IN BRIEF
Cool and dry OSR to combat mites
COOL and dry oilseed rape to keep mites out, warns CSLs Ken Wildey. Early reports of mites in store suggest surface layers have absorbed atmospheric moisture or seed was not dried low enough initially.
"The target moisture content for safe, long-term storage of oilseed rape is about 7.5%," he says,
Fire brigade chemical treatment Actellic (pirimiphos-methyl) has been withdrawn and Satisfar (etrimfos) is no longer sold, so growers should move seed to mix and re-dry surface layers, he says. Resistance to pesticide products is widespread in any case. *
IN BRIEF
• THE latest move in the voluntary stewardship programme to fend off the threat of a pesticide tax is a series of 37 spray operator workshops focusing on water pollution and farmyard activities. Organised by the Crop Protection Association and UKASTA and starting on Nov 27 at Ross-on-Wye, the countrywide half-day training events cost £25. Details from your local distributor.
• FRENCH manufacturer CDP Clartex is to take over SumiAgros slug pellet business including metaldehyde-based product Optimol. The move takes effect from Dec 1.
• SCOTTISH seed potato growers are losing over one-third of their market to farm-saved seed, says Alistair Redpath, chief executive of Perth-based Pseedco. "Some 35-40% of our available domestic market is being supplied by other than certified or classified seed." Growers believe they can do the job better or more cheaply, which is unlikely if work is costed properly, he says. *