IN BRIEF
IN BRIEF
• STROBILURIN fungicides advance onto UK cereals farms is highlighted by a National Farm Research Unit which has found over 84% of farmers have used them.
Strob uptake since their launch five years ago has increased rapidly. In 1997 only 8% of 14,000 cereals farms surveyed had used them. Last year four in every five farms were applying them to their wheat and barley, says the NFRU.
The most prolific strob users are in the east, with uptake in the west lagging by about 20%, it notes.
Bearing in mind the discovery of mildew resistance to strobilurins and fears for yellow rust resistance, the NFRUs Mike Heisig comments: "It must be said that some of these farms may be applying these products in too profligate a manner."
• OILSEED rapes benefits as a healthy food and green industrial crop will be extolled to the public as part of the NFUs summer Food and Farming Roadshows which started this week. The charm offensive includes a specially produced "Sunshine Crop" leaflet about oilseed rape, cooking demonstrations using the oil, and an opportunity to handle the crop.
• THERE may still be time to tackle ryegrass in cereals this season, according to Syngenta.
Perennial and Italian species, increasing problems in wheat and barley, can succumb to treatment with Grasp (tralkoxydim) up to and including crop growth stage 39, notes the firms Ian Stott.
"The key is to target the right growth rate. The better the speed of growth, the better the kill." Sprayer speeds of 5mph work best, he adds.
• YELLOW rust pressure may be low for now, but be aware that Consorts resistance rating has dropped from a nine to a six, warns NIAB pathologist Rosemary Bayles. That reflects the arrival of the new Oxbow strain of the disease, which can infect Consort. Crops aroundthe Wash could be particularly vulnerable. *