cpm magazine - crop production magazine - In this issue · 2016-12-05 · on your PC, tablet and...

In this issue...No-till thrill page 72The fruits of a more fertile system

Rotation deliberation page 24

What’s the drill? page 42Coulter craft comes under scrutiny

Blackgrass Populations page 10

Volume 18 Number 7August 2016

*the claim ‘best read specialist arable journal’ is based on independent reader research, conducted by the

National Farm Research Unit 2014

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EditorTom Allen-Stevens

Technical EditorLucy de la Pasture

Sub editorCharlotte Lord

Writers

Design and ProductionBrooks Design

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To claim two crop protection BASIS points, send an email [email protected], quoting reference CP/37178/1415/g.

Rob JonesLucy de la Pasture

Mick Roberts

Tom Allen-StevensJames Andrews

Nick Fone

TechnicalHerbicide resistance - The unseen threat of population dynamicsResistance is a ready-made explanation when blackgrass populations explode, but managing the numbers is key to the weed’s control.

Cereal cropping - Cropping out the weed challengeSpring cropping and barley are popular options for getting to grips withblackgrass populations.

Slug control - Farming better with stewardshipWater stewardship is something growers have been living with for many years and, in many ways, it’s one of agriculture’s big success stories.

Water stewardship - Another ‘meta’ water issueThis time it’s metazachlor, one of the stalwarts of oilseed rape herbicide programmes and another active under stewardship guidelines.

Arable resilience - A solid foundation for a thriving rotationCrops that deliver profits year after year tend to come from a diverse rotation and from soils nurturedto perform at their best.

OSR weed control - Clear solution for weedsWith UK rapeseed crushers introducing new intake tests, weedy crops could be what’s affecting oil quality.

Beat Your Best Yield - Verdict reserved on wheat prospectsWill Reflection deliver on its promised potential this harvest?

OpinionTalking Tilth – A word from the editor.

Smith’s Soapbox – Views and opinions from an Essex peasant…..

Last Word – A view from the field from CPM’s technical editor

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Drills - Developments expand coulter choiceMoves from minimum tillage to direct drilling, sowing into cover crops and low disturbance have driven significant changes in coulter design.Methane power - A lot of hot air?UK farmers got the first glimpse of a methane-powered tractor this summer, but how much practical use will it be on farm? On Farm Opinion - A drill to cope with cropping changeIntent on choosing the right drill, one Kent farm trialled seven beforemaking its selection.

On Farm Opinion - Shallow thinking drives cultural changeAlready following best practice advice for cultural control of blackgrass, one Wilts grower is now shifting to ultra-shallow stale seedbeds.

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FeaturesTheory to Field - Perception impediment for ‘the wonder crop’?Recent research has shown there’s a range of cereal varieties that outyields most wheats and performs better in feed rations.

Tech Talk - The healthy secrets of balanced nutritionPlant nutrition has always had an important role to play in disease control but, until recently, this may have been largely overlooked.

On-farm Innovator - Focused on fertilityKent grower Tom Sewell’s decision to invest in a one-pass, no-till system followed years of building the soil’s natural fertility.

RootsPotatoes - SPot-light on potatoesA series of open days on potato farms has given growers an insight into AHDB-funded research and the latest on best practice.

Potato harvesting - Gently does itWhen a Notts potato business upgraded its harvester, it was keen to keep its reputation for producing quality, unbruised potatoes.

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Machinery

5crop production magazine august 2016

Right now, I’m consideringmy rotation, and in my

book, arable decisionsdon’t get much bigger.

I’m honestly not sureit’s wise to shake atthe very foundation

and risk a collapse. Oris it only by doing so that

I identify the weaknessesin my system and build astronger future?

What I want is for someoneto tell me what to do –– how to deliver an unshakable 5t/ha yield, or the stunningbreak-crop alternative. I won’tget that, but if I keep an open mind and search forinformation, what I will get are suggestions, snippets ofexperience and advice, someof which will just make perfectsense.

With that in mind, press onthrough this month’s issue of CPM. There are no readysolutions in our coverage of blackgrass (see p10 andp14), but we explore how populations build, and howcropping may address it. Thetwo articles on stewardship(p18 and 22) won’t tell youwhat to do, but give an interesting update on how the industry has progressedwith the issue.

In the third of our series onarable resilience we home inon soil and rotations (p24),there’s analysis of what itmeans now rapeseed crushersare testing loads on intake forerucic acid levels (p30), andwe’ve drawn the thoughts of a

group of #clubhectare growerson harvest so far and prospectsfor their wheat crop (p36).

Drills, or more specifically,their coulters, form the focus in the Machinery section (p42),with an On Farm Opinion froma Kent grower on his Cayena(p54). We also visit a Wiltsgrower who’s moved to ultra-shallow cultivations in abid to bridle blackgrass (p59).

The Roots section has highlights of a recent SPotfarm event (p76), and perhapswe do have news of a ground-breaking wonder cropin Features (p64). Tech Talkunravels the health benefits ofbalanced nutrition (p68) andthis month’s On-farm innovatoris Tom Sewell, for whom no-tillis a step towards regenerativeagriculture (p72).

We’ve agreed on a trial separation –– 12 months,and we’ll see how we feel. I’m putting on a show of being very calm and considered about it ––objective even.

But I feel like it’s a betrayal.After everything I’ve done, all the misguided faith I’veplaced and all the investmentI’ve made –– the expression ‘let down’ wouldn’t begin to describe the aching emptiness.

I am, of course, talkingabout the oilseed rape harvest. It’s not a heap in thebarn –– it’s a trickle. It’s anexcuse for the crop I oncecalled the best performer onthe farm. Now I can’t evenbear to crunch the figuresbecause it’ll be just toodepressing.

So big decisions need to bemade, and this is when theyarise –– everything hinges onharvest, and your hopes for it.The wider the results swingfrom these expectations, thebigger the decisions.

Tom Allen-Stevens has a 170haarable farm in Oxon, and if thispage is draped over your left thigh, please don’t forget to washyour hands once you’re [email protected]

I reckon you’ll get to LastWord (p83), and if you’re likeme, you probably won’t havefound the silver bullet that willwipe blackgrass from yourfields, or pour profits back intopoor-performing crops. But I’m beginning to think arotational change is not such a big decision after all –– I cansee I’ve plenty of options anda trial separation may be

just what I need to help meconsider them.

Is the decision too big?

Beyond the pageIt’s a job to know just where this particular copy of CPM has ended up –– is it on the breakfast table, in the farm office or in the tractor cab tofill in time while you wait for the combine to unload? Or is it in the downstairs loo, with this page draped over your left thigh?

Well perhaps it’s not even a paper copy at all. You can now get CPMon your PC, tablet and even smartphone –– we’ve relaunched the websiteand we’re loading all the articles from this issue, as well as much of thepast content, on to the site. There’s no subscription, just free and easyaccess to the best read specialist arable journal –– never more than aclick or swipe away from your fingertips.

What’s more, each month there’ll be an exclusive article that won’teven see a paper page –– this month, we’ve a special report on club rootand how it may be on the rise in UK crops. For this and more, go towww.cpm-magazine.co.uk and sign up to the monthly e-newsletter.And rest assured that if you do, we won’t fill your inbox with unsolicitedPR puff and promotion posing as important news. It’ll be once a month,it’ll be direct access to arable analysis, crop highlights and interestingtechnical information, and it’ll be worth reading.

In my thoughtful hours duringthe solitary confinement of thecombine cab, I sometimes compose little lists in my headsuch as the most tedious jobson the farm that I’d rather bewithout.

Spraying in fields full of pylonsand posts has got to be on thelist. The constant folding andunfolding of the booms every fewminutes gets firmly on the wick.The temptation is to just ignorethe trams and give the poles a wide circular berth. But such shoddy practice knocksdown corn and leads to poorapplications with the inner curveof the boom putting on multipleamounts of the rate comparedwith the outer to the point that, intheory, you’re probably ignoringthe label and breaching the law.

There’s also the considerabledanger of working around electricity. A harvest doesn’t seem to go by where someonesomewhere doesn’t touch a high-voltage power cable withthe unloading spout on the combine. The advice in such situations is to sit tight in the caband not to get out for fear ofearthing several thousand voltsthrough one’s corpse.

Mercifully I’ve never been inthis predicament but I imagine itmust take quite a bit of nerve torepress the flight instinct whenfaced with danger and rather to

phone for help to get the powerturned off. Having said all that,

it’s not sensible to blame thepylon for the danger here –– we need to rememberwhich object is stationaryand which object is being

manoeuvred. I understandthat every year there are

several hundred incidents involving agricultural machineryand electric wires and we all need to be more careful,especially when working late at night in the combine as webattle the elements to bring theharvest home.

It’s good to see the NFU and the ENA (Energy NetworksAssociation) are reviewing theamount farmers get paid for hosting these impediments to in-field work. The current rates forpylons and poles simply doesn’treflect modern machinery and the amount of time and crop lossthey incur. One would like to think payments would includecompensation for the stress I’m caused with the constantunfolding and folding but maybe that’s a little greedy.

I often think the low paymentswe get for these pylons andposts is a reflection of a time when our fathers and grandfathers were desperate to have electricity on their farms so didn’t protest very much about the necessaryinfrastructure marching over theirfields that got the power to theyard. I suppose I ought to remember when swearing aboutthe inconvenience of sprayingthe fields next to the farm that lifewithout electricity would be agood deal worse.

This issue of compensation for masts and poles is alsoaddressed in the new ElectronicCommunications Bill goingthrough parliament now. The billundoubtedly erodes the rights oflandowners when it comes to thetask of rolling out higher speed

Those little tasksof tedium

Email your comments and ideas to [email protected]

Guy Smith grows 500ha ofcombinable crops on thenorth east Essex coast,namely St. Osyth Marsh ––officially the driest spot inthe British Isles. Despitespurious claims from othersthat their farms are actuallydrier, he points out that hisfarm is in the Guinness Book of Records, whereasothers aren’t. End of.

broadband and improved mobilephone signal. As someone whohosts a mast I know they can benice little earners but I’m alsoaware that in low usage ruralareas this can add to the cost ofproviding better mobile signal.

If this new Bill leads to lowercompensation for landowners butbetter signal and broadbandthen I think I need to put my own selfish interest behind the greatergood. And if it gets me bettermobile signal that’s yet anotherarea of stress in my life mademore bearable. There’s also thethought that one day I might bethe poor sod whose unloadingarm on the combine is touchinga high voltage cable. It’s timeslike that you really appreciategood mobile signal over thechance of a few more quid forhosting a mast.

Another candidate for mosttedious task is filling in endlessyellow forms to give to the lorrydriver every time a load leavesthe farm. To be clear, I’m notknocking assurance schemesbecause these schemes don’treally hinder my professional lifebut the repetitive task of poringover those yellow forms with thebiro when you get off the loaderdoes get a trifle tedious.

It’s an interesting thought to do the maths on the number ofpassports farmers fill in during anaverage year. It must be the bestpart of a million. That’s a lot of A4sheets and a lot of farmer time.

So it’s interesting to note that e-passports might soon be available to add a bit of digitalconvenience to my farming life.

Working through a touchscreen with drop-down optionmenus makes sense to me. But, as ever, there are pitfalls todoing things digitally –– namelyfinding yourself without signal.It’s essential that if e-passportsare rolled out they must bebacked up by the old paperoption. But if e-passports allows the grain chain to workmore cohesively and moretransparently then I’m all for it.And of course, if informationabout what leaves the farm isgoing online then logically soshould information about whatarrives at the intake. What’ssauce for the farmer goose is also sauce for purchasinggander.

8 crop production magazine august 2016

My oilseed rape harvest was not a vintage one. The most likely culprits to explain the poor yieldare lack of sunshine, verticilliumwilt and cabbage stem flea beetle.Nationally we really need somecomprehensive work done on whathas caused this year’s poor OSRharvest. If it is flea beetle, either at establishment or in the stem,then it strengthens the case for

a neonictonoid emergency useapplication next year.

On top of worries about loweryields, I also note there’s a new worry–– namely an erucic acid tester atADM Erith. If erucic contaminationleads to loads being rejected ordeducted then I’m going to have acloser look at the purity of seed andweed infestation.

Rapeseed woes

TechnicalHerbicide resistance

Resistance is a ready-madeexplanation when blackgrass

populations explode, butmanaging the numbers is key to the weed’s control.

CPM gathers advice on howresistance develops

and grows.

By Tom Allen-Stevens andLucy de la Pasture

The farmer doesn’t see the problemfor the first few years,then it’s probably only

two years until it’s boomand the weed is all over

the field.”

“

The unseen threat of population dynamics

The first rule of herbicide resistance isthat the plant surviving treatment may notbe resistant. “Don’t automatically assumethis,” cautions Ben Coombs of Bayer.

“There are many reasons why a plant maysurvive a herbicide treatment, such as poorapplication or unsuitable conditions, so it’simportant to rule these out first of all.”

Next it’s a question of defining what’sactually happening. “Resistance is oftenused as a catch-all term, but really it’s a specific change in the weed’s biology thatallows it to tolerate particular herbicides. Itmay seem like a minor point, but precisionabout what you’re dealing with leads to better control programmes,” he continues.

For blackgrass, resistance usually refers

to ALS inhibitors such as Atlantis (mesosulfuron+ iodosulfuron). When it was first launched, Atlantis achieved staggeringly good control –– unfortunatelythis wasn’t sustained for the long term andresistance tests now show widespreadresistance, or at least reduced sensitivity, in UK blackgrass populations.

Herbicide breakdownTwo types of resistance are present in blackgrass, enhanced metabolism and target site. For enhanced metabolism resistance, blackgrass can withstand higheramounts of herbicides before they takeeffect because the plant is able to breakthem down more effectively. Target siteresistance arises because herbicides oftentarget a particular enzyme that’s essential for the plant’s survival. In resistant plants, this target has changed so the herbicidedoesn’t work.

This capacity for resistance is passedfrom one generation of plants to the next butwhere does it come from in the first place?

“Resistance is out there in the fieldalready because mutations that confer resistance occur naturally,” explains Dr HarryStrek, scientific director of Bayer’s WeedResistance Competence Centre. “Solar radiation and cosmic radiation can bothcause mutations in cells –– there are naturalmechanisms to repair these mutationsbecause it’s such a common occurrence but

sometimes mistakes are made and themutation stays.”

The occurrence of these mutations isimpossible to control, although having asmaller starting population does reduce the amount of mutations that occur. Whatgrowers can control, however, is what happens next, he says.

As a rule, resistance will become morewidespread in the population when farmersdo the same thing over and over again withlittle variation. Repetition selects the sametraits year after year –– so resistance to thatfarming method is likely to emerge.

“It’s important to stress that this isn’t onlyresistance to chemical control. Factors suchas changes in plant height or timing of


When it comes to resistance, Ben Coombsreckons precision about what you’re dealing with leads to better control programmes.

s

Resistance will become more widespread in the population when farmers do the same thingover and over again with little variation, saysHarry Strek.

Blackgrass control strategy came into focus at the Blackgrass Live event, put on by Bayer inPeterborough in July. A panel of experts addressedquestions pre-submitted by the audience of growers and agronomists during a day that pulledapart control strategy from cultivations to chemistry.

On the topic of resistance, Dr Richard Hull ofRothamsted Research was keen to stress it’s aone-way process, especially target site resistance.“Once you have it, it won’t go away, and the morechemical you use, the more it builds.”

An analysis of historical field trials data hasshown that flufenacet is relatively low risk in resistance terms, he said, with an average 1% shiftin efficacy per year. Non target-site resistance isunder investigation in the public-funded BlackgrassResistance Initiative, and there’s now a field testthat shows instantly whether blackgrass is resistant,he noted.

So if scientists can detect the mechanism, can it be reversed to make herbicides more effective? “It would be difficult to do this, but it can help usget a much better handle on plant mechanisms and utilise these,” he said.

The panel agreed that spring cropping was oneof the most effective control measures. “But it doesn’t alter the dynamics,” cautioned Bucks-basedindependent agronomist Andrew Cotton.

“It’ll give you a smaller weed seed-bank, but thatblackgrass will still be resistant. What you want totry to avoid is a seed return in that spring-croppingperiod.”

Paul Drinkwater, of Abbots Ripton FarmingCompany, raised a concern that a move to springcropping could alter germination patterns, however.“If blackgrass is clever enough to select out herbicides, it’s clever enough to adapt to springcropping.”

Richard Hull said blackgrass was predominantlyan autumn-germinating weed, with 90% emergence before Christmas. “There’s no statistical

evidence of a shift in germination, nor data to indicate this, but logically I’d suggest this would happen.”

On cultivations, Colin Lloyd of Agrii said work carried out at the company’s long term blackgrasstrials site at Stow Longa, Cambs, had shown ploughing one year and then shallow cultivations forthe following four was the most effective strategy,“But ploughing’s expensive and must be done well,”he added.

He advocated autumn cultivations, and minimumsoil disturbance at all other times of the year,including when spring drilling. “Set your mind on astrategy and stick to it,” he said. “But don’t put allyour confidence in one cultivations system –– I’m genuinely concerned for those growers with blackgrass who sell all their kit and rely on justone tool.”

Cultivations go hand-in-hand with drilling date,he said. “You can’t drill in Sept if you have badblackgrass – experience shows the big germinationflushes take place before the second week in Oct.So delay drilling, even where you’ve ploughed.”

Paul Drinkwater agreed. “Get a seedbed earlyand delay drilling for as long as you dare. But youshould never drill if soil conditions aren’t right –– it’salways best to leave it.”

That allows for as much autumn-germinatingblackgrass as possible to be taken out withglyphosate, but multiple applications aren’t required,pointed out Colin Lloyd. “Lots of flushes give you revenge satisfaction, but actually make no difference to overall control.”

On cropping, oilseed rape could no longer berelied on to be a cleaning crop, he said. Variousoptions are in trials at Stow Longa, and he advocated a minimum five-year rotation, includingat least one spring break. “Spring wheat is effective, but needs to be drilled at the right time.Spring barley is more competitive.”

Alternatively, spring barley proves highly effective

Multiple routes to beat blackgrass

and will “out-fox” the blackgrass, he said. “There’llbe blackgrass heads in the crop, but numbers willbe radically lower and the ears will be smaller. Italso produces a much higher yield than wheat in a bad blackgrass situation, but it must be drilledbefore the third week in Oct, or the yield drops significantly. We’re now looking at rye and triticaleand asking whether they have the same effect onblackgrass –– I would imagine the answer wouldbe ‘yes’.”

Richard Hull suggested a spring crop is betterthan a one-year fallow, which does “nothing at all”for blackgrass control, while Paul Drinkwateradded his extensive over-winter stubbles proved to be a “complete failure”. “A grass ley is a marvellous measure, though, if you can get a market for the crop,” he added.

Andrew Cotton noted it’s very difficult to getryegrass established in a “sea of blackgrass”,suggesting spring establishment may be better.“Make silage, not hay, and if it’s grazed, take careall the blackgrass heads are removed –– they tendto grow lower and lower.”

There were mixed views on how useful covercrops are for blackgrass, though. “Our experienceis that you often don’t get good establishment ofthe following spring crop,” noted Colin Lloyd. “Theycan’t be used anytime, anyplace, anywhere –– weneed more information.”

Richard Hull agreed. “I’m sure they have a rolefor soil health, but in a high blackgrass situation,weed suppression is not what we want.”

Answering questions on blackgrass were (L to R)Colin Lloyd, Richard Hull, Gordon Anderson-Taylor of Bayer, chairman and Essex grower TomBradshaw, Paul Drinkwater and Andrew Cotton.

senescence can make weeds better adapted to survive in a farming system,”advises Harry Strek.

The difficulty with herbicide resistance is

that it can develop unnoticed for severalyears before plant numbers reach a criticalpoint. “In the beginning, farmers don’t seevery much change because even thoughthere’s an enrichment of the population, youdon’t see it until it’s progressed to a levelthat’s visible in the field,” he says.

“I call this my 1, 2, boom model of evolution –– basically the farmer doesn’t seethe problem for the first few years until it’s1% or even 10% of the population and once

he notices it, then it’s probably only twoyears until it’s boom and the weed is all overthe field.

“A lot of the time that’s the stage we getquestions –– after the boom when it’s clearlya problem and there’s a tendency to thinkthat resistance developed over the past couple of years, but in fact every year isimportant and led to an enrichment in theblackgrass population,” he explains.

“When you’re in react mode to resistance,you’re already losing the battle. But moreand more studies are showing that if you act proactively, it pays.”

Once resistance is widespread in theweed population, it takes a long time to

Herbicide resistance


s

The only way to fight back is to mixtechniques for weed control, bothchemically and culturally.

.You don’t see the problem for the first few years until it’s 1% or even 10% of the population.

reduce. Research shows that thegrowth of resistance is short andsteep but the decline is long andgradual, so proactively managingit early on tends to bring betterresults than fighting a rear-guardcampaign.

An important point aboutweed resistance is that farmershave more influence on whetherit appears in comparison to pestsand diseases, notes Harry Strek.Pests and diseases are mobileso resistant organisms canspread from other farms quiterapidly whereas weed resistanceusually develops in the field.

“I think it’s underappreciatedthat the resistance that appearsin the field is in response to thefarmer’s own practices. There’sthe idea that all bad things comefrom neighbours but sometimesactually the farmer can be doinga good job of selecting for resistant individuals,” he says.

That’s not to discount the factthat weed seed can be movedon machinery or brought on tofarms in manures and such like.Farmers need to be rigorous withhygiene of all equipment movedaround the farm and careful with

anything that’s brought in. Butgood machine hygiene andproactive control in the field complement each other –– both are needed to stay on top of weeds.

In the UK, many blackgrasspopulations have already passedthe ‘boom’ phase –– and anyfarmers who haven’t suffered ityet are keen to stop it happeningto them. But if the potential forresistance is lurking in all weedpopulations, what can be done tostay in control?

Mix techniquesThe only way to fight back is tomix techniques for weed control,reckons Harry Strek. On thechemical side, that means usinga range of actives –– usually in mixtures –– which protect one another’s activity. But resistance can develop to multipleherbicides so cultural techniquesand varied rotations also need tobe used, he explains.

“With weed control, you’re trying to help the crop to helpitself. All measures are designedto keep the crop clean until thecanopy closes and it can do itsown weed control,” he says.

“Integrating three weed control techniques seems to be themagic number to get synergyand much better overall controland, apparently, much betterlong term sustainability too.”

This integrated approachmeans that weeds which surviveone, or even two, methods aren’t able to survive the third,meaning that resistance doesn’tbuild up in the population,he concludes.n

Some of the blackgrass is so

bad that we’ve had toabandon growing

wheat.”

“

TechnicalCereal cropping

Spring cropping and barleyare popular options for

getting to grips with blackgrass populations.

CPM talks to two growerswho have very different

opinions on what’s best.

By Lucy de la Pasture

Blackgrass control is a thorny problem forarable farmer, Ruth Stanley. In spite of themany avenues of research to find theanswer, it’s becoming clear that there isn’t a magic bullet. The solution lies inadopting a whole range of practices,she believes.

The grassweed really just crept up on theStanleys, who farm around 400ha at Harbyin Leics. Predominantly heavy clay, there’dalways been a smattering of blackgrassacross the farm, but then suddenly it was everywhere, wall to wall, explains Ruth Stanley.

“Clearly we’d developed a problem without really realising it was happening. The blackgrass population was low enough to ignore because it wasn’t really a problem, but then about four years ago it just exploded.”

At about the same time, Ruth Stanleyjoined BASF as agronomy manager for theEastern region. “Maybe it was a coincidence

that BASF was struggling to find a blackgrasstrial site just as I was beginning to wonderwhat our options were, but I jumped at theopportunity to have a trial site on my own land where I knew the chemistry would beunder pressure. I hoped it would give me a pretty clear picture of what approacheswould work and what wouldn’t,” she says.

True reflectionThe trials are large scale to reflect commercialpractice rather than small plots, which don’tnecessarily give a true reflection of whatwould happen on farm, she reckons.

“Plots are 36m wide which is my sprayerboom width. If it’s too wet to travel then herbicide applications are delayed, whichdoesn’t happen in small plots sprayed with a knapsack.”

In the first year of trials, the focus was on chemistry and finding the best herbicidestack to tackle the ALS-resistant blackgrasson the farm. Blackgrass pressure was 494heads/m2 across the field in untreated plotsand a matrix of 16 different herbicide treatments were evaluated.

“Best of the pre-emergence herbicides was Crystal (flufenacet+ pendimethalin) + DFF which gave 77% control. The best of the programmes was Crystal plus Lexus (flupyrsulfuron-methyl) plus Defy (prosulfocarb);followed by Stomp Aqua (pendimethalin) plusAuxilliary (clodinafop-propargyl+ prosulfocarb),which gave us 95% control, close to the targetof 97% needed to prevent plant populationsfrom increasing further.”

But as far as Ruth Stanley was concerned,there were a number of problems –– not leastbeing the cost of the Rolls Royce treatmentwhich still left too much blackgrass behind forher liking.

“25 heads/m2 still results in a seed returnof around 2500 seeds/m2. A herbicide programme for blackgrass costing £130/haand still not achieving the control we neededjust couldn’t be justified with wheat at £110/t,”she says.

“At this point I began to really worry about how I was going to get our blackgrassproblem under control and whether ultimatelyit was going to be sustainable to continuefarming. We needed to do more than rely on herbicides so began to integrate culturalcontrol methods in the trial –– it was the only way I could see to clean up the farmmoving forward.”

Cropping out the weed challenge

Barley has allowed Ruth Stanley to lengthen therotation and provide her with more opportunity touse stale seedbed techniques.


seed rates and nitrogen inputs in spring barley. Also under scrutiny is the blackgrass suppression in conventional s

Although good results were achieved in someherbicide trials, the cost was prohibitive and it still left too much blackgrass behind.

With that in mind, the trial looked at different cultivations and drilling dates in2015, as well as the introduction of covercrops to one of the spring plots. Historicallythe rotation on the Stanley’s farm has beenbiased towards first wheats, with eitherspring beans or winter oilseed rape as abreak crop. The farm didn’t possess aplough and not a clod had been turned in many years.

She believed there was plenty of scope to assess whether a change in croppingemphasis and cultivation technique couldhelp a more modest chemical control programme to achieve target levels of blackgrass control.

The outcome of the second year of thetrial pointed towards increasing spring cropping and later drilling in the autumn as the two measures that had the biggesteffects on blackgrass populations. These are two changes that Ruth Stanley has integrated on a farm scale in 2016: a cropping change has seen an increase in the spring barley acreage and theintroduction of winter barley, while there’salso a policy not to drill in the autumn beforemid Oct.

“The introduction of barley has allowed us to lengthen the rotation and provides uswith more opportunity to use stale seedbedtechniques to help us get on top of the blackgrass. We’re now using ploughing on arotational basis before our spring cropping.”

Making sure ploughing is done properly,with full inversion of the furrow, is somethingthat’s crucial to make it work as a controlmethod and it’s something that really seemsto be helping, she says.

And for Ruth Stanley, it’s a practice that’s

a really obvious way of aiding blackgrasscontrol when considering where the blackgrass seed germinates from within the soil profile.

Viable seed-bank“Blackgrass seeds that are predominantly inthe top 5cm of the soil will germinate, so ifthe soil is inverted fully and the seed in thesesurface layers buried, then it should reducethe viable seed-bank. But this will only work if seeds are left undisturbed for 3-4 yearsafter ploughing, so you have to be careful not to bring them up with any subsequentcultivations and plough just once every fouryears or longer,” she suggests.

On the farm this year, the worst blackgrass fields have been put into springbarley and ploughed before drilling. The trialsite has evolved even further, looking at


When you look under the canopy of the Volume,the blackgrass is still there but it’s hidden by thetall height of the crop.

Cereal cropping

winter barley varieties, KWS Glacier andKWS Tower, compared with the Hyvido winter barley variety, Volume.

“The hybrids are widely touted as beingthe most competitive winter barley able tosuppress blackgrass populations so wewanted to compare this ability alongside theconventionals,” she explains, and the results

on the Stanley’s farm has rather put the catamong the pigeons and goes against thetrend of information from many other trialsacross the country.

“The Volume established rapidly in theautumn and got away really well. Looking at the winter barley crops, the level of blackgrass looks worst in the Glacier andTower at first glance. But when you actuallylook under the canopy of the Volume, theblackgrass is still there –– It’s just hidden bythe tall height of the crop.

Blackgrass plant counts revealed the


Blackgrass is prompting Cotswolds farm managerRichard Ward to drop first wheat from about twothirds of his arable land this autumn, replacing itwith as many as two crops of hybrid barley in athree-year rotation with winter oilseed rape.

That follows two years of split-field comparisons of Hyvido hybrid barley against conventional two-row winter feed barley, whichhave convinced him that the hybrid’s vigorousgrowth gives greater blackgrass suppression.

Managing a total of 340ha of arable land atThe Barton Farms, Moreton-in-Marsh, splitbetween the home farm and a neighbouring farmmanaged under a share-farming agreement, healso estimates that barley, when grown as a firstcereal will usually deliver a higher gross marginthan first wheat across the farms’ variable soils.

“Some of the blackgrass on the farm is so badthat we’ve had to abandon growing wheat, evenas a first cereal,” Richard Ward explains. “Wecounted 82 tillers off one blackgrass plant in winter wheat.”

Weed counts from this year’s split-field comparison, taken in July, revealed only 28 blackgrass heads/m2 in the Hyvido, versus352/m2 in the conventional. That was despite the

Hyvido being drilled at around half the number ofseeds. Any blackgrass survivors in the Hyvidohybrid were also less vigorous, he observed.

“The hybrid was drilled at 200 seeds/m2,while the conventional was drilled at 400-450seeds/m2, and we still had blackgrass problems in the conventional. It was everywhere and abundant.

“There was a bit of blackgrass in the hybrid,but nothing like as much –– not really much of aproblem at all. The hybrid had outgrown it andwas taller. So seed return is obviously going to bemuch less. We definitely know that taller varieties–– including of winter wheat –– help againstblackgrass,” he says.

For herbicide control, blackgrass has becomeresistant to sulfonylurea herbicides, so they’rerarely relied on. Indeed, very little post-emergenceherbicide is used in his wheat and barley. Instead,emphasis is placed on targeting blackgrass withpre- and peri-emergence residual herbicides, withthe same programme used across both crops.

For the 2016 harvest, 80ha of hybrid barleywas planted –– a mixture of Hyvido Volume and the new hybrid Hyvido Bazooka. For 2017, thecropping area will be divided into equal thirds, withrotations chosen according to blackgrass severity.Conventional barley will still be grown, but only onland that’s classed as medium for blackgrass,Richard Ward explains.

“Where blackgrass isn’t too bad, our standardrotation of OSR followed by winter wheat followedby hybrid barley will continue to be grown. Wherethere’s more blackgrass, the rotation will be OSRfollowed by a tall conventional winter barley varietyfollowed by the hybrid.

“And where there’s really bad blackgrass,it’ll be OSR followed by two years of the hybrid.There’s no doubt that even conventional winterbarley is better than winter wheat against blackgrass, but not as good as the hybrid,”he explains.

In the very worst fields, the standard Hyvidohybrid seed rate will also be increased slightly

Hybrid barley to replace first wheat

from 200 to 240 seeds/m2, to further increasecrop competition. “We don’t have to increase theseed rates everywhere –– only where we knowwe’re going to have bad blackgrass problems,which is always on the poorer draining, heavierland. But we think it’s worth it.”

Yield-wise, Richard Ward saw hybrid barley deliver 11t/ha versus 9.8t/ha from conventional winter barley when grown side-by-side in the same field in 2015. This year,he says yields have been lower, but hybrid barleystill has a place in the rotation. After the initialseed cost, he says both the hybrid and conventional have equal growing costs –– andboth offer savings over growing winter wheat.

“We only use two fungicide sprays in barley,compared with four in wheat, which saves over40%, and we’re getting nitrogen fertiliser savingsof 10-20%. So even at a sale price for barley of£10/t less than wheat, it’s still more profitable forus to grow barley than winter wheat in a firstcereal situation.

“This autumn we’ll be growing a lot more ofthe hybrid. We’re going to switch to all Bazookabecause it’s higher yielding than Volume and alsoslightly taller, which will help against blackgrass.Whatever you can do to manage blackgrass, youhave to do it,” he says.

Even at a sale price for barley of £10/t less thanwheat, it’s still more profitable for Richard Wardin a first cereal situation.

Richard Ward has seen clear reductions inblackgrass populations in hybrid barley (right)compared with conventional winter barley (left)when grown in the same field.

The level of blackgrass looks worst in theconventional barley (right), but plant counts show the Hyvido barley (left) actually has morethan double the population.

s

Cereal cropping

At Ruth Stanley’s farm, she’s also looking atthe effect mole ploughing has on blackgrasspopulations, as well as whether applications ofgypsum or human digestate have any effect.

“Blackgrass is a marshy weed, so thrives in cool, damp conditions. Improving drainageby mole ploughing is one way of making conditions less favourable for it. Gypsum alsohas a drying effect on the soil and both ofthese techniques appear to have reduced

blackgrass populations,” she explains.By contrast, the human digestate seems to

encourage blackgrass, perhaps because of themoisture of the product and incorporationrequired after application, she mutes. “But this is an effect that could be used as a management tool if the digestate could be applied early enough to encourage theblackgrass to germinate, then it could besprayed off with glyphosate.”

Impact of soil moisture on blackgrass

On the farm this year, the worst blackgrass fieldshave been put into spring barley and ploughedbefore drilling.

The winter barley trial plots will be destroyed withglyphosate this year, even though there’d be areasonable crop, as this level of seed returnwould be too high.

Volume has 302 blackgrass plants/m2

which is more than double the blackgrasspopulation in the conventional plots. “That’sa potential seed return of 604,000 seeds/m2,”she says, though it’s possible that the blackgrass heads are actually smaller in the crop of Volume because of the shadingeffect, which may reduce seed return per head.

“The winter barleys all definitely have agreater smothering effect than winter wheatbut it still isn’t the whole answer and thespring barley has done a significantly better job. If your land is really too heavy toconsider planting spring barley, then linseedcould be worth considering because it’s laterplanted and gives you the same opportunityto get a couple of glyphosates on any blackgrass before planting the crop,” she suggests.

“I’m going to destroy the winter barley trial plots with glyphosate this year eventhough there would be a reasonable crop,which is a decision some growers find hard to understand. But we’ve worked too hard to allow this level of seed return and by taking the hit this year, the field willbe a lot cleaner for next year.”

And budgeting for the long haul is something Ruth Stanley believes farmers arevery good at, as heart breaking as it is todestroy a crop after all the time, money and effort that has gone into producing it.

Cereal cropping

“It’s all about managing seed return withblackgrass, so that means there’ll be a couple of rough years with reduced profitswhile we deal with the problem,” she saysphilosophically. n

TechnicalSlug control

Water stewardship is something growers have

been living with for manyyears and, in many ways,

it’s one of agriculture’s big success stories. CPM

discovers how farmers are adapting.


We understand the problems water companies face and they recognise the difficulties growers

have.”

“

Farming better with stewardship

Eight years on and metaldehyde is stillavailable, contrary to many expectations.Whatever the ultimate outcome for theactive, there’s a cross-industry effort tomanage a problem that can only benefitthe industry in the long term, believesSouth Herts Procam agronomist,Tom Scotson.

“The water and agricultural industries aremore joined up, having forged strong linksover the past few years where previously no dialogue existed. To many farmers, stewardship used to represent a way to

avoid the inevitable for as long as possible.“But now there’s a better relationship

–– we understand the problems water companies face meeting their obligation to provide wholesome drinking water andthey recognise the difficulties growers haveproducing crops,” he says.

Closer relationshipHe admits that his active involvement in oneof the smaller catchments, Mimmshall Brook,probably allows him to see more clearly theadvantages of this closer relationship. Thecatchment has nine growers farming land at‘high risk’ and cooperation in a catchmentmanagement pilot scheme has been acrossthe board.

Under the pilot, growers were asked tovoluntarily use ferric phosphate instead ofmetaldehyde on some of their land feedinginto the catchment. A risk assessment focusing on the three factors –– slope, soiltype and proximity to a stream –– was usedto categorise the land on each holding tomap the highest risk areas.

“It was really a first stab at trying to come up with a system to work out wheremetaldehyde was at most risk of getting into

water. The mapping often split fields and inpractice, growers applied ferric phosphateto the whole field rather than mess aboutwith two products,” explains Tom Scotson.

“It’s a bit like a volume button on the radio–– the ‘risk’ depends where the settings areon the programme so it’s a wiser approachto resort to ferric phosphate on any fieldsthat are at all risky.”

One of the things stewardship has done is make everyone think about slug controland practices have changed as a result,believes Tom Scotson. “We’re using Deter(clothianidin) seed treatment as a first linedefence against slug attack as a result of the pilot and it’s replacing a fair bit of metaldehyde.”

And it’s a strategy the majority of his growers are using on their winter wheat for early slug defence as well as BYDV protection. “When seed is Deter dressed, a follow-up application of slug pellets isn’talways needed and certainly isn’t made prophylactically anymore on wheat crops,”he adds.

Alistair White, of B W Field and Partners,is one of Tom Scotson’s clients farming470ha of combinable crops in the Mimmshall


A greater emphasis on cultural control, makingsure seedbeds are good and consolidated, helpsto limit slug damage.

Brook catchment. With predominantly wintercropping (OSR, wheat, barley, oats) onheavy London clay, he says he always hasslug issues to deal with but is now managingthem very differently.

“We’ve always treated slugs reactively,using bait traps and monitoring beforeapplying pellets only when they’re neededand that hasn’t changed. But we now havemore emphasis on cultural control, makingsure seedbeds are good and consolidatedall helps to limit slug damage,” he says.

Another thing that’s changed in his slugmanagement is targeting the different products to fields. “We’d never used ferricphosphate until the start of the pilot in theMimmshall Brook catchment but we’re nowusing it as well as metaldehyde on the restof the farm. Any headlands next to water-courses get ferric phosphate but we’re stillusing cheaper metaldehyde where we can.”

Alistair White qualifies this by pointing outthat the pricing of ferric phosphate is verysimilar to the more premium, wet-processedmetaldehyde products, so cost isn’t a majorfactor in product choice if conditions turnwetter and a more durable pellet is needed.

“Since the pilot started, we’ve used threedifferent types of ferric phosphate and found the new wet-processed pellet from De Sangosse, Ironmax Pro, proved to bevery durable under the wet conditions wehad last autumn,” he says.

James Green manages 2600 ha for theConant Farming Company in Rutland, Lincs,Northants and Leics. This autumn the company are participating in the AnglianWater scheme, Slug It Out, which includesland draining into the reservoir and via theRiver Gwash.

First launched in 2015, the Slug It Out trialarea removed an estimated 1613kg of metaldehyde from the farmed landscape,bringing the average levels in reservoir tributaries down by 60%, according toAnglian Water. This season, the trial hasbeen extended to Rutland, effectively doubling its acreage.

“Under the scheme we’re asked to makea wholescale switch to ferric phosphate from

metaldehyde and are recompensed by thewater company for doing so.”

Previously managing land in Essex,James Green was involved in a scheme runby Thames Water in their Pincey Brookcatchment.

“We were asked to switch to ferric phosphate on high risk fields and receivedan incentive to do so. The difficulty was themodel used to predict risk, which didn’talways make sense,” he comments. “Wehad fields next door to one another, samesoil type and proximity to a water course, yet one was cited as high risk and the other wasn’t.”

He reckons the Slug It Out campaign is amuch better approach. “From our businessperspective it’s financially more attractiveand for Anglian Water, it should guarantee

The water and agricultural industries havebecome more joined up in their approach,reckons Tom Scotson.

Slug control

s

Wet process pellets tend to last longer in thefield, are more palatable and are therefore lesslikely to result in metaldehyde exceedences.

James Green participates in Anglian Water’s SlugIt Out scheme where growers are asked to switchto ferric phosphate and are recompensed by thewater company.

Growers in the Mimmshall Brook pilot were askedto voluntarily use ferric phosphate instead ofmetaldehyde on some of their land feeding intothe catchment.

Slug control

100% success if no metaldehyde is used.“It’s good to hear that Anglian Water are

now looking at routinely testing the river,before and after Oakham, to look at the contribution home and garden users aremaking to metaldehyde levels in water,” he adds.

Former Sprayer Operator of the Year, Iain Robertson, routinely uses Adama’sWaterAware app as a useful sense-checkbefore setting out with the sprayer. Heassists with the management of the arableside of Dorset mixed farming business,David Foot and with 1800ha to look after,making the most of spray opportunities is the name of the game, he explains.

The farm agronomy is under the watchfuleye of Velcourt but both he and Joe Foot are BASIS qualified, so can react to changing situations and make decisionswhen needed. “BASIS is something I’d recommend every spray operator and arablemanager to do. It’s given me a whole newperspective on crop protection and I alreadyknew the application side of things prettywell,” he says.

Both soil types and topography varyhugely across the holdings; with heavy claysto light chalks and slopes he describes as‘interesting’. Iain Robertson reckons slugsneed to be approached in a similar mannerto blackgrass –– an integrated approachwith a mixture of different actives as part ofthe strategy.

“We home-save seed and Deter-dresseverything,” he says, adding that last season really confirmed the benefit of thisapproach, for BYDV as well as preventinggrain hollowing by slugs.

“It’s important to get a fine, consolidatedseedbed because good conditions result in better germination and if the crop getsgoing well, then there’s less chance of slugscausing damage,” he says.

Variable seed rate drills enable a moreprecise approach to be taken on the farm,so heavier patches of soil can receive ahigher seed rate if soil conditions dictate.

“Slug control is like a puzzle and everything has to fit together to get the best results using the minimum amount ofmolluscicide. Attention to detail does take a bit of effort to do but does make a difference,” he believes.

Both ferric phosphate and metaldehydeare used on the farm, though metaldehyde is still the product of choice with ferric phosphate targeted at the high risk fields.

Helped dramatically“Where we applied Sluxx (ferric phosphate)last autumn, it helped dramatically underbad conditions and I felt it gave us extraactivity,” he says, adding that 5ha (0.1%)were lost to slug damage over the entireacreage in a season where travel wasimpossible from 4 Nov to mid Feb.

Wessex Water has a borehole and pumping station on the farm so raw water isheavily monitored. Iain Robertson has foundextra peace of mind using a nifty peace ofsoftware on his phone.

“I’m using the Water Aware app all thetime because it’s simple to use. I consult theapp to cross check that I’m doing the rightthing and being responsible with water inmind,” he says.

Adama initially produced the Water Awareapp as a decision support tool for their products. “We have a large portfolio of OSRherbicides and many are currently on thewater targeted list,” explains Ali Bosher, thecompany’s technical and marketing director.

“UK agriculture has already lost more than70% of the active substances it had in theearly 1990s. Put simply, if we as an industrydon’t do more to protect our natural waterresources, regulatory pressures will result infarmers facing a future with even feweractive ingredients and significantly restrictedweed and pest control options.

“Come 2018, when water companiesneed to have shown to their regulators thatcatchment management can work, therecould be real changes to the availability ofOSR herbicides if changes aren’t made onfarm,” she continues.

Water Aware, a smart phone application,forecasts the risk of movement of selectedpesticides from soil to water courses; based on prevailing and predicted weather

conditions, soil moisture deficit and soil texture. But Iain Robertson finds it useful to check out other products before applyingas well.

When it was first launched, the app was a bit ‘clunky’ but Adama has listened tofeedback and refined the system, says Ali Bosher. The app uses a smart phone’sGPS to determine the location of a field andproduces a default soil type for that location.In the recently released, updated version, it’s now possible to override this data andmanually enter your soil type, she explains.

“The whole app has been simplified tomake it more user friendly. The passwordrequirement has been removed, it’s nolonger necessary to tick all the VI boxes andyou can list by all products/same field or

s


Slug control is like a puzzle and everything has tofit together to get the best results using theminimum amount of molluscicide, says Iain Robertson.

Use meteldehyde early, when conditions are dryand then switch into ferric phosphate later in theautumn if needed or if slug pressure isparticularly high.

When it was first launched, the Water Aware appwas a bit ‘clunky’ but Adama have listened tofeedback and refined the system.

Slug control

same product/different fields. All this meansyou get a much quicker answer to whetherthere’s a risk of drains flowing within the nextseven days.”

Iain Robertson has been beta testing thenew version of the app and says it’s anotherstep forward, particularly the new traffic light system which instantly tells you if it’sgood to go. A new feature is #SlugAware,which predicts slug activity, using an algorithm based on factors including soiltemperature, humidity, soil moisture deficit,air temperature, wind, cultivation method aswell as current and previous crops.

#SlugAware gives growers a low, mediumor high threat of slug activity warning in agiven 24–72 hour period.

“I’ve been trying to trick the system to findout its limits but haven’t managed to catch itout yet,” he says. “It’s a bold step by Adamato help give growers real time guidance tousing metaldehyde responsibly, which is keyto retaining metaldehyde in the armoury.”

Herefordshire independent agronomist,David Lines, recommends the app to hiscustomers as a decision support aid. “I likethe idea of the app because it’s somethingall operators can have on their phone to check whether or not they should beapplying products to certain fields and it’scertainly the way to go for all slug pelletusers,” he says.

In common with many other agronomists,David Lines’ advice is to use meteldehydeearly, when conditions are dry and thenswitch into ferric phosphate later in theautumn if needed or if slug pressure is particularly high.

An ongoing development of the WaterAware app is part of Adama’s aim to givegrowers more sophisticated advice so theycan adapt to doing things differently,explains Ali Bosher. “The next stage ofdevelopment will use LIDAR, a Ministry ofDefence technology that measures slope,which will add this important risk factor


into the equation. Ongoing developmentswith #SlugAware will also bring previouscropping into the equation.” n

TechnicalWater stewardship

This time it’s metazachlor,one of the stalwarts ofoilseed rape herbicide

programmes and anotheractive under stewardshipguidelines. CPM looks at

the issue.


Another ‘meta’ water issue

For broadleaf weeds in particular,we’re dependant on

metazachlor and quinmerac-based

materials.”

“

Although metaldehyde is by far the biggestproblem facing water companies, an evengreater pressure is on the oilseed rapeherbicide portfolio because they’re findingtheir way into water. The problem forgrowers is that there aren’t currently alternatives to substitute.

Dinah Hillier, catchment manager atThames Water, explains that rigorous drinking water standards demand animprovement in pesticide levels in raw water,even for pesticides such as metazachlor thatcan be dealt with through conventional watertreatment processes. This has divertedattention from treatment technology, with the water companies obliged by regulatoryrequirements to work within catchments toreverse deteriorating trends.

“Metazachlor isn’t currently the worst

Drinking water standards demand animprovement in pesticide levels in raw water,says Dinah Hillier, even for pesticides such asmetazachlor.

pesticide in the rankings, but it’s still vital toaddress what we need to do in workingtogether to make sure it stays that way,” she says.

Agrii agronomist Andrew Richardsbelieves OSR is the most important breakcrop by far, but the problem is that there are very few active ingredients available.

Limited armoury“For broadleaf weeds in particular, we’re dependant on metazachlor and quinmerac-based materials. It’s a limitedarmoury,” he says, adding the trouble isthey’re both getting into water supplies.

Getting establishment conditions right is all part and parcel to weed control. “We’re looking for a fine tilth on top, to a consistent half-inch depth, to allow rapidestablishment and prevent both slug issuesand vulnerability to adult flea beetles.

“In these conditions, the crop has every chance of being competitive andworking in tandem with the herbicide in controlling damaging weeds such as poppy,chickweed, shepherd’s purse and cranesbill.They can defeat a crop if allowed toencroach and there’s a big crop investmentat stake, which is why we must do all we canto preserve the tools, including metazachlor,required to grow OSR successfully.”

Rob Gladwin of BASF, and representingthe Metazachlor Matters stewardship

initiative, says that cabbage stem flea beetleand slug pressure are two big reasons why many growers want to see strong cropemergence before committing to herbicideinvestment.

“The ideal scenario is that products areapplied early, onto well structured seedbeds.This ensures they both do their job ofprotecting newly emerged seedlings frominvasive weeds, while also ensuring theactive is subsequently broken down and therisk of movement to water later in the seasonis allayed.”

Ali Bosher of Adama backs this up,


In an advisory letter to the water industry earlierthis month, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI)let the industry know they’re bringing forward therequirement to report progress and outcomes ofcatchment management measures to March2017 instead of 2018.

So what does this mean and will there be any implications to growers? Thames Water’sDinah Hillier explains the situation.

“This actually makes sense to us as an industry because next year we need to really firmup our business planning for the 2020-25 period(the water industry works in five-year fundingcycles referred to as AMP –– Asset ManagementProgrammes).

“We’re currently in AMP6 which covers the

period 2015-20. So, in many ways, the March2018 deadline was always going to be a bit latefor us to use our findings and translate them into a funded plan for AMP7,” she says.

“The unfortunate side effect of moving the dateis it gives us one less high risk period to test what we’re currently doing. But as many watercompanies have now been trialling various mitigation measures for metaldehyde for severalyears anyway, the loss of one high risk seasonshouldn’t really make a great difference.

“The only impact the farming industry might see in the short term is a step-up in catchment management activities and a greater desire among water companies to have those farmers operating in ‘high risk’

Next year, water companies will need to firm upbusiness planning for the 2020-25 period.

Drinking Water deadline comes forward

Altering the tramlines so they goacross the slope has brought surfaceflow from six to eight times a year, tozero at Jim Reeves’ Warwicks farm.

Andrew Richards reckons theindustry must do all it can topreserve the tools required to growOSR successfully.

urging growers not to get toohung up on flea beetle and delayherbicide treatment ‘just in case’.“Flea beetle is still only a majorproblem in specific areas ratherthan nationwide and there arereal benefits to earlier herbicidetimings when weeds are smaller,both in terms of weed controland for stewardship reasons,” she says.

“Industry figures show a year-on-year trend of less pre-emergence herbicide usage;20% of crops received a pre-emin 2014/15 compared to 16% inthe season just gone, with agreater proportion of the cropbeing treated post-emergence.”

Jim Reeve is a fourth generation LEAF farmer based

in central Warwicks, and looksafter 530ha of 50% owned, 50%contracted land, that ranges fromsandy loams to boulder clay. He estimates they’ve around sixmiles of land adjoining a watercourse that feeds intoSevern Trent Water’s DraycoteReservoir.

Having witnessed a wholesalechange in farming attitudes topesticide use, he says they wentfrom a standpoint of simply notknowing the implications of a single drop of product reaching a watercourse, to being fully trained and informedof the issues.

He believes that simple measures go a long way. “Justby altering the tramlines so they go across the slope haseliminated surface flow from six

to eight times a year, to zero.It’s made a hell of difference,”

he says.Independent agronomist

David Lines points out that theClearfield system in OSR isanother alternative to consider,especially in areas where

Water stewardship


areas involved in our initiatives.“If catchment management for metaldehyde

is to succeed in AMP7, we’re going to need fargreater awareness of the issue and many morefarmers working with us to protect watersources,” adds Dinah Hillier.

metazachlor application is awater-sensitive issue. “BASFhave now introduced ametazachlor-free herbicide,Cleravo (imazamox+ quinmerac),as a post-em application fromone to four true leaves of theClearfield crop,” he adds. n

TechnicalArable resilience

Crops that deliver profits yearafter year tend to come from

a diverse rotation designed tomeet farming’s challengesand from soils nurtured toperform at their best. CPM

seeks expert advice.

By Tom Allen-Stevens

For the long term sustainability ofyour soils, a resilient

rotation will help manage the challenges

you face.”

“


A solid foundation fora thriving rotation

Is your rotation fit for purpose? It’s such afundamental element of an arable farmingsystem, it may seem at first to be a ludicrous question to ask. But a thoroughreview may reveal your system’s moreadaptable to change than perhaps you’dappreciated, and there may be some challenges you’re facing that a littlechange may go a long way to addressing,according to Stuart Hill of Frontier.

“Weed, pest and disease burdens andresistance, dealing with climate extremes,environmental pressures and legislation,such as the loss of active ingredients andthe Water Framework Directive. These areamong the major issues, linked to rotation,that growers are up against,” he points out.

“For the long term sustainability of yoursoils, your farming system and not least

Single issues, such as blackgrass, can often drivethe need for change, notes Stuart Hill.

profitability, a resilient rotation will help manage the challenges you face.”

So where do you start? There’s plenty ofstrong support from the industry to provideinformation in this area, he says, with recentAHDB-funded projects drawing on historicaldata to assess rotational impacts on soilsand economics.

Single issues“Rotation is a very broad-ranging discussion,but single issues can often drive the needfor change. For many, this has been blackgrass, so Frontier has been looking at this area for five years at our nationalblackgrass research site at Staunton, Notts.”

The objective of this site has been toreview different rotations, cropping and cultivation practice to improve soils andreduce blackgrass populations over the long term.

“There have been some interestingresults, and it’s shown the finger of blame forhigh infestation levels should not be pointedat poor herbicide control –– this is just asymptom. What we’ve found is that the root of the problem is frequently poorly structured, compacted, often wet groundthat’s in need of some attention.”

As well as the more immediate soilassessment and rectification work, longermore diverse rotations, including spring

cropping and cover crops are what’s needed, he says. But it’s a change that’soften resisted because of the perceived drop in profitability that would result.

“Wheat and oilseed rape may appear to be the most profitable crops within therotation in a blackgrass situation. But if youaccount for realistic yields, blackgrass andgrowing pest and disease pressure are havinga serious impact on rotations containing justthese crops (see table on p26).”

Wheat and oilseed rape may appearto be the most profitable crops, butgrowing weed, pest and diseasepressures are having an impact on yield potential.

At the site at Staunton, the objective has been to review practices to improvesoils and reduce blackgrass populations over the long term.

Financial performanceWith a longer and more diverserotation, however, many of theissues begin to be addressed,improving the financial performance of the business.“Even where grassweeds aren’t a problem, a well thought-outrotation will provide the opportunity to spread croppingand workload, repair long termsoil structural damage and buildorganic material in the soil.

“What’s more, it will mitigateagainst soil pathogens such as take-all in cereals, club rootand verticillium wilt in oilseedrape,” adds Stuart Hill.

To have best effect, anychange in the rotation should gohand-in-hand with care for thesoil, notes Frontier’s Mike Slater.“There’s no better way to see thecurrent status of your soil than totake a spade and start diggingholes,” he says.

A visual inspection is the firststep of Frontier’s Soil Reportservice that was launched last year. “This is a detailed evaluation of your soil, carriedout by a Frontier agronomist, and designed to be the basis ofmanagement decisions aroundachieving progressively highercrop yields,” he explains.

“Every grower has vulnerablefields, so now’s the time to identify them, assess exactlywhat the problems are and startto decide what to do aboutthese.”

The Soil Report aims to quantify various parameters, toassess the physical, chemicaland biological status of the soil and give an idea of its overallvitality. “There are many ways to measure a soil’s physical

properties, but we focus onthree: its density, porosity andcompaction vulnerability. Thesequantify and benchmark whatyou should see when you dig a hole.”

Cultivations tend to burn offsoil organic matter (SOM), andthere’s a direct relationshipbetween SOM and a soil’s vulnerability to compaction.“Running tyres at the wrong pressure or the wrong type oftyre is a common way to cause compaction. Grain trailers are areal culprit, and it’s good to seethat many people have nowswitched from super singles toradial tyres and are taking stepsto reduce the damage causedto soils at harvest,” notes

Mike Slater.Less understood is the impact

of overall axle weight, however.“Machines are getting bigger,and while you can spread theweight with an appropriate tyre,the more weight transferred to the soil, the deeper the compaction goes.”

There’s only so much that canbe done to address the problem s

and that’s a massive load that will be transferred through the back axle. The tractor will also be unbalanced, but eveningthat out will mean adding yet more weight tothe unit and pressure to the soil.”

When it comes to alleviating the damage,the spade should come out again, beforethe subsoiler, to assess the extent of any

Wheat OSR Wheat OSR Wheat Winter barley OSR Spring barley Spring OatsPrice £/t 120 300 120 300 120 105 300 105 95Yield t/ha 8.0 3.5 8.0 3.5 9.5 8.5 4.0 7.5 7.5Output £/ha 960 1050 960 1050 1140 892 1200 787 712Seed 75 65 75 65 75 75 65 70 70Nutrition 195 195 195 195 195 170 195 130 130Crop protection 260 230 260 230 260 170 230 120 110Total variable costs 530 490 530 490 500 415 490 320 310Gross margin 430 560 430 560 640 477 710 467 402Fixed costs* 450 450 450 450 450 450 450 450 450Cost of production (£/t) 123 268 123 268 100 112 235 103 101Margin (£/t) -2.50 31.50 -2.50 31.50 20 3.75 65 2.40 -6.30Average margin (£/t) 7.82 12.05Source: Frontier; * no rent, no Basic Payment included

Financial benefit of a more diverse rotation

Holkham Estate in North Norfolk has a proud tradition, stretching back over two centuries,of pioneering productive, sustainable farmingpractices, which started with the iconic ‘four-course rotation’, developed by the first Earl of Leicester, Thomas William Coke.

Today, that’s given way to a six-course rotation across the 2300ha of arable crops, andrecently cover crops have been introduced withinthis. But the long-term focus remains as firmtoday as it was in the early 19th century. “We’renot just farming one year at a time or for onerotation,” says farm manager James Beamish.

“We’re aiming to maintain the soil’s structureand build its health so the next generation canfarm this land as well as we aim to currently.”

The light sandy soils and sandy clay loams arerelatively easy to manage, he admits. But it’sequally easy not to give them the nurture theydeserve over the six-year rotation that takes inwinter barley, oilseed rape, winter wheat, sugarbeet, spring barley and salad potatoes. There’salso 150ha of maize grown for an anaerobicdigester on the estate.

“Soil organic matter is a good place to start,”he says. “We build it where we can, applyingpoultry manure, liquid and solid digestate from the AD plant, and manure from the estate’s 700 head of cattle, which are bedded

on straw from the farm.”There are now also 300ha of cover crops, and

James Beamish has five years’ experience withthem, which started at nearby Salle Farms. “Thecatalyst was a Defra-funded water-managementproject that looked closely at the relationshipbetween water quality in the catchment and howthe land was farmed. This demonstrated clear benefits of cover crops for water quality, and wefound there were benefits for the land as well.”

At Holkham, cover crops are grown in front of potatoes, sugar beet and maize. “Our crop ofpreference is oil radish –– it’s relatively cheap,quick-growing and captures nutrients readily. We’realso putting some vetch and rye mixes down.”

An integral part of the system is a flock of 900store lambs, brought in late Oct and grazed acrossthe cover crops until the land is needed for thespring crops in late Feb to early April. “One thingwe learned early on is that the leafy crop cover canleave the land wet and it takes longer to dry out inthe spring, especially on heavier land. That’s notsuch a problem when it’s grazed as the cover isturned into sheep droppings. There’s not so muchleaf to hit with the glyphosate, but weed radish infollowing crops hasn’t proved to be a problem forus,” says James Beamish.

The crop’s established with a cultivator-mountedseeder, dribbled onto splash plates at 50cm centres

Feeding a legacy of healthy soils

–– the same as for OSR. “We’ve found you needto do the seedbed justice –– a 50-100mm tilthhelps the crop get away and volunteers should betidied up.”

The benefit of the system has been proven thisyear, he reckons. “The oil radish we use in front ofsugar beet encourages beet cyst nematode tohatch, so there’s less of a problem in the crop. Butwe ran out of radish seed in one field. You can seethe difference to a line –– from day one, therewas far more vigour in the beet crop following the radish. We’re getting the soils analysed toassess this.”

But he also sees cover crops as a natural fit inthe six-course rotation, and a befitting progressionfor the estate. “To my mind, the best thing for thesoil is to have something growing in it 365days/yr. You want to capture as much sunlight as you can and feed that energy into the soil.”

–– switching to lighter kit often isn’t practical. But it’s important to be aware ofthe axle weight transferred to the soil andwhen it can lead to compaction, he says.“Harvest is the key time –– the wet conditions this year have made soils particularly vulnerable –– so try to stick totramlines, unload on headlands and use

chaser bins, for example. Consider travellingwith a three-quarter load, rather than fillingtrailers to the brim.”

Cultivation and drilling equipment canalso put soils under serious pressure, continues Mike Slater. “Put a mountedpower-harrow drill combination on the back of a tractor and fill the seed hopper


s

s

James Beamish has introduced cover crops as anatural progression in a soil strategy that hasbeen in place at Holkham for two centuries.

Two-crop rotation, moderate/high blackgrass Diverse rotation, low/no blackgrass

Arable resilience

There’s no better way to see the current status of your soil than to take a spade and start diggingholes.

compacted areas, he notes. “Subsoilingcan do more harm than good if it’s donewrong. Find out where the compaction lies,then set the depth to just below that layer.You’re aiming to lift the soil, but keep thestructure intact –– it’s a delicate balance.

“But conditions must be dry enough to fracture the soil. It may be this only happens once every ten years. So if conditions aren’t right, limit subsoiling to the tramlines and headlands only,” he advises.

To build a more resilient soil means building SOM, however. “There are two sides

to this –– firstly, you’re looking to build soilbiology. Provide the right food stock and thebugs will come. It’s the life in your soils thatholds them together –– exudates frommicrobes form the gum that binds soil particles. And it’s the life in your soil thatkeeps the clods apart –– worms give it itsporosity and fungi its crumb structure.”

C:N ratioIt’s also important to consider the carbon/nitrogen (C:N) ratio of any amendments (applied organic matter), hecontinues. “The ideal range is 10:1 to 15:1.Farmyard manure generally fits that parameter. Chicken litter is about 8:1, so has plenty of readily available N.“Straw is about 40:1, so for every tonne choppedand spread, bugs need about 4-5kg of N to process it. This should be borne in mind as it will immobilise N, particularly atestablishment. However, this N is released in time, so if there’s a steady throughput of amendments, the net effect should beminimal,” he adds.

Cover crops provide the ideal form oforganic matter and can also help with soilstructure, notes Paul Brown of Kings. “Thereare two essential decisions to make withcover crops,” he says. “Firstly, decide what

mix of crops you will grow, then how you willdestroy it.”

Choice of crop comes largely down towhat else is in the rotation. “You are addinganother crop, so bear rotational issues inmind –– don’t follow vetch with beans, oatswith spring oats and radish may not be wisein a tight rotation with oilseed rape.”

Having said that, radish is his favouredcrop to include. “In four years of trials work,it’s consistently performed best for soil structure and organic matter,”

The wet conditions this year have made soilsparticularly vulnerable at harvest, says Mike Slater.

Arable resilience

s

As crop prices have fallen, whileinput costs have been steadily rising, on-farm profitability for UKarable farmers is being squeezed.Only the businesses that have aresilient strategy in place willweather the downturn andemerge fitter and stronger for theopportunities that lie ahead. Butwhat does that mean on farm?

In this sponsored series, CPMhas teamed up with experts fromFrontier to examine the everydaymanagement decisions andexplore what separates a resilient

Arable resilience

Firstly, decide what mix of crops youwill grow, then how you will destroyit, advises Paul Brown.

In four years of trials work, radish has consistently performed best for soilstructure and organic matter.

he reports. “Radish will work bestin the Aug-Jan window, puttingdown the deepest and quickestpenetrating root. About two thirdsof its biomass is above ground,and the leafy material is valuableorganic matter.”

Along with deep, structuringroots, aim to develop some shallow, lateral roots to build friability in the surface layer,advises Paul Brown. “A cereal orvetch will do this job, so a radishand oat mix is the bees knees ofcover crops. Vetch also fixes N,and, along with phacelia, canhelp build mycorrhizal fungi in the soil.”

Cover crops are best drilled,but don’t need much soil preparation and can be drilleddirect, he says. “Seed size variesconsiderably between croptypes, so watch for settling withinthe seed hopper, and ideal depthmay be a compromise –– 12mmwill be adequate for most croptypes. Consolidation with a

strategy from one that leaves abusiness exposed to the harshcuts of an economic downturn.From nutrition and precisionfarming, through seed choice and markets to soil health androtations, the aim is to highlightthe elements that ensure thearable business thrives.

packer roller is important.”Cover destruction can be

anything from grazing to ploughing. “It should fit in withwhen and how you will establishyour next crop. If spraying offwith glyphosate, bear in mind thecover will take a long time to dieoff, so this may need to beapplied before Christmas forearly spring drilling,” he notes. n

TechnicalOSR weed control

Weedy crops could be affecting your rapeseed’s oilquality. CPM finds out more

about the problem and a possible solution.


The lower levels of erucic acid

contamination could beattributed to common

weeds because of their own elevated erucic

oil profiles.”

“


Clear solution for weeds

It’s fair to say that it hasn’t been a greatyear for weed control, judging by the number of different weed species stickingtheir heads above crop canopies aroundthe country.

Excuses are easy to come by –– it wasn’t the best autumn for timeliness andblackgrass has a whole story of its own. But with thoughts turning to oilseed rapeplanting this month, the effect of weeds onoil quality is something growers can’t affordto ignore, believes Agrii’s David Leaper.

Earlier this summer, rapeseed crushersannounced that growers would be penalisedby up to £100/t for samples high in erucicacid. Under UK and EU legislation, oils andfats that are used for foods can contain nomore than 5% erucic acid, reflected in the2% maximum limit for erucic acid in ‘00’ OSRset out in the Federation of Oils, Seeds andFats Association (FOSFA) 26A contract,above which samples can be rejected.

The problem with unusually high spikes inerucic acid contamination only appeared atthe tail end of the intake of last year’s crop,explains Angela Bowden of the Seed

Crushers and Oil Processors Association(SCOPA). The reason for this is still beinginvestigated, with no apparent correlation intest results with any particular area or variety.SCOPA have also ruled out cross-pollinationtypes as a possible cause and say there’sno apparent link with weed seeds either.

Threshold levelsAccording to David Leaper, who has beenresearching the reasons behind high erucicacid levels, the evidence suggests that theUK has always supplied some ‘00’ cropsabove the FOSFA 26a threshold becausethere are no specific pre-crush checks.However, it was probably sufficiently dilutedin the crush so that it was never detected inthe final product above threshold levels, he reckons.

That’s something that’s all about tochange, says Angela Bowden. Testing usingnear infra-red technology on intake is theaim of SCOPA members for this season’soilseed crops, with crushers having eitherinstalled or very close to installing testing todetect erucic acid levels in crop samples.

This would allow rejection before going to the crush plant, says David Leaper, but he does have some reservations. “If thetechnology is applied only at the point of tipping, then it could be disastrous withrejections back to farm or the merchant’sstore and no market for it. This needs to bethought through very carefully.”

The situation means that the uncertaintyfor harvest 2016 continues and particularly

for companies who take rapeseed into store,believes Paul Rooke of AIC.

“Members may need to consider howthey address the increased potential for risk in areas such as their intake terms andconditions, retention of intake samples, bothat store and on farm and possible greaterprior knowledge of the history of crops beingput into store.”

While the inadvertent mixing of HEAR and ‘00’ crops in the supply chain is apotential source of erucic contamination,avoiding other potential on-farm sources ofcontamination remains a priority for growers,believes David Leaper. He points to a scientific study into the causes of erucic acid problems that may help to demystifywhat has been happening this season.

In the paper by Leaper DJ and Melloul S,The impact of Clearfield production systemon the quality of winter oilseed rape oil, the authors conclude that erucic acid contamination came from two sources:weeds and volunteer HEAR.

“We have data on the incidence of eruciccontamination across a large number of UK and European commercial HOLL crops where typically around 2% of crops exceeded the erucic acid threshold of 2%.

“These crop would be generally cleanerthan ‘00’ OSR because they were oftengrown on virgin land or in more open rotations,” he explains, adding “It’s reasonable to anticipate that erucic acidcontamination may be even higher in thegeneral OSR crop.” s

he says. “In the UK, HEAR is implicated, buthistorically this market has been a real niche.

“Also, farmers who grow HEAR tend to put it across the farm rather than rotatingbetween HEAR and ’00’ OSR and this is still largely the case. There has been someexpansion of the HEAR acreage recently and it remains attractive to farmers looking for that extra margin.”

It’s possible that this low level contaminationis coming from brassica weeds, like runchand charlock, he believes, setting out his reasoning.

“Back in the late 2000s, the German market switched out of HEAR and moved into HOLL OSR and we saw a definite spikein erucic acid contamination. This could beattributed directly to HEAR volunteers,”

OSR weed control

SpeciesOilseed rape typeConventional ‘00’ oilseed rape 5 2 63 20 11 - - - - -

HOLL oilseed rape 3 2 83 8 3 - - - - -

High Erucic Acid Rapeseed (HEAR) 3 1 13 15 9 1 - - 1 57

Potential weed contaminantsWild radish 5 2 27 14 12 1 11 1 1 27

Wild mustard 4 1 12 18 19 2 10 1 1 32

Cleavers 7 2 44 20 18 5 4 - - -

Charlock mustard 3 1 15 17 13 1 16 1 1 32

Cranesbill 14 2 20 45 3 1 3 1 1 10

Common poppy 10 3 10 77 1 - - - - -

Shepherd’s purse 8 5 14 22 35 2 12 2 -

Hedge mustard 9 2 7 15 35 2 7 1 1 21

Source: Leaper DJ and Melloul S, The impact of Clearfield Production System on the quality of oilseed rape.

Fatty acid profile of oilseed rape types and common weed species

C16.

0 -

Palm

itic

C18.

0 -

Stea

ric

C18.

1 -

Olei

c

C18.

2 -

Lino

leic

C18.

3 -

Lino

leni

c

C20.

0 - A

rach

idic

C20.

1 -

Eico

seno

ic

C20.

2 -

Eico

sadi

enoi

c

C22.

0 -

Behe

nic

C22.

1 -

Eruc

ic

% fatty acid content

So given that HEAR volunteers aren’t likelyto be the main culprits in the UK, why is erucic acid contamination an increasingproblem?

“The UK has always had slightly higherincidence of erucic acid than elsewhere inthe EU,” explains David Leaper. “Where very high levels of erucic acid are beingdetected, this is more likely to be HEAR

s

DK Imperial (Yield 103) fromMonsantoThe latest Clearfield hybrid fromDeKalb. A tall hybrid with averageyields but a relatively high oil content. Suitable for all soil typesand regions but unlikely to goNorth of Yorks. Drill in the maindrilling window but, due to its moderate speed of development,avoid late drilling. Grows into a very tall hybrid with good standingcharacteristics and responds wellto PGRs especially on higherpotential sites. Relatively late toflower and mature. Excellent disease resistance and the firstClearfield hybrid to include theRLM7 stem canker resistancegene. Good light leaf spot resistance (6) is a bonus as is the pod-shatter resistance as thiswill be a useful trait to minimiseClearfield volunteers.

DK Imagis (Yield 103) fromMonsantoHybrid on the AHDB Cereals andOilseeds Recommended List, Northregion. Continental type with relativelyslow speed of development, later flowering and maturity. ReasonableLLS resistance but weak on phoma(5). Pod shatter resistant.PT228CL (Yield 101) from PioneerPioneer’s highest gross output hybridwith high oils. Data limited to Pioneersown European trials and average disease resistance with 4 rating forstem canker and 5 for LLS.Veritas (Yield 102) from DSVA hybrid variety, DSV claims strongdevelopment before winter. RLM7gene gives good protection againstphoma (8) and a good LLS score (7).Average gross output with no information on oils. Very late maturity.Comments provided by David Leaper. Yield data

according to Agrii trials.

Top-yielding Clearfield varieties

Earlier this summer, rapeseed crushers announced that growers would bepenalised by up to £100/t for samples high in erucic acid.

volunteers or inadvertent HEAR crop contamination. The lower levels of erucic acid contamination could be attributed to common weedsbecause of their own elevatederucic oil profiles.” (see table on p32).

He reckons this happensbecause of a much closer OSR rotation in the UK and theconsequent build-up of the problem weeds.

“For the past three yearswe’ve seen an increasing problem with brassica weeds.The reason for this is simple ––we’ve had very open autumnswhich favour weed growth and a

lack of frosty weather. This hasgiven us bigger weeds andwe’ve seen very variable performance from bifenox chemistry because big weedsare more difficult to control inthese conditions,” he explains.

The big issue is that thisautumn, pressure from theseweeds is likely to be worse thanlast autumn, believes DavidLeaper. “The crushers have theirFOSFA26A specification andhave contractual right to rejectcrops contaminated with erucicacid over the 2% threshold, butthey also need to be pragmaticespecially where levels are at or just out of specification.”

s

David Leaper is concerned that rejections at thepoint of tipping could be disastrous if it led toOSR going back to farm or the merchant’s storewith no market for it.

OSR weed control

On top of that, the weedy crops that havebeen commonplace over the past few seasons tend to lead to more weeds to tackle in subsequent seasons. So that means getting rid of broadleaf weeds isabsolutely crucial, he notes. “In recent years there’s been a definite move towardspost-emergence herbicide applications inOSR because growers want to be sure thatthe crop has established before spending a lot of money on it,” he says.

“Worries over establishment this autumn,

especially in flea beetle areas and slug-prone soils, are likely to be even worse.But given the limitations of the post-em herbicide options available, the reticenceover using pre-emergence herbicide anddelaying application means crops are getting dirtier.

In David Leaper’s mind, bifenox continuesto be a useful tool but there’s another andthat’s the Clearfield system, he believes.

Herbicide-tolerant variety“The Clearfield chemistry requires a herbicide-tolerant variety. The market uptakeof this ‘herbicide system’ has been slowbecause, until now, the varieties have beenrelatively low yielding and poorly adapted tothe UK environment,” he explains.

Uptake of Clearfield has been much morepositive in Eastern European countries, where they previously relied on a clopyralidapplication in the spring for weed control,with pretty poor results. As a result, breedingefforts were concentrated on the semi-dwarfhybrids favoured in these regions.

“We now have better adapted UK typeswhich are more vigorous, higher yielding andwith better disease resistance. The newervarieties are yielding at a similar level to DK Expower, at about 5-6% behind the

current highest yielding varieties,” he says.“As a result there’s been a noticeable shift

in attitude towards Clearfield, with more growers showing interest this autumn,” he says.

This harvest, 15,000ha of Clearfield varieties were in the ground but seed salesfor the 2016 planting are up, so much so that the Clearfield share of OSR area is likely to increase twofold or more, accordingto estimates.

So what’s driving the change? A combination of agronomic and financial factors, believes David Leaper, explainingincreasing concerns about establishment

Testing on intake to detect erucic acid levelsusing new technology is the aim of SCOPAmembers for this season’s oilseed crops.

s

This harvest, 15,000ha of Clearfield varietieswere in the ground but seed sales for the 2016planting indicate their share of the OSR area islikely to double.

Worries over establishment have led to reticenceover using pre-emergence herbicide with growerspreferring to use post-em chemistry.

It’s possible that low level contamination iscoming from brassica weeds, like charlock.

OSR weed control

and brassica weed species host club root,which seems to be an increasing problem.Clearfield chemistry helps control both volunteers and brassica weeds in a cropwhere otherwise we’re struggling for reliableherbicide options,” says David Lines. n

mean growers don’t want to spend upfronton early herbicides without the certainty they have a crop. But it’s also because confidence has grown with the Clearfieldsystem.

“Under the system, herbicide is appliedlater post-emergence, when the crop hasestablished and when the autumn flush ofweeds is through. It’s rarely used as a singleshot approach, more often being sequencedwith metazachlor and/or a graminicide, where early removal of cereal volunteers isnecessary. It means growers can spray what they see in front of them, with reliableresults yet they still have the flexibility to usenon-Clearfield herbicides if they wish.”

Early reservationsAs well as advances in breeding and anexpanded choice of varieties, many of theearly reservations about adopting aClearfield system have been resolved. Oneof those was the use of one of the activeingredient, imazamox, in OSR because it’san ALS inhibitor –– a group of chemistry normallylimited to cereals.

Another worry was a Clearfield legacy ofherbicide-tolerant volunteers but this hasproved not to be a problem. “Because of the chemistry available in wheat crops and the degree of stacking of pre- and peri-emergnce products we’re commonlyusing, I’m yet to see a Clearfield volunteer ina wheat field,” says David Leaper. “There arefewer options for good OSR volunteer controlin sugar beet and beans but generally it’s

wheat that follows the OSR crop in the rotation anyway.”

Herefordshire AICC agronomist, DavidLines, is encouraging many of his growers to adopt the Clearfield system, especiallywhere they’re looking to grow specialist cultivars of OSR.

“I was looking at some Bayer trial plotswhere they hadn’t drilled any seed in oneplot yet a population of OSR had emerged to give a cover of around 10 plants/m2. Itillustrates the background population of OSRthat we historically have in the seedbankand I see Clearfield as being a good way to clean these volunteers up,” he says.

“Volunteers are producing off-types incommercial crops and there’s no way ofknowing how their oil quality will impact onthe sample. But it’s not just contamination ofoil quality I’m concerned about. Volunteers

TechnicalBeat Your Best Yield

Will Reflection deliver on its promised potential this

harvest? CPM canvasesviews from some of the

growers aiming to beat theirbest yield with the varietyand seeks expert insight.


The Reflection looks to be the best wheat on

the farm ”“


Verdict reserved as combines poised to cut

As combines progress through harvest,initial reports from early crops indicate2016 is not going to be a year celebratedfor its high yields.

The Beat Your Best growers get some insight onReflection at the Syngenta stand at Cereals.

James Stafford’s crop really picked up with thefirst dose of N and put out a lot of tillers.

“I’ve been very frustrated with harvest,”comments Wilts grower James Stafford.“Oilseed rape has been particularly disappointing –– I think it’ll struggle to manage as much as 3t/ha.”

As such, he’s tempering his expectationfrom his Reflection winter wheat. “It looks OK–– not bad but not great.”

In Lincs, Charles Anyan is “fairly hopeful”for his Reflection. “It has plenty of ears and by the looks of things, it’s not as badlyaffected as others by fusarium, that’s been a big worry this year.”

Poor start to harvestBut harvest for him so far has been “disaster management”, with OSR achieving 3.8-3.9t/ha, and no barley cut by the beginning of Aug.

Near Ipswich, Pip Partridge is “pretty disappointed” with the 6t/ha he’s gettingfrom his winter barley. “It’s a poor samplewith a low specific weight –– the grain justnever filled.”

The Reflection, on the other hand, looks to be the best wheat on the farm, he says. “It does look a consistent crop and the earsseem to be filling well.”

Harvest hadn’t yet got underway on SunkIsland, just north of the Humber, where Jono Dixon admits he can’t bear to look too closely at his wheats as a result of disappointing blackgrass control.

“We’ve done everything we can for the

Reflection. The only thing it’s short of is sunshine, but that’s something we’ve no control over.”

Just south of the Humber, Chris Hewis isreasonably upbeat about his crop. “It looksvery well, with big ears. The question is: will it yield?”

His winter barley hasn’t performed as badas the “horror stories” he’s heard. “Harvest isfrustratingly delayed and slow, though, withOSR not a record breaker at just 3t/ha.”

In Herts, Andrew Watts has reduced hisOSR acreage, and is wondering whether tocut it further, after his crop, beset by cabbage

In association with


Beat Your Best Yield

Charles Anyan reckons his Reflection isn’t asbadly affected as others by fusarium.

stem flea beetle, yielded just 2.5t/ha.He’s just combined some early wheat

–– a niche French white wheat variety ––that’s put in a more average performance.“The Reflection looks OK, following the earlyseason panic. The combine will be the test for it.”

They’re among ten #Clubhectare growers,who’ve taken up the challenge to beat their best yield with Reflection. They’ve been sharing regular updates throughout the season via Twitter, and picked up expert advice on how to maximise the variety’s potential. They’ll also be among the growers contributing to regular updates provided throughout harvest atwww.syngenta.co.uk/reflection/yield-map

Near Corsham in Wilts, James Stafford’s soil type varies from silty clay loam toCotswold brash, and it’s that mix of soil that lies beneath his 17ha of Reflection.“We’ve a strip of Revelation in the field as a comparison. The Reflection’s further forward,but otherwise both look reasonable.”

The crop was established with a 6mKverneland TS Evo drill, following a LemkenTerradisc to make the seedbed, which wasthen rolled and sprayed. “The Reflectionlooked a little behind over the winter, thenreally picked up with the first dose of N andput out a lot of tillers –– it came on well.”

It received 220kgN/ha and a four-sprayfungicide programme, including an SDHI atboth the T1 and T2 timings, with manganeseand Bittersalz added to keep the crop fromwanting anything, he says. “We’ve doneeverything we can –– you could see that thechemistry worked from a small spray miss I had near a telegraph pole.

“It’s not big, barn-busting land this, withwheat yields averaging 8.6t/ha, so it wouldbe nice if the Reflection did a bit better.”

Charles Anyan’s 6.8ha crop of Reflectionwas hit by yellow rust after the T0 spray hadgone on. “The T1 stopped the disease in its

tracks, and it’s been clean ever since, but it’sfusarium that concerns me now. Once the T3spray has gone on, there’s nothing you cando about it, but I’ve seen plenty around andit can knock 2.5t/ha off yield.

“The interesting thing is that the Reflectionseems to be holding the disease off, so I’mreconsidering it as a variety for next year –– yellow rust is a disease we can manage,but fusarium is far tougher to control.”

Looked good all seasonThe Reflection was drilled into his “kindest”sandy clay-loam field with a 6m KuhnMegant, following plough and power harrowafter OSR. It tillered well and looked good all season, he says, receiving a total of220kgN/ha.

“I’m fairly open-minded about what tochoose for next year. A lot depends on theyield performance this harvest, but you’vealso got to keep cost of production in mind.So Graham may be a contender, and we’resticking to Skyfall as our main Group 1

variety. After that, we’ll make a judgementwhen the combine’s gone through.”

Pip Partridge is also considering growingGraham for its yield potential and good disease resistance. “But equally we can tend to cast varieties aside too quickly, and it’s worth getting to know one. So if Reflection does well, we may keep

Pip Partridge is using a bit of ‘muck and magic’to improve rooting and nutrient uptake.

s

an area of it for next year.”This year, his 30ha crop of the variety lies

on Hanslope clays to Melford series heavyloams. It was established at 350 seeds/m2

on the last day of Sept with starter fertiliserapplied through the Väderstad Rapid. “Thecrop really flew out of the ground and lookedfantastic,” he reports.

It received 200kgN/ha and a four-sprayfungicide programme, including SDHIs at both T1 and T2 with Amistar Opti (azoxystrobin+ chlorothalonil) added at T1 to check the yellow rust.

“We’re also using a bit of ‘muck andmagic’ –– we put some Mega-Fos

Just how much influence does the weather haveon crop potential, and has this year’s dismal summer knocked it sideways? According to Prof Roger Sylvester-Bradley of ADAS, light interception and water availability are the two factors that determine whether you reach thegenetic potential of your crop.

“That’s not to say that disease isn’t important,and in a year like this one, it’s very hard to keepdisease from compromising potential. But cropinputs, such as sprays, fertiliser and evenmicronutrients, just facilitate the output. Light,water and carbon dioxide are the real resourcesfrom which yield is built.”

There’s a staggering 36 terajoules of sunshineenergy that falls on a ha of wheat, he says ––about half a Hiroshima bomb –– and the aim forthe plant breeder and grower is to turn that intocrop biomass through photosynthesis.

“Ever since John Monteith’s work at SuttonBonington (Nottingham University) in the 1960sand ‘70s, we’ve had a good understanding of therelationship between light interception andgrowth,” he explains.

“Up until the mid 1990s, however, breeders

increased yield potential through raising the harvestindex –– the proportion of grain to overall biomass–– and farm yields increased accordingly. Butsince then, yield potential has improved throughincreasing biomass and the lifespan of the canopy,and I have a theory we haven’t focused enoughon-farm practice towards harnessing that potential, which is why yields have stagnated.”

This is what the Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) is designed to do, says RogerSylvester-Bradley. “Much of the land in the UK iscapable of achieving 20t/ha, depending on rainfalland soil water-holding capacity. YEN members aregiven a yield potential for their land –– anyonewho exceeds the average of 58% is doing well.The record is 81%.”

Above ground, maximum light interception isthe key, he says, and that comes down to ensuringa canopy that has optimum efficiency. “You’relooking for a green area index (GAI) of 6-7 by thetime the crop reaches flowering. But that assumesall the leaves share the light energy fairly evenly.”

To illustrate, he points out the differencebetween a rhubarb and an iris leaf. “You wouldhave thought the surface area of the rhubarb leafwould help it intercept more light. But leaves have a limited capacity and saturate at low lightintensity. So what you look for is an erect plantarchitecture so leaves can share the light.”

Syngenta senior wheat breeder DavidFeuerhelm points out that Reflection is noted forits erect growth and short, well positioned leaves.“It also has the ability to produce a lot of tillers and retain a high number of ears. While otherhigh-yielding varieties have an extended canopylife to realise their potential, Reflection occupies its space well to intercept the light, which is whatgives the variety its edge.”

The Syngenta wheat-breeding programme has sought to produce wheats with a range ofmaturities, he says. “Graham matures earlier thanReflection, while our two NL2 candidates are on

Light interception and water availability are thetwo factors that determine whether you reach the genetic potential of your crop, says Roger Sylvester-Bradley

Absorption’s the key to Reflection’s potential

the late side. AHDB Cereals and OilseedsRecommended List candidates Shabras andSavello fall between Reflection and Graham.”

Graham is a little taller than Reflection, andbeing earlier, will reach critical growth stages at adifferent time, he notes. “The way Tim Lamymanensured a record-breaking yield with hisReflection was to ensure it was kept stress-freethroughout its growth. The same would go forGraham, but follow the crop growth to get the timing right.”

Roger Sylvester-Bradley notes that this year,sunshine levels for June and July are down onaverage, and that will reduce the amount of energy that crops will have received. “But weshouldn’t jump to conclusions, and moisture levelsare higher, which is the other common limitingfactor,” he points out.

“What’s of far more relevance is whetheryou’ve nurtured your crop and managed your soilin a way that addresses the more limiting of thetwo key resources that determine crop potential–– light energy or water.”

David Feuerhelm advises growers to follow thecrop growth with Graham to get the timing right.

Beat Your Best Yield

(phosphite) on with the T0 and T1 sprays toimprove rooting and nutrient uptake, so havetried every aspect to pull out the potential.”As a first wheat, he’s hoping for a 10t/hacrop, although his average, includingsecond and third wheats, is 8.5t/ha.

Either side of the Humber, there’s a bit ofcompetition over who’ll do best. On the northside, Jono Dixon has an 8ha crop ofReflection on warp land following viningpeas. It received chicken manure, then190kgN/ha, a full, four-spray fungicide programme, and didn’t see too much of theblackgrass that’s afflicted his other wheats.

“But I’m not confident it’ll yield this season


because of the poor weather. I reckon ChrisHewis may outdo me –– he is to growingcrops what Delia is to cooking and alwaysseems to pull it off when the odds arestacked against him. I think his Reflectionmay even be sitting on the same seam ofsoil as mine.”

Just across the water in N Lincs, Chris“Delia” Hewis isn’t so sure. “I wouldn’t like tosay I’ll outyield Jono as I reckon his soil hasmore body. Having said that, the Reflectiondoes look well and should yield.”

He missed the T0 spray window and theT1 application was 10 days late as a resultof poor weather. “So we did get yellow rust s

s

programme with agronomy advice on how to make the most of its promising new varieties.

Why not join them and try to ‘beat your best yield’? Find out moreat www.beatyourbestyield.com

Throughout harvest there’ll also be updates on Reflection yieldsacross the UK so growers canbenchmark their performance atwww.syngenta.co.uk/reflection/yield-map

Just as CPM was going to press,the first few crops of Reflectionacross the UK began to fall on to the combine cutter bar. Initialindications are that it’s proving tobe a pleasing crop and that yieldshave held.

In Suffolk, for example,Pip Partridge’s crop is now safely in the shed, he reported on Twitter, bringing in more than 10t/ha. For more, go to

www.syngenta.co.uk/reflection/yield-map or follow the action on Twitter#BYBYield #Reflection.

in the early stages and Ithought it would be a disaster.But the combination of chemistryand adult plant resistanceseems to have helped it growaway from the problem and itnow looks like it has potential.”

Epoxiconazole plus fenpropimorph plus metrafenonewas applied at T1, with an SDHIbase to the T2 spray. Priori Xtra(azoxystrobin+ cyproconazole)has kept the ear clean since theT3 timing, he says. “Next year,we’re looking for varieties withdisease insurance, so will stickwith Evolution and Dickens and may look at KWS Siskin or Graham.”

Having to apply a T0.5 spray

Combines roll

to keep the yellow rust out of his5ha of Reflection has knockedconfidence in the variety forAndrew Watts, who’s growing itwithin a 30ha block of JB Diegoon “fairly stiff” clay loam.

“Since then it’s looked OK.We’ve treated it the same as all the other wheats and theReflection has a big ear, so it should perform. But the onlycertainty about a high input, high output variety is the highinput, and I’m not sure that’s a risk we can take with a wheat that we’ll grow across hundreds of acres. But let’s wait and see what harvestbrings,” he says. n

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Growing a new variety for the first time can be a step into theunknown. Those who achieve thebest outcome combine knowledgeof their own farm with the bestagronomy advice, and also takethe time to visit trials and draw on the experiences of others.

In this sponsored series of articles, CPM has teamed up with Syngenta and ten growers of the top-yielding winter wheatReflection to provide key insights,hints and tips as they get to knowthis new variety. They’ve each seta target yield to beat and aresharing regular updates viaTwitter.

Each article updates onprogress and gets an exclusive,behind-the-scenes look at theSyngenta wheat-breeding

Beat Your Best Yield challenge

Developments expandcoulter choice

Moves from minimum tillageto direct drilling, sowing into cover crops and low disturbance have driven

significant changes in coulter design and how

these are configured.CPM reports.

By Mick Roberts

MachineryDrills

All drill coulters have to perform thesame task –– that’s to place seeds at a precise depth, at the right spacingarrangement with good seed-to-soilcontact.

Today a multitude of makers take verydifferent routes to achieving those basicaims as well as now looking at ways todrill through high levels of trash and covercrops and with minimum disturbance.

It wasn’t long ago that cultivation practices used to revolve around having to create a seedbed in which a Suffolkcoulter could work effectively. But, as thepopularity of ploughing has waned andmin-till, zero-till and direct drilling havebecome more established, it’s now thecoulters that are having to adapt to meetthe challenges presented by the latestthinking on agronomy and soils.

Range of conditions“Today’s drills and their coulters are beingdesigned to cope with a range of differentconditions,” says independent soils specialist and engineer Philip Wright.“There’s now much less cultivation andoften high levels of trash. Additionally, there can be the need to disturb the soil as little as possible to avoid moving weedseeds into the surface from where they can germinate.

“Delayed drilling means they must work in wetter conditions and, increasingly, theyhave to work into cover crops. Spring

drilling is now becoming more common,which brings its own challenges. One ofthe first questions farmers need to ask iswhether it’s possible to meet all thesedemands with a single drill.”

Flexibility, with the versatility to work inthis wide range of conditions, is probablynow the most important specification.Drilling depth –– whether that’s defined as


One of the most interesting aspects of theBettison DD2 direct drill on show at Cereals wasthe relatively low powered, two-wheel drivetractor on the front.

adjustable to suit the conditions and moisture.

“The Bettison drill from the 1970s has a ‘triple disc’ using a single disc to cut the slot and then direct drill with a followingdouble-disc coulter. Looking at the one on show on the ADHB stand at Cereals I wondered what we’ve learned from the drill. Actually we’ve learned a lot since then.

“The first thing that struck me was therelatively small two-wheel drive tractor onthe front. What two-wheel drive could pull amodern drill of the same width? The otherpoint was the drill was part of a system s

Coulter considerationsl Depth controll Ability to cope with different seedbedsl How the slot is closedl Seed-to-soil contactl Consolidationl Soil disturbance

Points to ponder on drills

Drills

Today’s drills and their coulters

are being designed tocope with a range

of different conditions.”

“


Drill designl Discs – one or two?l Seed placement – rows or bands?l Tines – how much disturbance?l Discs and tines – how are they combined?l How does it cope with trash and surface residues?l How does it cope with undulating ground?l Is there fertiliser placement and, if so, with, or

adjacent to the seed?

Väderstad’s 410mm diameter serrated coulterdisc (top) runs at an angle of 3° and its workingdepth is set by the rear wheel.

the layer of soil covering the seed or howdeep it goes into a slot –– is also critical,as is the spatial arrangement along therow, as well as the row or seed band spacing.

Drills now have to cope with impreciseseedbeds and have the ability to follow contours as well as comply with other considerations that raise a number of important questions, adds Philip Wright.“What do you want to achieve? Do you sowin rows, make just a strip for the seed andcrop or a more consistent spread over thewhole surface? Do you choose a very flexible drill that can adapt to suit all conditions or something that can betweaked, or an all-out specialist?

“Very many thoughts are now being driven by blackgrass control, which leads to the coulter design’s influence on soil disturbance. But if this isn’t a concern, you

may be looking for one that does the opposite and provides varying degrees of cultivation.

“Delaying drilling into late Oct often calls for a simpler, lighter drill capable ofworking in wetter conditions and catchy situations. In this case it’s likely to also beused in the spring –– again in damper soilsor those drying out from wetter conditions,”he says.

Conversely, in dry periods in both theautumn and spring, it’s important to judgethe seedbed according to the moisture –– not just drill it and wait and hope forrain. “In the spring the biggest lesson tolearn is to be patient –– drill when you can.But in both later autumn and spring drilling situations, to do this you need a drill capable of high outputs to make the mostof every opportunity.

“High output involves faster speeds, however, which goes hand in hand with disturbance. Often in a negative way,” he warns.

Broad choiceThere’s a broad choice of coulters on a massive range of drills, he adds. But thesereally break down into essentially four maintypes –– single disc, double disc, tine anddisc/tine, but with a great many options.

Passive tine-based coulters can often create more disturbance that discs. Butthere are new, very narrow designs that do work to overcome this.

Discs are very passive and cope well with residues through their inherentcutting action. They do offer lower disturbance than most, but not all, tines.Their capability to cope with wet conditionscan be limited and have a tendency tosmear the slot. The same generally appliesto double discs.

Another important consideration is how the drill covers the seed, either bypressing closed a slot, or with a followingharrow. Good seed-to-soil contact alsorequires consolidation, but this must be

and with lower powers thantoday.”

Technology has moved onsince the Paraplow and Bettisondrill were essentially some ofonly tools UK farmers could turnto for direct drilling and reducedcultivation. These advancesinclude not only new designsbut also benefit from the latestmaterials and manufacturingtechniques, and a wide range of soil-consolidating and slot-closing options not thenfully envisaged.

The Sky Easy Drill may be a fairly new name to some UKfarmers, but its heritage stretches back to the originalMoore UniDrill. The latest version is a very differentmachine, incorporating the most modern designs and technology, says JamesWoolway, managing director of OPICO.

“Although the original concept is more than 40 yearsold, in the past ten years SkyAgriculture has made significantchanges to the coulters. Thediscs are now made from a new grade of steel, with theouter 75mm hardened againstwear, while the inner section istempered to absorb impacts,”he explains.

Less soil disturbanceThese new discs now open theslot running at 3.5° angle to the direction of travel, which ishalf that of 7° used previously. This creates less soil disturbance and reduces thepower requirement. “The reasonthis couldn’t be achieved beforewas that the higher angle wasneeded to ensure disc rotationin loose, tilled soil. These days,better bearings, precisionmachining and the firmed soilprovided by a front pre-pressroller have now eliminated theneed for the higher disc angle,”he adds.

The new skim coulter, whichsits alongside the disc is nowtungsten coated. “It simplydoesn’t wear now and weexpect it to last the life of themachine,” says James Woolway.

The Weaving GD discs are mounted at a 25° angle off the vertical and pivot around a central kingpin mounted withinthe coulter body.

and the second, and most crucial element wasn’t on show: a Paraplow,” he says.

Although it was manufacturedand sold by Howard, theParaplow was developed for ICIby a team of agronomists, soilscientists and engineers. Itsunique design uses legs,mounted at a 45° angle, toloosen the soil by lifting andhelping it to fracture along natural fissures. There’s very little surface disturbance andthe operation doesn’t mix thesoil below or bring up clods.

Philip Wright wonderswhether this soil structuringbasic principle is now the missing link in current reducedtillage systems –– especially inthe early years of adoption, orfollowing a string of wetter harvests. “It was an essentialpart of the system, with a lowdraft requirement, which isproven because the mountedmachine was operated perfectlyadequately by tractors in the1980s, which were usually two-wheel drive, much lighter

Drills

The Sky Easy Drill has a rubber Otico packer roller in front of the coulter disc with skim coulter (right) and followingsteel press wheels that close the slot.


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“The skim is normally set level with the topof the notch on the disc, so it’s slightlyshallower than the disc depth, but it can beadjusted to suit conditions. It also helps toclear out the seeding slot, preventing ‘hairpinning’ of straw.”

Chamfered edgesSeeding coulters work in pairs in a ‘seeding line’. At the front a rubber, Oticopacker roller consolidates the soil ahead ofthe coulter discs and sets the seedingdepth. The seeding slot is then closed bychamfered edges on the metal presswheels at the back.

Individual disc pressure can be adjustedfrom zero to 250kg, and weight can bemoved to the front or back of the seeding line as conditions dictate. In dry conditionsmore pressure on the disc coulter andmetal, rear press wheels will improve penetration and consolidation, while in wetand softer soils more weight is transferredto the front rubber roller.

The Väderstad Rapid disc drilling principle has hardly changed since its introduction many years ago. Instead ofusing pressure to push the coulters into thesoil the whole weight of the Rapid exertspressure on each disc. The working depthis set by the rear wheel, which effectively

Drills

suspends the coulters out of the ground,rather than pressing them in.

The 410mm diameter serrated coulter disc runs at an angle of 3° to forward travel

Kuhn uses its existing Speedflex, offset double disc coulters on its latest Espro drill, mounted on the newCrossflex seedbar.

The Great Plains OO Series opener uses a pair of 4mm thick, 337mm diameter discs set in a V-form,with a seed tube in the middle.

and this cuts the slot into which the seedfalls. The delivery coulter runs in the ‘shadow’ of the disc, which effectivelyclears out the slot before the seed is


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Claydon now offers alternatives to the initial A-Hoe share (left), including narrower points to reducedisturbance and work in wetter conditions (right).

pressed in by the edges of the tyrepacker.

Further disc coulter drilling developmentsare found on the Weaving GD (Gent Disc)Drill. Developed with Lincs farmer, TonyGent, it features a new, patented doubledisc design, which creates little soil disturbance with a low power requirementof just 40hp/m.

The double disc arrangement is mountedat a 25° angle off the vertical and is able topivot around a central kingpin mountedwithin the coulter body. The larger, leadingouter disc cuts an opening slice in the soil,while the smaller, inner disc is designed to‘undermine’ the upper side –– forming an

opening for the seed to be placed precisely.This, says Weaving, prevents slot side

wall compression, providing easier and more consistent closing with firming by thefollowing press wheel, which also acts as a depth regulator. Moving a single pinthrough a bank of holes adjusts the depthin 16mm steps from 16mm to 144mm.

Kuhn, meanwhile, employs its existingSeedflex, offset double disc coulters on itslatest Espro drill. These are now mountedon the new Crossflex seedbar, with suspension provided by four roundpolyurethane blocks that fit into profiles onthe coulter bar within a square tube

The coulters are mounted in pairs on a

Drills

parallelogram unit, which is equipped with a rear depth-control wheel. A large offsetbetween the double discs opens the furrow, while narrow disc angle reducessoil disturbance, which also helps whenclosing the slot with the rear press/depthwheel.

Surface materialHorsch has recently entered the direct discdrill market with its Avatar SD, which hastwo rows of single disc coulters. These usea straight disc to cut through the surfacematerial ahead of the opener disc thatworks at a 6° angle, while a rubber-coatedgauge wheel controls the seeding depth.

An angled, steel press wheel, runningalongside, then consolidates the soil backonto the seeding slot. A more heavy-dutyversion on the Pronto’s rubber suspensionsystem is used to maintain the set pressureon the coulters.

Whatever the front tools operatorschoose to use, with the Great Plains Saxonor Centurion drills, they both use the 00Series opener. This uses a pair of 4mmthick, 337mm diameter discs set in a V-form, with the inner offset by about 6mmbehind the outer to create the seeding slot.

The seeding tube passes between the

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Horsch’s Avatar SD has a straight disc to cutthrough the surface material ahead of the opener disc that works at a 6° angle.

Amazone’s Rotec and Rotec Pro coulters maintainsowing depth using a cleaning and depthguidance roller fitted to the side of the disc.

Drills

discs where, just below centre, it splits with the seed trickling down the front halfto drop just above the ground. A rear –– ‘seed flap’ –– is said to stop bounceand maintains depth control.

While Claydon sticks to its original leading tine concept on its drills, it nowoffers a range of alternatives to the initialA-Hoe share, including narrower points toreduce disturbance and work in wetterconditions.

All start with the patented leading, rigid‘chisel’ tines, which loosen and aerate thesoil and create a channel for drainage androot penetration. This is followed by a

sprung seeding tine, which is strong enoughto maintain depth through the lifted soil.Following levelling boards and tines coverthe seed.

There’s a choice of A shares for seedingin 75mm, 125mm or 175mm bands.Alternatively for lower disturbance the A-share can be replaced by two narrowseeding tines, which place the seed in a30mm band, which run about 75mm eitherside of the seeding slot. Seed is placedeither side of a single drainage slot createdby the leading tine.

Amazone offers a choice of coulters onits drills. For example the new 4m foldingCirrus, employs the well proven RoTeC prosystem, which it also uses on other drills

This single 400mm diameter disc is made from 4mm thick Boran steel forlongevity and has a special furrow former to reduce soil disturbance. Sowing depth is maintained by a cleaning and depth guidance roller with a 25mm wide contactsurface, fitted to the side of the coulter,which Amazone says provides better accuracy than a following roller.

The guidance roller has a high load-carrying capacity, allowing the coulters to operate at pressures up to 55kgas well as travel smoothly through the soil.

Amazone’s Cayena drill is equipped withits narrow, TineTec, coulters designedspecifically for low disturbance drilling. The coulters are also already staggered inthree rows to provide 16cm spacings, withplenty of room for trash to flow through.

As well as creating minimum disturbance, the narrow carbine-platedpoints also reduce power consumption,allowing a 6m wide machine to be pulledby a 150hp tractor. n

UK farmers got the first glimpse of a methane-powered

tractor this summer, but howmuch practical use will it be on farm? CPM looks beyond

the marketing hype.

By Nick Fone

MachineryMethane power

There’s so much less expensive

jiggery-pokery required to meet current rules, thetractor build cost should be comparable to that

of a standard model.”

“

A lot of hot air?

Being seen to be green is now so essential in the world of corporate marketing that it can tend to wash overus. Phrases like ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘sustainability criteria’ are bandied aboutto such a great extent that their realmeaning has virtually evaporated.

And farm machinery makers are noexception. Every tractor that has beenlaunched in the past 30 years has beenpromised to be at least 5% more efficientthan its predecessor to the point whereyou’d imagine they’d be generating theirown fuel and blasting butterflies out of theexhaust stack by now.

But it’s not just a marketing ploy –– engine emission regulations have got

asphyxiatingly tight over the past decadeand so the big machinery players havehad to pour nearly all their R&D spend intothat critical area to stay in line with the law.It makes sense then to build some sort of marketing argument around that.

The subject of alternative fuels occasionally wafts in and out of the agricultural press prompted by the launch of an engine that’ll run on biodiesel or a prototype diesel-electric hybrid drive for aself-propelled sprayer. But as yet nothinghas really appeared that has made it into the mainstream.

Energy independenceAccording to New Holland that’s all set to change. The company’s ‘Clean EnergyLeader’ strategy (corporate guff alert) hasseen engines adapted to run on rapeseedoil, a hydrogen-powered fuel-cell prototypeconcept developed and a completely energy-independent farm built in Italy with a biogas plant at its core.

And it’s this last part that brings the latest development. Having mothballed its fuel-cell NH2 concept on the basis that the technology was too expensive tomake production a reality, New Hollanddecided the most realistic option for

energy self-sufficiency on farms was going to be gas produced from anaerobicdigesters. Cue the development of amethane-powered tractor.

It’s an idea initially spawned deep in theAustrian Alps by NH sister-company Steyrand small engineering company Lu Powersome eight years ago. Back then the concept used a mix of diesel and methanefuel but as the project has developed (it was shifted sideways to sit under NH’s blue banner in 2013) it’s moved towards100% gas.

In its initial guise, the first generationNew Holland tractor running on methanehad a four-cylinder engine capable ofpumping out a maximum of 140hp. (It wasactually the same 3-litre block used inIveco’s Daily vans –– a big ask for a littlemotor). Being a spark-ignition engine, thattractor could also run on petrol as a back-upbut that then started to bring in extra complications in making it conform withemissions regs –– straight gas-fuelledpower-plants are so clean-burning theyalready meet the ultra-tough Stage 5 rules.

Consequently, when the design team sat down around the table to decide whatgeneration two was going to look like, it was decided that as well as being more


s

powerful, it had to run on 100% methane. Of course New Holland had one big

advantage over other tractor manufacturers.Being part of CNH Global it had the experience of sister company Iveco to draw on which has built some 29,000

gas-powered engines since 1996 fortrucks, vans and buses. (In fact, Fiat hadits first buses and lorries out running ontown gas in the 1930s).

True challengesSo when it came to getting to grips withbuilding a gas-powered tractor it wasn’t in the engine department where the truechallenges lay. The big issue for the engineering team has been in making surethere’s enough methane storage on board to give the tractor a decent run time. Atotal of nine gas cylinders are situatedaround the machine –– in under the cab onboth sides and around the rear cab pillarsand roofline. They combine to provide 300litres (52kg) of compressed methane –– atotal that equates to six hours’ worth oflight duties or three to four hours of heavierwork. (As a rule of thumb, the energy valueof five litres of methane at 200bar equalsthat of one litre of diesel).

Clearly that’s not good enough for mostapplications and it’s the main thing NewHolland says it’s working on.

And for those worried about the safetyimplications of carrying around vast quantities of highly flammable gas pressurised to 200 times atmospheric

pressure, the cylinders used are apparentlyrated to withstand the impact from a freighttrain while clever valves detect any suddenloss of pressure and instantly shut off gas flow.

There are just two prototype versions ofNew Holland’s gas-fuelled 165hp T6.180s in the whole world. One in the US and another based at the company’s ‘EnergyIndependent’ demonstration farm in Italy.Usually tasked with feeding the unit’s anaerobic digester, for a few weeks in Juneit managed to escape for a whistle-stoproadshow landing on UK shores in time for the Cereals event and a few guestappearances at biogas plants around the country.

CPM caught up with it at Wyke Farms inSomerset where it was coupled up to a13.5cu.m tanker, hauling in cow slurry fromthe business’ 1000-head dairy to feed thethree-tank digester.

So what’s different about the ‘MethanePower’ model compared with a standardtractor?

Most obvious from the outside are the shrouded gas tanks bolted to the reinforced cab B-pillars and bulbousroofline, which make it look like it has anasty case of elephantitis. All this extra

Methane is naturally cleaner burning than dieselso all the usual bulky, emissions-beating gubbinsare absent.

s

Methane power


A fill up provides six hours’ worth of light dutiesor three to four hours of heavier work.

Gas cylinders around the rear cab pillars androofline make it look like it has a nasty case of elephantitis.

bulk up top has required the cab suspension springs and dampers to bebeefed up. But of course it’s under the skinthat the biggest differences come to light.

The engine is a variation of the 5.9-litreblock more commonly found in Ivecotrucks rather than the 6.7-litre lump usuallyemployed in Basildon-built tractors of thissize. The standard cylinder head isreplaced by one that can accommodatespark plugs as gas power relies on theseto fire rather than compression-ignition.

Emission-beating gubbinsAll the usual bulky, emissions-beating gubbins crammed in around the exhaust are absent on the gas-fired tractor. That’sbecause methane is naturally cleaner burning than diesel so what’s pumped outof the stack doesn’t need cleaning up tothe same extent. And that’s good news for anyone thinking that they might be puttingtheir hand in their pocket for one of thesemachines in the future.

New Holland says because there’s somuch less expensive jiggery-pokeryrequired to meet current rules, the tractorbuild cost should be comparable to that of a standard model. (There’s no AdBlue,no DPF, no EGR - just one conventionalcatalytic converter in the pipework).

And, if the company’s claims are to bebelieved, there’ll also be a significant fuelsaving to be had. It says its trials at its testfarms in Italy and the US suggest thatoverall costs appear to be reduced by 25-40%. Whether that plays out in realityremains to be seen.

A couple of points to note before you go rushing into your local dealer to placeyour order though. If you already have anAD plant on farm it’s not just a case ofsiphoning off some gas and diverting it into the tractor tanks. To use your own home-produced biomethane you’ll need a gas cleaning and scrubbing plant as well as a pressurisation facility –– at a costof many tens, possibly hundreds, of

thousands of pounds. If you happen to run a fleet of commercial

vehicles and have the possibility of retailing some fuel to other users then there could be some mileage in makingthat investment –– something Wyke Farmsis currently considering.

The second thing to consider is that currently the limits on storage and run timemean the biggest tractor that can run onmethane power is rated at 165hp. Most ADoperations will be using tractors in excessof 200hp so how useful a smaller machinewill be could be questionable. New Hollandsays it’s working on fuel storage with additional front linkage-mounted tanks and others bolted to onto trailers, tankersand implements to extend running times and possibly allow bigger engines to be employed.

Methane power

So all told, methane power may be a useful step forward in a cleaner, greenerworld. But clearly there’s still some work to do before the concept hits dealer showrooms. n

Picking a new drill withouttrying it out on your farm

first is always going to be astab in the dark. CPM visits aKent farm that trialled seven

drills before settling onAmazone’s Cayena.

By James Andrews

MachineryOn Farm Opinion

A drill to cope with cropping change

Farming almost 10ft below sea level,where soils range from sand to clay andwater levels keep rising is enough to challenge the versatility of any drill.

So when it came to make a change to thecrop establishment regime at their 1200hafarm in Burmarsh, Romney Marsh, Rob andAlan Clifton-Holt opted to test out as manydrills as they could before making any biginvestments.

The pair’s decision to switch things aroundcame about in the autumn of 2013. Up untilthat point they’d almost exclusively beensowing winter crops, but the raising of water

levels in the area and the onslaught of blackgrass meant this was becomingincreasingly unviable.

“The fact that we farm on a marsh meanswe’ve always got a pretty tight autumn window for establishing winter crops, but this got even tighter when the water levelsstarted rising,” says Alan Clifton-Holt.

Now the farm’s drilling cut off is around 10 Oct, but in some years they’ll get a weekin Nov when it dries up enough to get a bit done.

“Coupled to that, the blackgrass problemthat we’d been battling for the past eightyears was getting worse, as it just loved thewetter conditions and the fact that we werebeing forced to start drilling earlier,” he says.

Previously, the pair had tried to keepblackgrass levels under control using rotational grass leys, which were cut forsilage. Over the years they had experimentedwith one, two, three and four-year leys, eventually finding that 18 months or twoyears was the most effective option.

This is because it gave just about enoughtime for all the surface blackgrass seeds tochit, grow and be removed without takingthe ground out of more profitable cereal or

oilseed production for too long.But even though this prevented

populations from ballooning, it wasn’tenough to start getting on top of the problem.

After weighing up all the options theydecided that their next step would be to startincreasing their spring cropping area.

Churning up a seedbedInitially, they opted to get these spring cropsin the ground using a similar approach totheir autumn establishment. This involvedchurning up a seedbed using the farm’sQuivogne Tinemaster or Kuhn Roterra,rolling if needed and then going in with the6m Väderstad Rapid.

Although this technique got the crops offto a decent enough start, the amount ofdamage and compaction caused in the still-wet soils meant they struggled later in the season.

“We knew we had to come up with a different approach, but we didn’t really knowwhich way to turn,” says Alan Clifton-Holt.“That’s when we decided we’d better dosome trials to find out, even though it wouldcost us quite a bit of money to do it.”


These would be far from scientific, but would give a good indication of how each drillperformed on their ground andwith their farming approach, he adds.

So in the autumn of 2013, theyset aside a 60ha block of landthat had just come out of grassand been sprayed off to give aclean seedbed.

They then set about phoninground manufacturers and dealers to get hold of a series of demonstrator models.

Four drills –– a mix of disc and tine direct drills –– ended uparriving on the farm and eachwas given its own field to sowwith winter wheat. They also setaside another field that would beplanted using the currentVäderstad system.

Bit of a disasterUnfortunately, the trial turned outto be a bit of a disaster, but itwasn’t really the drills that were atfault. “On some, establishmentwas really patchy, partly because

the drills struggled to close theslot in the springy turf,” says Alan Clifton-Holt. “But the biggest problemwas the massive flush ofblackgrass that we hadacross the whole lot,

including the ground that was ploughed and drilled by

the Väderstad Rapid.”In the end they decided to

spray the whole lot off and redothe trial in the spring. This timearound they got in three extradrills, taking the total up to seven.

These included a Simtech T-Sem, a John Deere 750A, aSumo DTS and DD, a WeavingGD, a Väderstad Spirit, anAmazone Cayena and the farm’sVäderstad Rapid with the frontrow of discs removed.

All drills were put straight towork in the sprayed off stubblesfrom the winter crop plantingspring wheat.

On Farm Opinion


Alan Clifton-Holt (left), with farm foreman Jonathan Locke, put seven drillsthrough their paces to determine which was best.

”

“ Right from the off, the crops planted

with the Cayena had the most even establishment.

s

l Width: 6ml Coulters: 36 TineTec coulters staggered

over three rows and spaced at 16.5cml Hopper: 4000-litre spilt seed and fertiliser

hopper with twin metering systemsl Pulled by: John Deere 7930

How it worksThe Cayena is a fairly straightforward 6m tinedrill that has 36 coulters staggered acrossthree rows to improve trash flow.

These slender tines hang off the main frameon rubber mounts, which as well as allowingthem to flex when they come into contact withlarge stones, causes them to vibrate and generate a bit more tilth. These work a littledeeper than the wavy front discs that do theprimary cultivation work.

The drill places both seed and fertiliserdown the same tube, which runs down theback of the tine. This keeps things simple, butmeans there’s little room for experimentingwith different placement options.

Once seed and fertiliser has been put in theground, a sprung following harrow covers theopening with soil, before a set of rubber presswheels consolidates the seedbed. Finally, atined following harrow textures the surface.

A set of wavy front discs do the initial cultivation work.

Tech Specs: AA Clifton’s Amazone Cayena

“The results were pretty variable, but rightfrom the off, the crops planted with theCayena had the most even establishmentand looked the strongest going into the summer,” he recalls.

As well as its performance in the trial, the Clifton-Holts rated the Cayena for its versatility and the fact it would work well in avariety of conditions. “We wanted a drill thatwould be capable of direct drilling, butwould also work well in cultivated groundwhen required,” he says.

“Some of the others seemed too focusedon direct drilling alone and we just didn’t feelour ground was in a suitable condition forgoing down that route.

“At that stage we decided that theAmazone was the drill we wanted, eventhough we hadn’t had the trial harvestresults.”

However, they would later find out that theAmazone-sown crop did actually return thehighest yields.

With the decision made, the Clifton-Holtsdid a deal with local dealer RW Crawfords.This involved Crawfords buying a newCayena, which would be used as a demonstrator throughout the 2014 autumndrilling season –– including several demoson their farm –– before they bought it for a

On Farm Opinion

s

With the new drill settled, the Clifton-Holtswere able to start implementing their newrotation. This would aim to split drilling equallybetween winter and spring as well as givingan opportunity for planting cover crops toincrease soil organic matter.

They settled for the following six-yearregime: winter OSR – winter wheat – covercrop – spring wheat – cover crop – springpeas – winter wheat – cover crop – springbarley – OSR.

For each cover crop they would aim tohave a different seed mix that would avoiddisease carryover into the following crop.

It’s still early to see if the rotation will havethe desired effect as it only kicked off in the

autumn of 2013. However, they’ve alreadystarted to see improvements in the workabilityof the soil.

That’s partly due to the cover crops andstraw that has been incorporated for the pastfew years, but they’ve also been bringing inadditional organic matter.

This has included bought-in FYM, FYMfrom muck-for-straw deals, compost and ––for the first time this year –– sewage sludge.

“It’s not a cheap hobby, but getting organicmatter content higher and looking after thesoil’s health is crucial if our family is still goingto be farming here for generations to come,”says Alan Clifton-Holt.

Rotational change

A sprung levelling harrow covers the seed beforebeing pressed with a large-diameter rubber tyre packer.

Seeder tines are rubber mounted for stoneprotection and to aid soil shattering.

On Farm Opinion

slightly knocked-down price.“It was a good deal for us as we paid a

bit less, but it also gave the dealer a decentopportunity to show off what the drill coulddo without having to worry about selling itafterwards –– they also sold a couple of drillsoff the back of it.”

So far the farm’s own Cayena has been used to drill the 2015/16 season’s cover crops, winter oilseed rape and spring cereals.

Cultivation workFor both the cover crops and the OSR, the Clifton-Holts decided to do some cultivation work before running in with theCayena. This involved subsoiling any groundthat needed it, before running through with a set of discs to loosen the soil and incorporate the previous crop’s residues.

Here the drill ran well and didn’t struggleto deal with the tilth or the relatively largeamounts of crop residue on the surface.

Seed placement was also fairly consistent, but it did start to struggle wherethe ground was rougher than ideal.“Because it’s a fairly simple drill and all thecoulters are mounted on a rigid frame, youdon’t get the degree of contour-following thatyou would with independently mountedones,” says Alan Clifton-Holt.

“However, it’s a good incentive for you tomake sure your fields are nice and level, s

A split hopper and twin metering system allowseed and fertiliser to be applied.

The manual depth adjustment is a bit of a fiddleuntil you get used to it.

Seeder pipes can block with soil in stickyconditions.

which they should be anyway.”For spring cereal planting, they decided

to direct drill into the desiccated cover crop,which is where the Cayena came into itsown, notes Rob Clifton-Holt.

“One of the main reasons we bought theCayena was its ability to direct drill in thespring without having to do any other damaging cultivation work,” he says.

“We made sure we did all the work weneeded in the autumn before the cover cropwent in and left just enough crumb in the soilfor the spring crops to go into –– it worked

perfectly and you could barely see wherewe’d been.”

But despite the Cayena’s success, thetrusty 6m Väderstad Rapid has been kept for autumn cereal drilling.

This is partly because it does some additional cultivation work and partlybecause seed placement is a little moreaccurate, says Alan Clifton-Holt.

Thankfully the Cayena threw up fewteething problems, but they did find it wasa little too easy to block spouts whendrilling in stickier conditions. However,dropping the drill into work when they weremoving at a decent speed solved this.

Other grumbles included the fact thatwhen the drill lifts out of work it only runs onthe transport wheels, rather than the entirewidth of the tyre packer.

In slightly wetter conditions this causesexcess compaction and has caused them

to go back in and rework the headlands after drilling the body of the field. “It’s not a massive deal and we do it with theVäderstad, too, as it’s such a heavy drill,” he says.

“However, if Amazone could tweak thedesign so that it turns on the whole packer,we’d probably be able to save the time andeffort of going back through it.” n

On Farm Opinion

AA Clifton, Burmarsh, Romney Marsh,Kentl Farmed area: 1200 ha split across three

holdingsl Staff: Three full-time, one semi-retired,

one apprentice and one casual worker at busy times

l Soil types: Grade 1 silty sand and silty clay loam to Grade 2 silty clay

l Cropping: Winter wheat (Zulu and KWS Basset), winter oilseed rape (Charger,Elgar and Clearfield Veritas), cover crops,spring barley (Propino), spring wheat,spring peas (Prophet)

Farm factsl Mainline tractors: Fendt 939,

John Deere 7930, 7530 and 6910l Combine: New Holland CR9090 with a

12.2m headerl Drills: 6m Amazone Cayena, 6m Väderstad

Rapid and 4m Accord power-harrow combination

l Cultivations: 4.6m Quivogne Tinemaster with 4.6m Unipress, 6m Great Plains Express, 4f and 5f Kverneland ploughs, 9m Cousins Cambridge rolls, Cousins progressive tined cultivator, 6m Kuhn Roterra

l Sprayer: Bateman RB35 with 36m boomsl Chaser bin: 16t Horsch Titan

s

Establishment fuel cost


A seven-year establishment trial has foundthere’s no difference in yield between adeep and shallow cultivation regime. Butdiesel costs across the 12 plots of the trialcarried out by Amazone were as much assix times greater for the most intensiveregime, compared to the minimum-passsystem.

The trials at Tickhill, near Doncaster,Yorks, have been run across a standardarable rotation on deep limestone clay since 2009. The plots are 20m wide andcover 0.2ha. Four cultivation routines havebeen practised across the site, explainsSimon Brown of Amazone, who’s conductedthe trials.

“The whole site is stubble cultivated with a Catros compact disc harrow to 8cm depthand then one plot is ploughed to 25cm. Twoare min-tilled with a Cenius multi-row mulchcultivator to a depth of 22cm and 15cm,while the last plot gets another shallow passof the Catros.”

Three different drills are applied acrossthe plots –– an AD-P Super power-harrowcombination drill, a Cirrus cultivator drill anda Cayena tine seeder. “All plots were treatedthe same from then on and we measuredemergence and final yield,” he continues.

Over the course of the trial, across allcrops, which so far have included four winterwheats, a winter barley and oilseed rape,there’s been no discernible yield benefit from the more intensive cultivation. “The conservation tillage techniques match the yields generated by the traditionalplough-based system. This goes for theshallow, Catros-only system, too, althoughthere was more yield variation here,” notesSimon Brown.

Source: Amazone, 2009-2015; diesel price £0.60/litre; Cultivation: A – plough 25cm, B – min-till 22cm, C – min-till 15cm, D –

min-till 8cm; Drill: 1 – Cayena, 2 – Cirrus, 3 – AD-P Super

Big fuel savings fromlong-term trial

But there was a significant difference in fuel costs. “There seems to be a linearrelationship between depth and fuel consumption as increasing the depth by athird resulted in 30% higher fuel use. Activesowing with the AD-P used far more fuelthan either the Cirrus or Cayena, to theextent it was cheaper to plough and passivedrill than min-till and use the AD-P.” (seechart below).

The cheapest cultivation routine used just11.5 litres of diesel, with the most expensivecoming in at 63 litres. The average wheatyield over the rotation across the site was12.18t/ha. The soil organic matter of theplots was measured in Aug2014, and wasfound to be 4% –– in line with the rest of the

field – apart from in the shallow-cultivatedplot where it had improved by 0.3%.

Peter Dook of Woolthwaite Farm, whohosts the trials, usually ploughs, makes a seedbed with a spring-tined cultivatorpress and drills with a Cirrus drill. “It’s costly,but reliable and rainfast, and the ploughdoes a drainage job on poorer land.

No negative effect“I thought this trial would come unstuck byyear three and create a pan. But it’s notneeded any subsoiling nor has there been a negative effect on the soil husbandry. The best system appears to be min-till to15cm –– that brings consistent yields withconsiderable fuel savings.”

Last year, as an experiment, another plotwas introduced, drilled with an AmazoneEDX precision air seeder, adds SimonBrown. “It’s built for maize, but you can drillwith it what you want and it will precisionplant at speeds up to 15km/h.”

The seeder units are at 50cm widths, sothe drill was passed through twice, resultingin 25cm row widths. “We drilled at just 90seeds/m?, but establishment was very good, and it yielded just 4% down on theconventionally drilled plots. As we move tohybrids, and more technology is placed onthe seed, perhaps this will be a way to benefit from new technology without costsspiralling upwards,” he suggests.

Results from other Amazone trial sitesacross Europe show similar results, althoughin most cases, the most extensive cultivationresulted in significantly poorer yields.Consistently the best results were achievedat a cultivation depth of around 15cm. n

£40

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£-A3 A2 A1 B3 B2 B1 C3 C2 C1 D3 D2 D1

Cultivation regime

Die

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a)

Machinery news

Shallow thinkingdrives culturalchange

In common with many arable farmers,Paul Harris has watched with mountinghorror as blackgrass levels have increasedat his Grove Farm at Leigh, in north Wiltsthis season. While he thinks it’s still undercontrol, he’s taking immediate steps toensure it doesn’t become unmanageable.

“I reckon we’re still achieving about 90%control of blackgrass, but in some areas theproblem is not going away. This applies particularly to a heavy land field, next to abrook, which flooded last season. I am nowdetermined to prevent it spreading, not getany worse and ultimately bring it completelyunder control,” he says.

Paul Harris is a keen follower of adviceand keeps himself up-to-date by attendingfarm visits, technical meetings and studyingtechnical articles. He’s a farmer who reckonshe’s doing all the right things to combatgrassweeds, but admits he feels he’s stilllosing the battle.

Flooding lossesThe 120ha all arable farm has a wide mix ofsoil types from Cotswold brash as well asheavy clay on one side of a brook and gravels on the other. Flooding around thiswatercourse he feels is also getting worse,which means spring cropping makes senseto not only alleviate the cost of crop losses,but also control grassweeds that thrive inthis heavy, wet soil.

“Spring cropping is vital to control blackgrass, but there are other benefits,including lower growing costs. I currentlygrow Odyssey spring barley on contract for the Crisp Malting Group. If this gets up and away well it also helps to smother blackgrass.

“I stopped growing oilseed rape andswitched to Prophet, large blue micronisingpeas for the pet food industry,” he continues.“But I’m obviously not the only farmer to spotthat opportunity –– because the price has

It’s become clearer now that to

control blackgrass there can be no cultivation of the soils below about

50mm.”

“

fallen from £300/t when I started, down to£140/t last year.”

He’s reluctant to stop growing the peas,though, because currently they’re the onlyproper break in his cropping. “I don’t have atight rotation set in stone –– I tend to look atthe crops to suit the conditions, markets andseason,” he explains.

Other main crops include JB Diego winter feed wheat and oats providing a ‘halfbreak’ as well as possibly an allelopathiceffect on the blackgrass. He noticed the oatsalso helped to smother the blackgrass lastseason. In common with many others, he’sstill searching for a good paying break andalternative spring crops, with spring wheatnot out of the question.

Cover crops are also being tried, with fodder radish providing a dual purpose roleas feed for over-wintered sheep and a wayto help dry out the heavy clay land. Thedeep roots also help improve soil structure.

In fact, there’s little of the latest culturalcontrol advice Paul Harris isn’t now following–– he’s tweaking his crops to the season,spring cropping and also late drilling. “I came back to farming in 1999, after working for a dealer and followed a lot of my father’s advice. He said sow barley on 15 Sept and wheat on 15 Oct. So I’ve always

Already following best practice advice for culturalcontrol of blackgrass, one

Wilts grower is now shiftingto ultra-shallow stale

seedbeds to prevent theproblem escalating.

CPM reports.

By Mick Roberts

MachineryOn Farm Opinion


Paul Harris is determined to prevent blackgrassspreading, and ultimately wants to bring itcompletely under control.

The conical shape of the hardened steel discshelps to maintain the correct working angle asthey wear without any adjustments.

drilled late, or at the normal time for me.”But despite this, he hasn’t escaped the

scourge of blackgrass. He’s not sure how itappeared in his fields and isn’t putting muchthought to that. He is, however, fixated onmaking sure it’s not going to spread and isinvestigating every single option.

Agronomy on the farm is supplied byHutchinsons and he follows advice from thecompany’s technical manager, Dick Neale,on creating shallow stale seed beds andminimum disturbance. Indeed, he evenrefers to his comments on blackgrass controlin the July issue of CPM.

“It really confirmed what I was alreadythinking,” he says. “I’ve recently bought anew Väderstad Carrier specifically to createshallow stale seedbeds, so it was reassuringto know I was following the best practiceadvice.”

Until last season, the Grove Farm establishment regime comprised minimumtillage, using a 3m wide Väderstad Cultuscultivator to create seedbeds in one pass,while also providing an element of deeploosening, followed by sowing with a 3mVäderstad Rapid box drill.

“While the Cultus does a good job I realised it wasn’t helping to control blackgrass –– in fact it could have beenmaking it worse,” he explains. The machineis equipped with heavy ‘spring’ tines fittedwith 80mm wide points and wing sharesbelow to cultivate the ground across thewhole width. This was being worked to adepth of about 150-175mm.

After realising this was too deep andcould be bringing up blackgrass seeds, he switched to using the Väderstad ‘LowDisturbance’ points. These are designed toprovide deeper loosening, without bringingfresh soil to the surface, which he hopedwould also help improve soil structure and drainage.

“It’s become clearer now that to controlblackgrass there can be no cultivation of thesoils below about 50mm –– all the adviceI’ve read and heard says this. The trouble

was, even with the narrower Low Disturbancepoints, the Cultus was still mixing the weedseeds through the profile at depth.

Mixed in profile“This makes it very difficult to control theblackgrass, which only germinates in the top50mm of soil. So while I was killing the plantson the surface the seed mixed in the profileremained untouched and viable the next yearwhen it was brought back up by the tines,”he explains.

The only way to stop this vicious circle, hedecided, was to confine the cultivations tojust surface-deep stale seedbeds. Here thegerminated weed seeds can be controlledwith a number of passes of glyphosatesprays.

So instead of using the Cultus, h’s nowswitched to a 5m wide Väderstad Carrier,

equipped with a straw rake front tool.“Although I still sell the straw off the field, therake will help spread any remaining chaff,weed seeds or broken stubble. I set it so it’sjust touching the surface –– it’s not doingany cultivating,” he explains.

The machine is pulled by a 150hp, Fendt

On Farm Opinions

While the well known Carrier range now includeslarger models with more aggressive cultivationdiscs, the original 45cm disc machine still sticksto its main concept as a tool to create shallowseedbeds. However, recent changes haveextended its versatility by adapting its action with the addition of new or existing tools, saysthe firm’s Andy Gamble.

“It’s now fairly well recognised that it’s not possible to create a proper seedbed to germinate grassweeds using a straw harrowalone. But there’s still a requirement to spreadthe straw evenly across the surface, to preventlumps or heaps holding back germination or harbouring slugs,” he explains.

While a straw harrow has been available for a number of years, this is now becoming a morepopular option. It simply mounts in front of themachine, in place of the popular CrossBoard,and is equipped with long tines to harrow thestraw ahead of the discs.

A new alternative is the CrossCutter knife,which is recommended for mulching surfacetrash. “It chops brittle material, such as OSR

stubble and dry straw, but its main effect is tobash, bruise and damage the remains. Thisallows the bacteria to enter more easily, whichhelps it to break down faster and more effectively,” says Andy Gamble.

The CrossBoard provides more aggressivecultivation, levelling the soil and breaking up clods. But with the recent move to finer,shallower stale seedbeds more growers, likePaul Harris, are now opting for the straw harrow instead.

Consolidation in most cases is still providedby the SteelRunner rear consolidation roller.While initially designed for crushing clods, it doesalso provide good seed-to-soil contact to helppromote grassweed germination.

A new option is a single SoilRunner roller.This has U profile rings that are designed to fill with soil in operation providing soil to soilpacking, which is said to leave an open,cultivated surface. The design also helps preventclogging in wetter conditions, explains AndyGamble, and some growers prefer to leave theopen surface on land that’s going to be left awhile before drilling.

For light to medium soils is the RubberRunnerroller. Although not as popular as the steel version, this does provide another option forthose looking for good consolidation withreduced draft.

The Väderstad BioDrill can also be mounted to all Carriers from the 300 up to the 1225.While first introduced for sowing small seeds,it distributes the seed in front of the packer,providing good seed-to-soil contact. Interest inthis option is increasing among those looking toestablish cover and catch crops with the Carrier.

The Carrier can carry a different tool

The popularity of sowing cover crops means anincreasing number of Carriers are now beingequipped with the firm’s BioDrill.


The CrossBoard on the ex-demo machine wasreplaced with the Straw Harrow option.

The Straw Harrow comes in set of banks, each of which are equipped with independent depthadjustment.

The new CrossCutter front tool aids trash breakdown by bashing and bruising the material.

The SoilRunner roller has U profile rings designedto fill with soil to leave an open, cultivatedsurface.

415 that handles it easily on most soils working at speeds of about 12-15km/h,which he says does a good job.

The depth of the two rows of discs is set with spacers on the hydraulic ram and thepenetration of the parallel gangs means itisn’t difficult to set them to work too deep.Sticking to ultra-shallow aims may, he suspects, be slightly tricky in some soils.“I’m going to try to set it to work at 25mmand not change it,” he says.

At the rear, the seedbed is consolidatedby the SteelRunner roller, which he addsshould help blackgrass to germinate by firming the soil around the weed seeds. He is also thinking of establishing the fodderradish with a BioDrill on the Carrier, whichwill also benefit from consolidation.

He doesn’t usually aim to use any othercultivation before drilling straight into thestale seedbed with the Rapid box drill. This,he says, will help to keep weed seeds out ofthe top layer and hopefully they’ll decay at

depth over the following years.“I do, however, rotationally plough, mainly

after maize grown on land I’ve rented. But Ido heed the advice to plough once andleave it three or four years. I prefer the shallow cultivations because, unlike ploughing, working at 50mm also helps to

On Farm Opinion

s

The depth is set with collars on the disc ram,so that stale seedbeds are created no deeperthan 50mm.

The deeper tines on the Cultus mixed the weedseeds throughout the soil profile.

Grove Farm, Leigh, Wiltsl Area: 120ha – all arablel Staff: Paul Harrisl Cropping: winter wheat (JB Diego), winter

oats (Gerald), spring barley (Odyssey),large blue peas (Prophet plus trials of Campus), fodder radish for cover crop/feed,stubble turnips for sheep feed

l Tractors: Fendt 415; Massey Ferguson MF 7480

l Combine: New Holland TX62l Sprayer: 18m Case Gem, trailed

2600 litrel Spreader: Kuhn Axisl Drill: 3m Väderstad Rapid box drilll Cultivation equipment: 5m Väderstad

Carrier, 3m Väderstad Cultus, 6m Väderstad rolls

Farm facts

preserve the worms and microfauna as wellas improve the soil structure. I also havegreen waste compost applied to the soil toreplenish the organic matter, mainly on theCotswold Brash land,” he says.

Last autumn was his first season with anew Carrier-based cultivation regime and itwas used for establishing the wheat andoats. The work involved one pass with themachine followed by spraying off the staleseedbed with glyphosate.

He also applied Avadex as well as well as a pre-em application, using the Syngenta3D Defy nozzles on his Case Gem trailedsprayer. He feels the angled nozzles, whichare designed specifically for this application,provide the best chance for optimum control.

“Although drilling later means sprayingopportunities are more limited and days aregetting shorter, I can keep to the timingsbecause although I don’t have much time, I also don’t have large areas to cover,” he explains.

So how did the new system work? “In onefield in the brash near Cirencester, which hasalways had a big blackgrass problem, it’s


On Farm Opinion

much less noticeable this year. I also don’tsee much in the oats, because I think thecrop helped smother it.

“I’m definitely going to keep to the idea ofkeeping cultivations on the surface and stopmixing the seed through the profile. I don’thave too many compaction problems andalthough I do have a sub-soiler, I haven’tused it for years. It’s no good on the brash, it just brings up stones; and on the heavierclay land I hope that the soil dries outenough to create natural fissures, whichis the ideal way to restructure the soil.

“I can remove some legs from themachine and fit a mole. If the soil is in theright condition to take a mole I may run thisthrough some known wet patches, where the water can accumulate on the surface.Otherwise the only time I’ll use deeper cultivations is before the peas using theCultus,” he says. n

In our trials,it outperformed wheatacross all soil types,including silts and

clay loams.”

“

What would be your dream replacementfor your current second wheat? Start witha yield that’s 8% higher, and 3% higherthan your first wheat. How about onethat’s largely resistant to septoria, muchless affected by take-all, and generallyneeds about 40kg/ha less N?

This super cereal would establish fast andbe highly competitive against blackgrass,rivalling and probably beating hybrid barley,and have a reputation to shrug off rabbits,too. The seed cost would be comparable or lower than your current wheat, with aswide a drilling window and you’d be able tofarm-save the seed. The grain would blendseamlessly with feed wheats and have abetter nutritional value, making it attractivefor pig and poultry diets.

Recent research has shownthere’s a range of cereal

varieties that outyields mostwheats and performs betterin feed rations, but outdated

views prevent the benefitsfrom being taken up on farm.

CPM reports.


If you were then to discover these stunning credentials had actually been distilled into a range of modern, high-performing and stiff-strawed varietiesand that they’re widely available, you’d probably be keen to know what they were.We’re talking about triticale. Now you’re disappointed, right?

Low input requirementTriticale is a cross between wheat and rye,produced to combine the grain qualities of wheat with the low input requirements and hardiness of rye. As such, it’s had a reputation in the UK as a low-yielding crop,best suited to poor or marginal soils.

But this may be an ill-conceived perception –– recent research, funded mainly by Innovate UK and AHDB Cerealsand Oilseeds, has revealed a hithertounrecognised side of this cereal that has the potential to position it alongside wheat as a major player in the market.

“Modern triticale varieties are not whatthey were,” notes Harley Stoddart of AHDBCereals and Oilseeds. “That’s why it wasworth spending time and resources examining their potential.”

The main project has been a 40-monthindustry-funded tranche of research that setout to investigate its potential as a feedstockfor bioethanol. Running alongside that hasbeen an AHDB-funded project, carried out


Perception impedimentfor ‘the wonder crop’?

by ADAS, that has explored the potentialand on-farm performance of the crop inmore detail. The findings have been distilledinto a new, grower-friendly guide that waspublished in March this year (see panel on p67).

“It’s a chicken-and-egg situation –– wenow know there are benefits for growers,and what these are, but what’s holding thecrop back is a lack of market demand,”explains Harley Stoddart.

To a certain extent, this was addressed in the research, and an additional project,

Harley Stoddart believes it’s a chicken-and-eggsituation – there are benefits for growers, butthese are held back by a lack of market demand.

Theory to Field

funded by AHDB Pork, has also assessedthe crop’s value in pig rations. Tests haveshown triticale is suitable as a bioethanolfeedstock, albeit producing a marginallylower ethanol yield per tonne than wheat.

This is countered by a higher yield per ha,and lower greenhouse gas emissions givetriticale a favourable carbon footprint, since itrequires less N per tonne produced on farm.But a slightly higher viscosity from thebioethanol means triticale would only everbe blended as part of the potential one million tonne UK requirement for this market.

“The direction of travel is towards a feedstock with a better carbon footprint than wheat, and there’s no doubt triticale performs on that score,” reportsHarley Stoddart.

“From Jan 2017, there’ll be changes thatwill tighten the requirement for biofuels, butmost UK wheat falls within those parameters.What’s more, the need to blend triticale as a feedstock means the carbon footprintadvantage of using the crop will be diluted.So despite the plus points for triticale, it’s justeasier for biofuel plants to source feed wheatat the moment.”

The bigger potential market for the crop is as animal feed, he concludes. “The project has established that the DDGS (drieddistillers grains and solubles), created as aby-product of bioethanol production, aresuitable for animal feed.”

Triticale grain itself has a reputation forbeing well suited for pig feed due to the highconcentration of the amino acid lysine whichpigs require. This was confirmed in the project, and the AHDB Pork-funded workhas now updated reference data on its value

Triticale’s digestible and net energy values arevery similar to wheat, and a current market pricediscount positions it very favourably as aningredient in pig rations.

Tests have shown triticale is suitable as abioethanol feedstock and lower greenhouse gasemissions give it a favourable carbon footprint.

as an ingredient in rations.Its digestible and net energy values are

very similar to wheat, and a current marketprice discount positions triticale veryfavourably as an ingredient in pig rations.But again, in practice nutritionists wouldprobably restrict its inclusion to no more than25% in rations because there’s a perceptionthat high beta-glucans in the triticale couldcause digestive upsets.

See the benefits“Feed compounders aren’t resistant to triticale –– they can see the benefits andwe’re currently trying to establish what will incentivise them to remove the pegged-down price or to include more in rations,” reports Harley Stoddart.

“We’re finding getting answers is notstraightforward, and much of it comes down

s


Grain fill for triticale is longer than wheat – it hasmore grain sites to fill and also produces muchmore biomass.

Daniel Kindred reckons the current treatment ofthe crop, both on farm and by the market, grosslyunderplays its potential.

to logistics, again. If they were confidentthere was plenty of availability and continuityof supply, it’s likely that would stimulatedemand.”

Just how much triticale currently reachesthe UK grain market is unknown –– Defrastats show there are 36,000ha of minor cereals grown in the UK, comprising rye, triticale and mixed corn, producing 247,000t.That compares with wheat’s 1.8M hectaresproducing 16M tonnes. There’s anecdotalevidence to suggest a large proportion oftriticale grown is used in on-farm feedingrations, or blended in and sold as feedwheat, as the two grains are virtually indistinguishable.

But for Dr Daniel Kindred at ADAS, wholed the research, the current treatment of the crop, both on farm and by the market,grossly underplays its potential. “I find it frustrating that this is a crop with a realopportunity –– it should be a contender incrop rotations and should be of value to endusers. But on both scores, it’s held backpurely because of ill-founded perceptions.”

Among the perceptions he feels have nowbeen “scotched”, following the researchproject, are that triticale is a crop that’s low-yielding and that it it’s best restricted to poor or marginal sites.

“In our trials, it yielded higher than wheat on 20 out of 26 sites –– an averageadvantage of 8%. It outperformed wheatacross all soil types, including silts and clayloams. The best result was 37% higher thanwheat on a sandy clay loam in N Yorks.”

It’s as a second cereal where triticale really outperforms wheat, and take-all indexmeasurements show it’s less affected by the disease, he says. “When it comes tonitrogen, we were surprised to find that themeasured N optima for triticale are actuallythe same as wheat. Recommendations havebeen to apply 40kgN/ha less than you wouldfor wheat –– that would give comparableyields. But it’s a crop you can push, although

lodging risk is relatively untested. So I’d becautious about applying more N than youwould for a moderate-yielding feed wheat,and do this in conjunction with a robust PGR programme.”

Detailed work has been carried out onhow triticale forms its yield and utilises N,however. “There’s a much shorter growthphase up to GS31, and less time beforeflowering. But grain fill is longer –– triticalehas more grain sites to fill. It also producesmuch more biomass than wheat.”

More efficient than wheatGreen area index (GAI) and light interceptionmeasurements show a similar picture, indicating the crop picks up its higher yield by being more efficient than wheat at utilising N.

“Triticale’s agronomy is very similar towheat,” continues Daniel Kindred. “There arevarieties susceptible to yellow rust and theseshould be handled just like susceptiblewheat varieties. One notable difference isthat the crop is definitely more vigorous early on, with greater weed suppression. It’s competitive against blackgrass andpotentially better than hybrid barley.”

Triticale’s weed competition hasn’t beenresearched in replicated trials, but growerfeedback echoes this finding, says Dr SarahClarke of ADAS. “As part of the project, anumber of growers conducted tramline trials,comparing wheat with triticale. We certainlyhad good feedback about its blackgrasssuppression. It smothers the weed andholds it back throughout the season. Nearharvest, the heads are there, but you have to look into the crop to find them.”

All feedback confirmed that triticale performed well, particularly on more marginal sites. “But where growers had put iton stronger land, it did perform better than

their wheat. They found the difference ingrowth was impressive, and there was quitea bit of surprise at the results. We asked

Theory to Field

2nd Wheat TriticaleGrain yield (t/ha) 7.5 8.1

Grain price (£) 130 120

Grain output (£/ha) 975 972

Straw output (£/ha) 140 151

Variable costs (£/ha)Seed and treatment 70 70

N fertiliser 174 174

Other fertilisers 80 86

Fungicides 100 70

Insecticides/herbicides 70 70

PGRs 15 20

Total variable costs (£/ha) 509 490

Gross margin (£/ha) 606 633

Triticale advantage (£/ha) 27

Source: AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds; wheat yield is UK average; triticale yield based on average advantage seen in trials (8%).

How the margins stack up

There’s a Descriptive List for triticale thatprovides some data on latest varieties, notesSimon Oxley, AHDB Cereals and OilseedsRecommended List manager. “The DL is basedon independent trials, but there’s no selection,as there is for other crops,” he notes.

“Also, the information is based on grainmarkets only, so varieties best suited to wholecrop or energy use won’t be listed.”

That said, KWS Fido, marketed by Senova,draws the eye, he points out. “A yield of 109 is significantly ahead of controls, and there’s a good specific weight and protein to back this up.

“But straw length is a little high, so if this is a concern, newcomer Cyrkon from DaltonSeeds may be attractive. Again this has goodprotein and a reasonable specific weight.”

While this year’s newcomers are “nothingspecial” on yield, the varieties described havecome on significantly in recent years, SimonOxley points out.

“We’re seeing very good yield scores withstiffer, shorter straw, while they’re keeping theirquality and not pushing harvest date later –– these are all signs of a step change in the calibre of varieties coming forward.”

Step change with leading varieties

s

AHDB Project Report 556, Modern triticale crops for increased yields, reducedinputs, increased profitability and reducedgreenhouse gas emissions from UK cereal production, is available to download at cereals.ahdb.org.uk. It is the final report of two projects, detailed below:AHDB project RD-2010-3699, Modern triticale crops for increased yields, reducedinputs, increased profitability and reducedgreenhouse gas emissions from UK cereal production, ran from March 2012 to June2015. Its aim was to understand how triticaleoutperforms wheat to help target situationswhen it should be grown. Led by ADAS, withAgrovista as an industry partner, its total cost was £70,000, funded by AHDB Cerealsand Oilseeds.Innovate UK project 101093, Improving thesustainability and quality of Dried DistillersGrains with Solubles (DDGS), the high-proteinanimal feed co-product from bioethanol production, by using triticale as a biofuel

Research round-up

The perception that triticale is a second-ratecrop is one that Martin Barker, managing director of Midland Pig Producers, often comesup against. “We have struggled to get our farmmanager to accept it as a feed,” he says.“Nutritionally, I’d put it in front of wheat in terms of its value, but it’s always consideredsecond best.”

Based in Alrewas, Staffs, the Leavesley Groupfarms 1600ha, a considerable proportion ofwhich produces the feed ingredients home-milland mixed for MPP’s 2000-strong sow herd thatproduces 60,000 pigs/yr. “We grow what weconsume and consume what we grow,” notesMartin Barker.

The basic crop rotation is two wheats,followed by barley and then beans. But for thepast 25 years, triticale has taken the place ofmuch of the second wheat. “It makes sense forthe lysine value,” he explains.

“You need a lysine content in the ration asit’s beneficial for lactating sows and it helps pigsdigest other nutrients and turn them into energy.It costs me £1200/t as a raw ingredient, but triticale provides extra lysine for free.”

Included at up to 25% in the ration, he hasn’t

noticed any downside from including triticale.“When we first started growing the crop, it grewto over six feet tall and took some combining.But modern varieties are very easy to manage,and perform easily as well as a second wheat.One thing you do notice is the vigorous growth–– it comes up a dark green and looks likeRambo in the early part of the season.”

Last year, the crop was given a particularchallenge. “We grew 40ha next to the River Trenton alluvial soil. The field’s bound on one side bya dual carriageway and, to add insult to injury,there’s a railway line, too, making it a haven forrabbits. The land flooded not long after it wasdrilled at the end of Oct.”

Following wheat, the land received dried pigmuck spring-tined into the surface before thevariety Tribeca was drilled with a 4m SimbaHorsch Sprinter. “It didn’t get a chance for a herbicide and stayed completely flooded untilspring. When the water receded, the field wasbrown, but we couldn’t get on until the end ofApril, by which time the crop had greened up,so we gave it a chance.”

It received just one fungicide and 150kgN/ha,but needed no PGR. “The recovery has been

Nutritionally, Martin Barker would put triticale infront of wheat in terms of its value.

Added value for pig producer

feedstock, ran from Jan 2012 to Sept 2015.Its aims were to demonstrate cost and environmental benefits of triticale over wheat,evaluate grain, alcohol and DDGS quality in thelab, optimise protein output and demonstratemarket utility by processing triticale in a commercial plant. Led by Agrovista, ADAS,Ensus, GrowHow, RAGT, Saaten-Union andSenova were industry partners. Its total costwas £486,732 with Innovate UK funding£243,366.

Understanding triticale was published byAHDB Cereals and Oilseeds in March 2016and summarises the output of relatedresearch. cereals.ahdb.org.ukAHDB project, Understanding the value of triticale in grower and finisher pig rations,ran from May to July 2015. Its aim was todemonstrate the economical and nutritionalvalue of triticale in grower and finisher pigrations compared with wheat and barley.Led by ADAS, its total cost was £3186,funded by AHDB Pork.

staggering and the crop looks as though it willperform almost on a par with others,” reportsMartin Barker. His average yield is 9t/ha.

“One thing you notice about triticale is that itdoesn’t seem to need a period of vernalisation.A Nov-planted crop seems to work well, butwe’ve drilled well into spring and the crop hasstill performed.

“The varieties these days are much betterand more consistent. It won’t outyield a firstwheat of Skyfall, but as a second cereal, there’slittle that’ll match triticale,” he notes.

Surprisingly, the N optima for triticale are actuallythe same as wheat, but apply 40kgN/ha less forcomparable yields.

difficulty in selling it,” she reports.Daniel Kindred believes there’s plenty of

scope for further research to develop theagronomy of triticale, explore its weed

specifically about rust, and it wasn’t seen asan issue.

“The only drawback was what to do withthe crop once harvested –– there was real

competitiveness and address market concerns. But Harley Stoddart thinks it is time to reflect on what is already knownbefore embarking on a new phase ofresearch.

“Triticale’s potential has been unlockedby this research. The door is open and now it’s up to the industry to worktogether to hatch a solution to the ‘chicken-and-egg’ conundrum. But onething is clear: only growers can generatethe consistent tonnage required by feedcompounders. This critical mass is relatively small, when compared to thewhole of the arable production area in theUK, and we hope that the latest findingswill help set triticale on its rightful path toachieving that goal,” he says. n

Theory to Field


Plants have their own ‘immunesystem’ and they respond to attack by pests and diseases bysending chemical messageswhich illicit a defence response.It’s at this molecular level thatachieving a balanced supply of nutrients can make a huge difference to a plant’s ability towithstand stresses, points out Mark Tucker, Yara head of agronomy and marketing.

As plant pathogens continue to develop andevolve, they put more pressure on the existingchemistry available for disease control. Plantshave their own defence mechanisms that are often related to key nutrients.Yara support the gathering andexchange of knowledge in the rolecrop nutrition plays in maintainingplant health.

When it comes to agronomy,the field of plant nutrition is acomplex one, even though theprinciples on which it’s basedare well established. In recentyears, a more comprehensiveapproach to growing crops issomething that’s now very muchon growers’ radar; both byembracing precision techniquesand adopting a broader focus on plant health.

The healthysecrets of balanced nutritionPlant nutrition has always had an important role to play in disease controlbut, until recently, this may have beenlargely overlooked. CPM seeks guidance on how nutrition contributes to diseasecontrol strategies.


Why is balanced nutritionimportant?Put simply, any imbalance in nutrient supply impacts on aplant’s ability to manage disease.Part of the problem is that this isinflicted by applying fertilisers atan incorrect rate or time.

Nitrogen and sulphur tend tograb the headlines because theyhave very visual deficiency symptoms but major nutrients are all important, with potash particularly influential when itcomes to plant health.

A balanced supply of nutrients,in adequate quantities withoutcausing antagonistic effects onother nutrients, will lead to optimalplant growth and also optimalresistance to disease.

Correct nutrition can makeplants more tolerant, meaningthey’re better able to maintaingrowth despite infection or pestattack; or more resistant to disease, which means they’re better able to limit the damagefrom infection or attack.

This better resistance isachieved by the plant’s ability tolimit the penetration, developmentand reproduction of invadingpathogens, or to limit feeding bypests. It does this as a response to chemical signals which mayinduce changes in cell wall thickness or the production of

biochemicals with inhibitory orrepellent properties.

What is the role of nitrogen?An unbalanced supply of nitrogenincreases susceptibility of plants todisease, but an optimal supply ofnitrogen can actually suppress disease.

Nitrogen is a key component ofamino acids, the building blocks ofproteins. Over-supply of nitrogenleads to excess amino acids inplant tissues, creating a morefavourable environment forpathogens to thrive, particularlymildews.

As a further consequence ofexcessive nitrogen, the phenolcontent in plant tissues decreases.Phenols are antifungal, so the plant becomes more vulnerable to infection. The end result is abreakdown in the plant’s resistanceto pathogen attack.

A balanced supply of nutrients will lead to optimal

plant growth and also optimal resistance to

disease. ”

“

Nutrition for plant health


Where root diseases, such astake-all, are a problem, nitrogencan aid a plant’s tolerance by creating rapid growth of root tissues to replace tissue lostthrough disease infection fasterthan the fungus can destroy them.

Optimum nitrogen levels varyfrom season to season, as well asfrom field to field, partly due tovarying soil N levels, soil types anddrilling dates. To help take thisvariation into account, precisiontechniques and decision supporttools are useful to ensure its optimal supply.

How does potassiumhelp?Potassium acts as an enzyme regulator, so is involved in nearlyall cellular functions that influencedisease severity.

Water use in plants and potassium have the best knownassociation. Potassium helpsmaintain turgor pressure by regulating the opening and closingof stomata in leaves, the openingswhich facilitate photosynthesis. So how does this relate to disease control?

Not enough available potassiumreduces the efficacy of stomatalresponse, which means plantsaren’t able to regulate water lossand wilting can occur. Becausecell membranes have lost theirintegrity, leakage of cell contents

occurs, providing pathogens with aready food source. Not only is theplant now under water stress, making it less able to fight off disease, but pathogens can gainentry through stomatal openings.

Potassium is required for thesynthesis of proteins, starch andcellulose, the key component ofcell walls. If potassium supply isadequate then plants have thickercell walls, resulting in a stem betterable to withstand lodging. But amore direct effect on disease is the function of the cell wall as amechanical barrier, which bothhelps resist invasion and infection

Lincs grower Robert Pask farms376ha, near Grantham. Part of theYield Enhancement Network (YEN),he’s keen to look at ways of improvinghis farming practices and maximiseyield potential and profitability.

One of the factors limiting yields atPask Farms is the soil type which hedescribes as limestone brash –– ithas a high pH and is apt to lock upnutrients so they’re not available tothe crop.

“As easy as it is to establish cropson our soils, it’s difficult to keep theplant going towards the end of theseason. If it becomes dry, then ourcrops really suffer and tend to shownutrient deficiencies late on,” he says.

“We’ve tried a number of

approaches over the years to counterthis. We’ve changed the timing of ourmain P and K applications to a smallautumn dressing, followed by a maindressing in the spring so that it’savailable when the crop needs it.”

But the main game changer hasbeen the introduction of a foliar traceelement programme for winter wheatand oilseed rape, now in its third year.

“We’ve been carrying out tissueanalysis for several years and werepicking up low levels of zinc, boron(which doesn’t show symptoms until May/June) and manganese,”he explains.

“We’re now applying zinc in theautumn and boron in early spring,which we follow up with a foliar trace

element product at about the sametime as applying fungicide.”

Robert Pask reckons this approachsets the crop up to stay healthy andyield well, which seems to be workingas yields are generally on an upwardtrend.

“A couple of years ago, we weregrowing Santiago when other growerswere reporting bad yellow rust in theirs.Our Santiago was clean at T0 andstayed healthy with a comprehensivefungicide programme for the rest of the season,” he says, attributing the difference to the nutritional support hisSantiago was receiving.

“I’m convinced it’s what’s leadingto improved plant health, less diseaseand an upward yield trend on the

farm. We’ve tried a range of nutritional products but keep comingback to Yara’s product, generating a higher margin over costs in our on-farm trials where it always comesout better.”

Correct nutrition can make plantsmore tolerant to infection or pestattack, or more resistant to disease,says Mark Tucker.

Over-supply of nitrogen leads toexcess amino acids in plant tissues,creating a more favourableenvironment for pathogens to thrive.

Tech Talk

Robert Pask has introduced a foliartrace element programme for winterwheat and oilseed rape.

by pathogens and keeps sugarswithin plant cells.

Inadequate supply of potassiumleads to thinner cell walls and higher leakage of sugars into planttissue, which stimulates fungalattack and germination of spores.

What about other majornutrients?Phosphate becomes important toplant health when it’s under attackbecause it has a critical role toplay in respiration. When the plantis fighting disease, its respirationrate increases, using more energyand requirement for phosphateincreases. If phosphate is limited,then the plant is less able to switchon its own defence mechanism.

The balanced supply of sulphurto plants is important because ofits interaction with other elements,

Nutrition focus is the game changer on Lincs brash


Not enough available potassiumreduces the efficacy of stomatalresponse, which means plants aren’table to regulate water loss and wiltingcan occur. s

Ideally, a 10-day interval between planttissue tests give a more accuratepicture of the crop and the season.

Zinc should be applied before the plant needs it because the damage is done if it’s in short supply, as it ishere in barley.

Boron deficiency shows up in the taproot of an oilseed rape plant.

Nutrition for planthealth: top tips

such as molybdenum. If anymore than 100kg/ha SO3 is available then excess sulphurlocks up molybdenum, which iscritical in nitrogen metabolism byplants. The result is excess nitratesin the leaves, a good food sourcefor any invading microorganismsand perfect conditions for colonisation.

Calcium is another element

integral to the structure and maintenance of cell membranes,so has a role to play maintaining abarrier to disease entry. A lack ofcalcium to newly formed cell wallsleads to collapse and cell death,resulting in disorders, such asinternal rust spot in potatoes.

How about micronutrients?Micronutrients are only micro inthat they’re required in muchsmaller quantities, but also haveroles in biochemical pathways,such as lignin synthesis and phenol metabolism, essential for resistance to disease.

Boron is important in cell wallswhere it acts as a ‘cement’between pectins holding the tissues together. Plants deficient in boron are more vulnerable toinfection by mildew and fungalhyphae are better able to spreadbetween plant tissues, so diseasecan spread quickly.

Manganese has a role in lignin formation but also in the production of phenols. Copper can have a toxic effect on microorganisms invading plant tissues and is also important in theproduction of fungus inhibitingcompounds within the plant itself.

Zinc is utilised in nitrate metabolism and in the productionof phenols. It helps prevent leakage of sugars from plant cellsby maintaining plant membranesbut a shortage of zinc leads to theaccumulation of unused sugars inplants. This then causes leakageonto leaf and root surfaces,encouraging invasion by diseases.

How is availabilitymonitored?Soil is often used as the startingpoint when developing a nutrient plan but tissue testing is necessary to establish what’shappening within the plant.Sampling plant tissue needs to bemore than a one-off measurementto give a more accurate picture ofthe crop and the season. Ideally, a10-day interval between tests isdesirable.

In the UK, there’s an increasingtrend for an inadequate supply ofcopper and zinc, with deficiency

In order to develop a crop nutritionprogram to address nutrient deficiencies that could impact a plantshealth and subsequent yield, you firstneed to identify the likely missingnutrients. This is best achievedthrough routine soil and foliar testingof a selection of crops during the season. Yara Analytical Services haveover four decades of knowledge inthis area and can be contacted viawww.yara.co.uk/crop-nutrition/Tools-and-Services/analytical-services/A range of crop nutrition productsincluding both macro and micronutrients have been developedto formulate a site specific, profitable

Sponsors message

l Know your nutrient levels – soil test but follow up by monitoring nutrient levels in plant tissue, ideally over a period of time to get a true picture.

l Maintain a balanced nutrient supply – for a healthy crop that’s set up to best resist or tolerate disease.

l It’s all in the timing – apply nutrients ahead of peak nutrient demand from the crop.

crop nutrition program addressingidentified crop nutrient requirements.Examples of products that havespecifically been linked to crop nutrition and plant health are:YaraVita GRAMITREL - a flowableliquid fertilizer with a balanced combination of micronutrients including manganese, magnesium,copper and zinc for foliar applicationto cereals.YaraLiva TROPICOTE (15.5% N +19% Ca) - a high quality calciumnitrate product for application inarable crops. It is a dense granularfertilizer that spreads accurately up to 24 meters.

often associated with a shortfall insupply of manganese. In 2016,84% of Yara lab samples deficientin manganese were also low inboth other elements.

How is it best applied?Getting timing right is as importantas getting quantities of nutrients inbalance. Setting up the plant withan optimal supply of nutrients is animportant component of the overalldisease control strategy.

Nitrogen application is generallywell matched to need but othermajor nutrients less so, withspreading of compound fertilisersin the autumn commonplace.Plants have the biggest demandfor nutrients when they’re actively growing so phosphate,potash, magnesium and mostmicronutrients are best targeted at the Feb/March window.

If applied in the autumn, muchof the phosphate will be locked upwhen the plant needs it andpotash will have moved though the soil profile, below the rooting

zone. Only hungry soils, whereestablishment is an issue, merit apercentage of phosphate and/orpotash applied before the winter.

Zinc is an element which needsto be applied before the plantneeds it because the damage isdone if it’s in short supply. A splitautumn/spring application is thebest way to achieve this. A similarapproach is advisable with boron,especially where crops with highboron demand, like oilseed rape,are being grown. n


s

Tech Talk

To be sustainable is just

standing still.”“

One thing that strikes you about Tom Sewellis his relaxed, self-assured demeanour. Itcould have a lot to do with the state of hiscrops –– it’s mid-July and both Skyfall andCrusoe winter wheat are looking stunning.

Or his quiet confidence could have something to do with the relatively littleamount of effort it’s taken him to get his wheat to that stage. Two years ago, he soldmuch of the farm’s cultivation clobber andinvested in a Cross Slot no-till drill, and the wheat now stands in the distinctive, regimented drill lines of the one-pass systemhe’s adopted. He believes this is not justmore sustainable than conventional cultivations, but “regenerative”.

“To be sustainable is just standing still,” he says. “Regenerative agriculture is aboutenhancing your agricultural system throughimproving your soils. You increase soilorganic matter (SOM) and biological activity,and that unlocks the land’s potential so youcan improve yields and increase profit margins.”

This is the paradigm that’s now firmly

Focused on fertilityOn-farminnovator

Kent grower Tom Sewell’sdecision to sell all the farm’s

cultivation kit and invest in a one-pass, no-till systemfollowed years of building the soil’s natural fertility.

CPM visits to find out how.


adopted across the 400ha of soils nearMaidstone, Kent, that vary from river siltthrough to heavy Weald clay. Tom Sewell is a second generation farmer and runs thefarm with his father, Jem, who started thebusiness in 1984. Much of the land hasbeenbrought into an arable rotation followingfruit orchards that were grubbed up as thetop-fruit farms and hop-growing in the area dwindled.

“We’re blessed to have some fertile land,capable of producing good wheat yields,”he notes. These average 10t/ha, with 50% of the farm in first wheats –– all Group 1 varieties. Winter oilseed rape and springbeans plug in as break crops, although oatsand barley are also being introduced, andthe farm is reducing its OSR area.

But what grows above theground is justhalf the story for Tom Sewell. Along with


independent agronomist DavidJones from CCC Agronomy, who advises on crop health and protection, there’s GeorgeHepburn of Soil Fertility Services,who takes a somewhat similarapproach with the roots beneaththe surface.

Team of three“The soil is the most importantasset on the farm,” explains TomSewell.“A lot of agronomists don’teven think about its health. So Iconsider that we have a team ofthree nurturing the crops on thisfarm –– David tends the topgrowth and George looks afterthe rooting zone. But all three of us work together –– that’sessential.”

The philosophy is about doing everything you can to allow thesoil to unlock its potential. “Thefirst thing I ask my adviser iswhat should I be doing, not whatshould I apply –– that’s like goingto a doctor and asking what pillsto take before finding out how tostay healthy,” he says.

Soil Fertility Services has beenworking with the Sewells foraround 20 years. The companyfollows a seven-step system ofsoil fertility designed to maximiseits biological integrity, explainsGeorge Hepburn. A detailed listof soil parameters for each fieldare regularly monitored andrecorded to track progress. “Oneof the important properties we

look at is cation exchangecapacity (CEC),” he says.

“Clay particles are negativelycharged, so all the cations,including soil nutrients, attach tothese. Every soil has a differentCEC, and then within that youlook for a balance of cations asoil is retaining –– typically you’dfind 65-75% calcium and 10-15%magnesium, for example.”

The soils on the farm aren’t the best in the country, but have great potential, he notes,although with fields coming outof fruit and hops, their SOMneeds to be carefully managed.“With the way the land has beenfarmed by the Sewells, there’sbeen a strong focus on buildingsoil fertility and improving soilbiology, and that’s helped itstransition from ploughing to mintill and now direct drilling,” saysGeorge Hepburn.

“SOM is the other essentialelement you look for, as the higher the SOM, the more nutrients a soil can hang onto. If there’s adequate SOM and theCEC is correctly balanced, muchof what a plant needs to thrivecan be accessed straight fromthe soil. It naturally containstonnes of phosphate and potash–– it’s just a matter of makingthese available.”

This detailed attention to thesoil seems to have paid off –– nobagged P and K have beenapplied for around 18 years. All straw is chopped and anynutrient requirements are madethrough farmyard manure orcompost to maintain a healthySOM. Its biology is also thriving–– a preliminary earthworm study carried out by RothamstedResearch in 2013 revealed relatively high numbers, particularly of the deep-burrowingearthworm species that can beextinct in conventionally tilledfields, but that plays an importantrole in soils.

But in recent years, TomSewell has developed the systemmuch further. The epiphanymoment for him came in 2012.“We had two fields side by side,one had been shallow cultivatedand the other subsoiled. I walked

The Crusoe wheat now stands in thedistinctive, regimented drill lines ofthe one-pass system adopted acrossSewell Farms. s

1. Research your idea well. There are toomany growers who take the plunge and overhaul their farm kit, perhaps following atrend, without thoroughly researching the market and assessing what’s best for theirfarm. Make sure you explore all options untilyou narrow it down to the solution that’s best.2. Stay focused. Once you’ve determined thatyou’ve taken the right path, have the courageof your convictions and stay with it. It’s yourdrive that’ll make it happen –– failure is not an option.3. Make sure your team is on side.Whether that’s farm staff or family members,bring them along with your idea and keep them involved throughout. You need supportiveprofessionals, too, and if your agronomist saysit won’t work, consider changing to someonewho’ll help make it happen.

4. Consider cashflow. A business that’sheavily borrowed is highly vulnerable. A debtburden makes a business less adaptable tochange and much of the cashflow can be tiedup in interest payments. Be very wary of a plan that requires a high level of borrowing.Likewise, a progressive farming system seldomrelies on subsidy payments.5. Keep some capacity. If you don’t havespare capacity in your current set up, you can’t expand and you can’t manage difficultseasons. But if you retain some leeway, youcan take opportunities as they arise with just a few tweaks.6. Future proof your system. Sustainabilityisn’t good enough and doesn’t allow forgrowth, improvement and innovation. Investtime, energy and resources up front to ensureyour system is truly regenerative.

How to be an on-farm innovator – Tom Sewell’s top tips

A detailed list of soil parameters for each field areregularly monitored and recorded to trackprogress.

Tom Sewell believes that increasing soil organic matter and biological activity lead to regenerative agriculture.

from the shallow to the subsoiled field andsank in, which made me think ‘why do we ripup what is essentially a perfect seedbed every year?’”

At the time, the farm’s cultivations were based around a Sumo Trio min-till

regime, but he was keen to move to direct drilling. He decided to research thesubject carefully, and applied for a Nuffieldscholarship. “Dad was a Nuffield scholar 20 years ago, so I was aware of the benefits.I wanted to see no-till systems around theworld to learn what they had in common,and understand their limitations.

“What I discovered was that there isn’tany soil type where it doesn’t work, and the benefits, even in the most challengingsituations, are immense. I saw no reasonwhy it shouldn’t work here –– in fact, the UKlags way behind the rest of the world in itsuptake of the system.”

What he also determined was that there


On-farm innovator

What’s made the transition to no-till work forTom Sewell is that it’s a considered, calculatedstep taken as part of a long-term plan,reckons BASF South East agronomy managerPhil Brown.

“This is no overnight decision or quick fix.It’s clear the business has been working progressively over many years to get to where itis today. What’s more, at the heart of this planlies the farm’s biggest asset –– its soil,”he notes.

“His pursuit of regenerative agriculture illustrates the qualities Tom has that help himachieve his goals. While yield and gross marginare important, they’re not the only focus. ButTom has a clear picture of what he aims todeliver, that forms the foundation for how hegets there.

“It’s also clear that the work-life balance is important to him, and he hasn’t committed

himself to farming at the expense of everythingelse in his life,” he adds.

While some growers are changing their cultivation systems for various reasons, a whole-hearted commitment to zero tillage probably wouldn’t suit every farm, notes Phil Brown.

“But one of the key things that works well formany growers is detailed monitoring of whatthey’re doing, down to a field or sub-field level.The soil analyses Tom Sewell carries out providea level of detail that helps him spot a potentialproblem and address it before it becomes an issue.”

Meanwhile, a renewed focus on the long-term health of the soil is something PhilBrown encourages for all growers. “A lot of thecrop protection products, especially herbicides,BASF manufactures are soil-acting. For best efficacy, as well as for good environmental

stewardship, a healthy soil with a good tilth,structure and thriving biota always delivers thebest results. So we’re committed to doing whatwe can to help farmers retain and improve thequality of their soils,” he says.

Long-term view is key to success

The soil analyses provide a level of detail thathelp spot a potential problem and address itbefore it becomes an issue, notes Phil Brown.

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Farmers are constantly innovating to improvetheir businesses, which is why BASF is committed to investing 10% of its sales revenues into R&D to deliver new technologiesfor farming. BASF’s new innovations includepioneering agricultural chemistry, as well asInnovations Beyond Crop Protection like biologicals, bacteria, soil and water management and renewable technologies.Our future is firmly focused on deliveringtowards farming’s future.

On-farm innovation

Innovations Beyond Crop Protection

The Cross Slot pulls an L-shaped coulter throughthe soil, placing the seed on a shelf beside thevertical slot.

Nearly all the farm’s cultivation kit was traded into offset the cost of the new 4.8m Cross Slot drill.

The strong focus on soil improvement has helpedits transition from ploughing to min till and nowdirect drilling.

are four essential elements to a successfulno-till system:1. Straw residues should be chopped and

spread well2. Periods of bare soil or stubble should

be kept to a minimum through the use of cover and catch crops

3. There should be a wide and diverse rotation, ideally with at least one spring break

4. You need a good, minimum-disturbance no-till drill.Cover crops have been adopted

across the farm for the past four years. An overwinter mix is established in front ofthe spring beans after winter wheat. Thenthere’s a catch crop that follows OSR in frontof winter wheat.

“The idea is to keep something growing in the soil for as much time as possible,”explains Tom Sewell. “This was an essentialelement to successful no-till I found on all the farms I visited on my study tour.

You’re encouraging the crop to do the cultivations for you in place of farm kit –– roots, rather than iron, doing the work.”

He reckons it’s important to have the rightmix of crops. “That’s down to the specific situation, the year, and what you’retrying to achieve. I’m part of a group of eightKent farmers that meets three or four times ayear to discuss what crops to use and howbest to source them.”

He’s looking for a seed mix that will bringroots (both at depth and in the top 5cm tokeep the soil friable), that will keep cropcover and also fix N. “But above all, I wantto increase SOM and it must be a mix thatmakes financial sense. Also, if it’s followedby spring barley or oats, I don’t want a mixcontaining rye or oats, and if planting springbeans, I avoid vetch, phacelia and tillageradish.”

Study tourThe final part of the equation is the drill itself.“I looked at a lot of machines before settlingon the Cross Slot. Initially I considered theClaydon system, but I believe that moves toomuch soil. We had a John Deere 750A ondemo and very nearly bought one, but againit was what I learnt on my study tour thatmade my mind up.”

He found farmers were getting bestresults with drills that achieved ‘ultra low disturbance’. “You get this with a knife tine,or more commonly with a single disc.”

In New Zealand, he came across BakerNo Tillage, the company that invented theCross Slot drill, and founded by John Baker.“The drill was based on a design developedthrough a university project, and whatimpressed me most was the build quality of the machine.”

It pulls an L-shaped coulter through thesoil, placing the seed on a shelf beside thevertical slot. An optional L-shape on theother side places fertiliser, making the crossthat gives the drill its name. “The Cross Slotplaces the seed into a totally clean pocket of soil and there’s excellent seed-to-soil contact. It cuts through residue but there’svery little soil disturbance.”

The change was made in summer 2014, with the drill components importedwith the help of PrimeWest in Oxon andassembled on farm. Nearly all the farm’s cultivation kit was traded in to offset the cost of the new 4.8m drill –– in excess of£100,000. The tractor was also upgraded toprovide the 300hp of grunt he was lookingfor to pull the drill with ease.

“It was a considerable investment and abig change to make, but I knew it was theright move and I was determined to make it

happen –– failure was not an option,” saysTom Sewell.

“But importantly, we didn’t over-stretchourselves financially and the investment wasmade from working capital. When Dadreturned from his Nuffield Scholarship in1992 he brought back one simple message: debt equals vulnerability, and that’s helped shape the way we run our business.”

The no-till system has been fully in placefor two years, now, and the differences are already evident, says TomSewell. “Our running costs have reduced forno loss of yield –– if anything they’veimproved –– and the soil structure is moreconsistent. When it rains, the water runsclear out of drains and doesn’t run off the field.

“I have a wider traffic window, but thenfield preparation takes much less time now,so there’s plenty of spare capacity to take onextra land or work, should the opportunityarise. Equally, I now find I spend more timewith my family.”

George Hepburn adds that it’s the focuson the soil that has contributed to the success. “The Sewells have spent manyyears building up the soil fertility and structure, and you notice the difference –– you never need wellies when you visit the farm and soil never sticks to your boots.A move to no-till doesn’t suit everyone, andmay not instantly bring the results you want,but Tom Sewell has earned his right toachieve those.” n


On-farm innovator

SPot-light on potatoes

Sunscreen, baseball hats and bottles ofwater were all ‘must haves’ for visitorsattending the AHDB’s Strategic Potato(SPot) Farm open day in Staffs on 19 July. With temperatures soaring to33°C in the shade, the recently irrigatedpotato crop was faring much better than the groups looking at the demonstrations, who were definitelytranspiring more rapidly…

Hosted by James Daw and his son Sam,at the Thorpe Estate near Tamworth, SPotFarm West is now in its second season.Some of the work on show is a further development from last year but there’s also new work, with cover crops andbiofumigants generating particularly livelyinterest from growers, in spite of the heat.

Potatoes are grown one in every fiveyears at Thorpe, with a rotation of potatoes/ winter wheat/ winter oilseed rape/ winterwheat/ winter wheat/ potatoes. The SPot programme is spread across three fields,within a commercial crop of RussettBurbank grown for processing.

Interesting issuesDot fields were planted on 24 April and 5 May, with a standard cultivation regime of Simba SL, subsoiler, plough, ridger, bed-tiller, de-stoner and planter. Although at this stage in the growth of the crop allobservations are purely anecdotal, therehave already been some interesting issuesthrown up, particularly after the late, wet spring.

One of the most eye catching was the differences in workability of the soildepending on desiccation of the covercrop, highlights Dr Marc Allison, seniorresearcher at NIAB CUF.

“We desiccated some of the cover cropof oats and vetch on 1 March but alsoallowed the cover crop to grow on until itwas ploughed,” he explains. “Afterploughing there was a visible difference in soil structure where the cover crop had been allowed to grow on and this

A series of open days onpotato farms has given growers an insight into

AHDB-funded research andthe latest on best practice.CPM attends one in Staffs.


Roots Potatoes

This small difference in moisturecontent made a huge

difference to the workability of

the soil.”

“

translated into much easier secondary cultivations, with the tractor drivers reporting quicker work rates.

“The difference in soil moisture betweenthe soil where the cover crop was desiccated and where it was allowed tokeep growing was just 1%. It appears thatthis small difference in moisture contentmade a huge difference to the workability of the soil because the growing cover cropplants were pulling out water at 20-30cmdepth,” comments Marc Allison.

Whether results would be similar in a drier spring has yet to be seen, but theaim is to discover more about the effects ofcover crops on soil cultivatability, he adds. In a season where planting wasdelayed because of wet soils, the possiblebenefits of being able to travel a few daysearlier wasn’t lost on growers, many ofwhom are already growing cover cropsboth as greening measures and as biofumigants.

Dr Matthew Back, of Harper AdamsUniversity, talked about his experience withbiofumigant crops as part of an overall control strategy for potato cyst nematode(PCN) and outlined the SPot Farm demonstration plots.

The different species that can be grown


Allowing a cover crop to grow on can bring benefits of being able totravel a few days earlier, notes Marc Allison.

as biofumigant crops were on show: Indian Mustard(Brassica juncea), cv Caliente199; Rocket (Eruca sativa), cv Nemat; Oilseed radish(Raphanus sativus), cv Terranovaand White mustard (Sinapsisalba), cv Vitaro.

Highlighting the differencesbetween them, Matthew Back

pointed out that Indian mustardis a species that’s best suited to summer conditions as glucosinolate accumulation is dependent on higher temperatures and day length.He also noted that overwinteredIndian mustard may be damagedby frosts and is likely to produce a lower biomass. All biofumigants should bechopped and incorporated atearly lowering, he stressed.

Oilseed radish, on the other hand, has a larger rootsystem and will leach (exude)glucosinolates which are thenbroken down by microbes in thesoil to release isothiocyanates–– the volatile compounds with biofumigant activity, heexplained. This process isknown as partial biofumigation.

“What’s important is to matchthe species you select with thefunction that you want it to do.Not all species are suitable in some rotations and canexacerbate existing problems.

For example, Indian mustardand rocket cover crops are tobe avoided if OSR is in the rotation and club root is a problem.”

Harper Adams PhD student,Bill Watts, explained to the groupmore about the biofumigantprocess and his work into getting the best out of choppingand incorporation techniques.

“When brassica tissue isdamaged, glucosinolates andan enzyme called myrosinaseare liberated from cells andinteract in the presence of

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Matt Black explains the importanceof matching the cover crop speciesyou select with the function that youwant it to do.

Potatoes

water. As a result of this hydrolysis, anarray of volatile, biocidal compounds are released, including isothiocyanates,”he explains.

“Isothiocyanates are a similar chemicalto soil sterilant, metam sodium (activeingredient is methyl isothiocynate), so once the brassica tissue is damaged, the

Matt Rodenhurst of Harper AdamsUniversity talks through the importance of applying nematicide granules into therooting zone of potatoes. He warns thatapplying on a bed-tiller results in overincorporation and should be avoided.

Similarly, application on a de-stoner isn’ta reliable method either as granules are apt to stick to stones with the result that nematicide granules end up in thewheelings. Ideally nematicides should beapplied as a separate operation, taking carethat the speed of incorporation is greater(twice as fast) than forward movement ofthe tractor otherwise they’ll be folded inrather than mixed through the profile of the bed.

The root to effective control

Working soil too deeply increases fuel consumption, labour, repair and depreciation costs, says Mark Stalham.

residue needs to be quickly incorporatedand the soil surface sealed to prevent thegas from escaping.”

The quality of the residue is absolutelycritical for success, he reckons, with theincorporation instrument of secondary importance. “The interval between chopping and incorporation needs to be as tight as possible, ideally no morethan 30mins. That means a single passoperation is best,” he says, adding that at the SPot Farm, this was a front-mountedGrimme KS400 haulm topper with rear-mounted Grimme GF rotary-tiller.

“The position of the shear plate has thebiggest effect on the quality of the residue,with an open shear plate giving morebruising which results in more gas beingreleased,” comments Bill Watts. “If the cropis lush then the hydrolysis process isn’t asdependent on soil moisture, which means


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A soil pit dug in one of the SPot Farm demonstration fields clearly shows the depth oftopsoil with roots up to 65cm deep. Dr MarkStalham tells growers that part of the field wasirrigated the day before the demo using aboom –– the first time irrigation had beenscheduled according to the NIAB CUF modelthis season.

Soils of this type –– sandy loam to sandyclay loam –– would have a limiting soil moisture deficit of 40mm under average evapotranspiration demand, he explains.Understanding the water demand of the crop is an important aspect of irrigation and on average the evapotranspiration rate (ET) for acrop in full canopy would be approx 3.5mm/day.

He estimates that on a day as hot as theopen day, the ET was likely to be in excess of5.5mm/day, reducing the limiting deficit foryield down to 20mm as a consequence of rootsbeing unable to create sufficient suction in thesoil to satisfy water demand.

Surviving heat stress

AHDB’s Dr Phil Burgess discusses the principles determining optimum seed ratesusing crisping variety Taurus. He emphasisesthe difference chronological age, i.e. daysfrom tuber initiation to planting, makes to thenumber of stems produced –– older seedproducing higher numbers of stems.

Acknowledging that it’s sometimes difficultto determine from suppliers, he maintains thatchronological age needs to be taken intoaccount when determining seed rates and isa useful tool that growers could exploit moreto increase marketable yield.

Age discrimination

Matt Smallwood explains just how much of abenefits chitting seed can bring to maincropgrowers.

Bill Watts stresses that the quality of the residueis absolutely critical for success, with theincorporation instrument of secondaryimportance.

rainfall after incorporation isn’t essential.”The opportunity to save costs by reduced

depth of cultivations and less secondarytillage, was highlighted again this year byNIAB CUF senior researcher, Dr MarkStalham. Work done for AHDB Project R459(2012-2015) demonstrated that soil shouldn’tbe cultivated deeper than is necessary toproduce de-stoned beds of 27-28cm (claysoils 23-25cm) in depth prior to planting.Working any deeper reduced yield andincreased fuel consumption, labour, repairand depreciation costs, he says.

It’s a message that’s a difficult one to convince growers, with James Daw himself

cautious about going shallower than 33cm,but the SPot Farm data for 2016 againdemonstrated the potential cost savingsfrom shallower ploughing (approx. £50/ha fuel plus labour) and no bed-tilling(a further £50/ha).

“This spring where land was deepploughed to 35cm and turned up un-weathered soil, operators reported that they had to work machines at half the speed and used more fuel than aftershallower ploughing,” says Mark Stalham.

Working too deeply“Most clods are formed by working soil too deeply. If you cultivate at optimum moisture, then any clods are friable enough to break down with the de-stoner. If bed-forming is carried out to the correct depth, you don’t get as muchclod sothere’s no need to bed-till.”

Another addition to the SPot programmethis year is a chitting trial, demonstrated by McCain Foods’ agronomist, MattSmallwood.

Chitting (physiological ageing) of seedhas somewhat gone out of fashion with modern potato growers producing maincrop varieties, mainly because of theadditional costs and labour it requires, he explains.

“The trial demonstrates the potential benefit of a conventional and large modular tray-chitting systems, designed by the Daws, in advancing canopy development, bulking and maturity on two contrasting late maturing varieties ––Pentland Dell and Markies,” explains MattSmallwood.

Seed tubers were placed in chittingtrays in mid Feb, at a temperature 8-10°C

Potatoes


under lights before a 10 day hardening-offperiod in natural light –– a vital processwhen using chitted seed, he adds.

“Chitting seed gave an 8-10 day advantage in earliness of emergence and an average of 15% advantage during thecanopy-expansion phase of growth.Another effect from chitted seed we’veseen in the trial is a reduced tuber numbercompared with seed tubers that wereunchitted and cold stored. These had asecondary initiation of tubers, resulting in a 30-50% higher tuber number.

“By contrast, the chitted seed has a lowertuber number with 70-90% less tubers at<30mm, a much larger size fraction (onaverage >15mm in size on 13 July with a 7-8 t/ha total yield advantage), 36-43%greater than comparable cold-stored treatments,” he concludes. n

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When a Notts potato businessupgraded its harvester, it waskeen to keep its reputation for

producing quality, unbruisedpotatoes. CPM finds out how.

By Rob Jones

RootsPotato harvesting

Wetter seasons that have resulted in ashorter lifting window for Notts potatogrower Paul Kirkland. On top of that, anexpansion programme has meant havingto rent in some variable quality soils,and that’s led to the decision that thebusiness’ Grimme GT170M trailed potatoharvester wasn’t up to the job.

So at the beginning of the 2015 lifting season, Paul, farm manager of ThoresbyHall Farm in Notts took the keys of a GrimmeVaritron 220 –– a state-of-the-art tracked 2-row self-propelled cart-elevator machine.

The business currently grows up to 160ha of potatoes for the pre-pack marketincluding Greenvale, IPL, Branston andCockerills. Main varieties are Saxon, Melody,King Edwards and Electra.

The medium term business objective is to increase output to 200ha –– a task easiersaid than done, particularly in a market driven by quality on one hand but on theother a dwindling supply of prime growingland. With many high dry matter varieties inthe portfolio there’s always a high risk of bruising.

“We often achieve less than 2% bruisingand regularly get complimented on this by our suppliers,” says Paul Kirkland. “It’s predominantly down to the Grimme harvesting equipment. If you’re a seriouspotato grower you need to be with a company that has built its reputation onquality equipment designed to minimisebruising and maximise output.

“Having said that you can have the bestand most expensive harvester on the market lifting a crop, but still end up withbad bruising and this is down to the operator. A good driver is key to the harvesting operation,” he adds.

An effective systemThe farm’s previous GT170M trailed harvester was bought new in 2008 for lifting potatoes and carrots. When lifting carrots, the picking-off table could beremoved and replaced with a transfer web,which although time consuming to switch,was an effective system. To get round theproblem a Grimme GZ trailed harvester waspurchased locally to lift the carrots andonions, leaving the GT as the dedicatedpotato machine.

With expansion in mind, the GT harvester was traded in last year for a self-propelled 2-row Varitron 220 harvester,which has had a massive impact on harvesting flexibility and output for the business. By the end of the season, PaulKirkland had wrapped up harvest 10 daysearlier than in previous years.

“We’re taking on more rented potato landof variable quality in the area in order tomeet our increased acreage target. Initially,we considered going for a trailed GTS harvester with an extra cleaning web to give us more capacity.

“But, to spec it to exactly how we needed it, particularly with hydraulic wheeldrive that’s often necessary on our sandysoils, the cost of a trailed machine and the tractor needed to pull it would have been £250,000, whereas to switch to a self-propelled machine we only had to partwith an additional £50,000 after trade in,” he says.

“Expanding to 200ha would have put thetrailed machine at the upper limit of itscapacity too. And we needed a bunker facility that would allow lifting to continue onthe headlands and avoid issues with trailersbeing short in the field.”

The Varitron 220 only has a 2t intermediatebunker, but Paul Kirkland says this stillmakes a significant time saving on the headlands.

“We didn’t want a large bunker because it

We often achieve less than 2%bruising and regularly

get complimented on this by our

suppliers.”

“

Gently does it


s

has a wider elevator which doesn’t fit our1.25t and 1t boxes, whereas our narrowerelevator does,” he says. “A chute attachedto the front of the elevator reduces thepotential damage to the potatoes as theygently transfer into the boxes.”

The business operates a number of 10box capacity tri-axle trailers on floatationtyres.

“The GT trailed harvester has a capacityof about 250-300t/day compared with theVaritron’s 300-350t/day,” he says. “Achievingan output of 350t/day is a long day but it’spossible. The Varitron also offers much morecleaning capacity with three webs –– a40mm intake web plus two 45mm main

webs –– and a twin Multi-Sep, compared tojust one web and twin Multi-Sep on thetrailed machine.”

From the twin Multi-Sep on the Varitron,potatoes move onto an up and over transferweb before reaching the four-person picking-off table. Although the GT also had a four-person picking-off table, it was a very tight squeeze, says Paul Kirkland.

“We’ve gained an extra 6ft of cleaningcapacity with having a second main web,”he says. “In wet conditions this is veryimportant. The extra drop between the websgives extra separation which is a help.”

From the picking-off table, potatoes enterthe small bunker with an automatic movingfloor that drops away when not offloadingdirectly into a trailer alongside. This reducesthe drop height and therefore minimisesbruising.

He adds that being a tracked harvesterthe Varitron 220 should also travel better andallows lifting to continue on days when mostother harvesters would be relegated to theshed. This is a major benefit because it addsflexibility to the system by giving more control on when to lift rather than beingforced to get on the land in less than idealconditions.

“For the previous two seasons we had to

The Varitron 220 offers a bunker facility and theextra capacity Paul Kirkland needed to take thepressure of his harvesting system.

The elevator is narrow to suit the 1.25t and 1tboxes, while a chute at the front reduces thepotential damage to potatoes.

employ two tractors on the front of the GTharvester to avoid getting stuck,” explainsPaul Kirkland. “Seasons are definitely gettingshorter so we must increase capacity toreduce the days we harvest. We also want to be able to return rented land back to thefarmer in the same condition that we foundit. Track machines are recognised for reducing compaction, especially in wet soil conditions. We want to have a good reputation locally for ensuring land is maintained.” n

Potato harvesting

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Hay has at last been made andcombines are rolling. It’s beenan odd season from start tofinish and it’s not looking like abumper harvest, with specificweights reported to be down sofar. But with thoughts turning toa new season and drillingoilseed rape, those who’vestuck through thick and thinwith the crop face more thantheir fair share of stewardshipissues.

There was a time when theword ‘stewardship’ pretty much heralded the impendingdeparture of an active ingredient.The death knell had soundedand it was just a matter of time.These days, stewardship campaigns are two a penny, with EU water policies forcing thepace somewhat. But things seemto have changed. You mighteven say that they’re working.

More pertinent to most is metaldehyde. Who’d havethought it’d still be around eightyears after problems were firstpicked up in water catchments.Stewardship was surely bound tofail, just like it did with IPU.Instead, we’ve created dialoguewith the suppliers of drinkingwater, where previously noneexisted. What’s more, they’resupporting growers in makingchanges that may safeguardactive ingredients for the rest ofthe farming industry. That’s anamazing success story.

Instead of an impending

sense of doom, stewardshipseems to have given

birth to a whole newphenomenon. It

was with a hint ofamusement that I

witnessed a case of stewardship envy for the first

time last month. A farmer withland just outside a drinking watersafeguard zone was bemoaningthe fact that his neighbours withfields deemed ‘high risk’ hadbenefited from a grant schemefrom the local water company.The object of his envy was abrand spanking new sprayerwash-off facility kindly paid for by the very same water companythat supplies him. Of course it’snot fair.

But then it won’t be fair if thenew metaldehyde product label(assuming there’ll be one) stipulates it can only be usedoutside of drinking water catchments –– an outcomedeemed highly likely by sourcesin the industry. Presumably if thathappens, envy will soon give wayto a sense of smugness that theystill have choices where it comesto slug pellets…

Although the sprayer wash-offfacility deals with point-sourcecontamination, which incidentally

Stewardship envy

Based in Ludlow, Shrops,Lucy de la Pasture hasworked as an agronomistand has a nice line in edible hats.

[email protected]

isn’t the main pollution pathwayfor metaldehyde, the water companies need to sweeten thedeal where grower cooperation is relied on. That’s why some are effectively paying growers to either use ferric phosphateinstead or giving them ‘environmental payments’ forkeeping water supplies clean.

Whatever your viewpoint onthe EU, surely their clean-up policies on water have been agood thing, even if it does meana rethink on some farming practices and a whole lot ofapplicator training. Being a custodian of the land for future generations is a hugeresponsibility and sometimesthere’s a difficult balance to befound when also trying to run asuccessful business, especially if change is costly. It’s great thatsome growers who, by virtue oftheir location, are critical to thesuccess or failure of stewardshipand are being supported tomake improvements.

A bone of contention willalways be where the line in thesand should be drawn. For pesticides that’s the 0.1ppbthreshold for any one active substance. Admittedly it’s an arbitrary figure but the

ideal is surely right.Some Brexiteers hold the

vain hope that now we’ll beable to get back to farming andstop endlessly worrying aboutthe environment. Don’t holdyour breath, those days arelong gone. I reckon it’s prettyunlikely that the UK will deviatefrom the standards set for water by the rest of the EU –– already enshrined in our own legislation. In fact, I’llmetaphorically happily ‘eat myhat’ if red tape becomes lessrather than more. I predictstewardship envy to becomemore prevalent rather than less.

Even if metaldehyde eventually goes, we’re in a better position now to helpsafeguard other actives. The water companies haveinvested heavily in catchmentmanagement, putting boots onthe ground in many areas. Theyneed to make it work as muchas we do!

Could new sprayer wash-off facilities, funded through water company grant schemes, become the object ofstewardship envy?


cpm magazine - crop production magazine - In this issue · 2016-12-05 · on your PC, tablet and...

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