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Crop Health Updates - August 2018

Club root pressure builds

Clubroot is a major issue in rape in Scotand’s arable rotations with over 50% of fields used for oilseed rape carrying the disease – and in areas like Aberdeenshire the incidence is higher with the majority of fields affected. Yield losses on average are around a third of a tonne for every 10% disease severity, but in severe early infections in warm autumns emergence can be so poor that crops are ploughed back in so, at the extreme end, yield losses can be 100%.  Read more here.

Are you making the most of integrated pest management?

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is not a new idea in farming and many producers will be familiar with the concept through measures such as the pesticide industry’s Voluntary Initiative and the promotion of IPM through farm assurance schemes and advisory services.  However, it is worth asking how many Scottish farmers are fully maximising the potential of the whole-farm approach to crop management that IPM offers?  Some of the opportunities and barriers to uptake were discussed at a recent Farm Advisory Service meeting at Scotston of Kirkside at St Cyrus, near Montrose. Read more here.

Getting winter barley off to a healthy start

With the winter barley harvest in Scotland almost complete, planning for the 2019 crop begins. Selecting seed of good health status has always been important but emerging issues with fungicide resistance in the seed-borne disease loose smut illustrate why an over-reliance on chemistry is sometimes not sustainable.  Read more here.

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