Crop Health Updates - November 2018 | Helping farmers in Scotland

Crop Health Updates - November 2018

Testing of new barley varieties with improved disease resistance is one aspect of crop research which can help growers reduce their reliance on pesticides – seen here at the SRUC East Lothian trials site

Planning ahead for sustainable plant health

Strategic forward planning to minimise plant health risks on farm might be an impossible ask in the main field season and the fast paced harvest and drilling period we’ve just come through, but now we have more enforced office days watching rain run down the windows, what better thing to ponder than plant health? Why not dig out field spray records and compare with the yields achieved? How happy were you with the efficacy of spray programmes and what were your main pest, disease and weed issues? It is all too easy to plunge into another season with a same again approach or to hand over all the responsibility of spray programmes to your agronomist. Read more here.

Cold snap may arrest crop disease development

Crop brairds in Scottish winter cereals have benefited from the mild autumn and adequate moisture, which is in contrast to some regions in the south where crops have failed to establish well in dry conditions. But warm autumns also bring enhanced risk of early infestations with pests and diseases and a few are already making an appearance in winter barley crops, with brown rust popping out in a few Borders crops and mildew also being seen in crops over quite a wide geographic range. Read more here.