A rapid test is set to be launched in March that will identify two of the most damaging diseases in barley before visible symptoms appear.

The SwiftDetect test from Microgenetics has already proved to be invaluable in identifying diseases such as septoria in wheat, and the team has now developed tests to identify net blotch and rhynchosporium in barley.

See also: 6 steps to growing better spring barley for 2023 season

Net blotch has the potential to cause yield losses of 10-40% if it is not controlled, and rhynchosporium, the most damaging disease affecting UK barley, can inflict several infection cycles during a single growing season.

Rebecca Sanders, principal scientist at Microgenetics, says: “We decided to focus on these pathogens because they’re a particular concern for the British farming industry – we know they cause the biggest crop yield failures and have the biggest financial impact.”

By identifying the presence of net blotch and rhynchosporium before they are visible, farmers can act quickly to control either disease before it becomes a more serious problem.

“These diseases have a long latent period when the disease is present but not yet visible,” Dr Sanders says.

“By the time visible signs do appear it is too late to recover the full yield and aggressive fungicides will need to be used.”

By using SwiftDetect, farmers are given an early warning that treatment is necessary, she says.

It allows them to use it as part of their integrated crop management, and spray according to what is actually in the field, rather than a pre-emptive campaign.

“It saves money. It saves the environment. And it prolongs the life of fungicides because, like antibiotics, the more fungicides we use, the more likely it is that pathogens will develop resistance to them.”

How to use it

SwiftDetect is easy to use – farmers simply collect 10 leaves from across a barley field for their sample, and post them to the SwiftDetect laboratory using a prepaid envelope that can be ordered from the Microgenetics website.

The results are sent back quickly by email, usually by the next business day, if not sooner.

“A traffic light warning system will tell a farmer whether the sample was low-, medium- or high-risk”, says Charles Grant, research scientist at Microgenetics.

“They will also receive a SwiftDetect score, which is determined by the amount of pathogen identified in the sample.”