A survey last year by UPL found that over three-quarters of farmers miss a T0 cereal spray because of the weather.
This season could be no different. But with many varieties susceptible to yellow rust with the Yr15 breakdown, and mild wet winter weather exacerbating the septoria risk, this is not the year to leave a crop unprotected until April, says UPL technical sales manager Tom Wheelhouse.
“The problem is that there is so much for farmers to do at the start of the season,” notes Tom.
The farmer survey found that applying nitrogen and drilling spring crops were the most important jobs on farmers’ lists, followed by applying micronutrients and herbicides. Spring fungicides sat fifth. The survey also identified concerns around crop effect and tank mix compatibility.
Tom continues: “The issue is tank mix compatibility. Naturally, farmers want to control weeds whilst they are small, or before the label cut-offs. Add in some micronutrition, and there’s a fear that the mix might already be a bit ‘hot’ on the crop, before you consider adding a fungicide.”
He feels this is where plant health elicitor products could be particularly useful. “A product like Iodus (laminarin) is very benign in a tank mix but offers good benefits to disease control, especially septoria. There are no reported crop safety issues with Iodus, and it has broad tank-mix compatibility.
“Iodus stimulates the plant’s defence mechanisms, providing added disease protection right through the season.”
Pearce Seeds agronomist Ben Allard uses Iodus across most of his wheat area, following trials a few years back. “What gave me the confidence to make it my staple T0 product was its longevity. It gives protective activity against septoria for six to eight weeks.”
This activity offers a wider window, from pre-T0 to after T0 when he can apply it and still get good activity. It isn’t a replacement for conventional T0 chemistry. Instead, with few options to boost septoria control at T0, Ben says it is additive to anything he might use for yellow rust and helps support more expensive chemistry at T1 and T2.
