Crops articles from April 2009

Crops archives from April 2009

Judge the risk and treat accordingly: the usual principles apply for flag leaf sprays this year, agree advisers. But rising costs are prompting growers to look closely at spray programmes.(TECHNICAL)
April 18, 2009... Septoria tritici will be the number-one target at T2, although widespread varietal susceptibility means that brown rust will almost certainly be a feature in 2009, says Bill Clark, director of Broom's Barn. "There are few varieties out...

Brutus good, but expensive.(FUNGICIDE CHOICE)
April 18, 2009... * New BASF fungicide Brutus (metconazole + epoxiconazole) has a role in a very eradicant situation at T2. But its price tag is a deterrent, agree most independent agronomists. Steve Baldock of Prime Agriculture says there are strong...

Well chosen fungicide programme can prevent ramularia rampaging: Ramularia, formerly a mainly northern barley disease, seems to be moving south.(T2 SPRAYS)
April 18, 2009... Ramularia, until recently a relatively rare southern problem, can hit barley hard and fast just beyond flag leaf. The good news is that it can be controlled by a suitable fungicide strategy, says Syngenta's Chris Rowsell. "Its main...

Nematicide trials a real eye-opener for grower group: trials investigating the impact of free-living nematodes on potato varieties might help growers overcome yield declines.(POTATOES)
April 18, 2009... Free-living nematodes might be causing more harm to certain potato varieties than growers realise, trials conducted for North Norfolk Potato Growers suggest. The 10-strong grower group supplies 50,000t of potatoes to PepsiCo - mainly...

Aphicide tactics will need a rethink: potato crops are facing a new aphid menace.(POTATOES)
April 18, 2009... Have you got to grips with Blue 13 in potato blight programmes yet? Well a fresh wave of virus vectors and a newly-dominant strain of Myzus persicae demand an aphicide strategy rethink, too. A number of previously ignored aphid species are...

Clubroot risk grows south of the Border: not only was the wet autumn bad news for oilseed rape establishment, it probably increased the risk of contamination by clubroot.(RESEARCH IN FOCUS)
April 18, 2009... If your oilseed rape crop is looking wilted and yellow, it could just need nitrogen fertiliser. But if the yellowing is in patches, you should dig down and inspect the roots carefully for cankers caused by clubroot, suggests Fiona Burnett of...

Semi-dwarf hybrids--a breakthrough for growers: new biomass varieties could be a major step forward for UK oilseed rape growers, according to a distributor.(OILSEED RAPE)
April 18, 2009... Growers who look no further than the top of the Recommended List when choosing their oilseed rape varieties could be missing a trick, results from ongoing trials suggest. Two low biomass hybrid oilseed rapes feature for the first time on...

Crops' guide to the water framework directive: it has been law for six years already, but the water framework directive is only beginning to show its teeth. Mike Abram explains what it is all about.(LEGISLATION)
April 18, 2009... Q. WHAT IS THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE? A. It is European legislation that aims to protect and improve all water bodies, including surface and ground waters, estuaries and coastal waters. It became part of UK law in December 2003. ...

Pesticide bans would cause huge weed control problems: just how costly the Water Framework Directive could be for growers has been made clear in an ADAS report for the HGCA.(LEGISLATION)
April 18, 2009... The review, which looks at the effects of potential pesticide losses is very much a worse-case scenario. It assumes products will be completely banned or restricted to the point that they become ineffective. But it makes clear how much...

Big sizes and right pressure give fuel efficiency a boost: much is made of the impact on soil compaction of using big tractor tyres and lowest inflation pressures. But what about performance and fuel efficiency?(MACHINERY)
April 18, 2009... Without direct comparisons, taking on board the arguments for fitting larger tractor tyres and/or managing tyre inflation pressures to suit circumstances requires something of an act of faith. So it is welcome when clear evidence is...

Firestone'standard' improves traction and comfort.(MACHINERY)
April 18, 2009... Latest addition to the Firestone tyre range is a "standard" traction tyre to replace the R6000 and R8000 designs. The Performer 85 radial is reckoned to provide better traction, longer and more even wear life, and increased road comfort...

Trelleborg high-speed version.(TYRES)
April 18, 2009... Changes to the carcass structure of the Trelleborg TM700 radial traction tyre to create a high-speed version also increase its load-carrying capacity over the standard version. Rated capable of running at 65kph carrying the same load as the...

Bigger footprint, better flotation.(TYRES)
April 18, 2009... Michelin's OmniBib traction tyre can carry a given load at a lower inflation pressure than similar tyres. This means it is reckoned to present a footprint up to 16% larger than its closest competitor, resulting in better traction and improved...

Extra Optitrac R+ sizes allow more operators to benefit.(TYRES)
April 18, 2009... The addition of another four sizes to the Goodyear Optitrac R+ low-profile tyre range means more operators can take advantage of the design's performance characteristics. With the 540/65R30,710/65R30, 800/70R38 and 710/70R42 becoming...

Top firms newcomers continue the shift: the move to tractors with stepless transmissions continues with the introduction of newcomers from leading manufacturers.(STEPLESS TRANSMISSION TRACTORS)
April 18, 2009... More than 300 farmers and contractors had a hand in deciding how to operate the Auto Command stepless transmission and other functions on the latest New Holland tractors. The main messages were that simplicity should be a priority and that...

Hungry vultures eye up land market: if the wheat price stays stuck where it is, expect land prices to fall, says Stephen Carr.(CARR'S CORNER)
April 18, 2009... "It has been another slow month for old crop wheat. With prices stuck at [pounds sterling]30/t below the cost of production, I have begun to take a vulture-like interest in the value of farmland once again. Rumours abound of acreages...

NVZ muck rule needs a look: regulation on spreading organic manure lacks clarity.(Podium)
April 18, 2009... Serious practical problems are emerging over the wording of the NVZ regulation governing the maximum field application rates for organic manures. DEFRA's leaflet 8 states: "You must not spread organic manures to any field at a rate which...

FWi launches new-look site.(ONLINE BRIEFING)
April 18, 2009... * Visitors to Farmers Weekly Interactive since January can't fail to have noticed a big change to its home page. Now, after months of research and testing, that new look has been rolled out across the rest of FWi, creating an offering second to...

FWi hit parade.
April 18, 2009... * Readers' interest remains strong in the UK's fledgling bioethanol market, with the most read arable story outlining progress in the building of Ensus's [pounds sterling]250m plant on Teesside. Last month's Crops' article examining the...

Low-biomass OSR shows worth.(VIEWPOINT)
April 18, 2009... Ten years ago, when Monsanto launched its semi-dwarf oilseed rape variety Canberra, it's entirely probable that the marketing spiel about low biomass went over most growers' heads. But the advantages soon became apparent, and the success of...

Chasing our tails keeping up with the Joneses...(JUSTIN MCDONALD'S DIARY)
April 18, 2009... MONDAY * As the age old farming saying goes - March dust is worth a euro a gram. But as I, and seemingly every one of my neighbours, rushed around playing catch-up during the settled dry weather, it became apparent just how much catching...

Scope to double production levels: UK wheat and oilseed rape yields could be almost doubled in a generation, helping to reach both food security and environmental goals. But new approaches are needed now.(PERSPECTIVE)
April 18, 2009... Crisis talk is rife. If it isn't climate calamity, it's "peak oil", water shortage, poverty or famine. The underlying fears are of unsustainable population and economic growth. The government's chief scientific adviser, John Beddington,...

Attention to detail puts business back on course: a switch to largely arable cropping alongside a much tighter management regime has propelled a struggling traditional estate into the 21st century.(YOUR BUSINESS)
April 18, 2009... Just six years ago, when manager Jon Parker arrived at Ragley Home Farms in Warwickshire, the estate was struggling. The mixed arable and livestock farm included a 220-cow dairy enterprise, sheep, combinable crops and vegetable production. ...

Winning ways with costs.(COST CONTROL)
April 18, 2009... Nailing down cost of production to the last penny per tonne is now part of the routine for Andrew Ward, winner of last year's FW Arable Farmer of the Year Award. Monitoring and allocation of direct crop costs was firmly established last...