Challenge aims to offer growers greater margins
Challenge aims to offer growers greater margins
The DTI, HGCA and ADAS-funded
Sector Challenge
wheat project aims
to boost the UKs
competitiveness as
a wheat-growing
nation by improving
farm practice.
Andrew Swallow
visited an Essex
grower who is
taking part this
year
Spreading the word… After intensive training last year, Essex grower Robert Davidson (centre left) is pushing seed rates down to the limit on Sector Challenge demonstration crops. Neighbouring growers such as David Weston (left) should see how the canopy management techniques could be deployed on their own farms, say ADAS consultants Sara Osborne and Andrew Gilchrist (right).
HIGHER margins through improved wheat crop management is what Essex grower Robert Davidson hopes to achieve from his involvement in this years Sector Challenge project.
"The concepts are really exciting," he says. "We should have higher yield potential with real savings."
With lower seed rates, later and lower nitrogen use and hopefully lower fungicide rates in response to less disease pressure, savings should total £60/ha (£24/acre).
In due course, many growers should reap similar benefits from the joint HGCA, DTI and ADAS-funded scheme as the canopy management techniques are passed on from grower to grower.
Last year, Mr Davidson attended a series of intensive training days on variety choice, nitrogen nutrition, seed rates, lodging avoidance and disease control from recognised experts in the industry.
Now, with the help of local ADAS consultants Sara Osborne and Alasdair Gilchrist, he must demonstrate the decision-making techniques learned to a group of 15 growers from his area.
"Seeing a local farmer having a go with the approach should give growers the confidence to go home and try it for themselves," says Mrs Osborne.
At the first meeting in early July, the main focus was on reducing seed rates to produce optimum plant counts. Varietal tillering capacity and individual field and farm conditions must be taken into account.
"Canopy management is about manipulating the agronomic theory in the field," says Mr Gilchrist.
For Mr Davidson, that means managing crops to combat historically high populations of resistant blackgrass at Brickhouse Farm, Peldon, and limit the effects of take-all. Of 500ha (1200 acres) of wheat grown, 440ha is continuous, with some of the land having grown wheat for 45 years.
"Even after 45 years of wheat you cant write take-all out of the equation," adds Mrs Osborne. Drilling date is delayed until October and new seed-dressing Jockey (fluquinconazole + prochloraz) is being trialled.
Historically, Mr Davidson kept seed rates high to allow for possible poor establishment on the heavy London clay soils and to produce a thick, blackgrass competitive canopy.
"We were using 400 seeds/sq m aiming for 320 plants/sq m in the spring and a lush crop all season," he says. "But the early growth was a waste of energy. We are trying to target inputs to where the yield is going to be produced."
Lower seed rates will reduce the canopy density and increase the root mass of each plant, reducing disease pressure above and below ground, says Mrs Osborne.
"The better the rooting, the more take-all you can afford without it affecting yield."
Cultivation techniques and drill technology have also improved, resulting in less uncertainty in establishment. "Weve got the seed-beds and drilling techniques right, so the time is right to be reducing seed rates," says Mrs Osborne.
But she is cautious about suggesting that growers go straight down to the theoretical optimums established in research work (see table), such as 50kg/ha for the Sept 27 drilled Shamrock on the first of Mr Davidsons demonstration fields.
"We have got to be cautious because of the blackgrass and the soil type. For now, on this farm and at that drilling date, I would prefer to be closer to 100kg/ha, but time may show that we can go lower." *
SECTOR CHALLENGE
• Improve UK wheat production.
• DTI, HGCA & ADAS-funded.
• Grower-to-grower learning.
• Over 500 growers by 2001.
Seed rates for optimum plant counts
Sowing date *Seeds/ Min target sq m plant count
Early Sept 120 40
Late Sept/early Oct 180 60
Mid-late Oct 260 90
Early Nov 350 120
Late Nov 430 150
*Field loss and safety factor for farm use built in. Minimum plant count for maximum yield, HGCA data.
Project concept
Higher margins for growers through better wheat management is the objective of the Sector Challenge project at farm level, but nationally the aim is to make British wheat production more efficient, says project co-ordinator David Parish. A cascade effect of technical knowledge passed from industry experts to consultants and growers, who in turn pass that on by demonstration to growers in their area, should see a total of 528 growers versed in the ways of canopy management by harvest 2001. The whole project is being assessed by Wye College, and if deemed a success, similar projects could follow, says Mr Parish.
Blackgrass
Populations of blackgrass once hit 3000 heads/sq m at Brickhouse Farm, with enhanced metabolism resistance widespread. But a range of measures has brought the population under control to about 300 heads/sq m now. "If you saw the fields at harvest, you wouldnt think this was a bad blackgrass farm," says Mr Davidson. All wheat stubble is ploughed close behind the combine and pressed to produce a fine, firm, false seed-bed and, hopefully, a flush of blackgrass. That is sprayed off with glyphosate before drilling, which is closely followed by a pre-emergence application of Avadex (triallate). A Hawk/Lexus plus oil (clodinafop + trifluralin/ flupyrsulfuron-methyl) mix, or full-rate ipu plus trifluralin follows post-emergence.
Demonstration crops
Mr Davidson is growing three demonstration crops for the Sector Challenge project. The first is Shamrock as a third wheat, drilled on Sept 27 at seed rates of 50kg/ha, 100kg/ha and 165kg/ha (0.4, 0.8 & 1.3cwt/acre) aiming to establish 75, 150 and 250 plants/sq m respectively. Marshall will be drilled at the same range of seed rates as a first wheat and Malacca as a continuous wheat. Differences in fertiliser, growth regulator and fungicide needs will be measured and yields recorded at harvest. FW will report progress at key growth stages through the year.