Fungicide fits bill

NEW PROTHIOCONAZOLE fungicide Proline has done well in Cornish trials, boosting winter barley yields by significantly more than rival treatments.

The Arable Group’s comprehensive experiments at Trerulefoot last season found that Sumo treated with Proline plus Twist (trifloxystrobin) yielded 8.29t/ha compared with untreated crops at 6.87t/ha.

Other fungicide mixtures achieved similar rhynchosporium control but did not perform as well on rust, with a Unix (cyprodinil)/Acanto (picoxystrobin) mix producing just 7.84t/ha, says agronomist Tim Mayhew. “Proline has now been approved and it looks to be a very good addition.”