“The weather conditions in 2006 and 2007 were fairly conducive to its build-up, and by concentrating production around just four factories –– rather than six –– it means morebeet is being grown in the areas wherewe know there’s already a problem, and this will only tend to exacerbate the situation.”

So what should growers be looking out for? In truth, symptoms of BCN damage are often difficult to detect unless infestation levels are high.Moreover, many look similar to rhizomania.

Low level damage can result in a gradual loss in yield, which may not be immediately obvious, but is as aresult of underlying BCN infestations that could’ve been present in the soil

Growing a resistant variety (picturedabove, right) can help alleviate the problemof ‘beet sickness’.



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http://www.bayercropscience.co.uk

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Beet Cyst Nematode samples East Anglia (2004-2008)

Source: Brooms Barn

100

75

50

25

0Mildenhall Feltwell East Harling

Ad

just

edt/

ha

50.0% 44.2% 23.4%

Conventional variety Fiorenza KWS

Difference in adjusted t/ha


“Warmer soil conditions mean moregenerations per season,” says Mark Stevens.

for several decades, says Mark Stevens. “One of the first indications of damage

could be a pale yellowing of leaves, anda higher number of weeds, as a result ofthe reduced competitiveness of the beetplant. Then from June onwards, patchesof the crop are more prone to wilting –– albeit that they tend to recover after rainfall or in cooler night-time conditions.”

Plants subjected to heavier BCN infection levels commonly show stuntedgrowth, says Mark Stevens. “The outerleaves yellow-off and die, and the newleaves tend to be stunted as well. Themain roots are shortened and they takeon a bearded appearance and develop a host of laterals as the plant tries to compensate.

“Finally, the most obvious indication of a BCN attack is the appearance of

pinhead-sized white or brown female cysts on the infected roots, and these are clearly visible to the naked eye.”

His advice if BCN is suspected is toget the soil sampled by either BritishSugar, Broom’s Barn or the plant breeder, KWS

“At this stage, we don’t have any UK data to devise treatment thresholds but we do know that it’s an increasingproblem and one that will continue tocause concern. If it isn’t tackled at anearly stage, it will ultimately have aneffect on our national average yields.”

This is why he welcomes the first generation of dual nematode-tolerant/rhizomania-resistant varieties, and the recommendation of Fiorenza KWS.

“The use of nematicides is now very limited, and one-in-three or even one-in-four year rotations will tend to maintain or even increase the BCN population. As the plant breeders moveforward, it’s hoped they will reduce theyield gap by developing better resistanttypes, as they did with rhizomania.”

Independent agronomist, Dr PhilipDraycott, is no stranger to BCN. Six of the forty clients he advises have seriousproblems with the pest, and three havepopulations where the level of damage is marginal.

Black fen soilIn his experience, the nematode is worst on black fen soil where it’s been a problem since the 1930s. “It’s only in recent years that sandland farms –– such as those on the Brecklands –– have started seeing the pest.”

This may be a function of climatechange, or an increase in the usual 2.5 generations per year of the pest seenin the past, he believes. “But we’re alsostarting to see earlier attacks, with cystsnow appearing on fairly tiny plants ––and this may be due to the loss of Temik(aldicarb) as a control measure.”

Philip Draycott’s advice to hiscustomers is to watch crops carefully,and to drop cruciferous crops from therotation “otherwise you’ll be wringingyour hands in dismay”.

“We try to avoid growing beet as close as one-year-in-three but even then, some growers have had to give itup altogether.” He adds that a few areusing mustard as a catch crop but saysit’s difficult to get just right.

His advice on infected farms now will be to grow half-fields of Fiorenza as atrial. Having seen the variety on the

Brecklands last year, he describes it as “outstanding”.

“The leaves and roots were bigger, and there was obviously a much higheryield from the tolerant crop.”

Recommended ListWith a Recommended List adjusted tonnage yield of 91.3%, Fiorenza KWS is some way behind top-yielder Carissima.However, with no RL trials on BCN-infested land, there’s no indication as to its performance in this situation,acknowledges NIAB crops manager,Simon Kerr.

“But the evidence presented by KWS on its performance on infested soils convinced the Recommended ListCommittee –– it’s quite possible that inextreme situations, the variety could liftyields from 50 to 70t/ha.”

As a result, Fiorenza KWS is now recommended for use where BCN infestation has been confirmed by soil testing.

With a number of other BCN-resistant varieties now entering the trials evaluation process, Simon Kerr admits to having similar issues when the firstrhizo-resistors came along.

The most obvious sign of BCN is when cysts become visible on the roots –– with the eggs remaining viable for up to 10 years.


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Source: KWS

Justina Butcher farms 600ha of mixed soils–– fenland, light land and chalky loam –– inpartnership with her father, most of whichlies within a 10-mile radius of West Row,near Mildenhall in Suffolk.

With a wide range of mixed arable andhorticultural crops, the partnership’s 8,000tbeet quota is grown mainly on a one-in-fourrotation. However, on the organic peat land,a one-in-six rotation is becoming the normbecause of ‘beet sickness’ caused by thebeet cyst nematode (BCN).

“Beet is important to the farm because we don’t grow continuous wheat in the fen,and beet is a good break for us,” she says.“We’re kitted up to grow the crop so ourfixed costs are low and beet remains profitable for us.”

Over the years though –– and despiteagronomic and varietal advances – theButchers have seen their beet yields declineon some of their land. “Fields on the fen are probably 10-12% lower yielding nowthan they were back in the 70s –– and we’re starting to see issues on the lighter

mineral soils as well which is worrying.”Justina Butcher lays the blame firmly

on BCN. “The production of kale and stubble turnips on the farm –– alongsideclose-rotation beet crops –– have definitelyencouraged the pest.”

The tell-tale signs are poor performanceand a complete lack of vigour in the beet,she says. “The level of damage depends on the degree of infestation which in turn, isinfluenced by rainfall.” In a cold wet spring,the crops rarely catch up, she adds.

“The worst damage occurs at the 2-4 leafstage when there’s sufficient moisture for thenematodes to congregate around the roots.But in ideal conditions with good soil fertilityand warm weather, the crops can growthrough this initial check and still produce a reasonable, albeit restricted, yield.”

Typically, Justina Butcher aims for a yield of around 70t/ha on BCN-free land and across the whole operation in a goodyear, the average performance is around 62-63t/ha, she says. “But in the worst infested patches of the fen fields, the yieldsare closer to the 20-25t/ha mark and this has a significant effect on overall average.”Sugars are also lower in this situation as the BCN restricts early crop development,she adds.

But alongside the drop in yield and cropquality, BCN brings other crop managementissues. She notes that weed control isbecoming a major issue, with the affectedbeet offering little competition –– allowing a mix of difficult Fenland weeds to escape(e.g. polygonums). As a result, she commonly employs an additional post-emspray, adding £15-20/ha to the herbicide bill where the pest is an issue.

The slow-growing nature of the beet also plays havoc with the management of the barley cover crop, which is required to reduce wind erosion and consequent crop loss, she continues. “It’s a fine balance between killing it off too early and risking the entire beet crop, or sprayingit off too late and running the risk of addedcrop competition.”

When it comes to harvesting BCN-affected crops, the relatively small nature

of the beet and poor leaf growth can alsoresult in a high tare levels –– particularly as the damage occurs in patches in fields,with the equipment set-up to deal with thebetter beet elsewhere in the field.

Justina Butcher takes care to ensure thatother operations, such as ditch cleaning,don’t move the pest around the farm –– withany soil removed from the field during thevarious harvesting operations being returnedback to the same block. “In this respect, it’s not as quickly spread around the farm as rhizomania.”

While her father used to regularly test the land for BCN, there’s no need now asthe pest crops up “in the same spots in thesame fields” every time beet comes aroundin the rotation, she says. “Up to now, we’vehad to accept there’s little that can be doneabout it.”

Fifteen years ago, the farm took to rentingfields elsewhere to maintain their beet quotabut now, the operation is using yellow mustard grown as a catch crop –– one of the few positive management actions thatcan be taken to try to reduce the impact of the pest.

The mustard is resistant to BCN but stillencourages the eggs to hatch. But when thelarvae penetrate the crop roots, they can’tobtain sufficient nutrition and eventually die.

Last year, Justina Butcher tested Fiorenzaon some of her worst infected fields and theresults were very encouraging, she says.

“You could see to a line where the crophad been drilled –– right through to harvest.The Fiorenza had bigger tops and roots,compared with the rhizo-resistant type,Bobcat, which was drilled in adjacent bouts.”

Test digs conducted by Broom’s Barn inmid-November confirmed a 36% increase inthe root yield –– with an adjusted tonnageincrease of 50%, compared with Bobcat.“That’s equivalent to a 3t/ha increase in the sugar yield.

“Fiorenza does look very promising,” sheconcludes. “If these results are consistentyear-on-year, it should help us improve ouryields across the worst affected soils andensure that we hit our production targetsmore effectively.”

Fenland farm trial

”Fiorenza looks very promising withconsistent results year-on-year,” saysJustina Butcher.

“Although most varieties have a higheryield potential on non-infested land, quite how they would perform on what’s a relatively limited –– but increasing ––area of BCN-infested land is beyondNIAB’s RL protocols.

“However, what we will be doing is working with the breeders, who have strip trials in the ground, to examine the in-season performance of the resistant varieties to gain a better feel for their relative strengths.

“If I was a grower and in any way concerned that I might have an issuewith BCN, I’d buy a unit of Fiorenza andsow a strip of the variety alongside my conventional beet to see what happens.”

According to KWS UK beet crop

Pest controlPest controls


Beet cyst nematodes remain dormantwithin the soil in pinhead-sized cysts ––each of which contains up to 300 eggsand larvae.

When beet is next grown within therotation, root secretions from the plantsactivate the nematodes, which leave thecysts and penetrates the roots. Fromhere, they develop into adults.

The female adults swell and breakout of the root but remain attached tothe root cell by their head or stylet. The free-living males found in the soilthen mate with the females, which produce 250-300 eggs before dying and falling off the root.

As the females die, their lemon-coloured bodies change from white to brown-coloured cysts. These strong-walled cysts can survive, with the eggsremaining viable for up to 10 years.

Under central European temperaturesand soil moisture conditions –– whereBCN is more prevalent at present –– asmany as four generations can developevery year.

BCN biology

“Fiorenza could lift yields from 50 to70t/ha in extreme situations,” says Simon Kerr.

Pest controlPest control“making good progress” in narrowing the yield gap year-on-year.

“While no-one is entirely certain how the tolerance mechanism works, itseems as if the nematodes are unable tofind a way of fully penetrating the roots.”

Cysts are still found on tolerant beet, but the degree of nematode multiplicationdecreases from approximately five-fold tojust two-fold, compared with conventionalbeet, he says.

“The level of infestation can thereby be kept under control –– even in tight rotations –– and the tolerant beetresponds well, producing significantlyhigher yields than conventional varieties.”

The first widespread UK trials, growingFiorenza on BCN-infested farms last season, have already shown clear benefits, he continues.

“Across all the sites, the mean adjusted yield increase was 39% abovethe conventional varieties –– with 2-3t/ha higher sugar yields providing a £500/haimprovement in the returns to the grower.”The trials were assessed by both Broom’sBarn and British Sugar, he adds.

“But what we don’t know, in commonwith most soil-based pest issues, is how much sub-clinical damage is occurring elsewhere.” n


manager, Volker Utesch, Fiorenza KWS is just one of a long line of BCN-resistantbeet bound for the UK.

“We’ve been working on developing tolerant varieties for around 18 yearsnow, introducing a high degree of tolerance to beet cyst nematode fromwild beet species.”

As a result, the company is now supplying an increasing number of tolerant varieties for problem regionsacross Italy, Spain, France, Benelux,Scandinavia and Germany, he says.

“And because we’re now introducingmulti-protection to both beet cyst nematode and rhizomania into most varieties, this is set to increase.”

Volker Utesch points out that BCN-tolerant varieties are “only a few percentage points” behind conventionaltypes in terms of yield in continentalEurope in conditions where there’s noBCN pressure. He adds that KWS is

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http://www.nufarm.com/uk

http://www.ragt.co.uk

Séan Rickard, senior lecturer in business economics at Cranfield Universitysaid there should be a new emphasis on‘industrialised farming’ in the coming years.

New era?“We’re on the cusp of a new era for agriculture. We’ve had three to date –– thefirst being small-time subsistence farming.After that, we moved to the second era,during and following the war, which was all about increasing production.

“Then came another 25-year period, starting in the ‘80s, when the focusswitched to reducing over-production.

“But now, farming is in the early stagesof another new era –– one that will see a return to industrialised farming,” he explained.

Séan Rickard added the farmers“shouldn’t be frightened to use the word‘industrialised’. “The real concern at present is about the world’s ability to feeditself. With food price inflation running at 8-9% in the middle of the current recession, the problem clearly needs to be addressed.

“Industrialisation across all other sectorshas brought cheaper products and a better quality of life –– so we shouldn’t be frightened to say that agriculture need to be ‘industrialised’.

“The recession will end in around 2-3 years, and people will realise thatthere’s still a worldwide shortage of food,and that in turn will result in higher foodprices –– 15%, 20%, possibly even

Agriculture on cusp of a new era?

Delegates attending Growhow’s recent ‘HelpingBritish Farmers Grow’ conference may have been

disappointed not to hear a definitive price fornext season’s nitrogen fertiliser. However, they

would’ve come away with a unique insight intothe machinations of the market.

By Mick Roberts

‘In the ‘30s, the call was to ‘growmore’ and we responded byincreasing our production.’

eadline speakers –– including NFU president, Peter Kendall, theeconomist, Séan Rickard, and AIC

chairman David Caffall, plus several otherexperts –– certainly left the audience withmuch to think about.

But it was a couple of figures presentedby Growhow’s Deborah Pritchard Joneswhich brought audible gasps and muchhead-shaking from within the audience.Have a guess how much gas and electricity the company consumes in the UK alone? Now double it.

In a single year, Growhow uses as muchnatural gas as the cities of Manchesterand Liverpool put together. And its electricity bill is £25M.

After a series of well-researched

presentations giving an overview of the fertiliser market, the unenviable task ofsumming up fell to conference chairman,Mike Buchan, commercial director for thecompany: “The common thread runningthrough all the presentations is a newsense of optimism.

“But while the demand for food isincreasing, the cost of energy and rawmaterials is also rising. So it’s important for the public and government to wake up to the fact that we need to either eat or look green.”

He concluded that science was the key to fulfilling the future demand for food –– which is set to double over the next 50 years. “As farmers and as anindustry, we also need to increase agricultural output per unit of energy consumed because energy is also set to become more expensive.”

Peter Kendall agreed farmers need to“aim to produce more, and impact less”.

H


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England is sending out mixed messages,he said. “Particularly so, when an area of 160,000ha remains uncropped ––equivalent to 60% of the previous set-aside area.”

‘More investment’Key to reducing the impact on the environment, while producing more food,has to come from more investment inresearch and development, which has fallen dramatically during the past 20 years, said Peter Kendall. “Between1986 and 1998, R&D spending in agriculture plummeted by 45%.

“Then from 2002 to 2006, there was a further 30% fall –– with productivity also falling back during the past decade.”

But it’s not just farmers that need to‘impact less’ on the environment, explainedDeborah Pritchard Jones of Growhow. “The 2008 Climate Change Act requires us to make huge reductions in carbonemissions by 2050, with a target for us to increase our use of energy from renewable sources to 20% by 2020 as well. It’s going to be difficult.

“Fertiliser production is reliant on hugequantities of both gas and electricity, andone of the key issues for us is to have anaffordable forward gas price. We need tolobby hard for this because the UK marketis one of the worst in the world, with highforward price premiums. We need to havea stable gas price for fertiliser prices toremain stable.

“This problem partly results from thepreviously high levels of North Sea naturalgas and the fact that we have very littlestorage capacity –– around 14 days, compared to 90 days in France andGermany.” She added that there’s “no real incentive” for the gas suppliers toinvest in extra storage capacity.

So UK-produced fertiliser will remain at the mercy of world gas and electricityprices for the foreseeable future and that will mean nitrogen prices are likely to mirror any volatility in those markets, she predicted.

“And as nitrogen becomes a targetedresource for cutting carbon emissions, itwill become progressively more expensive.We’re constantly seeking new ways toreduce our gas bills, while also using ourexcess carbon dioxide in greenhouses, for example.

“At the same time, we need to work hardto ensure fertiliser is used more efficiently.”

Agriculture is actually part of the solution to meeting climate change challenges, said David Caffall, chief

“Agriculture must invest in the capabilityto meet the food demands of nine billionpeople,” said Séan Rickard.

“The forces that will raise food prices will also increase production costs.”Séan Rickard –– senior lecturer in business economics, CranfieldUniversity.

“Science is the key to fulfilling thefuture need for food –– which is set to double in the next 50 years.” Mike Buchan –– commercial director,Growhow UK.

“We need to find ways to producemore and impact less. But we mustn’tproduce less to impact less.” Peter Kendall –– NFU president.

“48% of the world’s populationderives its food from inorganic fertiliser.”David Beck –– Growhow.

“UK agriculture fixes carbon dioxideequivalent to 9% of the nation’sproduction –– so we’re actually carbon positive,” David Caffall –– AIC chief executive.

Conference quotes

25% above where they are today.”However, he noted that the forces whichare pushing food prices upwards will do the same for inputs and the cost ofproduction as well.

But the most recent ‘food productionera’ –– where reducing excess productionwas the major goal –– has resulted in ageneration of policy makers too focused on ‘green’ policies, he said. “There needsto be a fundamental change in the policymindset to a more balanced view of industrialisation.”

Achieving a doubling in the food supply,

while minimising the environmental impact,is now a major scientific challenge, continued Séan Rickard. “This is also theview of the chief scientific adviser to theGovernment, Prof John Beddington, whosaid recently we’re on the verge of a‘Perfect Storm’ –– with a world food crisis by 2030 –– which only science and technology can resolve.

“Agriculture must therefore invest in the capability to meet the food demands of nine billion people. Yields need to be increased and sustained –– despite the challenge of rising energy costs,reduced water availability and the various environmental impacts.

“The process of industrialisation meansan improvement in productivity is needed–– not only per unit of land, but also ofwater and energy,” he explained.

That makes it crucial to adopt genetically-modified (GM) foods as soon as possible –– not only to increaseproductivity, but also to harness the enormous potential to change commodity-based crops into more-targeted specialistentities, said Séan Rickard. “It’s a matter of shame that science was once the vanguard of British agriculture –– but wenow face throwing that away on account of an ill-informed vocal minority that produces less than 2% of our food.”

He noted that high yields are “absolutelydependent” on inorganic fertiliser. “Weneed to double our food production ––we’ve done it before just after the war –– and we now need to do it again.”

Respond to challengeTo meet the challenge, NFU president,Peter Kendall, suggested farmers need tobecome more competitive to respond to thefood production challenge. “In the ‘30s, thecall was to ‘grow more’ and we respondedby increasing our production. Then by themid-‘80s, the talk was of over-productionand with that came quotas, set-aside and business contraction in many agricultural sectors.

“Then in July 2007 when world stocksfell sharply, the message came back togrow more food again, and set-aside wasset at effectively zero. I recently invitedHilary Benn to my farm to see what washappening at a ‘grass roots’ level and at the time, exports had risen by 44%.

“The minister could see for himself thearable sector is contributing to the UKeconomy as a whole, and farmers didrespond.”

Introducing a mandatory approach to remove 5% of land from production in


s

Introducing a mandatory approach toremove 5% of land from production inEngland is sending out mixed messages,said Peter Kendall.

executive of the Agricultural IndustriesConfederation (AIC). “Britain’s greenhousegas emissions from the land is 7%, compared with a world average of 10-14%, so we’re efficient –– but we still need to improve.”

Research leading to a joint publicationby AIC, the CLA and NFU –– called ‘Part of the Solution’ –– illustrates that it’spossible to achieve about a 15% reductionin greenhouse gas emissions through goodagricultural practice.

Carbon positive“The good news is that UK agriculture fixes carbon dioxide equivalent to 9% ofthe nation’s production, so the industry is actually carbon positive,” he said. “But with UK emissions needing to be cut by 60% by 2030, things are likely to get tougher.”

Together with other several organisations,AIC is assessing to the various policy optionswhich have been devised. These includetrading ‘caps’ for farms and fertiliser distributors, as well as taxation measures.

“For example, Defra could set a cap for nitrogen for a given crop –– and if youwanted to use more, you’d have to trade.


But we know taxes don’t work because of the elasticity of demand –– it doesn’tmatter how high the price goes, there’s still a fundamental demand there thatdoesn’t decline.”

But there are some points that could be negotiable –– including extendingcross-compliance along with nitrate vulnerable zones, and instigating abespoke low carbon advisory service, he continued.

“More acceptable methods of reducingemissions include enhanced stewardship,extended catchment sensitive areas, andvarious voluntary agreements.

“Although there’s no single ‘silver bullet’policy, targeted advice campaigns throughservices such as FACTS will ultimatelyhelp. We need to aim for world-leadingnutrient management planning across UKfarmland, while still optimising productionand taking account of habitats.

“Moreover, we must also retain powerand authority –– by staying in the debate,we can influence decisions.”

The industry aims are to provide better communication to farmers throughFACTS and Continuous ProfessionalDevelopment, as well as an having an

emphasis on the efficient use of nitrogen.“Short, sharp winning messages need

to get through and we must stick with thescience –– presenting evidence-basedfacts to counter the arguments from thevarious pressure groups,” he concluded.“The emphasis has to be on modern, efficient agriculture as a food source.” n

http://www.gowanintl.com

ost growers will know methiocarb-based slug pellets can’t be usedwithin 6m of a field edge, but

some may be unaware of the new limitation on metaldehyde use –– itshould no longer be applied within 5m of a watercourse.

This is just one of the measures being added to metaldehyde productlabels this autumn to prevent pelletsfrom getting into river water.

All metaldehyde labels will be changedto include the new advice –– with someproducts no longer approved for use on potatoes.

Hence all users need to study productlabels very carefully –– even those of uswho’ve been advising on, or using, slugpellets for 30 years or more!

There are several other reasons to note the label changes. Some arelegal, such as the rate changes; severalare necessary for Assured Produceinspections; some are for Single FarmPayment compliance; and all aredesigned to keep metaldehyde –– themain constituent of 80% of all slug pellets used in the UK –– out of water.

So what’s different now, since metaldehyde was never considered to be a problem in the past? The reality is that most farmers didn’t even regardslug pellets as pesticides.

M

Agronomy NotebookAgronomy Notebook

But in 2007, following the developmentof new analytical techniques for pesticideresidues, the water companies startedtesting for it. As a result, traces weredetected in river water above the qualitycompliance standard for drinking waterof 0.1 parts per billion (i.e. the level forany individual pesticide).

That’s equivalent to just one second in 316 years –– or just half a kilo in thewhole of the UK’s annual wheat crop.

Nonetheless, the water quality compliance level for metaldehyde wasbreeched right across England lastNovember and December, and if wedon’t get residue levels down by thisautumn, we may find more restrictionscoming into effect.

And without reliable slug control products, the future of winter rape production in the UK could be put in jeopardy.

So how do we go about makingchanges? The first thing is to only applypellets where it’s necessary –– so testbaiting with layers mash (rather thanslug pellets for stewardship reasons)under a 15-20cm diameter cover is essential where the worst damage is expected.

And if less than four slugs arefound prior to wheat, or less than one before oilseed rape, treatment isn’t recommended.

The second consideration is to treatearly wherever the threshold is breechedsince delaying the application can lead

to further crop loss and, ultimately, the need for follow-up treatments.

Third, farmers should use the minimum amount of product and activeingredient by spreading no more than 40 pellets/m2 in medium populations ofsay 5-10 slugs/m2 –– and only increasefrom this level if populations are high.

The new recommended maximumamount of active is 700g ai/yr –– limitingtreatments to just three 7.5kg/ha applications of 3% pellets, or eight 5kg/ha applications of 1.5% pellets. 5% and 6% pellets with rates over 700g ai/ha are being voluntarily withdrawn by the manufacturers and will become illegal to use.

That means that, if two applications of a 3% pellet have been used on potatoes in early summer, there’s onlyone remaining application that can bemade to the following winter wheat cropin the autumn.

When it comes to good applicationpractice, think about the spread distances involved –– both to the side and the rear. If this is unknown, how are operators to know they aren’t not spreading into a ditch or onto a road when they’re treating or turning on headlands?

Secondly, filling should only take placeaway from the field edge, and not in theyard, as any spillage –– however small –– could get washed into a drain.

Third and perhaps most importantly,listen to the weather forecast. If heavyrain is expected, don’t spread pelletssince leaching into drains, and/or run-off into ditches, could result.

Colin Myram is an independent agronomist, based in East Anglia.

Protecting metaldehyde


Visit www.getpelletwise.co.uk for more information.

http://www.getpelletwise.co.uk

http://www.agriCentre.basf.co.uk

http://www.syngenta-crop.co.uk

Grain drying Winter OSR - cpm magazine€¦ · and 7% of total plantings respectively –– occupy...

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