Reconsider first wheat varieties
Reconsider first wheat varieties
WIDESPREAD eyespot, even in first wheats, means growers must reconsider variety choices unless they wish to be locked into routine treatment for the disease, warns John Blackman of CPB Twyford.
Mr Blackman believes differences in eyespot susceptibility between varieties are largely to blame for patchy lodging this season.
Commonplace eyespot in first wheats is worrying, he says. "It does not bode well for new crops going into the ground this autumn."
High risk varieties lacking the so-called VPM resistance derived from wild wheat will be a particular risk, he says. These include Savannah, Napier, Hereward and Shamrock and any autumn sown spring wheats. "These should not be drilled until October." Even then growers should be prepared to apply a Unix (cyprodinil) spray early in spring because seed treatments offer no control.
Growers increasing the risk by sowing in September should seriously consider VPM varieties, he says. "Genghis, Aardvark, Lynx and Eclipse are lower risk and unlikely to respond to eyespot specific fungicides."
• See p58 for more on lodging. *