Expert Reflections on Wheat Disease Control - Webinar Round-Up

Last month we invited leading experts from NIAB, ADAS and SRUC, and an estate manager from County Durham to join our head of technical services for a diverse discussion about the challenges growers face this season in wheat disease control. The insights, the recommendations and the general conversation shone a light on the impact that weather, fungicide availability and rising costs can have on control programmes. Who was on the panel? Our expert panel included:

Rebecca Joynt - senior consultant in crop pathology at ADAS
Dr Aoife O’Driscoll - senior specialist in crop protection and IPM at NIAB
Professor Neil Havis - senior plant pathologist at SRUC
Philip Vickers - estate manager for Raby Estates in County Durham
Stuart Jackson - head of technical services at UPL

We kicked things off with a discussion of the general conditions facing growers in the upcoming season, thanks to the challenging autumn and winter weather, which includes:

Many crops drilled late
Drilling in less-than-ideal conditions
Struggles getting autumn herbicides on
Poor rooting caused by waterlogged soil
Mild conditions in the south adding to disease pressures

So what does that mean for crops, and how can growers effectively protect against disease? Make strong plant health your starting point Soil conditions right now are increasing the likelihood of soil-borne diseases. Dr. Aoife O’Driscoll explained how crop health will be essential in helping plants fight off disease. “It’s a question of above and below-ground biomass. Reduced above-ground biomass will mean they are less able to escape early infections of yellow rust or powdery mildew.” Rebecca Joynt shared the sentiment, highlighting other diseases like eyespot and take-all. Watch the webinar to see her advice on later drilled crops too. Spray IODUS early To support plant health and encourage resistance early on, our expert panel all discussed plant elicitors like IODUS. Unlike conventional fungicides, IODUS doesn’t act on fungal diseases directly. Instead, it mimics a fungal attack and stimulates the plant to defend itself. “They induce the natural defence mechanisms within the variety,’ said Professor Neil Havis, “and by starting that defence early, you can adjust your fungicide programme accordingly.” Professor Havis also cautioned that elicitors should not be seen as alternatives to conventional fungicides. Instead, they work best in combination with them. Rebecca agreed. “Building it into fungicide programmes has been where we have seen some benefits of IODUS come through.” Our experts talk through some of the results they’ve seen in the webinar. Using biosolutions to support healthier margins Rebecca also highlighted how, by including IODUS at T0, they were able to reduce the application rate of the T1 fungicide while still seeing the same level of disease control and yield response. This could be beneficial for growers looking to make cost savings in their disease control programme to support healthier margins. THIOPRON is another promising option here too. Professor Havis discusses seeing good results from THIORPON trials and how, despite the higher dose rate, its lower price per litre puts it in a good place for the cost per hectare equation. Get more insights and advice from the webinar Our disease control webinar ran for over an hour, giving our experts plenty of time to talk about all manner of experiences and recommendations. It’s well worth a watch if you’re growing wheat, and other cereal crops, and are looking for more insights into how to maximise your fungal disease control programme. Some additional points mentioned include:

Why you need to time T1 & T2 applications carefully with variable leaf emergence this season
The importance of alternating products
The benefits of thinking about actives rather than products