Putting arable plots on the map in the west
Seeing arable innovations up close and on land indicative of your own locally, is the real draw for farmers attending this year’s Arable Event.
To be able to draw practical conclusions and take lessons home from a technical arable trials-based day, it needs to be relevant, and that’s the beauty of the Arable Event, explains Rob Farrow, Syngenta Business Manager.
“Based at Woodlands farm, near Weston Park, the Syngenta trial site is on sandy loam soil which a lot of local growers in the west should be familiar with,” he adds.
“Trial sites are a big part of field product testing, so it’s exciting to see our extensive R&D pipeline coming up with the goods with the registration of two new SDHI products this year,” says Mr Farrow.
“Firstly, we’ve seen the approval and first seasons use of our new SDHI fungicide ELATUS™ ERA, which is based on the novel active ingredient SOLATENOL™.
“The farm manager at Woodlands has used ELATUS™ ERA across a significant acreage of winter wheat, and the trial plots have all been treated, which gives growers that haven’t yet tried it opportunity to see the resulting enhanced green leaf area following treatment at T2.
“We have treated versus untreated plots on display, so people can clearly see the benefits from a powerful SDHI at T2,” he adds.
“Despite the dry conditions throughout this season, the advice from experts has been to plan a robust fungicide strategy and remain in a protectant situation, and this is where ELATUS™ ERA has a perfect fit,” explains Mr Farrow.
“2017 has been a really exciting year for Syngenta as we’ve also had registration for VIBRANCE® DUO, our new seed treatment that is based on the advanced SDHI, Sedaxane.
“This is well timed ahead of the 2017 seed purchasing window and offers growers a real step change in establishment and rooting.
“At this time of year, the effects of seed treatments are often overlooked, but it’s what you can’t see below the ground that makes the difference above. The trial work has showcased that VIBRANCE® DUO delivers significant root growth benefits which opens up a raft of wider physiological benefits. This is key for more resilient plants,” says Mr Farrow.
“If growers are looking to make decisions ahead of next season, The Arable Event is the perfect opportunity to see multiple varieties displayed under similar climatic conditions to what growers will be expecting them to perform under.
“Heading up the winter wheat plots is the new variety on the block, Shabras, which is the highest yielding new hard wheat in the west and the top second wheat. We’ll also have plots for top yielding wheats, Reflection and Graham,” he adds.
“More and more, cropping strategy, rotation and variety choice is having to be governed by disease control, and selecting varieties according to strong Septoria resistance ratings will be paramount, offering flexibility around drilling dates. There are lots of varieties in the plot tour that tick this box.
“Also of interest is Wynnstay’s reliable, all-round two-row feed barley Surge, which is proving a popular option in the west,” he adds.
“Syngenta’s hybrid barley Bazooka, and two exciting new coded varieties will be at the centre of many conversations. There is some interesting seed rate work in the demo plots looking at the results from 100 seeds/m2 up to 250 seeds/m2.
“It’s practical research like this that can be difficult to trial properly on-farm, so the opportunity to see innovative arable demo plots in your region is the real draw for growers. It’s really ensuring growers in the west stay one step ahead.”
