2016-02-01 |
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Online Guide Gives Valuable Septoria Advice
Adama Agricultural Solutions UK has launched a new online disease guide to help arable farmers improve the control of septoria in cereal crops.
With septoria fungicide resistance becoming an increasingly common constraint on disease management, future crop protection strategies need careful planning to provide effective disease prevention and to combat the threat of increasing resistance.
Choosing the right chemicals to partner each other within spray mixtures, avoiding the repeated use of single modes of action, and applying treatments at appropriate timings are therefore key challenges for arable farmers.
Adama has therefore published a digital septoria guide, which not only explains the life cycle of the disease, but also outlines potential control strategies and effective fungicide options.
The online guide pays special attention to the benefits of switching to robust, early preventative treatments rather than relying on the later application of curative products.
“The guide is based on the old adage that prevention is better than cure,” explains Andy Bailey, cereal fungicides specialist for Adama.
“Part of Adama’s remit is to provide simple, but valuable crop protection advice to growers and agronomists,” Mr Bailey adds. “The guide is therefore designed to help farmers get a better understanding of the septoria disease cycle and the modes of action available to provide effective preventative control.”
The new guide features video and schematic content and is split into three main sections: the septoria disease cycle, control strategies, and managing the disease in the future. Within the latter section, the guide explains the benefits of building a fungicide strategy based on the foundation of a multi-site fungicide (e.g. folpet) in conjunction with azole and SDHI chemistries. The guide also explains why multi-site chemicals are vital in the fight against further resistance to fungicides.
“Chemical resistance is of major concern to the arable sector,” Mr Bailey explains. “Actives like folpet are therefore of critical importance in the ongoing fight against septoria. But it is more than just a resistance management tool. It adds to disease control, does not affect the uptake of partner products and has been shown to increase the lifespan of single site actives. In addition it helps to manage disease levels earlier in the season, giving crops an increased chance of fulfilling their true yield potential.”
