In this issue... Glimpse of the future page 49 Launch of the Lists page 8 Tech treats and Hanover highlights AHDB unveils Recommended varieties

Outcome-based pricing page 61 Black eye on scurf page 72

Opinion

4 Talking Tilth - A word from the editor. Volume 21 Number 11 December 2019 6 Smith’s Soapbox - Views and opinions from an Essex peasant….. 75 Last Word - A view from the field from CPM’s technical editor. Technical 8 Recommended List launch - A baker’s dozen AHDB has expanded its Recommended Lists with almost 30 varieties added for 2020 and OSR markets looking set to see the biggest change. 12 Theory to Field - New perspective on RL A new variety selection tool has just been released by AHDB. 16 Spring cropping - Patience will pay The monsoon this autumn has dictated an unplanned swing towards spring cropping as ground conditions prevent drilling. 20 Real Results Pioneers - Challenge set for new chemistry One of the farmers who’s been comparing a new azole with his standard farm approach is building a picture on how it’s best used. 23 Pulses - A virtuous spirit Editor The Arbikie Highland Estate in Scotland is noted for the award-winning spirits Tom Allen-Stevens distilled on site from a staggering array of local produce. Technical editor 26 Better buying, better selling - Testing times for the grain trade? Lucy de la Pasture A grain trade that’s ready for Brexit needs to be efficient, far-reaching, fully Technical writer digital and trustworthy. Charlotte Cunnigham 30 Weed control survey - Shifting strategy Writers Blackgrass has dominated the headlines as the weed to watch for, but Tom Allen-Stevens Rob Jones now it appears other issues are causing similar headaches. Charlotte Cunninghan Lucy de la Pasture 33 Fertiliser - Urea on a knife edge? Nick Fone The urea versus ammonium nitrate debate has always been a fiery one. Design and production Brooks Design Machinery Advertisement co-ordinator Peter Walker 37 LAMMA preview - Tractors, combines and tyres Next month’s LAMMA event looks set to be a hotspot for innovation. Publisher Angus McKirdy 42 LAMMA preview - Drills ’n’ hoes Business development manager A huge array of cultivation kit was launched at Agritechnica. Charlotte Alexander 45 LAMMA preview - Spread and spray From guidance sensors to triple-fold booms, the market has made great strides. To claim two crop protection BASIS points, send an email to [email protected], quoting reference CP/84198/1920/g. 49 Agritechnica - The future is now There were plenty of interesting innovations on display. To claim two NRoSO CPD points, please send your name, NRoSO member number, date of birth and postcode to 54 Tech Talk - The fertile furrow [email protected] Drills that deliver fertiliser into the rooting zone are back in vogue. *the claim ‘best read specialist arable journal’ is based 57 Robots - Small robots roll out ambitious plan on independent reader research conducted by In less than two years, the Small Robot Company has progressed from Research Engine (Mar 2018) mere concept to a commercial, high resolution weed ID service. Editorial & advertising sales PO Box 4856, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 9NX Innovation Tel: (01743) 861122 E-mail: [email protected] 61 Global briefing - No gain, no pay Reader registration hotline 01743 861122 Bayer and BASF announce plans for outcome-based pricing. Advertising copy Brooks Design, 64 Research Briefing - How application affects efficacy 24 Claremont Hill, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1RD Every spray droplet counts when it comes to blackgrass control. Tel: (01743) 244403 E-mail: [email protected] 67 Pushing performance - Acquiring knowledge through experience Understanding is growing about when to use Bridgeway to best effect. CPM Volume 21 No 11. Editorial, advertising and sales offices are at PO Box 4856, Shrewsbury, SY1 9NX England. Tel: (01743) 861122. CPM is published eleven times a year by CPM Ltd and is available free of charge to qualifying farmers Roots and farm managers in the United Kingdom. In no way does CPM Ltd endorse, notarise or concur with any of the 72 Tuber treatments - Rethinking tuber treatment? advice, recommendations or prescriptions reported in the magazine. For growers who’ve relied on Monceren its withdrawal means a change If you are unsure about which recommendations to follow, please consult of strategy. a professional agronomist. Always read the label. Use pesticides safely. CPM Ltd is not responsible for loss or damage to any unsolicited material, including photographs. crop production magazine december 2019 3 Millennials –– those born from believe that, just look at the through to the consumer. 1980-94, and sometimes called influence of Greta Thunberg, the There’ll be no more manipulation, the “me generation”. ultimate Gen Zer. McKinsey masking or distortion by other Millennials (Generation Y) carried out an extensive study actors in the chain. are more idealistic, more of people’s behaviour in Brazil, Another example of this confrontational, and less where Gen Zers already make ultimate truth is crowd-funding, willing to accept diverse up 20% of the population, to perhaps. In the past, for a good points of view. understand how this new idea to raise capital and become While Generation X generation’s views might affect a ground-breaking invention, this (1960-79) and Baby the broader population. required a large company or boomers (1940-59) generally The study concludes that the venture capitalist to back it. Now What is truth? accept authority and scientific search for truth lies at the root of a community can decide, each fact as the root of truth, Gen Y all Gen Z behaviour. They have an individual putting in a relatively feels that strong-held opinion ‘undefined ID’, expressing and modest amount of capital, that Whatever your political carries equal weight. Politically exploring individual truth, rather can build into a considerable persuasion or hopes for the this is important and in farming than one stereotype. They are collective total. future, it’s hard to imagine a it’s critical –– it doesn’t matter so ‘communaholics’, connecting Data may become the level of political posturing lower much that neonicotinoids and to different truths, in which foundation of ultimate truth. If you than what we’ve witnessed glyphosate, for example, are online and physical worlds have a platform that can connect during this General Election scientifically proven to be safe combine. They are ‘dialoguers’, and make sense of the vast campaign from those who if the perception, no matter how understanding and accepting amounts of data that define your would presume to govern us. ill-founded, is that they are not. differences of opinions. And they farming system, there’s arguably Empty promises wouldn’t begin This idealism and the authority are ‘realistic’ –– pragmatic and no better way to get a true picture to describe the pithy pledges put of opinion pervades every aspect analytical, they unveil the truth on how it’s performing. And then forward by candidates across the of our society and it’s not all bad, behind the vast amount of there’s knowledge –– while the political spectrum who don’t even I’d argue –– CPM itself relies on information at their disposal. authority of a scientist interpreting care if we believe them, so long the opinions of others as much as A good illustration of this a set of trials is valuable, maybe as they can persuade us they’re scientific fact to convey to you ultimate truth is bitcoin, the the ultimate truth is reached lying less than their opponents. the roundest and most concise currency Gen Z invented. This is when a community of growers all But could this be the last picture of a new product built on blockchain, in which a conduct their own trials, following election in which truth is distorted development or farming wide community of networked an agreed protocol, and pool and used in an attempt to progression. computers agrees on the value the results. manipulate voters in such a The difficulty is that this system of bitcoin. An individual can’t So as we enter a new decade, damaging way? A phenomenon is very open to abuse by change or influence its value, nor maybe this will be the one where that’s fascinating marketers, unscrupulous individuals. Throw even a government. The value Gen Z’s search for truth bears pollsters and consumer analysts in the internet, social media, a only changes if the entire network fruit. Let’s hope so, because the currently is the rising influence of healthy dollop of Russian, agrees it can change through a sooner it’s safe from political Generation Z. This includes those state-sponsored disruption, and defined protocol. manipulation, the sooner farming people born loosely between suddenly it can become very Extend that idea into other can find the true route to positive 1995-2010 –– they’re true digital difficult to trust the arbiters of truth areas where trust and integrity are change. natives, exposed to the internet, or even know who they are. It’s in important and it holds real merit. social networks and mobile this maelstrom of conflicting There are already pilots underway systems. information and fake news a using blockchain for farm Tom Allen-Stevens (Gen X) According to management voter’s asked to put a cross on a assurance, for example. You’ll no has a 170ha arable farm in consultants McKinsey, what piece of paper and make an longer be able to retrospectively Oxon and is heavily influ- defines this generation is their important choice. change your grain temperature enced by four Gen Zers. search for truth. It’s often said So enter Gen Z, tipped to be records, but the integrity, ethics [email protected] we’re living in the post-truth era, the most influential generation and sustainability of your @tomallenstevens which is influenced by the that’s ever lived. And if you don’t production system will carry right

other hand, out in the field, farming lore that you should prospects for 2020 look rather never set too much store from Guy Smith grows 500ha of combinable crops on the north ominous –– it’s a bit like the the experience of last year is east Essex coast, namely field of fat cows staring over probably as apt this year as St. Osyth Marsh –– officially the the fence at a field of thin ever. But so is the observation driest spot in the British Isles. cows. that we’ve had yet another year Despite spurious claims from A kind winter and with abnormal weather. What others that their farms are spring will do a lot to put the heck ‘normal’ is nowadays actually drier, he points out things right, but it seems seems a tricky question. that his farm is in the Guinness nowadays you seldom hear the Weather is always a farming Book of Records, whereas 2020 Vision words ‘kind’ and ‘weather’ in the obsession and the endless others aren’t. End of. same sentence. We were lucky analysis the internet provides @essexpeasant here in as much that we had a just feeds the fixation. Radar So 2019 reaches its final lot of first wheats last year maps are the worst here furlong and 2020 beckons. meaning an increase in where I’m as aware of the a new and better year in 2020. It’ll be remembered for ever in spring-sown break crops hasn’t weather in Cornwall as much I remember a few years ago many people’s minds for its really rewritten the cropping as in Essex. Quite why I think in 2010 I chaired a conference wet back-end which proved programme significantly. That’s I need to note weather called ‘20:20 vision –– a look the mother of wet back-ends. assuming we can get all the conditions on the Isle of Bute forward to see what the next At the moment we’re in the seed we want. I’ll never know but there I am decade might bring’. While odd situation of having, on the In hindsight I wish I’d grown a poring over global reports that contributors wisely foresaw one hand, the smug satisfaction few acres of spring wheat as a show its sunny in the Sahara. things like increased of a reasonably full grain stores weather-proofing measure but Then there are the weather commodity price volatility from a good harvest. But on the that’s hindsight wisdom. The old records where the Met Office and increased resistance to tells you what sort of weather fungicides and herbicides, you’ve recently had, as if you no one predicted we might didn’t know. These Met Office leave the EU with endless actual/anomaly maps reckoned consequences for UK north east Essex had ‘average’ agriculture. If someone had rainfall. That doesn’t help predicted this, how many of explain why our 16ha potato us would have gone home field would now make an and put some plan in place? excellent place for a historical No one would have because re-enactment group to play it was about as likely as the out the Battle of the Somme. possibility of glyphosate So we now look forward to being banned.

A cartoon from 1963 shows the then NFU president Harold Woolley urging a British farmer to “look West” not East when thinking of his farming future. Interestingly in the early 1960s, the NFU was against joining the EEC. Today this question as to whether our trade in food will look East or West is suddenly very pertinent again. Source: Farmer & Stockbreeder, 1963.

6 crop production magazine december 2019

New options “for all regions present growers with a step forward in yields, combined with improved disease resistance. ”

Technical Recommended Lists A baker’s dozen

AHDB has expanded its general purpose category with Limagrain looking for a beefier, more robust OSR claiming the title for the most represented variety. For the East/West region, new Recommended Lists with breeder with five new varieties –– Acacia, entrants Dazzler and Darling –– from DSV –– almost 30 varieties added for Ambassador, Aurelia, Artemis and Aardvark. combine good yields with a strong disease “It’s certainly an exciting time for the package, including stem canker ratings of 8 2020 and OSR markets Limagrain OSR-breeding programme as this and TuYV resistance. looking set to see the biggest is the first time that any breeder has For growers in the North, newcomer achieved this leading position with this Blazen –– from KWS –– boasts high GO change. CPM takes an many varieties,” comments Vasilis Gegas, yields of 105% (based on limited data), in-depth look at who’s Limagrain’s OSR european portfolio good disease resistance and short, stiff manager. straw, says Paul. come and who’s gone. Acacia sits at the top of the table with an Shifting focus to the specialist varieties, impressive 110% gross output yield in the Crocodile –– from DSV –– and Croozer from By Charlotte Cunningham East/West region. “This high yield isn’t to the LSPB have been recommended for the for detriment of agronomic characteristics either, the East/West region. According to Paul, with the variety presenting itself as fairly stiff these varieties offer resistance to clubroot The 2020/21 Recommended Lists are strawed and a similar –– if not better –– and are noted for having short, stiff straw overall slightly bigger in size, with a disease resistance compared with current as well as yields of 105% and 102%, notable 27 varieties added to this year’s varieties,” adds Paul. respectively. lists, filling the spots of 21 predecessors It doesn’t, however, benefit from TuYV In terms of visual representation on the who have been removed. With 13 new resistance, although according to Paul a RL, specialist clubroot varieties have been entrants, it’s fair to say that OSR has quarter of varieties on the RL now do. separated and come with a warning to experienced the biggest shake up. So With a score of 8 for both light leaf spot farmers considering growing them. “The what’s new and what’s been dropped? (LLS) and phoma –– as well as TuVY –– clubroot pathogen exists as different strains Aurelia is worth noting for those growers and the relative proportion of these strains Oilseed rape will vary from location to location,” explains OSR has been in the headlines lately and all Paul. “Clubroot resistant varieties are for the wrong reasons. However, the crop resistant to common clubroot strains and are looks to attract a little more positivity with a recommended for growing on infected land. baker’s dozen new varieties making their “Some strains of clubroot may overcome way onto this year’s Recommended List, the resistance in these varieties and growing broadening the options for growers. them repeatedly could select for these more Despite a tough time for the crop virulent strains, potentially causing the at present, the new options for all regions resistance genes to become ineffective.” present growers with a step forward For the first time in a while, a semi-dwarf in yields, combined with improved has been added. PX131 –– from Corteva –– SY Tungsten looks set to offer a double whammy, disease resistance, comments AHDB’s is a ‘described’ semi-dwarf variety with good says Tracy Creasy, with the potential for both Dr Paul Gosling. stem canker and light leaf spot resistance. brewing and malt distilling. Of the 13 new entrants, eight slot into the How this will fare in the market, is yet to be

8 crop production magazine december 2019 Recommended Lists confirmed, adds Paul. There’s a little more diversity for spring Also recommended for this region is the barley growers, which after this season could herbicide-tolerant (Clearfield) variety Nizza be a more popular option, notes Paul. CL. The variety from RAGT boasts stiff straw Olympus, KWS Irina, LG Tomahawk, and good phoma stem canker resistance, Scholar, Ovation, Chanson and Hacker have however does fall short on the LLS slipped off this year’s RL in favour of potential resistance front with a rating of 4. malting types: SY Splendor (Syngenta); Finally in the OSR category is described Firefoxx (Elsoms Ackermann Barley); SY variety, Resort –– a high erucic acid rape Tugnsten (Syngenta); Iconic (Agrii) and new variety which has replaced Ergo. Compared feed varieties –– Fairway and Prospect to Ergo, Resort offers increased yield and –– both from Senova. RGT Saki delivers an impressive 104% of control better disease ratings, notes Paul. SY Splendor heads up the newcomers in fungicide-treated trials and 86% in untreated At the other end of the spectrum, the with the potential for brewing and boasts trials. varieties Campus, Aquila, Flamingo, an impressive UK yield of 107%. It does, Wembley, Alizze, Mentor and Ergo leave however, falter slightly with an increased their buck, so to speak. the list for 2020/21. susceptibility to brown rust (4), adds Paul. According to Syngenta’s Tracy Creasy, the From the same stable, SY Tungsten variety raises the bar for an important quality Barley looks set to offer a double whammy, with trait that end users look for as a measure of Things look to be less dynamic on the winter the potential for both brewing and malt alcohol yield. “It has the highest hot water barley front with no new malting varieties distilling, giving growers more bang for extract figure on the spring barley RL, at L recommended but two new feed varieties, recommended for the UK. Newcomers KWS Hawking, from KWS, and Jordan from Elsoms Ackerman Barley have replaced KWS Infinity and Sunningdale and boast UK yields of 104% and 103%, respectively –– pipping their nearest competitors, KWS Gimlet and Surge to the post. Rust resurgence

When checking out the 2020/21 RL, it’s obvious that there are some fairly poor scores for yellow and brown rust, but what has caused this? “Reports of unexpected levels of rust on some varieties in 2019 led to questions about new rust races emerging and the veracity of the RL rust ratings,” explains Paul. “As a result, yellow rust and brown rust RL data were subject to additional checks which showed that varietal resistance was generally in line with recent years.” Despite this, some varieties have had their rust ratings reduced by one point, with KWS Firefly’s brown rust rating losing two points. While the scores give an indicator of the potential of a variety, being vigilant in the coming season is essential, adds Paul. “It’s important to emphasise that the RL disease ratings reflect an average UK situation. RL trials cover a wide range of agronomic and climatic conditions, but yellow and brown rust populations are highly diverse and dynamic, with potentially different races being present across fields and, in some cases, even from plant to plant.” This has been reflected in this year’s RL design, with rust scores highlighted and advisory notice to the same effect as the above warning in place for growers.

Recommended Lists

L 316.8. This is in addition to a low grain New winter OSRs at a glance nitrogen content of 1.43% and a very good 67.7kg/hl specific weight.” Variety Scope and type Breeder/contact Points to note Acacia Conventional Limagrain Very high treated GO for both East/West and North. Oats High treated GO in East/West and North. Resistance to Ambassador Hybrid Limagrain With just Griffin removed and no new entries, lodging and LLS. it’s quiet on the winter oat front. But there is High resistance to LLS and TuYV. Recommended for Aurelia Hybrid Limagrain one new spring variety making its way onto UK but high treated GO in East/West and North. the list. Relatively tall but high resistance to lodging. Artemis Hybrid Limagrain WSPB Isabel is a husked variety bred by Early-maturing and boasts TuYV resistance. KWS which boasts very good quality as well High treated GO for East/West and North. High resistance Aardvark Conventional Limagrain a 2% yield advantage over Canyon and to lodging, good stem stiffness and good on LLS. Aspen, at 104% (UK treated). “It also has Recommended for East/West regions. Good resistance to Dazzler Hybrid DSV low screenings of just 2.3% which when stem canker and is resistant to TuYV. added to its other attributes make for a Darling Hybrid DSV Recommended for East/West, early-flowering and very stiff-stemmed at maturity. variety with strong appeal to both growers and end users,” says KWS’ Will Compson. Blazen Conventional KWS Recommended for the North. High resistance to stem canker. Wheat Crocodile Hybrid DSV Clubroot resistance variety for East/West. High treated GO but susceptible to stem canker. Four new winter varieties have been added this year, with Group 4 hard wheat growers Croozer Hybrid LSPB Clubroot resistance variety for East/West. High resistance to stem canker and relatively early-maturing. set to benefit the most. Specific recommendation for East/West for its tolerance to New for the soft Group 4 market is RGT Nizza CL Hybrid RAGT specific herbicides (Clearfield). Susceptible to LLS. Saki, while the Group 4 hard sector sees the Resort Hybrid LSPB Described HEAR variety. Higher UK GO than Ergo. addition of SY Insitor from Syngenta, KWS PX131 Hybrid Corteva Described semi-dwarf variety. Kinetic from KWS and Theodore from DSV. All but Theodore have been recommended New winter wheats at a glance for the UK, while the DSV variety is suited mainly to the West. Variety Scope and type Breeder/contact Points to note These newcomers replace KWS Trinity, Myriad, Evolution and Senova’s much-loved Very high-yielding but low specific weight and rated RGT Saki Soft Group 4 RAGT 'poor' for distilling. JB Diego which has finally fallen off the RL after first being recommended in 2008 and SY Insitor Hard Group 4 Syngenta High specific weight, medium tall, OWBM resistance but susceptible to brown rust. dominating much of the market share during KWS Kinetic Hard Group 4 KWS High specific weight and good yields. Resistant to OWBM. its reign. Low specific weight but highest rating for septoria RGT Saki comes in at 104% for UK treated Theodore Hard Group 4 DSV resistance on the RL. yield –– pipping its nearest competitor LG Spotlight to the post. “Untreated yield is the New barleys at a glance Digital revolution Variety Scope and type Breeder/contact Points to note High-yielding two-row feed. Performed particularly well in KWS Hawking Two-row feed KWS As well as announcing the latest recommended East region and on heavier soils. varieties, AHDB also released the news of its Jordan Two-row feed Elsoms High-yielding two-row feed. Highest yields in untreated UK new app which is set to replace the trials for two-row feed varieties on the RL. Pocketbooks and should be available from SY Splendor Spring malting Syngenta High-yielding with potential for brewing. next year, designed to make the RL more High-yielding, potential for malting. Low specific weight. Firefoxx Spring malting Elsoms accessible. Brown rust also an issue. While the fully-functioning version isn’t Potential for brewing and malting. High resitance to SY Tungsten Spring malting Syngenta expected to be available until May next year, mildew but susceptible to brown rust. the new RL app will be available to all levy High resistance to mildew, potential for brewing and high Iconic Spring malting Agrii payers and will be available on Apple and treated yields in North and West. Android. Susceptible to brown rust, but high resistance to mildew. Fairway Spring feed Senova Early maturing and high yields in East and North. A particularly neat feature of the app is that users will be able to benefit from updated Also susceptible to brown rust, but high yields particularly Prospect Spring feed Senova in the East in untreated trials. information about candidate varieties throughout the season as they achieve New oats at a glance National Listing. The levy board is also expanding its Variety Scope and type Breeder/contact Points to note web-based services with a new variety High-yielding variety with impressive kernel selection tool which is available immediately WPB Isabel Spring husked KWS content and a high specific weight. (see more on p12).

10 crop production magazine december 2019 best indication we have of how OWBM resistance, as well as a durable a variety is, but to be a tendency to give low specific commercial success the variety weights, says Paul. “However, also needs a very high treated newcomers SY Insitor and KWS yield,” says RAGT cereal and Kinetic do tick the OWBM box OSR product manager, Tom and also boast fairly high treated Dummett. “This combination has yields across the UK.” proved elusive until now. RGT There’s only one change in the Saki delivers an impressive 104% spring wheat category, with KWS of control in fungicide-treated Willow replaced by the firm’s new trials and 86% of treated controls KWS Giraffe –– a soft Group 2, in untreated trials.” boasting good Hagbergs, grain Moving on to Group 4 hard proteins and specific weights. wheats, new entrant Theodore “Despite its name, the variety appears to be quite an exciting is actually fairly short in height at addition, with the highest 80cm –– compared to 84cm from untreated yield on the Group 4 its nearest competitor, KWS RL –– apart from KWS Extase. Cochise,” explains Paul. “Over As well as this, it also boasts a three years testing, KWS Giraffe robust disease package and is presented similar analytical likely to attract the attention of qualities to Mulika, with good septoria-ridden growers in the gluten quality. However, there West, with an impressive score was some variability in baking of 8.2 –– the highest on the RL performance, hence its listing as this year. a Group 2, but nabim supported The slight flaw is the lack of its inclusion on the list.” I Pulses steady, despite bumper crop

There’s not a lot of excitement on homes for this already, he says. the new PGRO Recommended Lists “We’re seeing strong demand for beans, according to PGRO’s from Sudan for beans for human Stephen Belcher. But a new white consumption, but note this is a pea with an “exceptional” yield has market that closes in Feb. Also, joined the line-up of combining peas bruchid damage means over 85% for 2020. of the UK crop is only suitable Kameleon from Senova has a for feed.” yield score of 114%, outyielding the With the scale back on this next best (large blue Kactus) by a autumn’s UK oilseed area and poor full 7%. “It’s been a long time since winter cereal plantings, the latest a new introduction has outyielded AHDB Early Bird survey estimates significantly, and that difference is the 2020 pulse area will rise huge,” notes Stephen. by 24%, and it’s a rise Lewis White peas don’t represent a welcomes. “The UK is really the only major market for the UK, with country currently in the EU with an 85-90% of the 40,000ha sown to exportable surplus, with demand blue and marrowfat types. steadily rising each year,” he notes. “Worldwide, white (AKA yellow) peas “Seed availability in 2020 will be represent the bigger cropped area a limiting factor, and growers must –– it’s a market unlikely to come to aim for a quality sample. But the UK but is this one we should be despite a large 2019 crop and the looking at?” he asks. prospect of the same next year, Prospects for the 2019 pulse I don’t see that the market will crop look good, reports Pulses UK turn mega-bearish.” president Lewis Cottey. He puts the The winter 2019 issue of the overall size of the bean crop at Pulse magazine, included with this around 600,000t, following a good issue of CPM, has Lewis’ full report harvest. That’s considerably higher on the market. There’s also a than last year, resulting in a large four-page pull-out of the full PGRO exportable surplus, but the trade RL, and Stephen’s analysis. has had some success in finding Using agronomic“ merit as the basis for the digital tool gives a very different view of the RL. ”

New perspective on RL

When it comes to variety choice and working with industry focus groups to management the AHDB Recommended make sure the new variety selection tool List (RL) is the go-to source of information. is intuitive to use and easily provides Even though the RL already contains a information that has previously taken a huge amount of data, some of it can considerable amount of effort to prise from prove difficult to extract and even more the RL in its static, two-dimensional format. complicated to analyse, according to the Underpinning the digital tool is the results of AHDB’s Look Ahead activity concept of agronomic merit, a metric that which is designed to make sure the RL is fit for purpose. As part of the project, a comprehensive survey found that the way people were using the RL was changing, explains AHDB’s Dr Paul Gosling, who manages A new variety selection the RL programme. tool has just been released Definite shift by AHDB and provides a “There was a definite shift in attitude from when the survey was last conducted, five dynamic way of looking at years ago. Growers and agronomists are the Recommended List. CPM now attaching more importance to disease resistance ratings than they are finds out how it can rapidly to the headline yield figures,” he explains. sift through the varieties on So the decision was made to bring the RL to life and develop an interactive offer to help pinpoint the variety selection tool that enables growers ones most suitable for to easily interrogate the RL’s mine of information to find the varieties most suited the farm. to their situation. Charged with making the RL into a Bastiaan Brak has developed the variety selection By Lucy de la Pasture dynamic digital tool is AHDB research tool which allows users to interact with the data analyst, Dr Bastiaan Brak. He’s been Recommended List.

12 crop production magazine december 2019 Theory to Field

of the RL,” says Bastiaan. How is agronomic merit calculated? The main interface for the tool appears as a simple graph, with agronomic merit plotted Component Importance* Weighting* Resistance Score against a number of options for five-year rating** (rating x weighting) yield data –– UK treated, regional treated Septoria tritici Very high 10 5.9 59.0 (East, West, North), UK untreated or UK Yellow rust High 7 5.4 37.8 treatment benefit –– with the additional Brown rust Low 1 8.4 8.4 choice of using just the previous year’s data Mildew High 7 4.9 34.3 for both UK untreated and UK treatment benefit information. Fusarium ear blight Low 1 6.7 6.7 Eyespot High 7 5.8 40.6 Agronomic merit Lodging (+PGR) Very high 10 8.0 80.0 “Once the yield-type has been selected, the Lodging (-PGR) Medium 4 7.6 30.4 position of each variety on the graph is 297 determined by its agronomic merit in relation *Default importance weightings for the North region displayed. to yield. An error bar is displayed so that it’s **RL resistance ratings use a simple scale: from 1 (least resistant) to 9 (most resistant). very easy to see where yield is significantly Ratings for Skyfall displayed. different by how far apart varieties are Source: AHDB, 2019 vertically on the graph. Those with the best score for agronomic merit are found furthest to the right on the graph,” he explains. aims to capture the genetic potential of agronomic merit for the trait. A disease of The default settings for each disease varieties for their resistance to different lower importance has a lower weighting and and lodging factor can be over-ridden by diseases and lodging, explains Bastiaan. the overall agronomic merit of a variety is the user and given more or less importance, Agronomic merit was first introduced its combined score for all the agronomic he continues. in 2015 as a concept to assist the RL traits,” he explains. “The tool allows you to isolate any of the committee identify varieties with good Agronomic merit allows growers to look factors that make up agronomic merit. That agronomic traits that may have otherwise at the relative importance of individual means it’s easy to look at how varieties relate slipped through the selection net. The diseases and lodging in their situation, either to each other by –– for example, just their principle works by giving factors such in isolation or in combination. The new tool resistance to septoria alone. Or if a disease as resistance to disease and standing makes light work of drawing out differences such as fusarium ear blight is a known ability an importance and ‘weighting’ them in varieties that could easily be overlooked problem on the farm, then the user can accordingly to provide an overall agronomic when the RL is looked at on the page. increase its importance by clicking the score for a variety. “The RL booklet compartmentalises the relevant button. This then is reflected in the “For example, Septoria tritici is of very resistance ratings for each disease and agronomic merit calculation and alters the high importance so it’s given a weighting of does the same with the lodging data, but position of the variety on the graph,” 10. Thisfigure is used to multiply a by using agronomic merit as the basis for explains Bastiaan. variety’s resistance rating to work out its the digital tool it gives a very different view Further filters can be used to remove unwanted varieties, narrowing the number Interface of the new variety selection tool shown to those relevant to the markets the crop is being grown for or above a certain disease or lodging rating selected. The output of the graph can be refined even further so that factors such as time of drilling, soil type, grain quality, sprouting resistance and orange wheat blossom midge resistance can all be taken into account. Perhaps one of the most revealing yield criteria that can be selected is ‘treatment benefit’, which reveals the differences between varieties’ response to fungicides. “This looks at both the treated and untreated data for a variety and gives a rough proxy of the economics of growing it,” comments Bastiaan. “Myriad is furthest to the left on the x-axis of the graph which indicates it has the lowest agronomic merit and is highest up the y-axis, showing it’s the most responsive Agronomic merit of varieties based on their untreated yield. to fungicide treatments. In contrast, KWS Source: AHDB Variety Selection tool, 2019 Extase is the least responsive to fungicides L

crop production magazine december 2019 13 Theory to Field

consistency data for a variety is visible in a The importance of agronomic factors can be adjusted pop-up box when you hover over it on the screen,” he adds. Developing the new digital tool hasn’t been without its challenges, says Bastiaan. One of those has been to get all the necessary information on the tool’s dashboard without it appearing confusing. He believes the extensive consultation process at every development stage of the tool has played a key part in developing something that growers and agronomists will find easy to use. “As a developer, I understand the concept so it’s very easy to become blind –– everything seems very obvious. We’ve learned it’s important not to develop the tool in isolation so, to keep on the right track, we’ve used a fresh focus group at each stage of the consultation process to make sure the tool is intuitive enough,” he explains. Source: AHDB Variety Selection tool, 2019 Paul believes the new digital tool will enable growers and agronomists to use the L but has a very similar agronomic merit to untreated yields. This would only provide data already contained within the RL much Revelation,” he highlights. single year data but could be used to more quickly and easily. It was launched Treatment benefit isn’t available on a highlight the regional differences in treatment alongside the new RL earlier this month, regional level because there aren’t enough benefit between varieties,” he comments. supported by a user guide. untreated variety trials to estimate a regional Consistency in performance is something Initially the variety selection tool will cover average but Bastiaan believes there will be a many growers will rate highly when selecting winter wheat and spring barley, but the future opportunity to incorporate a harvest varieties and this information is easily intention is to add oilseed rape and results tool within the variety selection tool. available within the tool, across different winter barley over the winter, says Paul. “The harvest results tool would provide seasons and regions. “The RL is continuing to evolve and in data from 6-8 locations with treated and “The RL resistance ratings and yield spring 2020, a new app will be available Agile tool helps clarify variety choice

Will Hamilton sits as chair of the RL wheat you can dismiss any with a septoria resistance committee but also farms 970ha on the rating below 5.7, for example. It also lets me Berwickshire coast in south-east Scotland. As reduce the importance of brown rust, which isn’t such, he is a grower with an insider’s view when a problem for us, and increase the importance of it comes to making variety choices. mildew which helps me assess their agronomic Even so, Will really rates the new variety merit on my farm.” selection tool Bastiaan has developed because it Four years ago, he rated markets as his makes it easy to filter out unnecessary information number one variety selection criteria, with yield a which then clarifies variety choices. close second and agronomic traits in third place. “The RL is often criticised for containing too His emphasis has now completely changed, with many varieties but by using the filters you can agronomic traits coming first on the list when he Will Hamilton believes the new variety selection narrow down the choices to just a few varieties. appraises varieties and he pays closer attention to tool will help him screen new varieties suitable to For instance, here in Scotland there’s no market their untreated yields. find the most suitable ones for his farm. for Group 1 milling wheats but there is a market “Most growers attitudes to winter wheat have for wheat for distilling so I can use the tool changed a lot in recent years and the economics chlorothalonil has significantly altered my variety to screen out all the unsuitable varieties,” of growing the crop has risen in importance. priorities, with resistance to Septoria tritici now of he explains. Wheat breeders have made huge advances in number one importance, even with two new While Will is already very familiar with the recent years and varieties which are even better fungicides on the way,” he comments. varieties he currently grows, he believes the tool agronomically are on the way, which is very Will has watched the variety selection tool will enable him to look at new varieties as they encouraging,” he says. evolve since Bastiaan produced the first prototype come through and compare them with existing “But there are a lot of challenges coming up, and he describes the end result as ‘flexible and varieties. with the loss of active ingredients and increasing easy to work.’ He believes that once growers “The tool makes it very easy to filter out pathogen resistance, but there’s also uncertainty have spent 10-15 mins familiarising themselves varieties using their disease resistance ratings, so about how the politics will evolve. The loss of with the tool then they’ll probably find they agree.

14 crop production magazine december 2019 ) % ( Variety data and consistency e c

Scope n Yield consistency across Regions (% of UK Yield)

Crusoe a Cordiale x Gulliver UK and Years (% control varieties) m

Limagrainr 110

RL ratings (years of data) o f

Septoria (3) 6.5 r

Yellow rust (3) 8.9 e 105 p

Brown rust (3) 2.9

Mildew (3) 6.2 d l Fusarium (3) 6.0 y Eyespot (3) 4.5 100 e Lodging (+PGR) West (5) 7.9 v 2017 i

Lodging (-PGR) ( 5) 7.3 t 2018 2014 a

l East 95 2016

Number of Yld trials (5y, U, UK) 64 e

R 2015 North For more info, check the RL variety comments available here: 90 https://ahdb.org.uk/rl RL regions Years

Source: AHDB Variety Selection tool, 2019 which has been designed to vigour, he says. replace the pocketbook. The “The aim is to look at what app will provide live updates to vigour is and how it can be any key changes to disease measured. There appears to ratings and will be welcomed be a high correlation between by agronomists who are vigour and seed quality/seedbed increasingly going paperless,” preparations. So we need to adds Paul. address whether these factors “In the longer term, the RL are more important to a variety’s will stop assessing winter wheat inherent vigour.” varieties for resistance to AHDB also intends to respond Septoria nodorum and winter to calls to speed up the flow of barley for yellow rust as both information, adds Paul. “The new have become of relatively low RL is available online in Dec and importance in those crops.” the objective will be to produce OSR varieties will be subject the RL booklet a month earlier to additional tests for verticillium than previously.” wilt and pod shatter and for the The variety selection tool can first time the RL will consider be found at ahdb.org.uk/vst I

Treatment benefit shows variety differences

Scope of recommendation UK E&W N 4.0

Myriad

3.5 Leeds KWS Lili KWS Barrel JB Diego 3.0 KWS Jackal Zulu RGT Gravity KWS Basset LG Detroit

K LG Spotlight U

2.5 LG Skyscraper Elation ,

y Crusoe 5

- Shabras KWS Trinity

) Evolution a h /

t 2.0 Gleam Elicit

( Skyfall

t Costello

i Revelation f LG Motown KWS Siskin Graham e KWS Firefly n e

b Dunston

1.5 KWS Zyatt t n e m t a e

r 1.0 T

KWS Extase 0.5

0.0

-0.5 260 270 280 290 300 310 320 330 340 350 Agronomic Merit

Source: AHDB Variety Selection tool, 2019 We reckon “only 25% of the wheat area has been planted.”

Technical Spring cropping Patience will pay

The monsoon this autumn the ground but moving inland the situation in Scotland when the weather goes against isn’t as good –– parts of Cambs/Lincs for them and this is another option for growers has dictated an unplanned example have an awful lot left to do. because the crop will do well enough, but swing towards spring Nationally we reckon only 25% of the there might be a slight loss in grain quality wheat area has been planted (end of Nov),” and of course they’ll mature later.” cropping as ground he says. Colin says that many growers are now conditions prevent drilling. Looking at the data from Agrii putting the frustration of the autumn behind meteorological stations across the country, them and looking at a plan B, which CPM looks at some of the it’s easy to see why drills are laying idle. generally means more spring crops. options growers may have At the Agrii trials site at Stow Longa in “The most popular option is likely to be Cambs, there’s been 130mm of rain since spring barley but for those that don’t have for their unplanted land. the last week of Sept –– that’s been enough seed ordered already, it’s going to be a case By Lucy de la Pasture to make drilling difficult, says Colin. of what’s available rather than which variety. Rainfall adds up “Further north in Lincs there’s been 300mm It’s been an autumnus horribilis for many, and in Yorks, 400mm of rain. Moving west to with a stubbornly positioned jet stream Glos, the rainfall adds up to 330mm. These funnelling in low pressure systems one are hugely significant levels over a couple after the other. It’s barely stopped raining of months,” he says. since the end of Sept and the continuous “While there’s a prospect of still getting wet weather has hit wheat drilling hard. some winter wheat in before the end of Jan According to AHDB’s Early Bird Survey, on some fields, the time for winter barley has as a result of the weather UK growers now already passed because yields would take a intend to plant 1.65 million hectares of wheat big dip if planted now,” says Colin. “KWS compared to 1.82M last year. The reality of Firefly, KWS Zyatt, Dunston and LG Spotlight ground conditions in the areas of the country can be drilled up until mid-Feb, with Skyfall most delayed means it may yet prove to be to the end of Feb. an optimistic estimate unless things improve “Winter beans can also go in late. In Agrii dramatically in coming weeks, says Agrii’s trials we’ve found winter beans planted at head of agronomy, Colin Lloyd. the end of Feb yielded as well as the best “In a recent straw poll of agronomists from of the spring beans. Is it the usual thing to Colin Lloyd says that many growers are now around the UK, the amount of cereals drilled do? No, but then it isn’t a normal season,” putting the frustration of the autumn behind them is hugely variable. Scotland managed to get he says. and formulating a plan B. winter crops in, parts of Essex have 70% in “Winter oats are often drilled in the spring

16 crop production magazine december 2019 Spring cropping

Spring beans have already sold out. Spring oilseed rape would be my least preferred The rooting profile of different cover crop species option because of pest problems with both cabbage stem flea beetle and pollen beetle to consider,” he says. “Linseed is another option to consider, but you have to consider that diquat has gone so it will need to be a kind Sept for harvesting” Where growers have spring barley in the grain store, home-saving some seed may be a good idea, he adds. “Needs must if there’s not enough certified seed to go around, but it’s important to send some into the seed lab and get it tested. Applying a single purpose seed dressing is also essential, with the addition of manganese to aid establishment worth considering, so consider a mobile seed cleaner. “Planting home-saved seed without Cover crop mixes should include at least three different species to utilise their different root structures. testing or treating just adds another layer Source: Farmacy, 2019. of risk to growing the crop,” he says. Farmacy agronomist Alice Cannon says be a significant knock-on effect –– with virtue well worth having when the ground her growers in North Lincs currently have any crops still to go in likely to be later to eventually begins to dry out. Getting around 10% of winter wheat in the ground harvest, beginning a late cycle which will itchy feet and muddling crops in is the and on some farms winter beans have affect the following crop. Consequently she worst thing that could happen, with already been planted in place of winter believes it’s a good idea for growers to consequences that will be seen in the barley. have an eye on autumn 2020 when making next year’s crop and possibly further into Alice points out that with so many decisions for this spring. the rotation. autumn crops not in the ground, there will Both agronomists say patience will be a Alice says soils are fragile after all the L Spring cropping

is trapped in the soil profile, even in a still offer financial benefits, as well as min-till situation. environmental ones –– encouraging Cover crops could play an important predators and making it easier to farm role where soils need a helping hand to in a sustainable way. A longer-term restructure. Where potatoes, onions or cover crop is another option, such as sugar beet crops have been harvested in oats/clover/linseed mix or radish and difficult conditions, there’s likely to be a phacelia may be helpful here too. range of soil damage and for the very “It would enable early entry in autumn worst of these it may be prudent to 2020, having done its job pumping water consider taking the land out of production out of the soil and making it more friable. and focusing on repairing it for next It can also be a good way of managing soil autumn, believes Colin. moisture before planting OSR or winter barley,” she says. Reasonable condition Alice highlights that if a cover crop is “You need to get the soil back into going to be in the ground throughout the Alice Cannon suggests keeping autumn 2020 in reasonable condition to grow a decent summer then it’s best not to allow it to go to mind when making decisions for the spring to crop. In most cases if you know where the seed, either topping or grazing to prevent limit the knock-on effects to following crops. soil is at then it’s possible to rectify it but, in unwanted seed return. She warns against some cases, it may be best to look towards using a mix with phacelia because

L rain, with some slumping and silt a successful autumn drilling in 2020. It may volunteers can be problematic if the washing through the profile. “It’s going to just be a tiny percentage of the farm, field parent is allowed to go to seed. be important not to force things which will specific or may be more widespread.” “If you’re grazing with sheep then mob just compound any problems with the soil. Alice is in agreement with Colin about graze, where sheep are stocked at high The best time to assess soils is when they the longer-term effects of damaging soil density for a short period of time to take start to dry out, usually in Feb, and go structure. “The effects can often be seen in the cover crop down to about 2.5cm and and inspect with a spade to figure out the following crops for a couple of years but on then the stock are moved to allow best plan of action. Some soils will have heavy land which has been badly mauled, regrowth. This method gives a more even compaction at depth, which may need it may take 5-8 years before it recovers graze and distribution of manure/nutrients.” metal to lift it but at the correct depth.” with major yield penalties for the following In situations where fields haven’t been Colin agrees a spade will be an crops. planted or have failed, Alice suggests essential tool and will show where water “Some of the environmental mixes will leaving any volunteers that are currently

18 crop production magazine december 2019 Mob grazing cover crops that will remain in the ground over the summer will stop plants going to seed.. providing ground cover. on 20 Feb, which was a very “Prioritise any brown fields to kind month, performed less well get a crop in and don’t worry than crop planted a month later. about spraying off volunteers “The yield penalty for drilling now until before drilling. Most early on heavier land was drills can cope with a little 1.5t/ha where ground was bit of biomass and the ploughed and over 2.0t/ha volunteers are now acting as a after a cover crop or a deep water pump, so will help with cultivation system was adopted. an earlier entry in the spring. The key is to drill in a drying “The same applies where seedbed with increasing soil an OSR crop has failed and temperatures to get the crop leaving what’s left of the crop in and out of the ground as means the soil will be in a better quickly as possible. condition when replanted,” “Even more patience is going she says. to be needed when it begins to Colin suggests growers dry up in 2020. The success of prioritise the order of planting spring barley to compete with where different spring cereals blackgrass is purely down to are planned. “Spring wheat percentage establishment, so should be the first to drill and you could be defeating the very then either spring barley or reason you’re growing it by spring oats, which is the most going to early. aggressive and will ‘go for “But what we have seen glory’, so it won’t matter if over the last six years of they’re last to be drilled. If extensive study, is that if you spring wheat is planted late get this right there are some then the incidence of gout fly very useful gross margins damage and ergot will earned, so certainly all is increase,” he explains. not lost and plenty to gain,” In Agrii trials at Stow Longa he concludes. I last year, spring barley planted

With spring barley seed in short supply, home-saving seed is an option but be sure to check germination and dress before planting.

We’ve started “to look at all things Real around the crop, rather than just the crop Results itself. ” Pioneers

Challenge set for new chemistry

With the first new azole in “We’ve seen both prothioconazole and “The interesting aspect about the trial is around 15 years launched epoxiconazole break down over the years. there was no CTL included –– purposefully, SDHIs offer considerably less efficacy than to see how the new chemistry performed in this month, CPM visited one they did when they were first introduced, the absence of multisites,” he explains. “The of the farmers who’s been and now we’re losing chlorothalonil (CTL), variety was Grafton, which is dirty and old that’s been protecting the chemistry we and the ultimate test, really. Going forward, comparing it with his have,” he says. “That puts a lot of pressure I think variety choice has to be the first line standard farm approach on the new chemistry coming through, and of defence against disease. But there’s not if we rely too heavily on that, it won’t be a lot of choice in the early slot for northern to build a picture on how effective for long.” growers, with many of the newer varieties it’s best used. suffering from weak straw.” High disease pressure In another change from the usual Real By Tom Allen-Stevens Towards the end of a fairly quiet year Results approach, this year Julian pitched disease-wise this summer, Julian noticed three approaches against each other. “My unusually high levels of late disease coming farm standard is based on Ceriax as I’m a It feels good to stand in Julian Thirsk’s in, causing wheat crops to senesce early. strong believer that strobilurins still make a wheat crop, not just because it looks to “Septoria is matching yellow rust in its contribution to yield and extend green leaf be flourishing in the mid-November sun. complexity, and I believe we’re seeing area,” he says. The fact he has a wheat crop at all is strains creep in we haven’t had to deal This is based on a long history of on-farm an achievement in itself in one of the with before.” toughest autumns growers have faced It’s to get a head start on how this pans in recent years. out that Julian’s been taking part in BASF’s Julian’s concerns are not for the Real Results trials. For the past three years, establishment challenges he’s tackled, he and 49 other growers have been pitching though, but for the disease quagmire he’s their farm standard fungicide programme yet to face. As well as running the family against BASF’s Xemium approach, based farm –– Flaxley Lodge near Selby, N Yorks on Adexar and Librax. This year, however, –– Julian is an agronomist for NIAB TAG, there’s been a change –– the Ad/Lib looking after around 7500ha in S Yorks to approach has been replaced with Revystar, Northumberland. He gets first-hand access BASF’s new fungicide that will be available in This year’s wheat crop may be thriving, but the to small-plot trials information, and for many the New Year and which combines Xemium concern is for the disease quagmire it’s yet to face. years has carried out his own on-farm trials. and Revysol (see panel on p21).

20 crop production magazine december 2019 Real Results Pioneers

Flaxley Lodge 2019 Real Results trials

Comparison standard BASF Farm approach T1 (24-Apr) Ascra (1 l/ha) Revystar (1 l/ha) Ceriax (0.9 l/ha) + EPX (0.45 l/ha) + CTL (1 l/ha) T2 (21-May) Ascra (1.2 l/ha) Revystar (1.2/ha) Ceriax (0.9 l/ha) + Adexar . (0.4 l/ha) + CTL (1 l/ha) Variety – Grafton; all of the trial field received a T0 spray of epoxiconazole and a T3 of Amistar, tebuconazole and PTZ. Ascra contains bixafen+ fluopyram+ prothioconazole (PTZ); Revystar – fluxapyroxad+ mefentrifluconazole; Ceriax – fluxapyroxad+ epoxiconazole (EPX)+ pyraclostrobin; CTL – chlorothalonil; Adexar – fluxapyroxad+ Julian Thirsk uses strobilurins to help extend green epoxiconazole; Librax – fluxapyroxad+ metconazole; Elatus Era – benzovindiflupyr+ prothioconazole; leaf area and is concerned that he’s now dealing Amistar – azoxystrobin. with strains of septoria he hasn’t come across before. “We’ve always done tramline trials to test a new crop or product development,” he resistance, but brown rust can come in at says. “I’m lucky in that David Tuer, our farm the end.” foreman, takes an interest in them, which This is where he sees strobs still playing a is essential as it’s quite a commitment to role in particular. “They give us something on ensure they’re done correctly. both the wheat and barley and it’s not just disease protection –– we consistently see a Hybrid barleys yield benefit, and I wonder whether that’s “We started them when hybrid barleys came down to better end of season N utilisation. in. We were growing Colossus, but back But this is the value of testing different As well as the Real Results trials, there are then, all the fungicide recommendations chemistry through on-farm trials –– at the oilseed rape trials, looking at the spring vigour were based on two-row conventional end of the day, it’s all about understanding of InVigor varieties and the value of different barleys. Hybrid six-rows are a completely the chemistry to achieve the best value from dressings. different crop, and we soon discovered they it in terms of yields and output.” respond differently to fungicides.” This has also been his approach with trials Julian’s carried out at the 320ha farm. This was where Julian learnt the value he Real Results. “When it started it was purely The land is split between heavier silty soils, was getting from strobilurins, which he still about the chemistry. For the first two years, created from natural warping centuries ago uses routinely across both wheat and hybrid it was the Ad/Lib approach that performed by the River Ouse, and lighter land. Potatoes barley crops. “We’ve looked at strob/CTL better than the farm standard, so we’re and sugar beet are included in the rotation mixes at the T2 spray timing on hybrid using Ceriax now as the standard fungicide on the lighter soils, along with oilseed rape barley, and more recently have focused on at both T1 and T2 as this also contains and peas, which also provide the break SDHIs. The conclusion we’ve come to is pyraclostrobin. crops between wheat and barley grown that the crop does benefit from two SDHIs “But the involvement with YEN (Yield across the rest of the farm. –– six-rows tend to have good disease Enhancement Network) now brings in much L What is Revystar?

Revystar is the new cereal fungicide from BASF conformation, allowing it to bind tightly to the that combines the intrinsic and proven activity of same target site, which results in the death of its Xemium SDHI chemistry with Revysol, the first the fungal pathogen. new azole fungicide to come to market in around After application, Revysol is rapidly taken up by 15 years. the leaf, according to tests undertaken by BASF. Revysol is the first isopropanol-azole, a This gives the molecule good and immediate chemistry discovered and developed by BASF curative effect against a number of significant combining good performance with a favourable fungal diseases, says the company. After uptake, regulatory profile and selectivity. The molecule is the active ingredient is translocated up to the leaf Revysol folds to a ‘hook’ conformation, binding claimed to be unique in that it’s the only one tip, ensuring protection for those parts of the plant up to 100 times more powerfully than within the triazole group where the triazole ‘head’ that were not reached during application. conventional triazole fungicides. sits on the ‘neck’ of a flexible isopropanol unit. Revysol builds inner-leaf reservoirs, says This constellation allows the molecule to assume BASF, leading to a long-lasting protection from uptake and translocation through the leaf. The different conformations, resembling a ‘hook’. environmental influences. This complements the fungicide offers long-lasting protection due to Its flexible hook means Revysol binds to the activity of Xemium, which leads to a broad range what BASF terms its “double-depot” function: target enzyme up to 100 times more powerfully of activity in Revystar against key pathogens Revysol is well protected inside the leaf thanks than conventional triazoles, says BASF. What’s in cereals. to the inner-leaf reservoirs, while Xemium more, where target site mutations have Revystar is also characterised by good mobility, forms on-leaf depots, which release the active developed, the molecule folds its hook says BASF, with Xemium showing a similar quick ingredient gradually.

crop production magazine december 2019 21 Real Results Pioneers

The Real Results Circle

BASF’s Real Results Circle farmer-led trials are and conduct on-farm trials. By coming together now in their third year. The initiative is focused to face challenges as one, we can find out on working with 50 farmers to conduct what really works and shape the future of UK field-scale trials on their own farms using their agriculture. own kit and management systems. The trials To keep in touch with the progress are all assessed using ADAS’ Agronomics of these growers and the trials, go to tool which delivers statistical confidence to www.basfrealresults.co.uk tramline, or field-wide treatment comparisons –– a unique part of Real Results. In this series we follow the journey, thinking and results from farmers involved in the programme. The features also look at some Looking beyond the chemistry, at how nutrition can in-depth related topics, such as SDHI help build crop resilience, is how Julian plans to performance and data capture and use. preserve the efficacy of new fungicides. We want farmers to share their knowledge

L more than just chemistry. It relates the results to soil analysis and more recently to at how plant breeding can help, but also Results this year have been held back grain and leaf tissue analysis. So we’ve how we can nurture the crop so it’s under until the launch of Revystar in mid-Dec, started to look at all things around the crop, less stress and builds its own resilience.” and Julian’s reserving judgement on the rather than just the crop itself,” notes Julian. The results of this year’s trials have not yet new chemistry until then. “To the naked He feels this more holistic approach will been returned –– all 50 growers receive a eye, there was little difference in terms be essential when it comes to managing the report that compares their approaches using of disease between the treatments. But introduction of new chemistry. “Revystar ADAS’s Agronomics approach. This uses I’ve learnt with on-farm trials that, provided represents a big step-up in efficacy, and spatial modelling and statistics to allow you do them correctly, you should never with CTL also dropping out of the picture, yield-map data from the combine to be draw conclusions until you have the resistance will build in no time. We must look assessed with scientific rigour. real results.” I Cautious optimism for new chemistry

“The difference on the flag leaves to too much septoria pressure 20% had been drilled by the between the Revystar and the farm because we’ll simply build beginning of Dec, to KWS Siskin standard approach was really quite resistance,” he says. and Extase, which both have good staggering.” “So I see it fitting better at a T1 ratings for Septoria tritici. The comparison treatment, on timing, giving good eradicant and “I’d like to try Revystar on some calcareous silty clay loam, was 0.8 some kick back potentially, once CTL KWS Kerrin we’re hoping to drill, l/ha Elatus Era at T1, followed at the has gone, which will keep the plant mainly in the second wheat slot, as T2 timing with 1.0 l/ha Ascra. healthier and lower the disease it’s a tougher variety to keep clean. Revystar was applied at T2 at pressure going into the T2 timing.” But looking ahead we’ve got to 1.25 l/ha in the BASF plot, following With 350ha of winter wheat focus on varietal resistance to a T1 treatment of 1 l/ha of Adexar. originally planned this year, that’s reduce septoria pressure, and look Alex Borthwick noticed a staggering “With no CTL across the been revised to 240ha. But only after the chemistry,” notes Alex. difference on the flag leaves treatments, you could tell the between the Revystar and the difference compared with the The NDVI maps, taken in late June, really showed up the difference where farm standard approach. surrounding crop that had received no CTL had been applied across the treatments, located towards the it. This really showed up on the bottom of the field. A marked difference in the level of NDVI maps supplied as part of the disease on the flag leaf is what Alex monitoring of the trials. But there Borthwick, agronomist at Hoehill was still less septoria in the Farm near Market Rasen, Lincs, Revystar plot.” noticed across the farm’s Real Alex reckons the biggest threat to Results plots. “In our trial, we only disease control going forward will be used Revystar at the T2 spray the loss of CTL, but is wary of relying timing, but there was some heavy on new chemistry to fill the gap. rain around 10 days later and “Revystar has valuable eradicant disease started to develop, activity at T2, but we have one last especially in the upper canopy,” year with CTL –– once it’s gone, we he recalls. can’t expose the new chemistry

22 crop production magazine december 2019 We want to“ create a proper environment for growing crops and our passion with the distillery is for the raw materials that pass through it. ”

Technical Pulses A virtuous spirit

The Arbikie Highland Estate quality and provenance of the product.” craft distilleries, is produced using bought-in in Scotland is noted for the Nor is this just a marketing gimmick, John grain-neutral spirit. Our aim was for a award-winning spirits counters. “It started as a sensible marketing genuinely single-site, field to bottle operation. strategy, but actually it’s way more important We wanted all the ingredients forall our distilled on site from a than that. Now it influences everything we do spirits planted, sown, grown and harvested staggering array of local on the estate, from how we grow the crops close to the distillery.” to the rotation itself.” The key to making it work has been the produce. CPM visits to skill of master distiller Kirsty Black, who find pulses may soon form Staggering array joined the business in 2013, having This has paved the way to a plan that will completed an MSc programme in brewing the basis of the industry’s see oilseed rape dropped from the and distilling at Heriot-Watt University. “We first-ever carbon-positive all-arable seven-year rotation across the started with just an empty shed and it was estate’s red sandstone soils. Alongside the farm’s potato crop that was the initial product. spring and winter barley, wheat and 140ha driver for the still,” she explains. of potatoes, next year peas are set to be “While the barley crop had always been

By Tom Allen-Stevens reintroduced. These, along with a staggering grown for the premium malting market, as L array of other crops, will also go through the still, provided the first –– and somewhat If you enjoy a good whisky, the lines of ground-breaking –– commercial test batch barrels that stretch away into the gloom goes to plan, and this is due to take place of the store at the Arbikie Highland Estate early in the New Year. Distillery will fill you with anticipation. The story starts around six years ago But you’ll have a long wait, explains when the estate took its first steps on a new John Stirling, director of the diversified path, led by the three brothers who took on business and fourth-generation farmer the family business. “We each had different on the 900ha family-owned estate near backgrounds,” explains John. “Iain had Montrose on the east coast of Scotland. worked in the drinks industry, David was “It’s laid down as an 18-year old single in marketing, while I had trained as an malt that won’t be released until it’s accountant.” correct,” he says, which takes it to 2033 at Their combined skills led them to a the earliest. “It’s a long-term project, so what gap they identified in Scotland’s growing makes the business model is the gin and market for craft distilleries. “70% of spirits What drives it for Kirsty Black is the experimentation, vodka we distil. Underpinning this is that consumed in the UK are made in Scotland, and for her, the raw materials are as important as the everything is grown and bottled on the farm, and there’s a booming export market. But end product. which gives us complete control over the most of the UK’s gin, even from so-called

crop production magazine december 2019 23 Pulses

L much as 10% of the potatoes slight for the average consumer can’t be sold into premium to notice. “A premium straight markets because they’re a funny vodka is never going to sell in shape, bruised or skinned.” high volumes, so what we do This shaped how the distillery is flavour it with juniper and developed –– while the barley, botanicals and put it through the malted off site, is processed still again to produce a gin. It’s a and distilled for the whisky, the question of choosing the right misshapen potatoes form the botanicals to complement the basis of a vodka, distilled congeners.” through two tall copper columns So the distillery has come to Brothers (L to R) Iain, John and David Stirling combined their skills and on one side of the shed. six products it bottles and puts identified a gap in Scotland’s growing market for craft distilleries. “Vodka is traditionally a potato on sale from farm produce that spirit, although the raw material can be traced back to the field. Inventory of inputs and outputs for a single doesn’t have the natural enzyme Three are made from potatoes, present in wheat and barley that a blend of Maris Piper, King batch of gin turns the starch into alcohol –– Edward and Cultra, with Tattie this has to be added. Nor does Bogle, a Scot’s name for a potato Units Wheat Pea it produce as much –– one scarecrow, as the unadulterated Cultivation and harvest tonne of grain gives you about pure spirit. Home-grown chipotle AN kg 44 0 400 litres of alcohol, compared chillies are also soaked in it to Urea kg 18 0 with 100 litres from the same produce Arbikie’s Chilli Vodka, P2O2 kg 17 39 amount of potatoes.” while Kirsty’s Gin brings in kelp, K2O kg 25 20 There are subtle differences carline thistle and blaeberries Lime kg 209 245 between a potato and from the local landscape. Diesel kg 85 52 grain-based vodka, claims Kirsty, The other three are wheat Seed kg 27 123 and this is where the master based, with Group 3 variety Zulu Agrochemical 2 1 distiller’s art comes into its own. now giving way to Viscount as 2 Land m 4182 9811 She uses the shape of the still the variety of choice to produce Output and tweaks the process itself to the pure, Haar Vodka, named Grain kgDM 2703 4558 bring out the flavour in the end after the local coastal fog. Peter Used in grist kgDM 2703 2782 product. “A range of factors Stirling, a cousin who farms next Straw kg 1871 0 affect the congeners, which are door, supplies fruit to flavour Residual N* kg 23 58 biologically active chemicals Arbikie’s Strawberry Vodka. Black Gin produced L 1886 produced during fermentation. pepper, cardamom and locally Potale used as fertiliser What I’m particularly interested produced fresh honey flavours Potale produced L 10,547 in is how you can influence the AK’s gin, named after John’s Transport t·km 53 congeners through the choice father Alexander Kirkwood 3 spreading m 11 of raw material.” Stirling, with £1 per bottle Fertiliser contribution But she acknowledges these donated to a local motor AN kg -27 -59 differences are probably too neurone disease charity. P2O5 kg -20 -25 K2O kg -22 -27 Net land occupation m2 4149 8110

Net global warming potential kg CO2 e 5847 2075 Potale used as animal feed DDGS produced kg 1213 1514 Transport t·km 109 136 Energy kWh 201 250 Pea hulls processed as pelleted feed Pellets produced kg - 1777 Transport t·km - 571 Energy kWh - 407 Avoided animal feed soybean meal kg -628 -2243 barley grain kg -569 -542 Net land occupation m2 189 3395

Net global warming potential kg CO2 e 3772 -4149 Source: T. Lienhardt, et al., 2019. The inputs and outputs of the distillery operations, gin bottling and packaging were included in the study and were the same for peas and Taking into account the potential to displace soymeal and its associated wheat, although they’re not shown here. *Residual N assumes wheat straw is incorporated. Inputs and outputs of de-hulling the peas are only included in the net results where potale environmental costs, gin made from peas comes out carbon-positive in a life was used as animal feed. cycle assessment.

24 crop production magazine december 2019 Pulses

the concept that peas and beans are a suitable raw material for distilling. “In the lab we can’t recreate the purity of spirit we can in the distillery itself. But we’ve carried out blind tastings with the resulting vodka and believe the spirit to be comparable to that produced from potatoes or wheat.”

TRUE project Kirsty’s study is part of the wider TRUE Pietro Iannetta believes there’s great potential The polytunnel at Arbikie where Kirsty grows and Project (TRansition paths to sUstainable to scale up the use of legume starches in tries out different botanicals. legume based systems in Europe), funded production of alcoholic beverages and biofuels, under the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. while also delivering home-grown sustainable Launched just five years ago, the This aims to identify the best routes to protein. field-to-bottle spirits been a great success increase sustainable legume cultivation and by any measure. But Kirsty is particularly consumption across Europe. It consists of however, it changes the figures significantly. pleased with the awards they’ve earned. nine work packages, carried out by R&D Such is the potential to replace South “The first major one that got us noticed in the institutes across Europe and co-ordinated American soymeal, with its high transport UK was a bronze medal at the 2016 World by JHI. and deforestation costs, pea gin and Vodka Awards. There have been quite a few “The real story with distilling pulses lies in associated by-products actually come since, including inaugural winner of both Gin the protein value of the dried distillers grain out carbon positive. Distillery of the Year and Best New Whisky with solubles (DDGS),” says Dr Pietro “Each litre of bottled pea gin avoids

Distillery in Scotland, and it’s the gins that Iannetta of JHI. Potale –– the by-product of 2.2kg CO2 e and makes use of two of have been the most successful –– when the distilling process –– is a liquid of around Scotland’s great industries –– alcohol and bottles start going out on large pallets, rather 8-10% solids, which typically contains aquaculture,” notes Pietro. Currently less than in small boxes you realise things are 25-60% protein. This is currently applied as than 1% of Scotland’s arable area is taking off.” a liquid fertiliser on the Arbikie Estate. cropped with legumes at present, but 15% What drives it for Kirsty is the There’s also the “draff” –– the spent cereal should be the aim for a more sustainable experimentation. “I was always told that grains from the mash –– which, once dried approach, he believes, and adds that there’s strawberries are the hardest to capture in to DDGS, contain around 33% protein, and good demand for the high-protein feed from a spirit, but we may have found the secret. form a valuable animal feed. the DDGS. To us, the raw materials are as important as “Initial tests from small-scale trials carried “This is an opportunity to re-establish the the end product –– there’s so much more to out by Horizon Proteins, based in Heriot-Watt natural nitrogen cycle within a sustainable their properties than hot water extract and University, indicate DDGS from pulses can cropping programme, and there’s great nitrogen content. It’s through exploring these have their protein concentrated to more than potential to scale up the use of legume that you can discover new experiences in 90%. If that valorises, or holds true at a starches in production of alcoholic the spirit.” commercial scale, it could make a significant beverages and biofuels, while also And that’s led her to perhaps her most contribution to replacing the UK’s grain delivering home-grown sustainable protein.” ambitious project –– exploring the distilling legume requirement –– 80% of this is While the future of pea gin hinges on the potential of leguminous crops, and faba currently supplied with imported soymeal.” first commercial test batch, due to pass beans and peas in particular. It’s a PhD Scotland’s farmed salmon industry is a ready through the Arbikie fermentation chambers study she’s carrying out with James Hutton market for the high protein feed, he adds. and distilling columns next month, John has Institute and Abertay University, started in As part of the TRUE project, a life cycle high hopes for what the new crop may bring 2014. “You can make alcohol from anything assessment (LCA) has been carried out on to the estate. Exactly what type of peas will with a starch content. The difference with peas used in distilling compared with wheat, be grown has yet to be decided, but there’s peas and beans is they’re much better using figures supplied by the Arbikie Estate. no OSR in the ground, and he has no environmentally,” she notes. This takes account of all input and output regrets. Small-scale trials in the lab have proved resources and assesses the environmental “OSR was the only non-cereal crop in the burden across 14 impact categories, rotation, apart from potatoes, but it has few including land occupation and global benefits and is heavily dependent on warming potential (see table on p24). The glyphosate, a chemical we’re aiming to LCA of the gin on its own was assessed, move away from,” says John. and then the study was expanded to “Peas fix their own nitrogen and are so account for the potential for the by-product much better for the soil. We want to create a to replace applied fertiliser or soymeal. proper environment for growing crops and Peas score favourably against wheat, our passion with the distillery is for the raw mainly as a result of the crop’s ability to fix its materials that pass through it. We also want own nitrogen –– applied fertiliser has a very to make a real difference in the industry –– if The two tall copper columns distil the pure spirit, high carbon footprint. But this advantage is it’s a success, we hope major companies will while it’s the shape of the still, along with choice largely offset by a higher land requirement support spirits from legumes, put them into of raw materials and distiller’s art that defines attributable to its lower yield. Once the value bars and restaurants worldwide and bring the taste. of the by-product is taken into account, about a step change in global emissions.” I

crop production magazine december 2019 25 Buyers come“ to us because we’re recognised as a trader with a more developed process – we understand their requirements.” Testing times for Technical Better buying, better selling the grain trade?

A grain trade that’s ready for customers and also more exotic destinations doubt it would have an impact on the Brexittrade? needs to be efficient, and exported as much as we could before market, but those relationships won’t 31 Oct. As the UK’s largest farmer-owned disappear overnight,” he says. far-reaching, fully digital and co-operative, we’ve played our part –– Here in the UK, Richard believes there are trustworthy. CPM assesses we have access to all the main ports, the good opportunities to take forward similar infrastructure to manage the logistics, an relationships with domestic food and drink how Openfield, Britain’s only understanding of phytosanitary barriers and customers. “A good illustration comes from national grain-marketing and other overseas requirements, and we’ve built when Hovis closed its Southampton mill in up trust with customers around the world.” Jan 2019, which was supplied by large arable inputs co-operative, commitments from southern co-operative measures up. Cereal exports stores, such as Trinity Grain, as well as by Nor are these just words –– Openfield was individual growers whose grain we market,” By Tom Allen-Stevens responsible for 26% of the cereal exports he notes. traded between July and the end of Oct. “We’ve developed relationships, such as Just last month, 64,000t of feed barley was with Heygates, and adapted logistics to It’s fair to say this year’s large exportable sourced from growers across the South West ensure affected growers can continue to UK cereal surplus –– the first one in wheat and loaded onto the MV Sidari, destined supply the premium milling market and that since 2016 –– combined with the threat of for Saudi Arabia, through Openfield’s end users get grain of the right spec when a no-deal Brexit at the end of October, deep-water facilities at Portbury Grain they want it.” have given the grain trade something of Terminal. Richard recognises the home-grown a challenge. “Trading internationally can be a closed market faces a potential threat from Between July and the end of October, tender procedure, but buyers come to us zero-tariff imports, but insists Openfield is 1.25M tonnes of new crop, or around 42,000 because we’re recognised as a trader with a well placed to address this. “Firstly, we’re lorry loads, were sold for spot movement, more developed process –– we understand according to AHDB –– double the figure for their requirements. The Japanese buyer likes the same period last year. The 2.88M tonne to audit facilities, for example, the North surplus from the 2019 cereal crop kept ports African market doesn’t take grain above working like fury, and it’s estimated more 14% moisture and feed barley sold to China than half of this was shipped across the has to be completely free of sterile brome,” water between harvest and Halloween. notes Richard. So the UK’s managed to shift the load from “Only when you’re constantly engaged its swollen stores in double-quick time at a with those markets, when you’re trading the price point that’s remained above a lion’s share of UK exports with them, can you respectable £120/t for feed wheat –– no be relied on to manage requirements that mean feat into a global demand situation could perhaps be perceived as a little AHDB describes as “comfortable”. more rigorous.” According to Richard Jenner of Openfield, Closer to home, long-standing the past few months have been a good year-on-year agreements with maltsters in illustration of a logistics and fulfilment Germany and Holland, and soft wheat Openfield has played its part in a major logistics operation that’s ready for the rigours of millers in Spain, have led to trading and fulfilment operation to ship Britain’s exportable Brexit. “The UK grain trade has done a agreements built on trust. “If a tariff was surplus before 31 Oct, says Richard Jenner. pretty good job of engaging with EU imposed on exports to the EU, there’s no

26 crop production magazine december 2019 Better buying, better selling

Trust puts smoothness into a locally grown beer

When Suffolk-based brewery Adnams was looking running an intake on Simpsons’ behalf. This is for local growers to supply its site in Southwold, it operated on a vendor-assured basis, with quality was Openfield that Simpsons Malt, who supply the checks carried out by Openfield. “For a relationship brewery, turned to. “Adnams, in line with a number like this to work well, there has to be an element of of other similar-sized UK breweries, are looking trust,” says Mike. “But there are benefits for all from towards benefiting from the provenance of the efficiencies this builds into the supply chain, producing beer from locally grown barley –– mainly with fewer delays on deliveries and shorter in Suffolk and Norfolk,” explains Mike Dagg. turnaround times. “Openfield is our preferred partner, and also “These shouldn’t be underestimated –– there bring in the number of growers who can produce to are currently massive problems with haulage in the the right spec in the local area.” The contract on south of England, and it can be difficult to find offer was for max 1.65%N spring barley, which operators at the standard required for assured grain Adnams are looking to benefit from the started with Propino, but has now moved to who can meet the commitment we’re looking for,” provenance of producing beer from locally RGT Planet. he adds. grown barley, mainly in Suffolk and Norfolk. While much of the Planet for Adnams is Five years on, Mike reports that both the brought in at harvest from local farms straight into Adnams contract and the relationship are working brewery, and there may be other similar-sized Simpsons’ stores, Openfield supplies barley of the well for all involved. “We’re in the process of customers who’ll look to strengthen the correct quality for a number of other contracts, undertaking a similar contract with another provenance of their raw material.” the only national UK trader that’s entirely reaches the mill. This adds flexibility and just-in-time delivery. The grain trade is some owned by its member farmers. So we work improves turn-around times, while the buyer way off being able to achieve that, but we exclusively in the interests of the UK farmer, can be confident of receiving what they are making significant progress. Digital and we won’t be bringing in imports. expect without having to test. systems are the key, and what we’ve done “But equally important is the relationship But perhaps more exciting are the recent so far has been very well received.” we have with the end user. It’s an open and developments in data analytics and some At the centre of the new developments honest relationship, flexible in a mature of the digital services Openfield has lies Openfield’s logistics app created supply chain.” introduced. “Haulage is by far our most in-house to manage somewhere in the He points to the ability for Openfield to significant spend,” Richard explains. region of 150,000 deliveries made annually deliver to certain sites on a vendor-assured “Ultimately the most efficient system for (see panel on p29). Track My Truck is the basis, where the load is tested before it farmer and end user, as well as for us, is farmer-facing element of this, that allows the L Uncertain times call for disciplined decisions

Think carefully before switching land destined for currently, effectively putting a further cap on the winter cereals into a spring option, cautions market, she adds. Openfield’s head of compliance, research “A spring crop may also upset your rotation, so and shipping Cecilia Pryce. There may be a it’s worth considering whether a cash crop should disappointing proportion of the UK’s cropping go in the ground at all. The soil could benefit better requirement currently in the ground, but that is no from a cover crop that sets the land up well for guarantee that a poorly grown spring crop will shine next year.” on the grain market after harvest. Looking ahead, Cecilia believes there may be “Whatever you put in the ground, you have to export opportunities, but prospects for those not know where it’s going and you must be confident supplying a quality market could be bleak. “If the Spring crops grown for quality markets can you’ll get the quality. That’s even more important for world does change its eating habits away from command a decent premium, but a heap of thin some spring crops,” she says. meat, there could be less demand for feed wheat oats, for example, will not achieve a high return. Previous experience shows that many growers and barley. Those growing them will also face stiff are wooed by the high premiums available for competition from maize. buyers know its importance. Logistics is also what human consumption spring oats and pulses, for “Export opportunities will depend more on Openfield does best –– we have access to a range example. “Good quality peas and beans are market conditions –– if it’s a non-EU destination, of ports suitable for a full range of ship sizes and currently like gold nuggets. But these tend to be that may turn out to be bad news for your ex-farm buyers who what UK grain know we are the UK’s very inelastic premium quality markets, and a price if you’re not near a deep-water port. largest grain shipper. heap of thin oats, for example, will not achieve Economies of scale count when shipping “But with Brexit, misinformation will be rife, a high return, especially if there’s an increased commodities around the world and domestic and growers should be wary of unintended area grown.” markets need to be prepared for this”. consequences from ill-informed decisions. Those A further problem that may face all cereals, Like Richard, though, Cecilia’s confident in the who focus on growing the crops to the best of their other than wheat and barley, is that there’s no future. “We have a trade and farm assurance ability and working with a grain partner they trust tariff-rate quota (TRQ) available. So if sold into the system that’s probably the best anywhere in the will put themselves in the strongest marketing EU under a no-deal Brexit, oats face a 89/t tariff world. It’s worth recognising that and ensuring our position,” she concludes. €

crop production magazine december 2019 27 Better buying, better selling

Better buying, better selling

To remain at the forefront of arable team works with a total of 6000 farming and to maximise the value farmers to supply some of the from every hectare of crop grown biggest and best-known names requires a keen understanding inthe British food and drink Supplying grain to certain sites on a vendor-assured basis, where the load is of the grain market, the seed to manufacturing industry. tested before it reaches the mill, adds flexibility and improves turn-around supply it, and the fertiliser to feed But there’s more than just grain times. the crop. Through this series of to Openfield, supplying seed and articles, CPM is working with fertiliser, providing grain storage L grower to anticipate when a these. The important element is Openfield to provide a market insight and offering expert advice on grain lorry’s on its way tothe farm. Data to have the data, so you can and help farmers to focus on these marketing and risk management. gathered when tipping goes come at it from an informed major business decisions to ensure This delivers innovative supply chain straight through to Insight, standpoint and find a solution better buying of inputs, and better solutions to its farmers and clients. Openfield’s web portal, where that works.” selling of the produce. results can be viewed within The system also allows for Openfield is Britain’s only national minutes by growers. digital recording of many of the farming grain-marketing and arable This means there’s a critical checks required for grain inputs co-operative, owned by over staggering degree of data assurance. “It’s not fully digital 4000 arable farmers. Openfield’s gathered on individual loads yet –– there’s still some paper that can be aggregated and in the system, such as grain producer going forward, he says. assurance along with the good analysed so that inefficiencies passports. But we’re ready to “We firmly believe that the UK trading relationships we already and problems can be move to a digital system and assurance system is the best have and smart logistics put us addressed. “A common issue is there’ll be credible benefits for available and should provide a in a great place as we continue when lorries are delayed when UK grain on both domestic and competitive advantage. That’s through a turbulent political tipping,” explains Richard. “We export markets when we do,” not to say we would always and trading environment. So can identify sites and times notes Richard. achieve a higher value, but it there’s every reason to be where unacceptable delays are This will add to Britain’s strong does help put the UK at the optimistic, whatever happens occurring and seek to address position as a trusted grain front of the queue. Robust grain with Brexit.” I Better buying, better selling

Insight on logistics is key

If you’ve ever sat around at your that allow Openfield’s team to some have their own systems, so “It’s our ambition that all grain grain store waiting for the lorry to co-ordinate lorry movements and we’re developing APIs (application should be bought, sold and arrive and considered the host of speed up the flow of information program interfaces) to allow a transferred from farm to end user other jobs you could be doing, Track back to the grower. seamless transfer of data. We’re also without generating a single piece of my Truck is a service that’ll appeal. “It all ties in with Insight, developing a mobile Insight app that paper, and information should be This automatically sends a text Openfield’s web portal, and farmers will allow growers access to all their available to all relevant parties in real message to Openfield farmers when using this will have noticed a number information on the move and the time. It’ll take some time for the the grain lorry comes within a certain of key changes we’ve introduced over ability to key in essential data,” industry to get there, but we’ve distance of the farm. the past 12 months,” continues Mike. he adds. made significant progress.” It’s part of a new app that “There’s a lot more information and Openfield has developed to manage functionality now, especially financial Track my Truck automatically sends a text message to Openfield farmers its logistics and plan hundreds of information on contracts and when the grain lorry comes within a certain distance of the farm. thousands of journeys every year. commitments. Following feedback, “We needed a system that was easy we’ve provided summaries so growers to use and under our control to allow can quickly see progress of grain everyone to work as efficiently as movements and marketing activity possible,” explains Openfield head through the season. And passing of IT, Mike Goodyear. information through is a simpler, Suitable for both Android and smoother process –– at some sites, iOS users, the smart phone app is an analysis of a load will be available used by an increasing number of to view within minutes.” Openfield hauliers to record weights, The system’s still constrained by weighbridge tickets and grain the large number of third parties assurance details with an inbuilt Openfield deals with, Mike admits. geolocator. It provides the basis “While most hauliers use the app or for a mesmerising degree of data enter information direct into Insight,

As an investment,“ sound weed control is an invaluable asset to have.”

Technical Weed control survey Shifting strategy

Blackgrass has dominated the thing I’ve picked up in my experience, is that autumn is effective and arguably better than bromes and other grassweeds and broadleaf in spring. Spring control is really the last piece headlines as the weed to weeds are starting to appear where farmers of the puzzle, rather than the body.” watch for, but now it appears are making decisions not to use certain Across the same time frame, 26% claimed products to control blackgrass,” he adds. their blackgrass problem has improved –– other issues are causing While surprised that blackgrass didn’t sit compared to 23% who said it’s getting worse. similar headaches. CPM head and shoulders above the rest, AICC But what do our experts think? agronomist Peter Brumpton agrees that this “Over the past three years, in general, has teamed up with Bayer could indeed be as a result of a shift in there has been pretty decent control of to get a better handle on product choice. blackgrass,” explains Ben. “Spring 2016 was “In the case of wild oats, I wouldn’t say a very challenging year, but since then, it autumn strategy and how there’s an increasing population. However, has been pretty good. However, that’s not to growers can maximise the move away from products like Atlantis say blackgrass isn’t a severe issue from an (iodosulfuron+ mesosulfuron) could be individual farm perspective.” spring weed control. resulting in a greater presence of other For those growers experiencing an weed burdens.” improved blackgrass outlook, this is likely By Charlotte Cunningham to be as a result of incorporating cultural Residual chemistry controls, believes Luke. “Certainly in my Though there have been arguments to area, there’s been a big push on optimising There’s no denying that the rising suggest that the longevity of residual cultural controls. The fact of the matter is, we occurrence of grassweed issues have chemistry is running out of steam, the strength simply can’t rely on post-em chemistry for been a heavy burden carried by farmers of such products could put weight behind blackgrass control. over recent years. However, while much the declining focus on blackgrass, adds With less efficacy from post-em products of the focus has been on blackgrass, other independent agronomist, Luke Cotton. “A lot against blackgrass, it’s perhaps no surprise yield-robbing grassweeds have been of money goes into residuals and blackgrass that more than half (53%) of growers and creeping up, causing problems right tends to be dealt with by using those.” agronomists said that the spring window is across the country. So as a broader range of weeds creep into now for focusing on broadleaf weed control, In a recent survey carried out by CPM and the forefront of priorities, how exactly has the Bayer, 84% of growers and agronomists weed control outlook and strategy for winter revealed that it’s actually wild oats that top the cereals changed in recent years? list when it comes to the number one weed to More than half (53%) of growers and control in winter wheat crops –– compared agronomists revealed that while blackgrass with blackgrass which got 78% of the votes. was still a challenge, the autumn is the “Where you are geographically will have a key time for control and less of a focus in massive influence on your key weed burden,” the spring. says Ben Coombs, herbicide campaign In Peter’s opinion, little can be done if manager at Bayer. “Blackgrass is still a huge there’s a high blackgrass burden in the spring issue, but there are also many other weeds so pressure needs to be put on in the autumn. out there, and thought needs to be given to “Once you’ve got to the spring and have those too.” grassweeds that are resistant, then it’s game Brome also ranked high in the weed over and you need to focus on the broadleaf Be pragmatic with decision making, says control league table, with 67% noting it as a weed control.” Ben Coombs. key issue to control in winter wheat. “One Ben agrees: “Blackgrass control in the

30 crop production magazine december 2019 Weed control survey

with the number of growers Which weeds do you aim to control in your winter using it to control broadleaf wheat crops? weeds increasing to 38% last year, compared with 30% five Blackgrass years ago. Brome species In reverse motion, the survey Annual meadow grass also revealed that just 10% of Ryegrass growers prioritised post-ems for

Wild oats blackgrass control last year,

Cleavers compared with 18% five years

Poppies ago, highlighting just how much

Charlock strategy is being switched up. So what is the best approach Mayweed We simply can’t rely on post- for maximising a broad-spectrum Chickweed emergence chemistry for blackgrass of control in winter wheat crops, control, says Luke Cotton. Other without compromising on 050100150 200250 blackgrass management? autumn, it shouldn’t be ignored in “How exactly you decide to the spring. “The focus needs to Has the weed situation in winter cereals changed use spring post-em herbicides be on managing populations and in recent years? really comes down to the reducing the number of seeds individual situation,” explains Ben. returning to seed banks. Blackgrass is still a challenge but autumn is the focus for blackgrass “Even in very challenging control and it is less of a focus in spring The blackgrass problem is getting Weed headaches populations, some products can worse According to Luke, if you’ve got give 30-40% control which will The blackgrass problem is getting better visible blackgrass in the spring –– really help to reduce seed return.” Brome is increasingly a problem that has escaped the plight of When it comes down to Ryegrass is becoming more of a problem pre-em controls –– it’s difficult to product selection in the spring, Broadleaf weeds are becoming more of an issue in cereals control. “However, what you don’t 27% of growers and agronomists I‘m not too concerned about broad leaf weeds in cereals as there are lots want is a whole load of other noted good control of blackgrass of herbicide options We are much better at using cultural weeds starting to cause as the key consideration. controls against a wide range of weeds headaches, so that’s where you This was followed closely by I can control most weeds, but I rely on multiple herbicide treatments can optimise the use of spring control of grass and other Don’t know post-em herbicides. broadleaf weeds (20%) and Peter agrees: “If you’ve got 17% said cost was a major factor while pre-em programme is for can be achieved then, freeing up high blackgrass populations in the for them. grassweeds. farmers to focus on other issues in spring, the only thing you’re going These results would, however, As well as this, a further 21% the spring,” explains Ben. “Having to control it with is glyphosate, as seem slightly contradictory given seconded this notion of change, to focus on blackgrass solely in it’s pretty much past the point of the lack of efficacy and proven stating that their focus has shifted the autumn and the spring was no return. So this window is the shift away from blackgrass control from blackgrass control in the tiresome and gave no time to opportunity to manage other in the spring, so what’s the expert spring to a wider range of weeds. address other challenges.” weed burdens.” verdict? “The use of Liberator This change in mindset has In slight contrast, Ben believes “Ultimately, it comes down to (flufenacet+ diflufenican) in the been reflected in the usage of that while blackgrass should selecting something that suits autumn means that good control post-em herbicides in the spring, ideally be controlled in the the weed spectrum that you’re L Wet, wet, wet

While getting onto fields to drill crops is something farmers got their pre-emergence products on or growers will possibly have to adapt their strategy. many are dreaming of at the moment –– let alone not,” says Peter. “From a crop establishment point This autumn has seen it much more difficult to applying pre-ems –– consideration ought to be of view, the weather hasn’t been so great. However, get the autumn programme on, so there’s a great given to how the wet autumn conditions may affect if the wheat isn’t growing, neither are weeds.” likelihood that a reduced amount of herbicides spring weed control. “The pressure may not be there, so when we have been used.” According to the survey, growers and can travel, it might not be too big a job, and will The keynote message from Ben is to scrutinise agronomists revealed that their top two concerns hopefully mean less expenditure on chemistry.” the fields before doing anything. “If crops, or more at present are increased weed problems in the Peter advises to also be aware of the effect the importantly weeds, aren’t growing then applying spring, and fears over not being able to travel on weather may have on the efficacy of products. herbicides is a poor decision. waterlogged ground. “It’s important to remember that in certain weather “There could also be more weeds –– of all Interestingly, 17% stated that they don’t think conditions some products don’t work as well, kinds — coming into spring 2020, and more there will be a huge difference this year. So what so keep your dosage rates up. blackgrass in the mixture because of the lack of can we expect? “In the short-term, spring 2020 is going to be pre-ems. So don’t take the pressure off. One bad “The first is to think about is whether or not a bit different compared to a ‘normal’ year, so year can set you back several.”

crop production magazine december 2019 31 Weed control survey

front of you at the time.” Getting into the details of the Which products did you use for post-emergence individual products themselves, weed control in winter wheat last season? Fluroxypyr-based products came out on top in terms of grower preference, with 73% noting Starane and Spitfire (includes Pyroxsulam-based products (e.g. Broadway Star, Palio, etc) florasulam) as tools in their armory Pinoxaden-based products for post-em weed control in winter (e.g. Axial One, Axial Pro, etc) Broadleaf weed sulfonylurea- wheat last year. based products (e.g. metsulfuron (Ally) tribenuron (Quantum), etc Over half of growers and Fluroxypr-based products agronomists (58%) claimed (e.g. Starane, Spitfire, etc) Don’t know The move away from products like to use broadleaf weed Atlantis could be resulting in a sulfonylurea-based products greater presence of other weeds, –– such as Ally (metsulfuron) believes Peter Brumpton. and Quantum (tribenuron) –– while 51% opted for L presented with,” says Peter. Mesosulfuron-based products How are you expecting the wet autumn conditions Ben agrees: “From my like Atlantis and Pacifica. to affect spring weed control? perspective, controlling a broad But in the chemistry edition spectrum of weeds is what you of Top Trumps, does one I think weed problems will be worse than want from any herbicide, so outweigh the other in terms normal this spring selecting a product that covers as of effectiveness? I think there will be fewer problems many bases as possible is key. “Chemistry choice really does this spring

Though other weed pressures depend on where you are on the I don’t think there will be a big difference in may be on the rise, growers can weed spectrum,” says Peter. weed problems this year benefit from a wide range of According to Luke, I‘m most concerned about not being able to travel control options in the spring.” broad-spectrum issues are more on waterlogged ground While cost undoubtedly has an likely to be prevalent and on Dont know impact, Luke believes growers a greater scale than specific are willing to shell out on problems, so the advice from him 0 25 50 75 100 products if they can live up to is to keep this in mind when their claims. “Across all aspects selecting products. “I think, in fungicide programmes will weigh if its broadleaf weeds that are of farming, cost does form the general, broadleaf weeds tend heavily on product choice. causing you a headache, then basis of a lot of decision making. to be more commonly found. “The second, of course, is the opting for a product like Pacifica If there was a product that could “If your following crop is type of weed and weed pressure Plus –– which will be available control blackgrass and broadleaf something like OSR, you don’t you’re dealing with. It’s important to from spring 2020 (see panel weeds in the spring, then I’m want a load of cleavers in the take a bit of a horses-for-courses below) — will offer very good sure people would be willing field, so the primary job is to take approach when it comes to weed control.” to pay. In essence, if something control of these adequately.” control and to be pragmatic in Despite what individual product is costly and ineffective, As well as this, the advice from your decision making.” you select for your situation, what’s growers won’t use it. Ben is to consider two main things If grassweeds are the main important to remember is that good “What I would add though, when selecting a product. “The problem, then going for something products provide true, measurable is that there is no prescriptive first is timing –– particularly for like Monolith (mesosulfuron+ value for money, finishes Ben. “As strategy for broadleaf control –– grassweed-type products –– propoxycarbazone) might be a an investment, sound weed control it’s all about dealing with what’s in so being realistic about timing good option, he adds. “However, is an invaluable asset to have.” I

Specifics on Pacifica Plus

As of next spring, the next generation of Pacifica –– grassweeds –– and with the inclusion of meadow elements will remain the same, the only critical Pacificia Plus –– will be available for growers and grass in the spectrum –– we really do feel like it’s change is the use pattern, explains Ben. “Pacifica Ben believes this could change the game for one of the most complete products that will be Plus can be used from 0.4kg/ha from 1 Feb and broad-spectrum grassweed and broadleaf available to wheat growers.” 0.5kg/ha from 1 Mar, so think about what weed control. According to the label, Pacifica Plus combines broadleaf mixtures need to go in.” “Pacifica as it stands is a really widely-known mesosulfuron-methyl, iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium While the increased level of control means it’s product that’s proven in providing a robust level and amidosulfuron to provide foliar and some root less likely to need a mixture –– compared to of grassweed control. The new Plus version activity against blackgrass, wild oats, ryegrasses, standard Pacifica –– it can be tank mixed with a boasts the addition of amidosulfuron which will bromes, meadow grass, cleavers, common residual herbicide such as Liberator to increase extend that control again, and covers a really chickweed, mayweeds, charlock and volunteer protection against late germinating grassweeds broad-spectrum of broadleaf weeds. oilseed rape in winter wheat. and followed with a specific broadleaf weed “With the proven ability to cover a wide range of While much of the practical application treatment later if required, he adds.

32 crop production magazine december 2019 Urea on a knife edge?

Losing N to the“ air can be reduced with inhibited urea over straight urea. ”

Technical Fertilisier

mineral nitrogen source, adds Richard The urea versus ammonium the emissions of ammonia (NH3) and agriculture is responsible for 88% of the total Corden, Business Development Manager nitrate debate has always in the UK. The biggest offenders are organic for BASF. been a fiery one and strongly manures and slurries but approximately 23% “In the UK, around 20% of the mineral comes from inorganic mineral fertilisers, with fertiliser used is in the form of urea with divides opinions. Proposed urea in the spotlight and likely to be the main the majority of farmers using a source of government measures to target of regulations to reduce emissions ammonium nitrate, either produced in the and the unintended consequences of air UK or imported,” he explains. deal with greenhouse gas pollution. The pros and cons of using urea and emissions has added fuel ammonium nitrate are well known to Clean Air Strategy growers but the recommendations within the to the fire. CPM reports. The draft Clean Air Strategy document Clean Air Strategy has created a whole new suggests a move away from urea to area of debate. One approach to improving By Lucy de la Pasture ammonium nitrate as one solution to reduce the efficiency of urea is to use urease L ammonia emissions, says CF Fertilisers arable agronomist, Allison Grundy. The The new Agriculture Bill and the alternatives are to incorporate or inject urea associated Clean Air Strategy announced earlier this year may be languishing in into the soil or to use it with an urease Westminster while Brexit dominates inhibitor. proceedings, but once it resumes its “Since nitrogen fertiliser creates the passage through Parliament the greatest return on investment of all inputs in implications to farming may be rapid. cereal production at around 5:1, choosing Air pollution has become a hot topic, not which form to use is one of the most just because of the effects on the climate but important decisions a business can make,” its effect on human health. Ammonia reacts she says. with nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide in the A key factor to consider is nitrogen atmosphere to form particulate matter which fertiliser utilisation efficiency –– an indicator can significantly impact human health, of how much of the N applied is recovered causing respiratory disease. For a by the crop, says Allison. hard-pressed NHS, it’s a real problem and in “Values can be as high as 75% in arable Oct it released a report which pointed the cropping for ammonium nitrate but are Allison Grundy says the draft Clean Air Strategy finger at air pollution for being responsible usually around 10% less when urea is used. document suggests a move away from urea to for 40,000 avoidable deaths each year. This is because of volatilisation, where urea ammonium nitrate as one solution to reduce One of the main objectives in Defra’s loses nitrogen as ammonia gas to the air.” ammonia emissions. draft Clean Air Strategy is to reduce Urea is the world’s primary global

crop production magazine december 2019 33 Fertiliser

Speed urea becomes available reports of effects on soil microorganisms have been reported,” he says. to plants “Furthermore, urease inhibitors are Soil Time for transformation of only effective in the soil that immediately temperature (OC) urea into ammonium (days) surrounds the fertiliser. It’s in this location 24where urea is first hydrolysed into ammonia. 10 2 If the build-up of ammonia is not diluted by 20 1 rainfall/irrigation or natural diffusion into the soil, a localised spike in the soil pH can Source: Amberger und Vilsmeier (1984, in Sturm et al. 1994) occur around the site of application. “It’s this pH spike that causes the “Furthermore, if we’re encouraging ammonium to change to ammonia which Sajjad Awan is concerned that not enough work growers to go down more soil-friendly can then be lost to the atmosphere. has been carried out to assess whether there’s production routes such as min till and Urease inhibitors work by temporarily an affect from urease inhibitors on soil biology in no-till, it is likely that more urease inhibitors stopping the urease enzymes, effectively the longer term. will be needed in urea fertilisers in such preventing the pH spike, increasing the time situations.”

L inhibitors to delay hydrolysis and increase He believes that it’s imperative for the the time available for sufficient rain to fall and industry to carry out independent research move surface applied urea into the soil, regarding the long-term effects of using thereby reducing ammonia loss. fertilisers containing urease inhibitors before AHDB’s Dr. Sajjad Awan is concerned their widespread use in agriculture is fully about the long-term effects of inhibited urea accepted. use on soil health and biology. Richard says that part of the challenge “Scientific literature suggests that up to with urease inhibitors is that the technology 30% of soil microbiome produces urease as is often misunderstood. “Urease inhibitors The formulation technology used in BASF’s new part of their natural biochemical processes have been used for decades globally, with urease inhibitor, Limus, resolves some of the and if we manipulate this biological process very high use rates in some markets. For problems associated with storing inhibited urea it could prove detrimental to the vital example, in the USA around a third of the products. balances in soil microbiology. urea used is treated with an inhibitor and no

34 crop production magazine december 2019 available for enough rain to fall the use of urease inhibitors. and move surface applied urea Inhibited urea products could into the soil,” he explains. also present somewhat of a “Once washed into the soil regulatory challenge for DEFRA the transformation of urea to should the UK chose to go down ammonia begins and because the same route as Germany. the concentration is much more “One of the problem areas diluted the pH spike no longer is policing to make sure that occurs. This ensures that there is inhibited urea products meet the no delay in uptake of nitrogen by new EU fertiliser regulations, the plants of an inhibited urea which state the level of urease when compared to standard inhibitor they must contain at the urea,” he adds. point of application,” he says. Yara’s technical manager That may prove problematic Mark Tucker says that if you with some inhibited products put all other arguments aside because of historic problems and just consider ammonia with degradation during emissions alone then moving to storage. Recent advances in an ammonium nitrate form of formulation technology has led to nitrogen fertiliser is the sensible improvements in product shelf option. life, with newer products now supporting at least a 12-month Unknown element storage period without Yara operates globally and degradation occurring, produces fertiliser products comments Richard. based on both the main nitrogen Allison remains unconvinced forms (urea and ammonium that urea can perform as nitrate) as well as an inhibited consistently as ammonium nitrate form of urea. Even so, he’s in under UK conditions. agreement with Sajjad that there “Losing N to the air can be is an element of the unknown reduced with inhibited urea over as far as the effect of urease straight urea, but the problem of inhibitors on soil biology. how N becomes available to He also notes that traces of plants remain constant for dicyandiamide (DCD) found in both options. While the N in milk in New Zealand in 2013 ammonium nitrate is in forms that were reportedly linked to the can be directly taken upby use of urease inhibitors. crops, the N in urea becomes Mark believes such available to the plant through the uncertainties over their use may process of hydrolysis which relies explain the different approaches on soil biology and conditions,” taken across Europe –– while in she says. Germany all urea will have to be Richard points to trials data inhibited from 2020, France hasn’t which shows that the time yet moved to legislate solely for taken for urea to transform into L

Ammonium nitrate has a proven track record under UK conditions and has an 80% share of the UK’s nitrogen fertiliser market. Fertiliser

L ammonium is surprisingly rapid, even at ammonium nitrate (2-3%).” low soil temperatures. Reducing ammonia emissions is going to “The use of inhibited urea products was be a challenge for the whole sector but with also tested as part of the Defra’s NT26 targets in place there’s a growing sense of research programme. These trials based urgency, adds Mark. “I’m picking up that over three years concluded equivalent governments across Europe are getting performance of urease inhibited urea frustrated by the slow speed of change and AN in ten cereal trials.” in agriculture, so things really are on a knife-edge at the moment.” Inhibited urea Allison believes the debate will continue, Mark points out that there’s a danger that but in her opinion the position of AN inhibited urea could be a victim of its own remains agronomically strong. success if there’s a swing from traditional “You simply can’t avoid the fact that AN ammonium nitrate towards using those has a proven track record in all manner of urease inhibitors which promise equivalent growing conditions gained across many performance at a lower price. years and it’s known to perform reliably “Whatever the UK regulators decide, it in the UK’s maritime conditions. I don’t will be obvious whether the regulations are believe there’s the same body of evidence working in time. If ammonia emissions don’t for any form of inhibited urea. Mark Tucker says that if you put all other decrease, then there’s a problem and it’s “When we’re all being encouraged to arguments aside and just consider ammonia possible that a rise in the use of inhibited focus on mitigating risks and using emissions alone then moving to an ammonium urea at the expense of ammonium nitrate inputs as efficiently as possible and nitrate form of nitrogen fertiliser is the sensible will see an overall increase in emissions with N use being such a critical element of option. because inhibited urea fertilisers still lose modern production, inhibited urea may be more ammonia to the air (6-7%) than a leap of faith too far for some growers.” I

Cancer risk from sulphur shortage

Inadequate levels of sulphur applied to UK crops But data he presented from the British Survey could raise the prospect of dangerous levels of of Fertiliser Practice (BSFP) show that over a acrylamide in processed foods. This was the quarter of wheat crops and around 75% of warning given by scientists at the first ICL potatoes do not receive S. Technical Agronomy Symposium near Grantham Soil analysis data from Lancrop Laboratories last month. indicates an increasing trend of soil sulphur Dr Tanya Curtis from Curtis Analytical at deficiency, with 85% of arable samples tested in Rothamsted explained that acrylamide is a 2019 found to be deficient. What’s more, sampling neurotoxin and a probable carcinogen that forms of cattle slurries suggest organic manures are not Growers may not be applying sufficient during frying, roasting and baking potato and delivering the levels of S to the crop indicated by sulphur to wheat and potatoes to avert the cereal-based products at a high temperature. RB209, said Lancrop’s Jon Telfer. risk of high levels of acrylamide in processed Concerns over a lack of awareness among “Timely use of leaf analysis allows for foods. consumers has led to new risk-management in-season assessment and adjustment, while measures imposed on food manufacturers, post-harvest grain analysis evaluates the efficiency including requirements to monitor acrylamide of your nutrient strategy,” he concluded. time for nutrient weighting.” levels and implement mitigation measures. A series of recent proprietary and independent First year sales of PotashpluS, which has “Free asparagine and reducing sugars such trials results using ICL’s PotashpluS, PKpluS and joined ICL’s family of polyhalite-derived fertilisers, as glucose, fructose and maltose are established Polysulphate fertilisers were presented. These exceeded expectations said the company’s precursors for acrylamide formation,” said Tanya. showed the material, derived from the world’s only Howard Clark. “The feedback from customers and “Free asparagine is the key parameter in wheat commercial polyhalite mine in N Yorks, performed farmers has been really positive. Our agronomy and it accumulates at high concentrations in well across a range of crops. trials programme, which includes our own and response to a number of biotic and abiotic PKpluS performed better than TSP and MOP independent trials, shows all Polysulphate-based stresses. Sulphur deprivation in particular causes applied over replicated plots in an autumn fertiliser products performed as well and often better than a massive accumulation in the wheat grain.” trial on KWS Zyatt winter wheat, carried out at traditional products.” Dr Steve McGrath of Rothamsted Research Agrii’s site at Sanction, E Yorks. Low and high A naturally occurring mineral, Polysulphate echoed these findings, presenting a number of rates were applied in the autumn, with P and K releases its nutrients to the crop over an extended AHDB-funded and other independent studies that then balanced in the spring. period of time. It contains sulphur, potassium, have shown routine applications of sulphur to “The addition of sulphur from the PKpluS magnesium and calcium, has a carbon footprint

cereals and oilseeds consistently result in yield was useful,” concluded Agrii’s Tom Land. “It of 0.033 kg CO2e/kg (claimed as the lowest and quality benefits. “The risk of deficiencies improved crop biomass and NDVI in Nov and footprint of any equivalent fertiliser) and is relates to soil type and overwinter rainfall,” gave a slight edge in yield compared with a approved for use in organic systems. At 37%

he added. TSP/MOP blend. Spring was the most responsive K2O, PotashpluS has a higher content of potash.

36 crop production magazine december 2019 The push for “more performance is relentless”

LAMMA preview Tractors, combines Hold your horses and tyres From SmartGlass display McCormick a new engine oil specification. screens to Europe’s first A new range of more powerful stepless Power and torque from the new range’s combine without a steering transmission tractors from McCormick higher output engines are channelled will be represented by the top model in through the ZF Terramatic TMT20 wheel, next month’s LAMMA a new-look line-up making its UK debut transmission. event looks set to be a –– on the Argo Tractors stand –– at the According to McCormick, this uses four LAMMA show in January. planetary gear sets, wet clutches and hotspot for innovation. Adrian Winnett, managing director hydraulic speed variation to provide CPM takes a look at some of of Argo Tractors operations in the UK seamless ground speed adjustment, with and Ireland, said: “The push for more high levels of mechanical efficiency across the new launches scheduled performance is relentless so Argo Tractors the 0-50km/h envelope. to be on display. has taken the opportunity when switching to Stage V emissions-compliant engines to Claas By Charlotte Cunningham introduce more powerful VT-Drive models While Claas has remained tight lipped to the McCormick range. about potential launches in recent months, “Our previous CVT models in the X7 the firm unveiled its latest additions at last Whether you’re a loyal fan to life-long Series peaked at 195hp but with the month’s Agritechnica, which CPM got an brand, or are looking to shy away from X7.624 VT-Drive they go to 240hp, exclusive preview of in September. the norm in a bid to find something else giving farmers and contractors a very Among the new launches, was the news L to boost productivity, there’s no denying powerful but versatile package with all the that there’s an abundance of options performance and driver-comfort attributes when it comes to purchasing a new of a stepless transmission.” tractor or combine. The McCormick X7.624 VT-Drive boasts To help growers compare and contrast, a pony count of up to 230hp for draft work the NEC is opening its doors once again and 240hp for pto-driven implements and next month to host one of the UK’s biggest road transport and is the most powerful shop windows for agri-machinery. model in the latest X7 Series. But if you can’t wait until the New Year In an attempt to slimline running to see what’s on show at next month’s costs, engine service intervals have A new range of more powerful stepless LAMMA event (7-8 Jan), here’s a look at been doubled to 1200 hours as a transmission tractors will be on display from some of the latest tractors, combines and result of optimised fuel filters, a more McCormick. tyres on the market. comprehensive oil filtration system, and

crop production magazine december 2019 37 LAMMA preview

445hp Axion 960TT and the 355hp Axion to full track or rigidly mounted half-track 930. According to Claas, the Axion TT is systems, this ensures that optimum ground the first half-track tractor on the market to contact is maintained at all times,” says feature a fully suspended track system. the firm. This, combined with the front axle and 4-point cab suspension, is claimed to Fendt improve ground contact and reduce Fendt’s planned tractor line-up for the NEC wheelslip, as well as boosting driver includes the latest models of proven comfort. favourites, including the new 942 tractor Drive to the Terra Trac unit is via a that produces well over 400hp from its standard Cmatic transmission, but in MAN six-cylinder, 9-litre engine. It’s fitted Claas’ Axion 900 Terra Trac has now entered full place of the trumpet housings there are with TA300 vario transmission. Other production, following the announcement of its ‘saxophones’, which bridge the differences models on display include 828, 718, 516, development in 2017. in height and length, says Claas. 312 and 200 models and the MT 943 The actual drive is through a cardan tracked tractor,. L that the Axion 900 Terra Trac has now shaft between the PTO shaft and the Terra Visitors will also be able to sample the entered full production, following the Trac intake shaft. “Unlike other track units, new Fendt 700 Series cab, or “driving announcement of its development in 2017. the Axion Terra Trac unit is able to pivot workstation”, using Virtual Reality headsets,

Two models will be available –– the over a range from +8° to -15°. Compared which is set to be available from July 2020. L

Tyre technology

Amongst shiny new kit, it’s arguably fairly difficult increase load capacity without the need to move to to make tyre developments look glamorous. a wide tyre. However, the innovation behind some of the latest Key design features include interlug terracing at launches and tyre technology really do have the the base of the lugs, which helps to maximise the potential to make a huge difference to your tyre’s self-cleaning capability, while durability is operations. enhanced by a rounded lug base, designed to make the tyre more robust and resistant to stubble CEAT and sharp stones, says CEAT. Designed for use on high power tractors and These features also contribute to optimal lateral combines, CEAT have launched two new ranges stability, even on difficult and very uneven terrain, of tyres: The Torquemax and the YieldMax. plus low vibration levels and high comfort in all According to the firm the Torquemax range has working conditions, it adds. been engineered to ensure constant and smooth transfer of torque from the tractor to the ground BKT –– particularly during fieldwork. With a focus on soil protection, visitors to next As well as this, it also boasts low rolling month’s LAMMA event will be able to find out Designed for use on high power tractors and resistance and longevity, helping drivers to boost more about BKT’s V-Flex and Ridemax FL 699 combines, CEAT have launched two new ranges productivity while also keeping a lid on costs, adds tyres which have been designed for trailers and of tyres. the firm. agricultural implements. When it comes to the design, the Torquemax The V-Flexa uses VF (very high flexion) features new casing with stepped lug design and technology, combined with tread equipped with lower lug angle at the shoulder and an extra-wide steel belts to create a tyre that enables the footprint along with a rounded shoulder, in a bid to transport of heavy loads with an inflation pressure keep soil compaction to a minimum. that’s 30% less than that of a standard tyre of the Incorporated within the range is the IF same size. As well as this, the tyre has three (Increased Flexion) models which have been additional steel-belted layers of heavy duty steel designed to give 20% higher load carrying and features a ‘super-resistant’ sidewall to further capacity at the same pressure, compared with improve performance. conventional radial tyres. According to BKT, the extra-large contact area For those looking for some new shoes for allows an even load distribution, meaning soil your combine, the YieldMax range from CEAT compaction is minimised. boasts a flexible radial carcass and deep tractive Suited for use on trailers and trucks, the lugs that help provide high traction, designed to Ridemax FL 699 features a reinforced bead, work as part of modern sustainable and precision to ensure stability, even at high speeds. With a focus on soil protection, visitors to farming by minimising harvesting’s impact on Though it’s predominantly designed for road next month’s LAMMA event will be able to find the soil. use, the Ridemax FL has also proven itself in the out more about BKT’s V-Flex and Ridemax FL Available in 650/75 R 32 and 620/75 R 26, field, according to BKT, and also boasts high 699 tyres. the firm believes this offers the potential to mileage and long durability.

38 crop production magazine december 2019 LAMMA preview

Not at LAMMA, but worth a mention…

John Deere Established transmission options include the Though John Deere won’t be present at next 16/5 PowerShift, which is now available up to the month’s LAMMA event, Team Green did launch 8R 340 model, the modern e23 with Efficiency a vast amount of kit at Agritechinca, which will no Manager and the stepless AutoPowr. The rear doubt be influential in the tractor and combine brakes have been massively reinforced, so front market (see Agritechnica - Innovation roundup brakes are no longer necessary even at 50km/h, on p49). although additional front brakes can still be Among these included the latest generation ordered, says the firm. John Deere launched the new 8R Series wheeled 7R series, as well as the launch of the brand new Deere also chose Agritechnica 2019 as a tractor at last month’s Agritechnica. 8R series. platform to preview an addition to the top end of When it comes to the 8R series, John Deere its combine harvester range with the all-new X9 claims to be the first farm equipment manufacturer model and matching draper header, specifically to produce a range of standard tractors offering designed and developed for tough European three different drive concepts, with the launch of harvesting conditions, according to the firm. the new 8R Series wheeled tractors, 8RT models Compared to the S790, (the largest model in with two tracks and the 8RX versions with four the current line-up), the firm believes the the X9 tracks. will deliver increased performance and productivity Developed to balance soil preservation with while also offering a boost in efficiency. high performance, the 8RX series is said to This is set to be achieved through a Deere also chose Agritechnica 2019 as a platform provide the lowest contact surface compression in combination of the wide body, improved crop flow, to preview an addition to the top end of its this class, along with a transport width of less an increase in active threshing and separation combine harvester range with the all-new X9 than 3m and 40km/h unrestricted road speed, areas and a larger cleaning shoe, all while model. according to John Deere. maintaining a transport width below 3.5m on Under the hood, the 8R series retains John both wheels and tracks, says the firm. “Taken straw quality, and address the needs of large Deere’s existing 9-litre engine, with an increase together, these features allow very high throughput farmers looking to maximise their productivity of 40hp for the 8RT 410. and very low losses with improved grain and and profits.”

LAMMA preview

presumptions that glass is perhaps not the most suitable of materials to have on board a workhorse, Valtra says the SmartGlass is based on transparent display technology laminated between two glass surfaces, making it very robust. As well as this Valtra is set to launch the latest addition to its tractor series which will be on sale in the UK in early 2020. The F Series –– a new vineyard and orchard tractor –– comprises four models from 75 to 105hp. Models range from 1.3 to 1.5m wide with standard equipment such as heated and air-conditioned cab. The F Series comes with a 24-speed Valtra will be showcasing its new heads up transmission, available with either a display (HUD) SmartGlass. mechanical or hydraulic forward-reverse Fendt’s planned tractor line-up for the NEC shuttle and Powershift, while the hydraulics includes the latest models of proven favourites, JCB produce from 68 to almost 100 l/min of including the new 942 tractor. JCB has been hot in the headlines lately, output depending on the model. after breaking its own world record to The four-cylinder 3.4-litre common rail reclaim the title of the world’s fastest tractor L Valtra engine complies with Stage III B emissions with its vamped-up Fastrac Two design. For those looking to impress with the regulations for narrow tractors. While such engineering is probably not glitziest new technology –– or just The updated Valtra Guide automated suited to day-to-day activity, growers will something that really does look pretty cool steering system will also be on show. be able to get up close and personal to –– Valtra will be showcasing its new heads Settings now appear in the map screen a slightly more practical development up display (HUD) SmartGlass. and can be changed or checked without from the firm at LAMMA next month –– According to Valtra, this allows the having to exit the screen while selecting as well as getting a glimpse of the world’s operator to see vital tractor information in fields and creating waylines has also been fastest tractor. the centre of the windscreen and despite made simpler. The Fastrac 4000 series has had some LAMMA preview heavy-duty upgrades and now boasts Combines axles with 33% higher load ratings, larger With its striking matte black livery making hubs, bearings and external disc brakes, the Fendt Ideal combine look like and a larger front axle differential with something from a sci-fi film, the firm is positive locking rather than limited slip for no doubt set to impress further with its maximum traction. top-of-the-range Ideal 10, which will make New ‘VF’ category tyre options also offer its debut at LAMMA next month. enhanced traction by operating at a lower In the guts of the combine is a new MAN inflation pressure for a given load to create a 16.2-litre, Stage V emissions-compliant larger footprint on the soil, adds the firm. engine which boasts a pony count of up Conversely, they can carry a heavier load to 790hp. than less sophisticated tyres of the same Other features include a new cleaning size without resorting to higher tyre inflation system, together with the Dual Helix pressures and therefore preserving soil separator, a combination said to deliver the Fendt’s top-of-the-range Ideal 10 will make its structure by avoiding excessive compaction. highest grain quality and the least grain debut at LAMMA next month. The new tyres complement the inherent losses. 50:50 unladen weight distribution of the What’s perhaps the most headline-grabbing Fastrac 4000 Series tractors and the feature is that the 10 claims to be the first consistent ride height and operating weight standard combine in Europe to be operated distribution provided by the active front entirely without a steering wheel. and rear suspension systems, according to With Fendt IdealDrive steering, the the firm. machine is controlled proportionately to Extending engine service intervals for oil the movement of a joystick on the left, with and filters from 500 hours to 600 hours helps all the same functions on the joystick on drive down cost of ownership, as does the the right armrest. For easy access to the new Auto-Stop feature, which eliminates driver’s seat, the left armrest can be unnecessary fuel use by shutting down the folded up. engine after a period at idling speed –– a Available to order from July 2020, Fendt JCB’s Fastrac 4000 series has had some feature that can be disengaged in situations say the new Ideal 10 will be ready for the heavy-duty upgrades. when this is inappropriate, says JCB. 2021 harvest. I With cost pressures“ and herbicide resistance increasing, conventional growers are showing an interest in inter-row kit.”

LAMMA preview Drills and cultivators Drills ’n’ hoes

From direct fertiliser drills to Väderstad available on the 12 and 18 row Tempo L interrow hoes, there was a After launching on the market in November, models and is based on the same high Väderstad will be showcasing its new Carrier capacity Fenix III metering system as the huge array of cultivation kit XL 425-625 cultivator –– fitted with the 5000-litre hopper, delivering up to 350kg/ha launched at last month’s CrossCutter Disc –– at the NEC next month. fertiliser at 15km/h planting speed, says Designed for conserving moisture in the the firm. Agritechnica. But what’s seedbed, the cultivator has the ability to relevant to the UK market? work at ultra-shallow depths of only 3cm, as Pöttinger well as down to 5cm, across the full working Though visitors won’t be able to see it in the And what can farmers expect width of the machine. According to flesh at LAMMA, the Terrasem Fertiliser Pro to see on display at next Väderstad, this enables efficient mixing mulch seed drill (with direct fertilisation) is of crop residues within the topsoil and the next big thing from Pöttinger. month’s LAMMA event? encourages an early weed chit. One of the real selling points of this piece CPM finds out more. “A shallow stale seedbed increases of kit is that the simultaneous use of tool the number of seeds germinating, and combinations (for example, front board with By Charlotte Cunningham encourages earlier emergence,” says UK tillage discs) in combination with applying marketing manager, Andy Gamble. “This fertiliser while drilling avoids multiple passes then means the following crop can either be –– a particularly important consideration for drilled earlier or with the extra time created, many growers as pressure builds on the With an increasing focus on preserving used to prepare an even better seedbed.” industry to work towards reducing emissions and getting the best from our soils, there’s Also new and set to be on display at and cutting costs. never been a more important time for LAMMA is the latest addition to Väderstad’s So how exactly does it work? “Seedbed drills and cultivation kit. But regardless Tempo L range –– the Tempo L 8 –– which is preparation is taken care of by the compact of whether you’re looking for something claimed to combine high-speed precision disc harrow or low disturbance wave disc that’s deep-working or fast-moving, drilling with high capacity output of both harrow,” explains the firm. “The fertiliser is chances are there’s something to suit seed and fertiliser. then placed by the Fertilizer Pro coulter in you on the market. As suggested in the name, the Tempo a double-shoot row between every second To give CPM readers a flavour of what L 8 has eight row units, boasts a 3000-litre seed row.” to expect in the drill and cultivation fertiliser hopper, and is available in row The placement depth of fertiliser can be department at next month’s LAMMA event spacing options from 700-800mm, making adjusted hydraulically within a range of (7-8 January), we’ve picked out some of the it a fairly versatile tool. 10cm independently of cultivating and key developments. The new 3000-litre fertiliser hopper is also sowing depth, adds Pöttinger. “The surface

42 crop production magazine december 2019 LAMMA preview is then consolidated across the whole area by the packer before the seed is planted. “The Fertilizer Pro coulter then uses precision techniques to place the fertiliser next to the seed. Not only does this save fertiliser and minimise unproductive losses, it also promotes faster development of the root mass and contributes long-term to optimum yield.”

Vredo The Terrasem Fertiliser Pro mulch seed drill (with direct fertilisation) is the next big thing from Pöttinger. Netherlands-based manufacturer, Vredo, are expected to showcase a number of feature that allows farmers to sow arable comprises a pair of cutting discs with an innovations at LAMMA, after launching in crops directly onto stubble, without any inter-row distance of 7.5cm. Hannover last month. tillage, on 15cm rows. To sow arable crops deeper, every Among them is the Vredo overseeder Now available on the Agri Twin and second pair of discs can be pulled up high which now boasts a new crop drill system Agri Air series, the base of the machine hydraulically. “This way a sowing distance L

Dance of the inter-row cultivators

With questions over the future of glyphosate farmers who need an effective, reliable, low cost, still looming in the air, it’s fair to say that the mechanical method of removing weeds from their industry is seriously beginning to consider the crops, which is becoming increasingly important, implementation of other solutions, should we for several reasons. lose the chemical control. “In recent years numerous agrochemicals, With that in mind, there’s been an increasing including herbicides, have been lost to more number of manufacturers adding inter-row kit to stringent legislation, some of those which remain their armoury. are becoming more costly and less effective, while an increasing number of farms are turning to Claydon organic production where such products cannot Among them is Claydon, set to debut a 6m be used.” Claydon’s TerraBlade Inter-row has been version of its new TerraBlade heavy duty inter-row designed to help eliminate weeds alongside hoe at the NEC next month. Opico herbicides in both conventional and organic Claimed by Claydon to be “simple, reliable and Also making waves in the interrow market is arable systems. economically priced” the TerraBlade Inter-row has Opico, who have launched a complete range of been designed to help eliminate weeds alongside Hatzenbichler inter-row cultivators for UK farmers. herbicides in a conventional arable system as well Austrian firm, Hatzenbichler, is well known for as providing a robust solution for organic growers. its comb weeders, grass harrows and seeders, Launched as a result of farmer demand for the but although the manufacturer has been building existing TerraBlade range, the new 6m, 20 tine inter-row cultivators for 65 years, it’s only recently and 8m, 26-tine heavy duty versions will sit that precision guidance technology has made them alongside the four other pre-existing standard a realistic option for mainstream arable production. models and have been optimised to perform even “We’ve traditionally sold most of our comb on heavy soils. harrows to organic producers wanting to control Carried on the tractor’s front linkage and and weeds in broad-acre combinable crops and Opico have launched a complete range of steered manually, the TerraBlade incorporates a vegetable producers looking to reduce herbicide Hatzenbichler inter-row cultivators for UK farmers. heavy-duty box section steel frame with a fixed usage,” explains Opico managing director centre section and two vertically folding wings. James Woolway. “However over recent years, Tines can be adjusted to suit any row width and with cost pressures and herbicide resistance slicing through weed roots leaving unwanted the fine blades mean the TerraBlade can work developing more and more, conventional growers plants to die on the surface. effectively up to 30mm deep. are showing an interest.” There’s a choice of points and tines which need In terms of power requirements, the 8m model With working widths stretching from 3m right to be matched to the job in hand, for example, requires a minimum 80hp tractor and has an up to 18m, the new Hatzenbichler cultivator is A-shares mounted on S-tines for deeper work, or optimum working speed of 6km/h, providing an likely to provide a solution for a variety of cropping duckfoot shares and L-blades mounted on the average work output of 4ha per hour, according options and row spacings, says Opico. Hatzenbicher Vibro-tine. On top of that there’s a to Claydon. The principle for all versions remains the whole raft of additional options icluding plastic “The TerraBlade provides a valuable additional same –– tines mounted on parallelograms with finger wheels that flick out weeds in the crop row weapon in the agricultural industry’s weed control individual depth wheels running between the crop and crop protectors that shield delicate plants armoury,” says Jeff Claydon. “We developed it for rows –– which work to cultivate the soil surface by from soil throw.

crop production magazine december 2019 43 LAMMA preview

MaxiDrill range, Sky Agriculture are set to announce a whole host of updates at LAMMA 2020. The new 20 Series updates to the EasyDrill and MaxiDrill include a redesigned electronics package with blockage sensing, individual row shut off and ISObus control as well as a second “Pro-Hopper” allowing four products to be individually metered and distributed at once. Building on its existing EasyDrill and MaxiDrill With grain and fertiliser main tanks as range, Sky Agriculture are set to announce a standard and the possibility of adding one Designed for conserving moisture in the seedbed, whole host of updates at LAMMA 2020. or two smaller Pro-Hoppers, the range of Väderstad’s cultivator has the ability to work at possible applications the machine can be ultra-shallow depths of only 3cm. L of 15cm is being created,” says the firm. employed for is effectively extended. “The “This system doesn’t cultivate the soil, operator can now place seed, fertiliser, The first being the disc coulter and the instead, it only slits it, meaning less machine companion crops and plant protection second, a placement tube with three power is needed.” products accurately in one pass,” says the different positions to allow depth to be The overseeder is also suitable for firm. “For example, an oilseed rape can be varied. grassland, making it a fairly versatile sown with fertiliser, alongside a companion The top-spec option for the new drills is investment for growers. crop of beans and phacelia to reduce insect ‘E Drive Premium’. As well as offering left predation and insecticide usage.” and right section control, E Drive premium Sky Agriculture As with the previous generations of Sky provides electronic shut-off for each Building on its existing EasyDrill and drills, 20 Series machines have two outlets. individual outlet, with the result that the drill can be set to seed with any number of row configurations from the touch of a button. Not at LAMMA, but worth a mention… This added ability to shut off individual rows means that whatever the width of the Amazone sprayer or spreader, it no longer needs to be Although Amazone aren’t going to be present at a multiple of the drill width –– simply enter next month’s LAMMA event, the firm did drop the sprayer or spreader width into the control over 60 new innovations at Agritechnica that box and the tramlines will be calculated and are worth noting. set automatically. This included the extension of the Catros “With sustainability and the environmental range of compact disc harrows, with the agenda at the forefront of most farming introduction of the new CatrosXL in widths Amazone dropped over 60 new innovations at minds, the control update and option of a from 3m up to 8m. Agritechnica, including the new CatrosXL widths. fourth hopper and metering unit delivers a According to Amazone, the 610mm diameter multitude of options for farmers to reduce discs offer the chance to handle more organic their input costs and more accurately target matter as well as potentially deeper working where products are placed,” says Joe depths. Redman, Sky Drills specialist at Opico. Upfront the CatrosXL can be equipped with “There’s also greater opportunity to improve either a straw harrow or the new knife roller to soil health and reduce chemical usage pre-work crop residues ahead of the cultivator. through companion cropping. Sky has On the seeding front, there was a buzz delivered what our customers have been around the new mechanically-driven Cataya asking for.” I conventional seed drill and the new Avant 02 front tank drill combi. The Avant features the The Vredo overseeder boasts a crop drill system FTender front tank which can be used, not only Horsch used Agritechnica as an opportunity to feature that allows farmers to sow directly onto for seed, but also for fertiliser in combination launch a neat new trailed compact disc harrow, stubble, without any tillage. with such as a rear-mounted Centaya air drill designed to boost flexibility. combi, explains Amazone. For more on seed and feed drilling, see Tech Talk on p54. On the new generation Joker RT, users will find 52cm serrated discs –– for aggressive Horsch working –– arranged in pairs on the suspension Another name not anticipated at the event is and therefore allowing a large clearance for Horsch. However, the firm did use Agritechnica harvest residues. as an opportunity to launch a neat new trailed Flexibility has been optimised by the customer compact disc harrow, designed to boost ability to add tools –– such as a knife roller –– flexibility. in front of the discs.

44 crop production magazine december 2019 Precision application“ of liquid manure enables modern agriculture to operate more sustainably.”

LAMMA preview Sprayers and Spread and spray spreaders

From guidance sensors to 2020. According to Fendt, two hydraulic The Oceanis also features Kuhn’s triple-fold booms, the cylinders cushion the vehicle to increase self-levelling boom system, which keeps stability during cornering, in difficult road the spray boom in the position and height sprayer and spreader market conditions and on slopes. The suspension irrespective of field and crop conditions, has made great strides in reduces the load on the tractor and boom and therefore increasing spraying precision and allows for higher application accuracy, and reducing spray drift, it adds. recent years. CPM takes a even at high speeds, it adds. Another neat feature is the hybrid-mode look on what will be on Available with up to five OptiSonic option, which uses three sensors to sensors that guide the left and right boom distinguish between crop canopy and display at next month’s arms individually over the target area, the ground level to improve spraying accuracy LAMMA event, 7-8 January. triple-folding booms are able to maintain a in high density crops such as oilseed rape consistent distance from the target crop for or potatoes, or where the crop has lodged. By Charlotte Cunningham evenness of application. The unbendable lightweight aluminium Househam linkages ensure the nozzles are protected Househam sprayers used last month’s and also easy to change, according to Agritechnica to debut its AirRide and Sprayers and spreaders have come into Predator sprayers, which are also set for their own in recent years, with advances the firm. With the Fendt Stability Control automatic a guest appearance at LAMMA. in technology, many of which were The self-propelled AirRide sprayer boasts on show at Agritechnica last month, levelling system, the Fendt Rogator 300 is claimed to guarantee safe use on the a spray capacity of 3000 to 4000 litres, with meaning application is more precise a ground clearance of up to 1.7m. and cost-efficient than ever before. But hillside and stable road positioning. When driving parallel to the gradient, A hydraulic folding boom comes as whether you’re looking for self-propelled standard and is available in widths from or trailed or perhaps something that the single-wheel suspension design also allows a slope compensation of up to 7°, 12-24m with further options of up to 36m boasts auto-leveling features, or maybe on the triple-fold boom. a triple-fold boom, there’s sure to be or 12%. Single wheel suspension also comes into play in filling processes with Under the hood is an MTU 4R1000 diesel something to tick your boxes at LAMMA engine with pony power of 170-228hp. next month. plant protection products, as it allows the Ahead of the event, CPM has picked out Rogator 300 to be automatically levelled for some of the key launches that are sure to even more accurate filling, adds Fendt. Bateman New from Bateman is the firms BBL

impress crowds at the NEC. L Kuhn boom-levelling system which is now Fendt Precise nozzle selection is one of the key This year has been a fruitful one for Fendt, elements of Kuhn’s latest addition, Oceanis 2 Househam’s self-propelled AirRide sprayer boasts with a number of new launches causing –– a 7000-litre trailed sprayer, boasting a spray capacity of 3000 to 4000 litres. quite a buzz in the industry. operating widths of up to 48m. On the sprayer front, the firm has updated The range is available with Kuhn’s its Rogator 300 trailed sprayer –– which is MultiSpray system, which uses electric now available with a boom width of up to nozzle holders to enable in-cab nozzle 36m –– and will be displayed in all its glory selection, automatic nozzle selection to at next month’s LAMMA event. suit the forward working speed –– and From track widths of 1.8m, the new to maximise the accuracy of variable rate hydropneumatic single-wheel suspension is applications –– plus individual nozzle available on the Rogator 300 as of January control to reduce overlapping, says the firm.

crop production magazine december 2019 45 LAMMA preview

Joint partnership brings high precision

Joining forces to promote a more sustainable John Deere Section Control opens and closes the organic fertiliser application system is the latest system’s individual hoses automatically and very project from John Deere and Vogelsang –– precisely according to the tanker’s GPS position. which was one of the key themes at for the This reduces overlaps and errors to an absolute manufacturers at last month’s Agritechnica. minimum and avoids over- or undersupply of While John Deere aren’t on the exhibitor list for nutrients to the plants. New from Bateman is the firm’s BBL this year’s LAMMA, Vogelsang will be on hand to Vogelsang has also developed new valve boom-levelling system. discuss the project further. technology, with air bellows in the hose outlets According to John Deere, the firm’s Section of the spreading devices for switching off the Control –– in combination with Vogelsang’s individual boom sections. The inflated air bellows automatic partial-width Comfort Flow Control close the individual boom sections or boom section system –– enables highly precise section groups, and to release the respective spreading of liquid manure. hose outlets the operator lets out the air. This “We are using our joint expertise to electro-pneumatic control of the individual hoses ensure that plants can be supplied with the enables fast, precise switching operations, says necessary nutrients through more precise the firm. The application booms are available in slurry application,” says Alexander Berges, versions with single hose control or with control John Deere. of hose outlets combined in sections. Precise organic fertilisation has significant John Deere’s Section Control is compatible A key feature of Agrifac’s latest offering is the advantages over mineral fertilisation, he adds. with all common satellite correction signals, new EcoTronicPlus II design. “It improves the CO2 balance of agricultural ranging from the free SF1 up to the production and reduces ammonia emissions. high-precision and repeatable RTK signal. L available on its RB35 and RB55 Higher yields, more consistent plant growth and This allows up to 255 boom sections to be self-propelled crop sprayers. protection of water courses are further positive controlled fully automatically to an accuracy of This feature works by following ground benefits.” +/-3cm in previously defined areas of the field, contours, enabling the operator to spray Harald Vogelsang, managing director of adds Deere. under a wide range of conditions without Vogelsang, added: “The site-specific and Complete integration of both systems into the changing settings. As well as availability need-based application of liquid manure enables John Deere operating terminal enables Section on all VG contour booms, it can also be modern agriculture to operate more sustainably Control and CFC to ensure precise slurry retrofitted. and to promote the triad of economy, ecology application, while additional integration of the and social acceptance.” HarvestLab 3000 manure sensor enables Agrifac This joint technology project demonstrates in continuous measurement of the nutrients in the Agrifac’s latest offering –– the Condor practice how accurately slurry can be applied slurry –– so not only m3/ha but also kg/ha N, P Endurance –– is among many sprayers using Vogelsang’s new BlackBird trailing shoe and K can be applied, as with mineral fertilisers. set to make its LAMMA debut next month. system with CFC automatic partial-width section The HarvestLab sensor is DLG certified for A key feature includes the new control and ExaCut ECQ precision distributors. measuring accuracy with N and P, which is at EcoTronicPlus II design, which boasts a Operated via the in-cab Generation 4 Display, the same level as accredited laboratories. fully integrated armrest and a joystick for

46 crop production magazine december 2019 LAMMA preview

Fendt’s Rogator 300 trailed sprayer is now available with a boom width of up to 36m. maximum ease of use and impressive 1200m of 12.7cm productivity, according to the firm. umbilical hose. As well as this, simplicity is At the core of the new models maintained within the design with is a Vogelsang macerator one screen in the cab for both with stone trap, while a twin spraying and GPS. From a macerator is an available option practical point of view, the on the 12m version in order to Condor Endurance has an ensure even spread on slopes, 8000-litre tank and boom says SlurryKat. widths ranging from 24-55m. All filling operations take place Vredo in the front zone of the sprayer With an increase in popularity –– induction hopper, main tank, of self-propelled kit –– due to clean water tank, diesel or the need for high capacity and AdBlue –– while the pump minimum soil compaction –– systems and electronics are Dutch firm, Vredo, has made located at the back. its VT4556 series self-propelled slurry vehicles suitable for SlurryKat attaching 24m dribble SlurryKat’s latest launch –– the bar/trailing shoe implements. Duo (Dual Purpose) Dribblebar This has been made possible range –– will make its UK debut by the 50/50 weight distribution at LAMMA, following its global of the self-propelled tanker premiere at Agritechnica. and the reload docking arm Available in 10m and mounted at the front, explains 12m widths, the vertical the firm. folding dribblebar can be The tanker can still be driven tanker-mounted or used on an in crab steer, meaning only umbilical system. Both versions one wheel in each track that’s feature a lower frame height to claimed to help achieve very maximise visibility to the rear low ground pressure. when operating the system Implements can be equipped on an umbilical set up. with section control, manual or Thanks to the heavy-duty in combination with a GPS frame, the redesigned Bak steering system. Pak reeler system can be Booms fold next to the tank, accomodated, which boasts keeping transport width below the ability to carry up to an 3.5m, adds Vredo. L

Precise nozzle selection is one of the key elements of Kuhn’s latest addition, Oceanis 2.

crop production magazine december 2019 47 LAMMA preview

shaft have also been beefed up, according to the firm. Joskin are also set to showcase machines built to its recently introduced “Advantage” concept, using shared assembly lines to produce identical series of machines, reducing costs and delivering a high-tech product at the price of a standard one, it says. Advantage machines include three tankers –– the 11m3 single-axle Modulo2 and 7.5m Pendislide Basic trailing shoe; the 12m3 twin-axle Modulo2 and the 16.5m3 New from Joskin is the Tornado spreader, with twin axle Volumetra. Vredo has made its VT4556 series self-propelled the T5513/14 models set to represent the range slurry vehicles suitable for attaching 24m dribble at the show. Tramspread bar/trailing shoe implements. Suffolk-based firm, Tramspread, have L Joskin added a remote controlled, contractor New from Joskin is the Tornado spreader, trailer pump unit to its armoury. with the T5513/14 models set to represent Boasting a hose capacity of 2000m the range at the show. and a 900-litre fuel tank, the Bauer SX2000 These 13t/14m3 capacity machines have slurry pump is powered by a 170hp diesel a 5.5m long body, 150 single axle with engine and controlled by a SIL Vision IV 420x180 brake shoes and two vertical remote control. beaters. The compressor and divert valve are The leaf suspension has been replaced also remote controlled, with information by a hydropneumatic drawbar with closed shown via large colour display, adds circuit in a move to absorb shocks better Tramspread. Flow and pressure can be Tramspread have added a remote controlled, and produce a more precise spread, while monitored with the addition of flowmeter contractor trailer pump unit to its armoury. the moving floor slats and the transmission and pressure gauge. I The future is now

Agritechnica Alternative fuels alternator strapped to the engine flywheel. The show was awash with manufacturers This provides power to electric motors Innovation roundup showing off different machines running within each hub. Without axles, the hubs on alternative fuels. Belarusian harvester are connected to the body of the tractor via Away from the glitz and specialist Gomselmash had its natural elongated king-pins. That’s enabled the gas-powered Palesse combine on display, company to add four-wheel steering and, glamour of the big players’ while Steyr’s diesel-electric hybrid by integrating hydraulic rams into the show stands at Agritechnica ‘Konzept’ tractor took centre stage on the king-pins, each wheel gets simple CNH stand. And over in the materials hydro-pneumatic suspension. last month there were handling halls there were a whole host of Integrated into the big alternator/generator plenty of other interesting hybrid and fully-electric loaders. is a separate hydraulic power pack. This But it was a tiny turquoise tractor tucked provides oil flow for the linkage and innovations on display. CPM away in a modest booth in a hall full of external hydraulics. rounds up a few of the more nondescript irrigation kit that represents And it’s this final feature that could bring possibly the biggest step forward in tractor the biggest benefits to rural parts of the L unusual bits of kit on show. technology. Dubbed the HAV –– Hybrid Agricultural By Nick Fone Vehicle –– it’s built by Indian company Proxecto which has helped Italian compact In the midst of a new age of technology, tractor specialist Carraro develop its first global engineering is making great electric machine. strides in innovation to bring some of But the HAV is a completely different the most ground-breaking bits of kit proposition. It has no clutch, no gearbox onto the market for farmers. and no axles. In fact, the only thing Though it might be some time before conventional about it is that it uses an some of the newest kit makes its way onto internal combustion engine. UK show stands, there was a vast amount Not constrained by the conventions to be seen at last month’s Agritechnica. of traditional mechanical drivelines, the In case you didn’t make it to Hannover, engineering team have taken a truly fresh here’s a look at some of the most approach to how power is transmitted from Acres hope its iTarra tracked robot will be a hit game-changing innovation that caught the engine to the ground. with anyone looking at driverless technology. our eye. In place of the clutch there’s a big

crop production magazine december 2019 49 Agritechnica

electrical power for homes that would to a hybrid electric drive is that it could otherwise go without. significantly help to reduce energy usage The other interesting thing about the in farming, according to the firm. Because HAV management is their attitude to the engine is not powering a direct pricing. They take the view that to have mechanical driveline, the loading is much something more expensive than what’s more stable. already on offer simply won’t succeed. With different operating modes selected To that end they’ve set about designing via the weather-proof touchscreen, sensors it to come in at no more than 13,500 in the wheel motors and electric pto motor (£11,540). € detect power requirements and alter Buyers currently have a choice of two engine speed to increase or reduce fuel sources for the HAV. They can either electrical output as required. opt for a 2.2-litre 47hp Yanmar four-cylinder The company says this leads to up to diesel or a 1.8-litre 52hp Avtec four-pot that There are 12 of FarmDroid’s autonomous runs on compressed natural gas. For the seed’n’weed robots out working in the field. future Proxecto says it’s not a huge leap to swap out the internal combustion engine

L developing world. Once the working day for a battery bank where there’s a ready is done the tractor can be parked up source of electrical power. and used as a mobile genset, providing One of the biggest benefits of going

HAV is a completely different proposition. It has no clutch, no gearbox and no axles.

John Deere unveiled its high clearance autonomous sprayer at the event.

John Deere’s autonomous machine has two 250kW electric motors.

50 crop production magazine december 2019 Agritechnica a 30% reduction in diesel consumption. ‘Gigadrone’ suspended from the ceiling. Switch to a CNG-fuelled motor and the Developed by German firm Volocopter, saving could be as much as 50-60%. the original concept was conceived to Without torque peaks, this more steady transport people around congested urban loading is kinder on the engine with the areas. With the ability to airlift a 200kg result that service intervals could be payload, John Deere saw the opportunity extended beyond 1000-hours. to adapt the UAV to carry a sprayer This all sounds perfect but are we likely capable of making low volume targeted to see any of the benefits here in Europe? applications of plant protection products. Proxecto says it has big plans to produce At the other end of the spectrum, the hybrid tractors for the western world and firm had its swarm spot-sprayer concept recognises it’ll need to develop larger on show. A collection of smaller drones models if it’s to have any success in areas able to carry 3-litres of spray liquid and where farms tend to operate on a larger detect weed/disease areas, they work scale. To that end it has plans for a autonomously and return to the ‘hive’ to The theory is that a swarm of Continental’s 75hp HAV that will comply with Stage V recharge and refill. tool-carrier robots could perform all the tasks emissions rules and European Type Sticking with agrochemical applications, between cultivation and harvest. Approval and anticipates that we might Deere also unveiled its high clearance see turquoise tractors arriving on our autonomous sprayer. Designed for intelligence banner, this ‘See & Spray’ shores as soon as 2021. large-scale broadacre crops, the tracked technology could see machines diagnosing machine uses petrol/electric hybrid pest and disease outbreaks and deciding Autonomous kit technology borrowed from the automotive how best to deal with them all by Dominating the core of the monstrous John world. themselves –– not good news for Deere stand was the company’s circular Kitted out with a vast array of sensors agronomists…. ‘Innovation Zone’. Focusing on technology and the computing power of a small Perhaps the most difficult to fathom of the future, it showcased a range of office-block (thanks to the green giant’s item on display was a twin-track cab-less, working prototypes that may or may not acquisition of tech specialist Blue River two driverless tractor. Designed to work as make it into the mainstream in the next years ago), it will apparently be capable of part of a team of similar machines in a decade or so. making its own decisions about what to follow-the-leader system, the autonomous Central to this was a huge multi-rotor apply. Falling firmly under the artificial machine has two 250kW electric motors L Agritechnica

L –- one for ground-drive, the other for the orchard spraying scenarios but the company pto and hydraulics. says there’s no reason why it couldn’t be It has a complex hitch arrangement that rolled out further into mainstream agriculture. means there’s weight transfer between the implement’s axle and tractor, effectively Yanmar creating a balanced, twin axle rig when the Japanese tractor and engine maker two are coupled together. This concept is Yanmar has adapted one of its conventional a way off making it into production tractors to work under its own steam. The however as battery technology is not snappily-titled 113hp YT5113A is equipped yet capable of providing enough storage with SmartPilot –– a telematics-linked capacity. system developed in house that uses a Seemingly a much more realistic combination of laser sensors and GPS to proposition, was a set of retro-fit sensors enable the machine to work either that can be mounted on the nose of a completely autonomously or paired conventional tractor to convert it to work with another manned tractor in a Japanese tractor and engine maker Yanmar has as a semi-autonomous machine in a master-and-slave arrangement. adapted one of its conventional tractors to work master-and-slave set-up. Currently there are over 100 units out under its own steam. Designed to help deal with labour-shortage working in rice-paddies across the Land issues, it’s currently being evaluated in of the Rising Sun. It’s in full factory production, this is no concept. Available in Europe for the princely sum of 120,000 (£102,577), the autonomous YT5113A€ costs about 20% more than a standard tractor.

Continental While Continental might be a name you instantly associate with tyres, the company actually has a whole host of other strings to its bow. In fact, rubber products account for just 40% of the business’ turnover with automotive components such as parking sensors, adaptive cruise control systems, digital displays, etc… making up the lion’s share of revenue. With this arsenal of high-tech kit on offer, the German company has recently taken a fresh look about how this existing technology can be redeployed into other industries including agriculture. The result is this autonomous implement carrier. With either 2kW/hr or 3kW/hr batteries, the machine has an electric motor on each side driving the wheels, a differential providing skid-steering. In between is a central docking bay designed to accommodate a range of slot-in implements. Continental says it has no plans to develop these itself, preferring instead to work with existing equipment manufacturers to miniaturise machinery for the purpose. The theory is that a swarm of these tool-carrier robots could perform all the tasks between cultivation and harvest –– seeding, spraying, weeding and making targeted fertiliser applications.

FarmDroid Unlike many of the autonomous bits of kit at the show, the FarmDroid is a commercial reality that’s actually in production.

52 crop production magazine december 2019 Agritechnica

Developed by Danish farming brothers box-section drawbar completely encloses Jens and Kristian Warming, there are 12 the pto shaft. But power doesn’t have to of these autonomous seed’n’weed robots be transmitted mechanically –– there’s also out working in the field. a 500kW electrical socket for equipment of It combines two machines in one and in the future. its primary role it’s a precision drill capable Its other innovative attribute is what’s of planting row crops such as beet. Once tagged ‘adaptive load and traction that job is done, it returns two to three weeks technology’. Designed to avoid surface later and starts to hoe, both between the scuffing when turning, the skid-steer rows and in between the plants. machine will lift the front of its track Unlike all the fancy ‘konzept’ machines units when changing direction so that at the show designed to do similar jobs, it’s the contact point with the ground is very simple in the way it works. Rather than reduced and delicate surfaces aren’t using banks of sensors to detect which damaged. are crop plants and which are weeds, its Currently the prototype is undergoing simply uses a GPS feed to record where testing with the backing of certain big it places the seeds and then on its players like Keenan/Alltech and it’s hoped John Deere’s spot-sprayer concept drones work subsequent weeding passes (every one to production will start by spring next year. autonomously and return to the ‘hive’ to recharge two weeks) it shoots out a blade between Expect a basic machine to start at around and refill. each growing plant to keep the area in the 150,000 (£128,221) mark. I between weed-free. € The big solar ‘wing’ provides the power with two small batteries providing a bit of back-up. The company says it’ll generally keep running for 22 hours a day mid growing season but if there’s not enough daylight to make that possible it can simply be plugged into the mains for a boost. On that basis they suggest it’s possible for each unit to plant and look after about 40ha of crop. At 65,000 (£55,563) it seems pricey, but when€ you factor in that you’ll have no labour or fuel costs, it actually begins to look pretty sensible. The company is now working on a version for larger seed crops such as maize and is looking into the options for targeted fertiliser placement and a possible spot-sprayer. Watch this space…

Acres Irish inventor David Doran hopes he’s hit upon something that’ll resonate with anyone looking seriously at driverless technology with his iTarra tracked robot. At its core is a Caterpillar diesel genset capable of pumping out 110kW, as well providing the track units with hydrostatic drive. It can be operated in one of three ways –– remotely with the operator in line-of-sight, via virtual reality goggles and 360deg camera or completely autonomously with TopCon GPS guidance, radar and laser ‘Lidar’ proximity sensors. The machine itself has a couple of novel features, the first being its multi-axis hitch. Unlike anything currently in circulation, the iTarra has a four-sided coupling that locks into a similarly shaped cup on the implement. Capable of swivelling and twisting through three dimensions, this

crop production magazine december 2019 53 Tech Talk

Applying a small“ amount of key nutrients within easy reach of young roots effectively gives the Seed-and-feed drilling seed its own individual Amazone has always been at the forefront of drilling growbag. technology; with the combination of a cultivator and drill ” in the 1960s, the introduction of tramlining to farmers and then the adoption of targeted consolidation to the seed row for improved germination and seedling development. Their experience in combined drilling of grain and fertiliser goes back to the 1970s with its use in direct-drilling systems. The fertile furrow Drills that deliver fertiliser into the rooting zone are back in vogue as growers aim to optimise establishment and target nutrition. CPM assesses how to get the best results from the technology now available. By Tom Allen-Stevens

Getting the most benefit from Lummer offers an insight into what key nutrients within easy reach of fertiliser applied at drilling particularly applied fertiliser has always been these are. these young roots can bring beneficial to spring crops. a key objective for any grower. significant benefits –– it effectively Applying these nutrients at drilling But the regulatory imperative to What is seed and feed? gives the seed its own individual not only makes them readily available do so has perhaps never been The principle of crop nutrition relies growbag. to the young seedlings, it also allows greater. on making nutrients available to the them to be targeted. On average, One route to ensure this is to crop at the point it requires them. Why apply fertiliser only a third of the field is treated, target inputs more precisely to the Applying fertiliser complements the with seed? crop, and there’s clear trials-based exchange of nutrients that occurs Phosphate is a key nutrient during evidence of agronomic benefits naturally between those held by soil establishment, helping a plant where this is carried out at reserves and available in the soil develop its root system and it’s establishment, according to solution. needed for photosynthesis. But it’s Agrovista technical manager A seedling’s limited root system very immobile in the soil, so a small Chris Martin. The same drilling can draw these only from the small amount applied in the root zone at technology has benefits for those zone into which it’s placed or from establishment gives the plant a establishing cover and companion seed reserves. In the case of valuable boost. crops, he points out. oilseed rape, for example, the seed Likewise nitrogen may not be The kit used to achieve this has supplies enough for just the first readily available from soil reserves at Mineralisation hits a low point in cold also come on in leaps and bounds, 5-6 days of the plant’s life, which drilling, especially in no-till situations, and wet soils, points out Chris Martin, and there are now a number of isn’t enough to ensure a decent as a degree of soil disturbance is and this makes N fertiliser applied at choices, depending on growers’ tap root –– vital for good crop usually required to mineralise the N. drilling particularly beneficial to individual situation and priorities. establishment. Mineralisation hits a low point in spring crops. Amazone technical specialist Bernd So applying a small amount of cold and wet soils, and this makes N

54 crop production magazine december 2019 Tech Talk

and spring wheat has a similar requirement. Where soils are cold What drill configurations and wet, the most immediate are available? Seed and fertiliser can be applied requirement is phosphate, making in a single-shoot or double-shoot diammonium phosphate (DAP) an configuration. A single-shoot ideal fertiliser to put down the spout system places the seed and at drilling. An applied rate of fertiliser together through the same 160kg/ha would deliver 30kgN/ha coulter. A double-shoot set-up and about 80kg/ha of P O . By 2 5 separates the two by at least 2cm. placing the fertiliser closer to the A single-shoot system works seed, this rate can be significantly best when seed is placed into reduced which saves money, cold and wet soils in either autumn while also minimising any potential or spring, making it ideal for environmental issues associated direct-drilled or min-tilled situations. with N and P. Since the fertiliser is delivered together with the seed, emerging A single-shoot system (left) places the What are the roots get direct access to the seed and fertiliser together through environmental and crop nutrients, although care should be the same coulter, while a double-shoot safety considerations? taken to keep applied rates below set-up separates the two. Growers must adhere to statutory a level that may damage the seed. N-max limits and closed periods Typically a double-shoot system typically located in front of the (see panel below). Care also needs places fertiliser into a furrow seed coulters and will work around to be taken to ensure seed is not between each pair of seeding lines. 3-5cm deeper. Double-shoot placed too close to fertiliser as high This means all the required fertiliser systems are supplied via a nutrient concentrations can impact can be applied through the drill, separate conveying line, and on germination. Small seeds are ensuring better availability than sometimes a separate tank. This most at risk, and urea or fertiliser broadcasting on the soil surface, raises the capital cost and draft that contains ammonium N tend to but with less chance of seedling requirement, but there’s more cause the most damage. damage. flexibility and these are ideal for What about cover and establishing different seed mixtures, What about delivery? such as cover crops. On some companion crops? A single-shoot system does not systems, both conveying lines pass For those who have the capability require any special coulters. The to a single special coulter that to apply both seed and fertiliser at seed and fertiliser are metered from enable spatially separated seed drilling, it makes sense to consider a split hopper and carried down the and fertiliser. how the drill can be set up to same conveying line to the coulter. Another consideration is fan achieve best establishment from With double-shoot, an extra set speed. With combined delivery, cover and companion crops. of coulters is required, which are where seed and fertiliser pass L Typically, more than one seed will so the rate can be cut accordingly, be drilled at the same time, and or the application can be more these are often of different sizes. N-max limits for growers in Nitrate Vulnerable concentrated while staying within Experience at Agrovista GrowCrop Zones (NVZ) N-max limits. So there are both cost trials has shown certain seeds can and environmental benefits. settle out, so the ability to use two Crop N-max limit Standard crop or more different hoppers has (kgN/ha) yield (t/ha) What trials evidence is benefits. Generally, the bigger the Autumn or early winter-sown wheat 220 8 there? seed, the deeper it should be Spring-sown wheat 180 7 Agrovista has carried out numerous placed, so drills with dual coulters Winter barley 180 6.5 offer advantages. trials on applying fertiliser with seed Spring barley 150 5.5 at drilling through Project Lamport, Examples here include vetch, a Winter oilseed rape 250 3.5 looking specifically at spring crops, large seed that should drilled to and the National GrowCrop Gold about 25mm, and berseem clover, Sugar beet 120 - trials, which have focused on OSR. which is best established closer to Potatoes 270 - In every year autumn N has been the surface. Together these make Forage maize 150 - applied to OSR at establishment, an excellent cover crop. Good Field beans 0 - results have been achieved drilling this has resulted in a yield benefit Peas 0 - that has ranged from 0.2-1t/ha. OSR with a companion crop of Grass 300 - For spring cropping, trials buckwheat. But buckwheat seed is large and hexagonal in shape, so Source: Defra. For wheat and barley, an additional 20kgN/ha is permitted for every tonne that expected have shown the practice to be a yield exceeds standard yield. Milling wheats may receive an additional 40kgN/ha. OSR can receive a no-brainer. Typically 50% of the total can prove problematic if mixed in maximum of 30kgN/ha during the autumn and an extra 30kgN/ha total for every half tonne that expected N requirement for spring barley the same hopper with the small, yield exceeds standard crop yield. Spreading of manufactured fertiliser is prohibited during the closed should be applied in the seedbed, spherical OSR. period of 1 Sept to 15 Jan on tilled land. OSR is exempt, subject to the maximum permitted autumn rate.

crop production magazine december 2019 55 Tech Talk

L down the same line in a which passes seed through a single-shoot system, the blower separate conveying line to either fan speed must be increased. With baffle plates at the rear of the drill or separate application, the air volume a second entry point on the coulter. must be divided between the two Calibration and adjustment of the conveying lines. twin metering units is handled by the optional TwinTerminal 3.0, The Cirrus-CC drill is one example of What’s the latest tech located on the machine, with a drill that combines the latest in in this area? rotation speeds displayed on the seed-and-feed technology. The new Amazone Cirrus-CC drill, ISOBUS terminal and adjustable that made its UK debut at the from the tractor seat. The three The FerTeC coulters apply the fertiliser Cereals Event this year, is one drill hoppers can also be calibrated in front of and slightly below the seed example of a drill that combines the via the mySeeder App on a Seed-and-feed: coulters. top tips latest in seed-and-feed technology. smartphone. I This has a second conveying line, offering up to four combinations: Sponsor message G Enrich the rooting zone – G Sowing just one seed variety via Put immobile P within easy reach RoTeC pro or TwinTeC+ coulters With the current susceptibility to dry N where permissible, such as alongside of small seedlings, while N may G Sowing seed and fertiliser (or a weather in the spring, it is becoming winter OSR. The nitrogen being removed not be readily available in cold, second crop) in the same seed increasingly important to ensure by the breaking down of crop residues can wet or direct-drilled situations. furrow via the single-shoot system there is an adequate root structure be supplemented by the use of MAP or G Tailor the technology – to maximise the potential of both G Sowing into two different seed DAP in the seed row. Consider whether single-shoot, furrows utilising double-shoot spring and winter-drilled crops. Higher rates of seedbed fertiliser can double-shoot or a combination mode and the additional FerTeC The Single-Shoot system, then be applied in between via the FerTeC of both are what you need. coulters employed on all trailed drills such as coulter when sowing small seeds in dry G Flexibility focus for cover the Cirrus, Cayena and Citan, areas where there might be an increased G A combination of both single- crops – Separate hoppers and provides a supply of phosphate shoot and double-shoot modes. chance of scorch. The new CC system additional coulters allow good within the seed row for improved If required, a third crop can also gives the grower the best of both worlds establishment of different-sized seedling development as well as be metered and applied via the with its ability to carry out both Double- seeds. having the flexibility of adding some Shoot and Single-Shoot simultaneously. on-board GreenDrill 501 hopper,

Feeding the seed brings notable crop improvements

below the seed. But what we were DAP to give it 30kgN/ha, but that’s looking to do was put the fertiliser right across the whole field, so the seeding next door to the seed to give it that zone gets a rate that’s substantially instant hit.” higher. That also gives the crop

As manager of Belvoir Farming 50-80kg/ha of P2O5,” he says. Company in Lincs, Keith establishes “For spring crops on heavy clay, around 1080ha of combinable crops on our biggest problem is cold wet soil at The Citan drill with RoTeC coulters heavy Fladbury and Denchworth series establishment. It’s why we still carry out ensures minimum disturbance in the soils. “We wanted to move to disc minimal cultivations, and we’ve found CTF system. coulters that wouldn’t shift too much soil cover crops don’t suit us as we need and encourage blackgrass,” he says. soils exposed to the wind to help dry drilling as we sow at a variable rate.” “We also needed a drill that fits with out the surface. One surprise result has been putting Keith Challen was looking to put the our 12m Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) “That shot of N at establishment is Polysulphate down the spout when fertiliser right next door to the seed to system and one that would cover essential for spring barley –– we put on drilling spring beans. This puts potash, give it that instant hit. 100-120ha/day so we could pick 100kg/ha of MAP, that gives the crop magnesium and calcium as well as a

and choose the right days to drill. 11kgN/ha and 52kg/ha of P2O5.” good dose of sulphur into the rooting Greater precision and success in A seed-and-feed drill was a key The results are now showing in leaf zone. “We tried two tonnes applied at targeting nutrients where they’re needed requirement and we wanted a rear tissue analyses, says Keith. “We used to 160kg/ha across some of beans in are what Keith Challen has achieved harrow that sweeps the soil sideways, rely on soil samples but were getting 2019 and it lifted the yield by 0.4t/ha since investing in a 12m Amazone Citan rather than raking it nutrient deficiencies even where indices to 4.8t/ha where it had been applied,” drill three years ago. It has an 8000-litre vertically. The Amazone Citan 12001-C were OK. So we take leaf tissue samples says Keith. tank split three ways with three separate was the only one that met all our coming out of dormancy, before the T0 “The drill’s done everything we metering rollers. But all grain and requirements, was reasonably priced spray timing and pre-T1. It’s clear from wanted and more –– you drill into stale fertiliser are channelled down the same and it’s proven itself,” notes Keith. these the crops are now getting the seedbeds and you can hardly see it’s conveying line in a single-shoot system. For oilseed rape, the main nutrients they need with marked been through thanks to the minimum “That was an attraction of the drill for requirement is a crop that establishes improvements in P. We can now tailor our disturbance. What’s more, it’s fitted with us,” explains Keith. “We’ve looked at quickly to stay ahead of cabbage stem inputs much more closely to crop RoTeC Pro coulters that haven’t blocked drills that place fertiliser to the side or flea beetle. “We apply enough MAP or requirements, which is also achieved at once, and that’s a benefit in itself.”

56 crop production magazine december 2019 Our aim is “to deliver per-plant understanding of a farmer’s crop.”

Small robots roll out Machinery Robots ambitious plan

In less than two years, the co-founder Sam Watson-Jones. “Our aim unique element of the service, he notes. Small Robot Company has is to deliver per-plant understanding of a “Wheat growers currently don’t measure farmer’s crop to maximise the effectiveness the effectiveness of field operations –– you progressed from mere of how it’s treated through the season.” simply can’t with any degree of accuracy. concept to a commercial, The first stage of this service is now This allows them to do so on a per-plant available –– for £15/ha you get four visits basis and build up a picture year-on-year. high resolution weed ID through the season from SuperTom, who Combine this with the high level of science service. CPM assesses will travel through the field, covering up to growers now have on how to treat wheat 20ha/day making accurate assessments of plants for maximum yield and you can what’s on offer now and your crop. To be fair, all Tom currently does make a step change to both crop what the next two years is take high resolution, geo-located photos performance and resource efficiency.” of every cm2 of the field, using sensors It’s this potential that has attracted may bring. mounted on a 4m boom, carried about 1m widespread interest. Since its initial launch, above the crop. SRC has raised more than £1 million of By Tom Allen-Stevens public funding, mainly through the Artificial intelligence government’s Industrial Strategy Fund. Last month, a small autonomous robot These are then uploaded to the cloud A crowd-funding campaign, launched rolled into a wheat field in Hampshire, and the data are assessed by Wilma, exactly a year ago, reached its initial target putting into practice a service that, less the artificial intelligence (AI) behind the of £500,000 within 15 minutes of going live, than two years ago, was little more than system. Wilma’s spent the past 18 months eventually raising a total of £1.2 million. a concept. analysing hundreds of thousands of This capital has allowed the company SuperTom, as he’s affectionately known images and has now “learned” what wheat to develop the technology and the team L by the project team, is the mark two plants look like as well as distinguishing prototype of the scouting robot developed these from broadleaf weeds. by the Small Robot Company. He can “She can very accurately locate every identify wheat and broadleaf weeds and plant,” continues Sam. “That gives you locate the plants exactly to an astonishing highly detailed information on plant counts level of detail. This has now been rolled out to inform treatments, such as slug control, as a commercial service to a small initial and tailor your nutrition programme. customer base who receive highly Knowing where your broadleaf weeds are accurate maps of their fields, showing may not affect your early residual herbicide the location of every single wheat and programme, but can give you feedback on broadleaf weed plant they contain. its effectiveness. While for organic growers, “A detailed digital view of a wheat crop this is highly valuable information when it was one of our initial goals when we comes to planning inter-row hoeing.” Sam Watson-Jones believes the precision presented SRC and Farming as a Service The precision of the system allows delivered by small robots will make a step change (FaaS) for the first time at the Oxford SuperTom to return to the exact same to both crop performance and resource efficiency. Farming Conference in Jan 2018,” notes location in the field, which highlights a

crop production magazine december 2019 57 Robots

have a platform that’s robust, rugged and day, with images geolocated up to 2cm reliable to develop the in-field monitoring accuracy and at sub millimetre resolution. service.” Currently he takes just visual images, SuperTom is a marked step-up from the but we are working with partners on previous prototype, known as Rachael, developing a ‘nose’ that will detect a who looked very similar to a remote-control host of soil-related qualities. We’re also car. The new farmbot is a ground-up considering how audio detection can bespoke build, based on an aluminium help gather data on in-field wildlife, for frame and weighing in at around 150kg, example.” SuperTom takes high resolution, geo-located including his battery pack. With his boom, Tom is just the first farmbot, however. photos of every cm2 of the field, using sensors SuperTom’s been likened to a long-horned Under development is Dick, the feeding mounted on a 4m boom, covering about ox and should be able to travel through a and precision-treatment robot, and Harry, 20ha/day. wheat crop until close to the end of the who will plant the seeds. “Both Dick and growing season, says Ben. Harry have reached proof of concept L behind it, explains co-founder Ben “He’ll cover up to 20ha/day, which was technology that has been validated in lab,” Scott-Robinson. “Launching SuperTom has always our aim, scanning a width of 6m. reports Ben. been massively exciting for us. We now He collects 6TB of data per eight-hour “We’ve built and refined Jack, the Crowdcube opportunity to lead agriculture’s fourth revolution

Those who invested in SRC’s first round of limited weed-mapping service, with the aim crowd-funding, the majority of whom are farmers, of launching a full commercial offering, have seen the value of their investment almost including grassweed ID, in autumn 2021. double in just one year, notes Sam. Now the 4. Manufacture machines. SRC has company is opening a second round, looking to partnered with the same company that builds raise a further £1.5 million. robots for Ocado to move Tom from protype “The first round has delivered SuperTom and to a full industrial design. The aim is to build a commercial service. That’s a huge achievement the first 10 Toms before the full commercial that we’re looking to build on, so we have some service is launched. very specific targets from this next round,” “I believe there are plenty of farmers with the Developing the weed-zapping technology with he says. right mindset who we hope will come on board,” RootWave is one of the aims from the next round The aims over the next 12-18 months are: notes Sam. “You can be big or small, looking for of crowd funding. 1. Grassweed identification. Developing the an interesting investment or just inspired by the AI to reliably identify blackgrass, brome grasses technology. and grounded by farmers with a talented and and ryegrass remains the core focus. “What we offer, that we believe is unique, is passionate team of skilled engineers and focused 2. Weed zapping. SRC is keen to equip Dick the opportunity for farmers to proactively make a scientists. Investing in us is a great way to make with RootWave technology and carry out difference to how land is farmed and be right at a positive impact for your industry, and could initial trials controlling weeds using electricity. the forefront of the fourth agricultural revolution. be the most valuable thing you’ve ever done,” 3. Build the commercial service. The plan We’re not a faceless multinational corporation, but he concludes. is to increase the area covered with the a British farm-led agtech start-up, surrounded www.crowdcube.com/smallrobotcompany

58 crop production magazine december 2019 Robots

negates the need for draft force, so we can drill with a low payload. It means a much wider planting window and will reduce or eliminate compaction. We’ve proved the concept, but are yet to develop the system further,” Ben reports. Also under development has been the human-robot interaction (HRI). SRC is working as part of a cross-industry consortium on developing protocols and procedures that will establish how autonomous robots will operate safely For Callum Weir, it’s a farmer-focused technology and effectively. The aim is to work with Sam with Jack, the multipurpose prototype robot, that has the right ethos, delivering for nature Government to pre-empt and co-design FAG member Andrew Hoad of Waitrose’s without compromising crop productivity. relevant regulation. Leckford Estate, and Joe Allnutt. multipurpose prototype that will form the Technical challenges basis for both Dick and Harry. Jack will This is one of several technical challenges thousands of grassweed images. We’re take a 1t payload, including batteries, identified by SRC chief technology officer hoping to have developed a really good He has been designed to carry different (AKA head of robot ‘awesomeness’) Joe solution by next spring.” booms for efficiency of utilisation, and Allnutt. “Elsewhere in the industry, robots Many of the challenges levelled at the also to fit inside a van, so we can easily tend to operate indoors in a controlled technology simply aren’t an issue, transport him from farm to farm. environment, but ours are in the field, so though, he notes. This includes operating “Jack has been developed to test the they need to know what to do if they come and maintaining very complex and novel drive and control mechanisms, and has across people, deer or other wildlife.” on-farm technology which won’t be a already had some very early testing in It also affects their geolocation. “The concern for the farmer –– not only do the field. Like Tom, we are revising our design advantage for us in an open field is that robots have no of Jack to make sure it will deliver weeding our robots can pick up satellites easily, but driver, they’re owned and maintained for trial in 2020, and commercially in 2021.” there are few reference points, and the by SRC, hired in by the farmer through But it may not be herbicides Dick will environment changes through the season. FaaS on a per ha basis, similar to a use on weeds. SRC is partnering with “Exact positioning and being able to contracting or contract farming RootWave, another UK start-up that’s return to the same plant in a field is a very arrangement. developed a system to kill weeds using important part of our service,” continues “Some farmers have also questioned electricity. “We’ve carried out the first in-lab Joe. “We’ve made huge strides with the the low payload, but less than 1t is all we trials and know the technology works. sensors and motors we’re now using on will need since Dick and Harry will work Provided we target weeds that are small SuperTom to enable this.” from a service vehicle parked at the field enough, Dick will be able to effectively Weed identification is the most edge,” explains Joe. “This will be control them using power from his immediate challenge, however. “Our aim is manned initially, but eventually will also on-board batteries.” to identify grassweeds and blackgrass in become autonomous. Tom will operate Harry is likely to utilise a punch-planting particular. It’s been a key focus for Wilma, 24/7 from an on-farm kennel to which technology to precision drill the crop. “This who has worked her way through many he’ll return to swap out battery packs L

crop production magazine december 2019 59 Robots

Digital Direction

As arable farms progress towards a digital Small Robot Company future, it can be difficult to know which forms of is reimagining farming data generation, capture and analysis provide a with robotics and artificial really worthwhile benefit to the business, and intelligence. Its farmbots which are costly and time-wasting distractions. Tom, Dick and Harry will CPM is working with some of the industry’s plant, feed and weed leading companies in this area to bring growers arable crops some Digital Direction. These articles track the autonomously, with significant steps on the journey towards the minimal waste. This will data-enabled farm, and also explain and profile enable farmers to be Per-plant precision could tailor what the crop the technologies involved. more efficient, more precise and more needs far more closely and makes so much CPM would like to thank the Small Robot productive, and is also kinder to soil and the sense from a soil health point of view, notes Company for sponsoring this Digital Direction environment. Martin Lines. article and for providing privileged access to staff www.smallrobotcompany.com and material used to help bring it together.

L and upload data.” This is actually where the biggest farmer-focused technology that has the opportunity to take it a significant further technical challenge comes in, he notes, right ethos –– it can really help deliver step. I hope in time SRC will offer the same and one that was unexpected. “Tom very for nature without compromising crop with disease identification and control. quickly gathers vast amounts of data productivity.” “Currently the cost of the service doesn’t –– each pass of each field generates It’s a benefit echoed by Cambs grower stack up against the benefits it offers. But terrabytes that can take many hours, Martin Lines with 540ha at Papley Grove it’s heading in the right direction, and the even days, to upload to Wilma with today’s Farm, Eltisley. He’s recently helped set up more it develops, the more it makes sense. typical broadband speeds. We’re currently and is the UK chair of the Nature Friendly What’s more, with the loss of chemistry we having to physically transport hard Farming Network, which has over 1100 face and other regulatory changes, it’s a drives to upload centres on superfast farmer members aimed at championing a direction of travel we may be forced to connections. But we will need to refine way of farming that is sustainable and take, so I’d rather be at the front of the this, perhaps by doing some data good for nature. queue than the back.” processing on site.” “Moving from part-field to per-plant Tom Pearson, farming 450ha at Caxton Guiding the technical development is precision makes so much sense from a soil Manor Farm, west of Cambridge, has the Farmer Advisory Group, 20 farmers health point of view. I know there are parts signed up for the new broadleaf weed and agronomists who have invested in the of my fields that yield 12t/ha and others mapping service. “As a farmer who technology. They host trials performed on that produce just 6t/ha. This technology applies a full pre-emergence blackgrass their crops and meet regularly for updates could tailor what the crop needs far more programme, I’m not super-convinced it will and to provide feedback. closely,” he notes. bring me immediate value for money, but Callum Weir is farm manager for the this is part of the end game and I’m keen National Trust on the 1000ha Wimpole Individual weeds to have an early sight of what it does,” Estate in Cambs, directly responsible for “With the ability to target individual weeds, he says. 400ha of arable land farmed organically. you can also pick out and zap the problem “In five years’ time, I can see that we “Our head of soils and farming Rob ones but keep rare arable plants and those may well have an almost herbicide-free Macklin attended Sam’s initial presentation that benefit soil structure, so there’s an weeding programme, and if that’s all SRC at Oxford Farming Conference and saw the additional benefit for in-field biodiversity. delivers that would be fantastic. But there potential for robots to perform a range of What’s more, the impact on the land will be are other developments it’s bringing on farm operations with less power and much further improved without the use of large and I’m most interested in the nutrition reduced soil compaction than current machines.” side. You can spend hours doing tissue farm machinery. We’re keen to develop Lincs grower and FAG member Andrew sampling and still treat the field as a sustainable management systems for the Ward, farming 650ha near Sleaford, sees whole, so the potential here to tailor benefit of tenants across the entire National this as a major benefit. “As someone who the programme to the plant could be Trust estate, and the services offered by bought a new Quadtrac last year, I believe immense.” Small Robot Company could be part of it could be the last one we ever buy. As an FAG member, he’s also a strong that,” he says. We’re currently going through a five-year advocate of the farmer-backed approach. “For me as an organic grower, the real transition to direct drilling and cover crops. “It’s a good group and I enjoy sharing value is the weeding technology. Inter-row Once SRC launches as a full commercial the knowledge and being involved. The hoeing isn’t ideal as it moves soil, while service, I can see we may well make a feedback we give does make a difference identifying and zapping weeds is far similar transition over to this technology.” to how the service shapes up. As the data more sustainable. There’s also the potential The ability to target blackgrass will be and experience grows, all those involved to provide a nature map of each field, a game-changer for Andrew. “We’ve will benefit from sharing their results, including the position of lapwing nests and managed to reduce our chemical and that will speed up how farming itself rare arable plants, for example. This a usage considerably, and this offers the progresses.” I

60 crop production magazine december 2019 If you don’t get“ the outcome, the price you pay is lower, if you get more we share in the upside.”

Innovation Global briefings No gain, no pay

Leading agchem giants no one had the predictive capabilities to for the “transformative changes” he believes Bayer and BASF both make a promise about an outcome. That is Bayer has to make as agriculture faces up rapidly changing as we now have so much to its challenges. announced plans at their information about what is happening on “Many of the big transformative global press briefings to the farm.” breakthroughs often occur at the interfaces,” Liam’s talking about FieldView, Bayer’s he said. “In Bayer we have many tremendous introduce outcome-based digital farming platform the company interfaces we have created within our research pricing. CPM was there to acquired with its purchase last year of organisation, between our expertise in Monsanto. Launched in 2015, there are now chemistry and in biology, for example. push them to explain. farmers across 36M ha paying to use the “We now have capabilities in digital and platform, mainly in N and S America –– an we’re leveraging them not just by using data By Tom Allen-Stevens area increase of 50% in the past year alone. within Bayer, but by using customer data from the farm. This richness of information in Site-specific recommendations terms of capacity and knowledge is what will If you’ve ever bought a crop input and What FieldView does is process farm-specific allow us to drive forward these transformative hadn’t received the expected yield or information –– weather, soil, past cropping changes.” productivity benefit, you’d probably wish and yields, etc –– combines this with data So are farmers happy with their data being you didn’t have to pay for it. But surely Bayer has on its products and makes used in this way? CPM put the question to that won’t ever happen? site-specific recommendations. It’s been in Sam Eathington, chief strategy officer with L Well now it is, and it’s closer than you field trials for the past 12 months across might think. Two of the world’s leading crop Europe, including the UK, and is set for protection companies, Bayer and BASF, commercial launch here in 2020, although have both announced plans to introduce this won’t include outcome-based pricing “outcome-based pricing”. These were –– that’s being launched only in the US to unveiled to the world’s press at separate start with. events this autumn –– Bayer’s Future of “We can put the data through a predictive Farming Dialogue at their headquarters near model and make a recommendation to a Monheim, Germany, and BASF’s Media grower that if you use a certain portfolio of Event at Nunhem in the Netherlands. products, you will get a certain outcome, “Imagine a world where Bayer makes and we will price accordingly,” continued a recommendation to a grower and, for Liam. “So if you don’t get the outcome, the example guarantees a certain amount of price you pay is lower, if you get more we yield, and we get paid according to whether share in the upside.” or not that prediction comes true,” said This theme of feeding farmers’ data back Bob Reiter (centre) and Liam Condon (right) say president of Bayer’s crop science division to Bayer was picked up by Dr Bob Reiter, Bayer now has a wealth of data on which to base Liam Condon. head of R&D at the company’s crop science outcome predictions and drive transformative “This wasn’t possible in the past because division. He talked of the creativity required change.

crop production magazine december 2019 61 Global briefings

very clear data policy that says it’s the The next step is to interact with digital farmer’s data, and the farmer decides how systems growers already have, and it’s used and who they share it with,” he said. establish a data relationship through “When it came to sharing pricing xarvio to improve decision making on farm. information to reach the outcome-based “We want to establish data relationships pricing, in fact more than 90% of our farmers with growers and other partners in order accepted the data-use policy. When you get to enhance our digital offering,” continued to the point where you’re creating value and Vincent. they see it and trust what you’ve done with So will this have the effect of restricting the data, then the conversation goes away.” the scope for farmers to make decisions? Not at all, assured senior vice president for More than 250 participants from over Healthy fields BASF’s Europe, Middle East and Africa 30 countries attended Bayer’s Future of At BASF Agricultural Solutions’ Media Event, (EMEA) region, Livio Tedeschi. “The concept Farming Dialogue. president Vincent Gros introduced the we are pursuing is to use the technology to concept of what the company calls optimise different decisions. So that’s around L Climate Corporation, the subsidiary Healthy Fields. “Here the idea is to have which varieties to use and which crop of Bayer responsible for FieldView, outcome-based business models,” he said. protection products, the timing of application who explained how outcome-based “So in a nutshell, we won’t sell individual and the way to apply the product,” he said. pricing works. crop protection products, but we will sell “This will vary across the EMEA region “In the pilot we ran in the US this year, we the assurance and the convenience of a and farmers feel strongly it should be needed to have some information about the well protected field –– a weed-free and tailored to their situation. But farms get to a farming operation that comes through on disease-free crop.” certain size at which you need a system that FieldView, which is the way we capture the This is built around xarvio, BASF’s digital allows you to manage the many different information and understand what’s going on. farming platform, acquired last year from situations and the decisions these involve. We set up a way to measure whether we Bayer and due for commercial launch So it’s not about taking decisions away, it’s were correct with our recommendations across Europe in 2020 although this won’t about empowering a much better informed through FieldView so that the farmer can see include Healthy Fields at launch. In the first decision. xarvio uses modern technology to it in real time. So FieldView becomes the instance, this acts to “smarten and support” manage variables that are not manageable arbiter of the truth in each and every field.” BASF’s existing crop protection portfolio, by the individual.” He explained there was a lot of sensitivity said Vincent. It’ll be used with new With a product that hasn’t yet been four to five years ago when they first started introductions to provide tailored, localised launched as a commercial offering, however, talking to farmers in the US about helping support to help growers get the best from BASF’s still working through the business them assemble their data. “But we have a the new fungicide Revysol, for example. model behind Healthy Fields, Livio admitted. What’s in the pipeline?

Bayer’s invested 2.3bn in crop science R&D in said. 4% growth per year is the company’s target, € the past year, claimed Bob Reiter. “We’re very fuelled by a 25bn investment in its R&D over the € proud of our leading R&D pipeline with 75 projects next 10 years, expected to deliver up to 30bn in € in seed and traits, crop protection and digital ag peak sales. pipelines,” he added. BASF is on target to grow by 5% per year, on Chief among these are short-stature corn, set average, said Vincent Gros. Investing 900M/year € to bring significant productivity benefits to the crop in R&D, the company’s aiming for a 50% increase when it’s introduced to the market, starting in in sales by 2030, with a sales target of 22bn € Mexico next year, and its second-generation by 2025. Roundup-ready soya. Already bringing a claimed A pipeline boasting 30 new “blockbuster” 20M extra tonnes of productivity in Latin America, products set for launch by 2028 have a claimed further varieties and introductions are planned. peak sales potential of 6bn, with Revysol set Europe is a very important region for BASF, € There’s not much to excite the European to take 1bn alone. BASF’s Luximo blackgrass said Livio Tedeschi. € grower from this bristling pipeline, apart from herbicide is set for launch from 2021. Both will Iblon, a new fungicide for cereal crops, and of be supported by xarvio. series of new products, it represents a mindset course FieldView. Claimed to be the first “Europe is a very important region for BASF that is in line with the priorities faced by our third-generation SDHI, Iblon is based on the active –– it accounts for more than one third of our customers.” ingredient isoflucypram, delivers “healthier crops business,” said Livio Tedeschi. “This is where we BASF now has seeds and traits in its and consistently higher yields” than current started our business, and our partnership with portfolio, which includes InVigor oilseed rape, standards, and is due to arrive in the UK in farmers and others in the supply chain is one of and new hybrid wheat technology, which will 2021-22. the things we’re most proud of.” be available in the mid-2020s, said Livio. Liam Condon admitted the company has Balancing productivity with biodiversity, “We’re in a very promising area to deliver not suffered a “disastrous” first half to 2019, but political, climate change and regulatory only an improvement in yield but also varieties strong performance predicted for the second half pressures define the challenges for the European that will cope better with weather extremes, so will see growth for the year reach about 3%, he grower, he said. “So our pipeline is not just a more consistent performance,” he said.

62 crop production magazine december 2019 Global briefings

Easyconnect promises safe spray transfer

A new closed-transfer system to improve the way crop protection products are handled has been launched by Adama, BASF, Corteva Agriscience, Nufarm and Syngenta. Easyconnect consists of two components: a unique screw cap –– pre-fitted with no foil on the containers –– and a coupler, which transfers At BASF Agricultural Solutions’ Media Event, the product directly into the spray tank and Vincent Gros introduced the concept of rinses the container. By 2021/22, a broad range Healthy Fields. of containers is planned to be equipped with the standardised IS63 screw cap in 1-15 litre sizes. Easyconnect’s screw cap fits to a coupler, recognising the considerable value of “Easyconnect allows crop protection products which transfers the product directly into the that data, and it has to be the right overall to be directly transferred from their original spray tank and rinses the container. package,” he said. container to the spray tank and to accurately But German grower Stefan Cramm had measure the volume of the chemical being on farmers’ feedback, the system has been reservations. “I’d use xarvio’s predictive and transferred,” explained Livio Tedeschi. “This steadily improved in terms of handling and recommendation tools, but would be wary of significantly reduces operator exposure and speed, making the filling faster than via the giving up my data,” he said. environmental risks from splashing or spilling.” commonly used induction hopper, and has now “I know my farm better than BASF, so I It’s been trialled on farm in selected been given the thumbs-up by those who’ve used don’t think I have anything to benefit from countries, including the UK, since 2015. Based it, added Livio. sharing my data, while BASF has everything to gain. There will be a lot of farmers in this “Where there is a positive outcome, it’s grower, it hasn’t amassed anything like the situation, so BASF stands to gain a huge a question of making sure there is a fair on-farm data bank claimed to power amount of value from farmers sharing their share of value in the outcome for both the FieldView. data, but the individual farmers will gain very farmer and for BASF. When it comes to So how do farmers feel about sharing that little in return.” preventing a negative outcome, we are data? Northants grower Andrew Pitts was BASF Agricultural Solutions head of working with yield-guarantee models in among a number of farmers from across marketing for UK and Ireland Ben Miles a number of countries and there will be Europe who attended the Media Event. noted that farmers are becoming increasingly different forms of insurance models as “It’s too early to tell whether this concept of used to sharing data with a growing range of part of an overall package.” Healthy Fields will be beneficial or not. We’re apps and services, such as Google. Pilot trials of xarvio have been running certainly open to trying it, and I have no “Data sharing only happens if we perceive across Europe, and although BASF claims problem with sharing my data, but it has to there’s value in doing so, as is the case with it’s a platform suited better to the European be a mutually beneficial agreement the xarvio range of services,” he added. I

New venture to explore how on Oerth to protect crops

Bayer has launched a new venture with Arvinas, protection hinges around finding a small molecule a biotechnology company pioneering the that fits like a key into a target pathogen, blocking development of a new class of drugs. Oerth Bio a pathway that kills it. With proteolysis, there’s the will explore crop protection applications for same specificity to a target site, but you delete the targeted protein degradation, a field Arvinas has entire door.” led, focused to date in the pharmaceutical sector. Bayer has committed over $55M to fund the The new CEO of Oerth, John Dombrosky, told company, based in Connecticut, USA. “It’ll take CPM there was “huge opportunity” to use Arvinas’ 2-3 years to develop initial products in the lab Protac technology in agriculture. “We could –– our first job will be around assessing what’s reverse weed resistance, disease resistance and different about a plant species, identifying a perhaps address resistant insects as well.” mechanism of action and then targeting that The technology harnesses a natural mechanism protein, before we then bring the technology out John Dombrosky believes Protac technology known as proteolysis. “This is biomachinery that into the field for trials,” noted John. has huge potential to radically change the way all living things have on board in order to degrade “But we want farmers to be involved in its we approach crop protection. proteins that are becoming dangerous, or not development early on. We want them engaged useful anymore, into simple amino acids. It’s with the technology, to understand it and shape similar to CRISPR in that it’s targeted and highly how it develops, because it really matters how wide stakeholder base to be involved, to ensure specific. So at extremely low rates we could they will explain it to the end user and to the we put it to the right use,” he pointed out. control specific weeds or diseases very effectively.” consumer. A fantastic technology like this that has Following extensive regulatory and safety It differs from conventional crop protection huge potential to radically change the way we testing, the first product is expected to be on the chemistry, explained John. “Much of crop approach crop protection into the future needs a market in 10-12 years’ time.

crop production magazine december 2019 63 Bumps make “booms wobble.” How application affects Innovation Research Briefing efficacy

Every spray droplet counts The person charged with the trials work to phones, explains Tom. when it comes to blackgrass establish these is well-known specialist Tom “We’re looking at where the spray is Robinson. He believes elements of the work going, and coverage gives a useful insight control. CPM investigates are long overdue. into this. But it’s important to differentiate the effect of application on “I’ve been asked by growers for Atlantis spray coverage from the actual deposition of application advice since it was first launched the herbicide, which is influenced by factors post-emergence herbicide but there was little proprietary data we could such as run-off and droplets bouncing off performance. draw on,” he says. the target,” he explains. Tom has looked at the spring application The trials found that boom height had By Lucy de la Pasture of Cintac in field-scale trials at Thurlow a big influence on the amount of spray Estates and further replicated trials at getting down to the target, with the two a site near Peterborough, using both lower boom heights delivering the most, Growers with blackgrass need no self-propelled and hand-held equipment. comments Tom. reminder that it’s a costly problem to “The work showed that coverage on the battle with. No one measure will stop it Blackgrass challenge vertical targets doubled at 40cm and 50cm advancing but efforts on many fronts each “The first trial got underway late in the compared with 100cm boom height for all make incremental gains. With that in season during March 2018, so it was a nozzles. But it was the Defy 3D that mind, making the most of blackgrass challenge to find blackgrass in what had achieved the best coverage of both front herbicides means squeezing every drop been a good autumn for grassweed control. and back vertical surfaces, with two times of activity out of them. Having found a site at Thurlow, there wasn’t more coverage than any other nozzle tested. It’s not just herbicide efficacy that matters, enough blackgrass present to conduct a trial “Even on the best sprayers it’s difficult to application is just as important, explains Life looking at control levels, but we were able to keep the boom at a consistent height. Scientific UK technical manager, Ruth carry out a field trial to investigate spray Bumps make booms wobble, so it’s vital to Stanley. The Dublin-based company brings coverage from four different nozzle types use a nozzle which operates reliably over products to market rapidly when they and the effect of different boom heights the widest range of possible boom heights, become off-patent because of its ability to –– 40cm, 50cm and 100cm.” reverse-engineer, a process which pulls The nozzles chosen for the trial were apart the formulation of reference products the air-induction Guardian Air-05 nozzle, and recreates an identical version. representing a commonly used low drift “Although our aim is to bring off-patent option; the traditional 1100 flat fan-05 to products to the market as quickly as deliver a medium spray quality; a narrower possible, we also want to help growers get 800 flat fan-05 to deliver higher energy and the most out of them in the field,” she says. consequently more penetration of the “Blackgrass control is known to be canopy; and the Defy 3D-05 angled application sensitive and we felt that not nozzle, placed on the boom to deliver spray enough application work had been on a forward and backward trajectory. carried out for the Cintac and Niantic Water-sensitive paper was placed as (mesosulfuron+ iodosulfuron-methyl) targets within the crop at GS30 in order to reference products (Pacifica and Atlantis), so assess spray coverage in both the vertical Ruth Stanley says this is the first application we were keen to fund some work to develop and horizontal planes and this was work carried out using mesosulfuron+ better application recommendations,” measured using the SnapCard app, a iodosulfuron-methyl products. she comments. digital tool that’s freely available for smart

64 crop production magazine december 2019 Research Briefing particularly ones that produce a consistent Blackgrass head counts were made in spray pattern at the lower range. May and showed that all the treatments had So what does this mean in practice? Quite provided effective levels of control compared simply, if there isn’t good control of the boom with the untreated control, which had 232 when it’s running at 50cm, then you won’t heads/m2. There was variation between the get the performance Cintac is capable of, levels of blackgrass in the different nozzle he explains. treatments with the Guardian Air nozzle Tom also looked at the effect of boom having the highest mean count (180/m2) height on spray pattern for each of the four and the Defy 3D the lowest (108/m2). nozzles using a Hypro patternator, using the internationally recognised Julius Kühn Financial cost The trials carried out by Tom Robinson show the Institute (JKI) standard to appraise each “Using yield loss and head count data from Defy 3D nozzles will give the best chance of nozzle’s consistency in performance at Dr Stephen Moss we were able to predict blackgrass control under the widest range of different boom heights. yield loss and determine the financial cost of conditions. This test really sorted out the differences using the different nozzle types to apply in the nozzles, he explains. “Using the Cintac,” explains Tom. JKI as a reference, a nozzle needs a While all the treatments had a commercial Air was predicted to yield worst of all, coefficient of variation of less than 7% at benefit when predicted yield figures were producing an extra 0.5t/ha (worth £67.50). 50cm, plus 10cm below and above this analysed, using the Defy 3D nozzle gave the “The 1100 flat fan and Defy 3D nozzle height to perform reliably in the field. highest predicted yield benefit of 1.3t/ha gave very similar results but the 3D would “The results showed that the Guardian over the control, worth an extra £175.50/ha be my choice,” says Tom. “Knowing how Air and Defy 3D nozzles were the best (with wheat at £135/t). good the 3D is at patternating will give more patternators and were the only two nozzles The 1100 flat fan nozzle was marginally reliable control under a range of different that met the JKI standard at all the heights lower, giving a yield benefit of 1.2t/ha over conditions, whereas the 1100 will perform tested –– 40-100cm,” explains Tom. the control (worth £162). The 800 flat fan was well only as long as you can control all the “The 800 flat fan only produces a good predicted to give a yield benefit of 1.0t/ha variables.” spray pattern at 80cm. It’s a bit like a (worth £135) and the Guardian Tom puts that into context saying, “If you L pressure washer –– its narrow angle produces a spray with high energy that Coverage on water sensitive paper penetrates well but it doesn’t produce a good pattern over the range of boom 50 heights,” he comments. e 45 g 0

“The 110 flat fan is a bit like a camera a 40 lens, it drifts in and out of focus but only r e 35 delivers the JKI standard over a narrow v 30 range of boom heights, most reliably at o c 25 50cm,” he adds. 20 The trial using water-sensitive paper was % repeated in 2019 using Cintac applied at 15 0.5kg/ha plus 1.0 l/ha (adjuvant) in 200 l/ha 10 water, using all four nozzle types at a 5 0

forward speed of 12km/h and a boom height . Fan 80 Fan 110 G.Air Defy 3D of 50cm. This time blackgrass headcounts P . Front hor Rear hor Front vert Rear vert

were taken to assess the level of blackgrass S . control, with yield predicted from the results. Source: Life Scientific, 2019 W

“The second trial gave slightly different coverage results with the water-sensitive Sprayf pattern at 50cm boom height for all nozzle types o paper but again the Defy 3D gave the most 80 consistent coverage on the front and back e g 70 of vertical surfaces,” explains Tom. a

r 60 e 50 New application v recommendations for Cintac o 40 C

30

G 20 Water Volume 200 l/ha % G Nozzle Height: Maximum 50cm above 10

crop 0 FF80 50 FF110 50 G.Air 50 3D 50 G Forward Speed: 12 km/h (maximum) Front flat Rear flat Front vert Rear vert G Nozzle Type: Defy 3D (preferred: top performance, least drift, best patternation) The solid black line indicates the JKI standard. 1100 fan jet also recommended. Source: Life Scientific, 2019

crop production magazine december 2019 65 Research Briefing

Research Briefing

To help growers get the best out of technology market with the goal of providing customers used in the field, manufacturers continue to with better options to meet their plant invest in R&D at every level, from the lab to protection needs. extensive field trials. CPM Research Briefings The comany’s R&D focus is forward looking provide not only the findings of recent as it aims to provide growers and agronomists research, but also an insight into the with innovative formulations and novel The pattern produced by each nozzle was technology, to ensure a full understanding combinations of products. At the same assessed at different boom heights using a of how to optimise its use. time, Life Scientific works hard to support Hypro Patternator to see how consistent their CPM would like to thank Life Scientific for established products through trials, application performance was. sponsoring this Research Briefing and for advice and the most up to date technical data. providing privileged access to staff and

L were a Formula One driver at the material used to help bring it together. beginning of the season then you’d want to Life Scientific specialises in bringing high drive a Mercedes because you’d have more quality off-patent crop protection products to chance of winning races. The Defy 3D is the Mercedes of the nozzles tested. It won’t win chemistry. But it’s so wet in places and under all of the time, but it will win more often than these conditions there’s a large potential for the others.” crop damage, especially as days get shorter The new trials work may have come at an and crop growth slows down. opportune time given the awkward autumn, “While getting pre-emergence herbicides which has seen repeated bursts of wet is still a priority, it’s a season to be mindful of weather forcing Oct-planned drilling to how much active to put on and post-em’s become much later than intended, could become of more importance than Water-sensitive paper was placed in the crop to believes Ruth. they’ve been for the past few seasons. These assess both horizontal and vertical coverage “Even where crop is in the ground, the trials will give confidence that Cintac makes using different nozzle types. temptation is to put on a hefty stack of financial sense.” I

Zero-tolerance approach to blackgrass

Jonathan Drury is manager of the 5000ha Thurlow progress when conditions are right. Estate Farms on the Cambs/Suffolk/Essex border “We make sure no cereal crop is sown without and hosted the Life Scientific trials in 2018. the field receiving glyphosate in the preceding He adopts a zero-tolerance approach to 36 hours. We have two 40m self-propelled blackgrass but stresses there’s no one-hit sprayers, one runs in front of the three 8m drills solution to managing the grassweed, it demands and the other follows with a pre-em herbicide,” a whole farm strategy employing a range of he explains. cultural strategies to support herbicide use. The sprayers are fitted with the latest boom The cultural foundation to the estate’s technology and have individual nozzle control to blackgrass control strategy is a seven-year rotation minimise any overlaps. Jonathan prefers forward Jonathan Drury doesn’t plan to use post-em which must include spring cropping, he explains. and backward facing Defy 3D nozzles for herbicides, but he accepts that sometimes Winter wheat precedes winter barley, which is the blackgrass control, using an 06 for pre-em the season dictates one may be necessary. followed by oilseed rape before returning to winter application. Autumn herbicides are applied in wheat. Next in the rotation is a spring crop which water rates from 100-150 l/ha, but he says this may be peas, linseed or spring barley before will increase to 200 l/ha in the worst areas for being washed into the rooting zone.” returning to winter wheat again, then finally blackgrass. Jonathan doesn’t plan to use post-em spring beans. “We’re stacking chemistry so would follow herbicides which are often less effective and “We use a traffic light system to highlight the Liberator (flufenacet+ DFF) with Crystal therefore expensive, but he accepts that level of blackgrass in each field and this dictates (flufenacet+ pendimethalin) in a dry season, sometimes the season dictates one may be our management strategy. For instance we’ll drill a targeting the worst blackgrass areas with Avadex necessary. Where blackgrass has got away his hybrid barley in red and amber fields because it’s (triallate) using maps we’ve created in preferred policy is to burn off the crop and more competitive than conventional varieties and Gatekeeper,” he explains. although a drastic measure, he’s been impressed allows us to drill later,” he explains. The wet conditions this autumn mean a more with how effective the strategy is, with following Drilling date is also dictated by the traffic light careful approach, comments Jonathan. “We need crops much cleaner. system, with red fields the latest to go in. Like to avoid herbicide damage and part of this is to be “Last year we burned off 5-6ha where growers across the country, wheat drilling has consistent with drilling depth. The rain is making blackgrass control had failed. In these fields been frustratingly delayed by the wet weather in things more challenging and we’re having to time follow with a spring crop before returning to Oct, but the farm is well equipped to make rapid applications to reduce the likelihood of pre-ems winter wheat again,” he adds.

66 crop production magazine december 2019 Experience “means nothing if you don’t learn from it.”

Acquiring knowledge Innovation Pushing performance through experience

Understanding is growing “In more recent times the late scientist with biostimulants –– sometimes they’re about when to useBridgeway Dr Chris Green also used to say that not needed so you don’t get the full return experience means nothing if you don’t on input costs –– they’re not a blanket to best effect. CPM digs into learn from it,” he comments. approach,” says Stuart. the research carried out Stuart believes that we’re on the path His comments come on the back of to knowledge but are still scratching trials data collected in winter wheat in over the past three seasons the surface when it comes to really 2019, which didn’t reflect the large-scale and looks at the trends in understanding how biostimulants are yield responses seen in the two previous working, let alone how to get the best seasons. So why was this? In a nutshell, different crops and seasons. out of them. While that may not seem it was down to the weather, he explains. reassuring, it’s a realistic appraisal of “Looking into the weather data during By Lucy de la Pasture the current status quo and a pattern is the core growing months in each season

emerging about where it’s best to target we can see a picture developing. It shows L a biostimulant product, he says. The subject of biostimulants is one of those that divides opinion. Some More knowledgeable growers and agronomists are exploring “We have 221 data points from the their potential, others have reservations past three years, so we’re a lot more and are waiting to be convinced. knowledgeable than we were before. Whichever camp you may fall into, The 2019 season provided a very different there’s a growing dataset behind growing season to 2017 and 2018 and it’s Bridgeway that’s beginning to tell given us a greater understanding of when its story. to expect payback,” he comments. Gaining experience from using the The experience to date shows in some product is shedding light on just where seasons, the response to biostimulants biostimulants usage can pay dividends, has been greater than others, in much the believes Stuart Sutherland, technical same way as the response to fungicide manager for Interagro. According to the treatments. great scientist Albert Einstein, ‘Information “Investing in a top rate fungicide Work conducted by Deborah Green shows that is not knowledge. The only source of programme doesn’t always pay back and Bridgeway application to sugar beet produced knowledge is experience. You need sometimes you don’t need to if disease significant yield responses in both 2018 and 2019. experience to gain wisdom.’ pressure is low. The same looks to be true

crop production magazine december 2019 67 ) )

Pushinga performance a h h / / t t ( (

y y a a w w e Average yield benefit from applying Bridgeway to Yielde benefit from applying Bridgeway to winter g g d d i winteri wheat 2017-2019 wheat – 2017-2019 – average of all results r r B B

2.00 3.50 g g n n i

i 1.73

1.80 y l y 3.00 l p p

1.60 p p

a 2.50

a 1.40 m m 1.18 o 2.00 r o f

r 1.20

f

d

l 1.50 d e

l 1.00 i e y i 1.00 l

y 0.80

a l n a

0.60 o 0.50 n i t i o

i 0.35 d t 0.40 i 0.00 d

d 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 A

d 0.20 0.05 -0.50 A Total volume of Bridgeway applied over the full test period (l/ha) 0.00 2017 2018 2019 3 Year weighted average 2017 2018 2019

Source: Interagro, 2019. Source: Interagro, 2019.

L Bridgeway is most beneficial exceptionally wet. Most wheat Management Information (CMI), current pesticide usage. One to crops ahead of abiotic stress, crops weren’t under stress at based near Grantham in Lincs. school of thought suggests such as the heat or drought as the critical growth stages and CMI director, Deborah Green, biostimulants and biologicals experienced during April to didn’t show much of a response says there’s a lot of interest in may help plants through June in 2017 and 2018, which to biostimulant treatments the wealth of new products periods of stress,” she explains. put crops under considerable (average 0.05t/ha),” he explains. appearing in the market, loosely The aim was to investigate stress (the average yield benefit But it was a different story in classed as biostimulants and this in sugar beet grown in a in cereals was 1.73t/ha in 2017 other crops, with sugar beet in biologicals. commercial situation, explains and 1.17t/ha in 2018). particular showing a positive “These are receiving a lot of Deborah. “Application timing to “In contrast 2019 started response to Bridgeway attention in agricultural research the canopy was modified in an quite showery, May was application across the seasons, in the hope of countering the attempt to define optimum warm and sunny with 93% of as underlined in a two-year pressure, in terms of both stages and sequences for the average rainfall but June was study carried out by Crop legislation and biochemistry, on use of biostimulants. In both Good responses in sugar beet

According to Frontier Agriculture agronomist application,” he explains. Max Howlett, there’s a bewildering choice of Asked whether there were any visual biostimulants products available and it’s a case of differences between the Bridgeway-treated area sifting through them to find the good ones, with and the commercial crop, Max says there was performance potential not necessarily reflected none. “We used Soyl biomass imagery to monitor by their price. the canopy but didn’t detect any changes, “It’s in our best interest to look out for the although these would most likely have been taking farmer and find the best products for them to use. place underground in the roots.” There needs to be a margin over input costs to Test digs in different areas of the field were justify using a biostimulant,” he says. carried out just prior to lifting the field towards the With that in mind, Max has worked with sugar end of Sept and revealed that that’s precisely beet growers in Suffolk and looked at a couple of where the Bridgeway was having an effect –– Max Howlett says there was no discernible tramline trials in 2019. on the biomass below ground. Both the yield and difference in the canopy of sugar beet crops “The Interagro trials in sugar beet have shown sugar content were markedly higher where the treated with Bridgeway but at harvest both yield good yield responses to Bridgeway so we needed biostimulant treatments had been applied when and sugar content were greater. to establish whether we were missing a trick.” samples were processed by British Sugar. One of the tramline trials was conducted over “The untreated sugar beet had a clean yield of 0.76ha in a commercial crop of sugar beet near 86.3t/ha (adjusted yield 94.9t/ha) with sugar of the cost of using the product and sugar beet Stowmarket and drip fed a reduced rate of 17.5%, whereas the Bridgeway treated yielded seems to be a stand-out crop in delivering this, Bridgeway (1.25 l/ha) throughout the rapid growth 98.3t/ha (adjusted yield 118.3t/ha) with sugar at with a consistent 0.5% increase in sugar as well stages of the crop. 18%. That’s a 23.4t/ha increase in adjusted yield,” as elevated yield,” he comments. “Applications were made on 29 April (five true he comments. Max highlights that it was only the result of leaves), 15 May (6-8 true leaves), 4 June (12 true Max believes that the more people begin to one trial in one season, so Bridgeway still has to leaves and a final application was made on 18 experiment with using Bridgeway, the easier it will prove itself. But he’s seen enough to convince June. We applied with insecticide applications for be to refine a reliable treatment protocol. him that it’s worth taking a more extensive look virus yellows control, manganese or as a sole “Growers need to be able to see a benefit over at applying biostimulants to his crops in 2020.

68 crop production magazine december 2019 Pushing performance

applied in sequence at the Weather summary – key growing months, 2017-2019 same timings plus an additional Weather March April May June July three applications at 10-14 day Weather 2017 Record breaking hot weather Exceptionally dry in England, Wales 2nd warmest May on record. Hottest June since 1976. Flash floods, thunderstorrms & Storms & -5th warmest on record & Scotland – 30% of average Month of 2 halves. North & Scotland wettest since 1910; torrential downpours intervals, making a total of six rainfast. 10th driest on record west below average rain; UK overall 6th wettest June heat waves South & East wet applications. In this treatment 2018 7th wettest March. Beast Cold & unsettled start fb Sunniest May on record. 5th sunniest June. 3rd driest on 6th sunniest July. Summer overall – the final three applications were from the East fb Storm Emma remarkably high temperatures, Little or no rain May to July record for England. Driest since 2003, sunniest since Storms & brought significant snow & with hottest April day since 1949 Storm Hector 1995 made during a period of high drought low temperatures temperature and drought in 2019 5th wettest March on record Started cool with showers fb more Mix of showers & warm 8th wettest June since 1910 in Highest temperature ever as a whole settled &warm conditions sunny weather. Rain 93/% of England – 177% ofaverage. recorded in the UK – 38.1 C in June and July. Wet wet average Sunshine 95% of average Cambridge wet Parts of UK saw 2x rainfall There were significant Source: Met Office, 2019. differences between treatments in the weight of beet per years, Bridgeway was the acid solutions to a crop that application timings –– a single hectare at all dig dates. All chosen product applied at was to become stressed by dose of Bridgeway at 2, 4 or treatments increased the weight one or two rates and a range heat and potential water 6 true leaves –– were applied of beet over the untreated, of timings.” shortage. The experiment site prior to the onset of a period but the biggest significant Looking at Bridgeway was drilled into moist conditions of excessive heat and drought. differences were at the earliest application in two very different after a wet spring, but the There were two further dig date on 28 August 2018, seasons, the results showed a month of June proved very hot treatments –– in the second highlights Deborah. positive trend in both. and below average rainfall. July treatment Bridgeway was “After this date, the drought “The growing season of 2018 and August followed in a similar applied at 2, 4 and 6 true broke and the additional provided an ideal opportunity to trend,” she explains. leaves in sequence. For the final moisture from rainfall allowed study the application of amino The first three treatment treatment, Bridgeway was again the untreated plots to ‘catch up’ L Plans afoot to put Bridgeway to the test

Toby Hogsbjerg manages 1,000ha near Kings the disease. So even though undeniably fungicides Lynn in Norfolk growing winter wheat, winter help build yield, there are also other ways of barley, spring peas, spring barley, sugar beet and improving plant health so that fungicides can be potatoes, with some land also rented out for used more appropriately,” he comments. parsnips and onions. Last year Toby didn’t have the chance to set up His interest in biostimulants was sparked by any replicated trials on the farm, but he did use the late Chris Green of CMI, who had identified Bridgeway on some winter wheat and spring them as a new technology that was worth barley. The field of wheat was drilled after a crop investigating. The spark was flamed after a of onions and came out of the winter with yellow lifestyle change prompted him to look after stripes marking areas of compaction. Bridgeway his own health better, and he changed his was applied as a 2.0 l/ha standalone treatment philosophy on growing crops as well. in March and Toby reports the crop greened up Toby Hogsbjerg believes that growers will have “I believe you have to be open-minded about and the biostimulant appeared to help alleviate the to start learning how to grow crops without as new technologies and look at more natural ways stress. much chemistry and doing his own research of growing crops. People are eating our produce, The spring barley crop provided an opportunity work on the farm is a good start. so it makes sense to reduce the dependency on to look at splitting the dose of Bridgeway (two x pesticides by increasing plant health, which 1.0 l/ha) as well as applying a single dose at the means crops are better able to thrive without recommended rate of 2.0 l/ha. this. But we need to make sure we’re not making as much intervention and cope with adverse “Where Bridgeway was applied there were recreational applications of biostimulants conditions,” he says. increases in yield, with the split dose providing a because it could be good for the crop, they do Toby describes the disease pressure in his part smaller increase than the standalone full dose of need to make a difference,” he comments. of the world as ‘average’ –– yellow rust isn’t as Bridgeway. There were differences in fields and Already this season the weather has thwarted much of a problem as it is in The Wash and varieties so you can’t read too much into the Toby’s plan to look at a split application of septoria is less severe than in the West. results, but it’s been enough to make me want Bridgeway applied in autumn and spring, but he “The less agchem we use, the better, so to take a closer look this season,” he explains. intends to select trial fields in the New Year with rather than use a routine T0 I’d prefer to look Moving forward the plan is to put more science the aim of applying Bridgeway at the end of at supporting plant health through nutrition and into the farm trials to get a more meaningful idea Jan/beginning of Feb and again a month later. biostimulant use in the run up to T1 and T2 of what biostimulants can bring to the party and “We’ve had to abandon min till and we’re fungicide applications,” he says. Toby intends to look at three different products. ploughing and following with a combination Toby’s not alone in taking that approach and He will also carry out split field experiments over drill so we’re likely to see more soil structure he’s had a keen eye on other growers’ results, the farm to gain even more insight into application problems and stressed crops than would be the which he says have been variable but promising. rates and number of timings. norm,” he says. “Most of us believe that it’s the fungicides we “We’ve got to start learning to grow crops From his experience so far Toby believes that apply that are giving us crops that yield, but what without as much chemistry and doing our own this is one of the situations where biostimulants they’re doing is stopping the plant from getting research work on the farm is a good way of doing will be most likely to deliver.

crop production magazine december 2019 69 Pushing performance

2018, these differences could r

2018e trial during drought year

b possibly be explained with m a e

h reference to the hot, drought / c t a e h d D / and the known ‘stress busting’ l t e 1 i 9 1 y capabilities of amino-acid 4 t g i = e d

e applications such as d l b e a t n n Bridgeway,” she says. i a i e F e r t - g But what was unexpected n l n a u a i r

h was the massive response t C 8 found in 2019, when the 1 0

2 summer had been dominated by above average rainfall, so 2 leaves unrolled 4 leaves unrolled 6 leaves unrolledAll three timings All three timings plus 3x more (10-14 day intervals) drought stress wasn’t a factor. 1.9 3.3 2 5.1 8.3 In both years the same trend 3.9 4.5 6.9 9.1 1.0 l/ha Bridgeway 2.0 l/ha Bridgeway in beet yields was found across the treatments tested Final dig – change in beet yield compared to untreated plots which were Bridgeway has had a pronounced –– six applications conferred yielding 49t/ha on 11 Dec 2018. effect on sugar beet yield and sugar no benefit over three, while Source: CMI, 2018. content in two very different a three were more favourable h

/ seasons. t

r than one.

20195 results – a year of moisture e 6 b o = t c d Sugar content was not e

O 12.0 Favourable timing t a 1 “The difference between 2018 significantly affected by e 2 r

t 10.0 g i n and 2019 was that the single treatments in 2018 but an d u l

d application could have been a increased beet yield meant an

l 8.0 n e i i y F applied at two, four or six increased gross yield of sugar, t - 6.0 e l leaves to the same effect in she says, adding that figures for e a i b r

t 4.0 2019, while six leaves was the 2019 aren’t available yet. n i 9 1 e favourable timing in 2018.” According to Stuart, 0

g 2.0 2 n In an attempt to explain the Bridgeway has been consistently a h 0.0 C 2 leaves unrolled 4 leaves unrolled 6 leaves unrolled All three timings difference, Deborah highlights beneficial in sugar beet in all 7.7 6.8 6.7 10.9 that on 22 Oct 2018 untreated trials to date, but in wheat, 2.0 l/ha Bridgeway yields were 46t/ha, while on experience over the past three Final dig – change in beet yield compared to untreated plots which were 21 Oct 2019 they were 65t/ha. seasons indicates the most yielding 65t/ha on 21 Oct 2019. “The two sites were on reliable responses were seen two different farms, but the under conditions where the Source: CMI, 2019. difference may also have crop comes under stress

L and so treatment differences sugar beet at six leaves was been affected by the available during the critical growth were reduced, but there favourable, and that three moisture,” she says. stages, he concludes. I were still significant increases applications were better than from some treatments,” one, but more applications Pushing performance she comments. conferred no further benefit,” But perhaps of even more says Deborah. At the heart of good crop their full potential. interest was the response to In spite of the significant production lies careful use of CPM would like to thank different treatment timings, with differences recorded between chemistry to protect the plant Interagro for kindly sponsoring this the biggest effects from the treatment regimes, visually there and maintain performance, article, and for providing privileged three and six applications. was no difference between right through the season. But access to staff and material used The next best was a single them in terms of canopy, optimising the efficacy of plant to help put the article together. application of the highest rate of she adds. protection products can be Bridgeway is a foliar Bridgeway (2.0 l/ha) at six true “In 2018 or 2019 visual challenging, while increasingly biostimulant containing all leaves, which was the timing observations of the canopies restrictive regulations limit just 18 amino acids essential for immediately prior to the drought were no indicator of what was how far you can go. plant health. Certified to organic period. going on underground. Neither This series of articles explores standards, Bridgeway is designed Six applications of Bridgeway green scans (with a hand-held the science behind the use of to help plants build resilience to made no significant difference Crop Circle Scanner) nor dig adjuvant and biostimulant tools abiotic stress and release yield to beet yield compared to three weights of canopies showed to help power both chemistry and quality potential. treatments applied sequentially any significant differences at and crop performance, as well at two, four and six true leaves any of the dig dates. as increase understanding of why in the 2018 season. “It was therefore a surprise they’re needed and what they do. “From the work conducted in when such big differences We’re setting out to empower 2018, it’d be easy to conclude in beet yields manifested growers and drive crops to reach that applying Bridgeway to themselves in either year. In

70 crop production magazine december 2019

Rethinking tuber “Most growers don’t bother with testing seed for R. solani because they know it’s likely to be seated in the eye tissue, even if black scurf is not visible on the tuber. Also because treatment? tuber treatments are a reasonably inexpensive means of protection, it makes sense to use them as a matter of routine. But there may be some growers who’ve forgotten how effective All of the tuber treatments are,” “alternatives to he adds. Some growers might Monceren have their choose to plant untreated merits. seed, but this would be to ” underestimate the incidence of the rhizoctonia carried on seed, comments Eric. Roots It’s a valid concern and one that was highlighted by AHDB seed testing, Tuber treatments performed as part of its review of rhizoctonia management practices. The levy body found A few weeks ago Bayer sales with immediate effect. Should the that in GB, 70% of seed had detectable levels proposals be dropped or a new MRL that is of inoculum (using PCR) and 47% had visual voluntarily withdrew their more favourable to Monceren be proposed, (black scurf) symptoms in 124 seed stocks stalwart potato seed Bayer will resume sales,” he adds. assessed both visually and with real-time PCR Bayer data shows that Monceren DS, between 2005 and 2007. treatment, Monceren. For which is the powder form, was the preferred Identifying which treatment gives the best growers who’ve relied on the means of treating seed potatoes against the protection is far from easy, points out Eric. effects of R. solani, probably because it was “There’s a difference in performance between treatment for many years easy to apply, relatively inexpensive and products that isn’t reflected in the AHDB it means a change of highly effective, comments Edward. literature. From our experience, Emesto Prime sets the new benchmark for protection against strategy. CPM looks at Reliable control seed-borne rhizoctonia and adheres to the the considerations. Aside from its reliable control, Monceren seed just as well as Monceren did,” he says. appealed to growers because it could be The loss of diquat is something else By Rob Jones applied to seed without specialist equipment, growers should factor in when it comes to he believes. “In recent years many growers making seed treatment decisions, highlights have chosen to install on-planter applicators Eric. The alternative desiccation methods will For more than a decade, growers have to improve the accuracy of application and all mean an increased threat of black scurf relied on Monceren DS (pencycuron) to ensure all seed was treated. Separate manual infection. control black scurf and reduce the incidence application directly over the seed in the “Black scurf invasion is most rapid after of stem canker, two diseases caused by hopper simply couldn’t match the accuracy senescence starts or haulm destruction, but Rhizoctonia solani that have the potential of application nor operator safety delivered because diquat was a fast-acting desiccant it to reduce yields and quality. Recent by on-planter machinery.” meant the time elapsed between spraying and proposals to alter the maximum residue The non-availability of Monceren means lifting was reasonably short. This afforded limit published by the European Commission those growers who have in the past opted for some protection of its own, but without diquat have led product manufacturer Bayer to separate application now have to choose the time between destruction and lifting is withdraw Monceren from the market, from the alternative methods. “For the likely to be much longer, increasing the threat L meaning many growers will have to find majority, the decision will likely be determined another means of protecting crops. by which system (liquid application over So why has Bayer taken this unprecedented a rolling conveyer or table or on-planter step? Bayer’s Edward Hagues explains that applicator) best suits their situation. For the EU proposal was to reduce the MRL for others, it’ll be more important to ensure pencycuron to just one-tenth of the existing the best possible level of protection. level. “All of the alternatives to Monceren, “The outlook is far from clear, but if the Emesto Prime DS (penflufen), Rhino (flutolanil) proposal is adopted it would mean all seed and Maxim 100 FS (fludioxonil) have their would have to be treated before April 2020 merits, but I would urge growers to make and all harvested potatoes sold by Oct 2020 to their choice based on which product Monceren seed treatment has been voluntarily avoid contravening the new MRL,” he says. delivers the greatest marketable yield,” withdrawn due to the implications of a possible “Clearly this is impractical, so Bayer was left says Eric Anderson, senior agronomist with change to its MRL. with little alternative but to suspend Monceren Scottish Agronomy.

72 crop production magazine december 2019

Tuber treatments

applicator, which can be retrofitted to most brands and sizes of planter, uses an auger to apply a measured quantity of product to the seed potatoes as they pass along the belt or into the cups, depending on the machine used. Because the process is short in time and distance involved, there is minimal wastage,” he explains.

Discharge rate “The discharge rate will vary according to The loss of diquat is something else growers ground speed so as to maintain a constant should factor in when it comes to making seed application rate, while the applicator itself treatment decisions, believes Eric Anderson. contains an agitator to prevent the product Edward Hagues says that Bayer will resume sales from bridging inside the hopper. Growers sensor or the tractor’s ISOBUS terminus to of Monceren if the EU stance on a new MRL for using a Digimon controller programmed ensure the application rate is maintained, pencyuron becomes more favourable. with version 4.1b, or later, will already have even during changes in forward speed,” the settings needed for Emesto Prime he says. L of rhizoctonia infection. This highlights the pre-installed. Those running earlier versions “It’s important to ensure that the machine need to use the best means of protection,” can have them updated by returning them to is properly calibrated to the product being he says. us,” he adds. applied,” adds Tom. “All the available Once a seed tuber treatment has been Another on-planter solution is the Techneat powders have different densities, so decided upon, the next consideration is how Powder Pro which also uses an auger to operators should not assume that the best to apply it. This is where growers who measure out powder, says Tom Neat of calibration settings for one treatment will previously applied Monceren by ‘the sandwich Techneat Engineering. be suitable for another. technique’ need to think ahead, explains “We have an effective solution in the “Calibration is a simple process, with Danny Hubbard of equipment manufacturer Powder Pro powder applicator which can be a dump test carried out to determine the Team Sprayers. retrofitted to most brands of cup and belt product output in grams over a known “We have an effective solution in the planter, including Standen and Grimme. number of auger revolutions. The Team Powder Applicator and are the only It uses a 25-litre hopper, which limitd the rate-controller setting is then updated to manufacturer with an on-planter applicator number of fill-ups required, and the rate ensure an accurate application is achieved,” already calibrated for Emesto Prime. The control box can be connected to a GPS he says. I Open eyes to Maxim seed treatment

Crops protected with an effective seed treatment different varieties.” can quickly build bigger and stronger root For salad varieties, he reports combinations of systems, which are able to support higher number ethylene and Maxim have been shown to stimulate of tubers with more even size and maturity at far greater shoot numbers. For varieties that harvest, according to extensive trials undertaken typically exhibit strong dormancy, such as by Frontier Agriculture. processing varieties Brooke and Taurus, they’ve Paul Overton, the company’s potato seed appeared more likely to break dormancy with the treatment specialist, reports the trials with Maxim seed treatment, he points out. (fludioxonil) have shown it will consistently enable “Stolon numbers are the absolute framework more eyes to open and stimulate extra rooting. for carrying tubers and increasing the yield “More viable eyes which increase stem potential. With the Maxim treatment the numbers per ha is key to increasing overall yields,” cleanliness and vigour of the stems is incredible, advocates Paul. “On farm, that has translated to so growers and agronomists can really begin to Effective seed treatment aims to achieve even, more even initial movement in the seed storage influence potato plant population dynamics for 100% emergence of the crop. box, and typically means crops are faster to reach higher yields and marketable quality.” 100% emergence.” Fludioxonil is particularly well suited as a seed all on the Maxim label. He believes achieving a more consistent crop treatment since it’s relatively immobile in the soil, For growers buying in bagged seed, unloading with the seed treatment has benefits for agronomy meaning it surrounds the tuber and protects roots into boxes within 48 hours of arriving on farm right through the season. for longer. “Treatment in store pre-planting is provides an ideal opportunity for Maxim Frontier’s dedicated store at Sutton Bridge controlled, convenient and saves another task for treatment, he highlights. has been designed specifically to accelerate planter operators,” says Paul. “Over past seasons most of the seed seed-borne diseases on seed lots. “If we can Field trials and lab studies by Frontier and treatment has been applied at source or by a identify seed issues before planting, it gives the Syngenta, have shown in-store application has specialist contractor on-farm, but many growers chance to make the best decisions on what beneficial all-round effects on a range of skin are now kitting up with their own applicators for treatments to recommend. We can also get a diseases, including skin spot and fusarium, as well convenience and greater selectivity, targeting better understanding of Maxim treatments on as R. solani, black dot and silver scurf, which are seed to for specific fields or risk situations.”

74 crop production magazine december 2019 Combine all that with happens when your brain you’d think would lie awake at the knock-on effects chemistry gets out of balance, night worrying. He was known of a difficult harvest it’s not a weakness. Let’s talk as ‘the Commander’ and he was and autumn then about it because one in five of phenomenally capable but the farming can soon us has been there. stress of the uncontrollable took feel like climbing a The pressure British farmers a toll on his heart. mountain and constantly are under is unrelenting, with It’s really good news mental falling back to the bottom. one farmer every week taking stress is on the farming agenda Last month the AHDB’s his own life. Most of us in the because for too long there’s Hereford monitor farm held a industry have connections with been a stigma attached to meeting on managing stress. someone that has –– it’s a mental health, and let’s face it, Professor Alan White from The dreadful statistic. No one there are very few of us who Centre for Men’s Health talked should ever end up feeling have escaped periods of about how to take control of the best way out is to no feeling down or some degree Tis the season to stress and ensure that you’re longer be alive and no one of the ‘black dog’ –– depression be jolly –– or is it? not adding to it unwittingly. should ever have to deal with has many forms. It’s human, According to a friend that was wondering if they could have it’s understandable, it’s often there, the meeting was well done something to prevent temporary and it’s mendable if This autumn is proving to be attended and the conversation a suicide. you have the right strategies one of those awkward ones –– from fellow farmers was frank The suicide rate in and support. drilling has fallen dramatically and supportive. farming exceeds many other https://www.yanahelp.org/index.html behind and many growers One of the areas covered in professions but it’s still just the will be nervously looking up the meeting was recognising measurable tip of the iceberg. the latest drilling dates for the signs of depression in Levels of stress, depression varieties as their bags of seed others and knowing what to do. and despair sit in the many corn gather dust in the barn. It may be useful information for tiers beneath and all of these The story is even worse for agronomists who have an are life-impacting and even some potato growers who are unusual business relationship life-limiting when it’s prolonged facing the second bad year in with growers –– they often act and extreme. Based in Ludlow, Shrops, a row –– ironically one because as sounding boards, confidents Forty years ago, I lost Lucy de la Pasture has of a drought, the other because and friends. Listening is my father to the stresses of worked as an agronomist, of the wet. There are still crops something they do a lot of, farming. Having spent most of while among the Twitterati, in the ground and plenty of but I wonder how many have his career in the Royal Navy she’s @Lucy_delaP. fields that have ruts that would training in their de facto role of before turning his hand to [email protected] make even the least soil-aware giving ‘counsel’? growing crops, he wasn’t a man farmer blush in embarrassment. At this time of year when Farming has always been a there’s precious little agronomy high-risk business, with a high going on, who else would you capital investment and very talk to about the stack of limited cash. With the best laid unused pre-ems sitting in the plans gone to pot this autumn, spray shed, the frustration of financial uncertainty is likely to having an idle drill and a be the net result for many for a backlog of drilling, the price whole host of different reasons of wheat or which spring –– poor blackgrass control, crop to switch into? They’re crop loss, lower gross margins conversations every agronomist from spring crops, unused is more than willing to engage pre-emergence herbicides in in, and a problem shared is a the spray shed… problem halved, but for some There are few eras in farming it’s hard to shrug off the when there’s been so much pressures their clients and uncertainty –– Brexit, changes friends are under –– feeling in support payments, climate powerless to be of much help. change and all the ramifications Maintaining an inner Santa of the measures that could be and feelings of ‘ho, ho, ho’ used politically to address it. isn’t always easy. Depression

crop production magazine december 2019 75