Wheat seed treatment is key to disease control
Growers need to carefully consider their seed treatment strategy this autumn in order to prevent another season of damaging foliar disease and blackgrass.
Advice from Agrii crop protection manager Chris Bean is that both first and second wheats should be treated with a fluquinconazole seed dressing in order to reduce the risk of serious disease and weeds.
“The value of reduced rate fluquinconazole (Galmano Silver) seed treatment in improving foliar disease control became crystal clear over the past season in which it kept yellow rust infections at bay,” he said.
The benefits of the treatments for blackgrass has also been highlighted as being increasingly important in a season where serious chemical control limitations have reinforced the need for the greatest possible contribution from cultural controls.
Mr Bean believes that the latest data from the company’s blackgrass and weed control sites will show the cost benefit to be much higher this season, which is why he considers it important for growers to treat rust susceptible and less competitive varieties this autumn.
“Overall seed treatments offer some of the best and most cost-effective agronomic risk insurance available for modern wheat growing,” he said.
“In view of particular pressures from BYDV (barley yellow dwarf virus), slugs and fusarium this season, I’d strongly advise combining Galmano Silver (fluquinconazole) with Redigo Deter (prothioconazole + clothianidin) to secure the most effective seedling establishment and protection against pest and virus damage as well as early disease and blackgrass control,” added Mr Bean.
