The area planted to winter barley and winter wheat is far less than planned, primarily due to rainfall patterns since last autumn.
High rainfall levels usually correlate with mild conditions and this combination of wet and mild weather inevitably broadens the disease spectrum on crops.
Winter barley will have received its first fungicide by now. The wet weather diseases, Rhynchosporium and net blotch, will have been the most visible but many crops also had or have significant brown rust infections.
The promised settled spell of weather will help to keep wet weather diseases in check, but will increase the threat of brown rust.
Winter barley
The next fungicide on winter barley will be the middle or flag leaf spray. For many this is a holding spray, keeping current diseases in check but also laying the foundation for control of the inevitable Ramularia challenge.
Billy Cotter, from Syngenta said that ‘”the middle fungicide on winter barley can be the difference between a relatively clean crop during grain filling, or significant leaf loss before the crop has reached its yield potential”.
He continued: “The traditional wet weather diseases must be kept in check, but brown rust must also be a target because once established it is a difficult disease to eradicate.
“Elatus Era controls the spectrum of diseases targeted at the middle and indeed the final fungicide on winter barley. Folpet is also a must at both timings for Ramularia control.
“We recommend our brand Mirror with Elatus Era at both of these timings in winter barley. Its inclusion is essential.”
Winter wheat crops are approaching their T1 fungicide application.
Weather conditions in many cases didn’t allow for a T0 fungicide, where that had been planned.
Crops are predictably showing significant Septoria infection but in many cases in combination with established or establishing yellow rust infections.
Billy added that “the T1 on wheat lays the foundation of disease control for the season. Septoria is, of course, an important target disease.
“In most cases it will require an SDHI / triazole mixture product combined with folpet to deliver control and get the crop to the flag leaf stage. Because yellow rust is also a target the choice of SDHI / triazole mix is an important consideration.
“Elatus Era contains Solatenol, widely regarded as the best available yellow rust fungicide active ingredient. It is the best choice where rust is a target disease and it will also deliver robust Septoria control, as well as activity on eyespot and mildew.”
