With arable farmers facing a number of challenges currently – such as black-grass control, disease control and plateauing yields – the forthcoming CropTec event will see Syngenta showcasing its role in developing a number of technologies to help growers respond to such challenges.

The event is being held on 19 and 20 November 2014 at the East of England Showground, Peterborough. As well as hosting a show stand, the company is also sponsoring a seminar on plant breeding at the event.

According to Syngenta, the cereal disease landscape is changing – with increased difficulty controlling Septoria tritici if it starts to establish,                                                                                          and aggressive attacks of rust.

Accordingly, the company will continue with its ‘prepare, protect, succeed’ initiative this season. This focuses on the argument for protecting yields by getting on the front foot against disease, by placing greater emphasis on prevention rather than cure.

Among attractions on the Syngenta stand, therefore, will be latest information on using the isopyrazam-based range of winter wheat and barley SDHI fungicides to achieve longer-lasting, preventative control – rather than risking disease getting out of hand.

In addition, given concerns about Septoria tritici, the growing case for including the multi-site fungicide Bravo in programmes will also come under the microscope. With its built-in Weatherstik formulation designed to boost rainfastness, the company says this is particularly relevant, since Septoria is a wet weather disease.

From a plant breeding perspective, the Syngenta stand will highlight the company’s Hyvido® hybrid barley technology. This will include key information on agronomy principles to help growers and agronomists maximise the high yield potential of Hyvido® crops in the ground this season, as well as latest information on the Hyvido® optional cashback yield guarantee. Earlier this year, Hyvido® was also shown in ADAS trial work to deliver up to a 91% reduction in black-grass seed numbers per metre squared compared with winter wheat. This added benefit of the vigorous growth of Hyvido® has implications for helping to reduce all-important black-grass seed return within rotations, Syngenta points out.

Meanwhile, as part of the plant breeding seminar, Syngenta will examine the issue of a growing world population and the role that modern techniques, such as doubled haploid and marker assisted breeding, can play in accelerating traditional plant breeding, to bring better varieties to growers, faster.