Using the correct water rate, applying with a water conditioner and ensuring the blackgrass is actively growing, are just some of the factors that contribute to optimum control.

Due to the need to drill oilseed rape early, implementing the highly-endorsed stale seedbed control method is not an option, making the efficacy of blackgrass herbicides such as clethodim, even more crucial.

Arysta LifeScience Product Development & Technical Manager for UK & Ireland, Don Pendergrast said: “Oilseed rape needs a warm soil to encourage correct establishment, which gives the crop a head-start against migrating pests such as cabbage stem flea beetle.

“This means that delaying drilling to allow grass weeds to chit is not an option. Instead, using chemistry such as clethodim correctly, as part of a wider black-grass programme, offers consistent and better control.

“Apply clethodim at a steady speed through medium to fine droplets with the correct water rate of 200l/ha – this is essential for good weed coverage. Because clethodim is formulated with adjuvant technology, using additional adjuvants is not recommended, but we do however, recommend the use of a water conditioner, particularly in hard water areas.

“Unlike many black-grass control products, it’s important to avoid spraying too early. Growers should aim to target the plant when it has three leaves, to improve the uptake of the chemistry.”

Launched four years ago by Arysta LifeScience, Centurion Max is a leading 120g/l clethodim-based product, active on black-grass.

Following feedback from users and trials at Arysta LifeScience, changes to the stewardship have been made to enhance the use-ability of the product. This includes reducing the no-spray window from 14-days to 10-days prior to applying Centurion Max.

Post application, a 14-day no-spray period is in place for herbicides and fungicides, and a 7-day period for nutritional products and insecticides.

CropTec 2017

Steve Tuer’s bumper 7.2t/ha crop of oilseed rape may well be the highest yielding crop in the world ever recorded. The unofficial record attempt took place on 21 August at Mr Tuer’s Hutton Grange farm, near Northallerton. The national average oilseed rape yield consistently runs at under 4t/ha.

The restored hybrid variety, Incentive, is well suited to performance in the north, scoring 109% on the HGCA’s North Region Recommended List, but Mr Tuer said that the yield resulted from the farm’s soil and the attention to detail of the agronomy.

“This used to be a dairy farm, so there is a lot of inherent fertility in the soil, plus all the slurry from our 600-sow and pig fattening unit is spread back onto the 1000 acres of arable land,” he explained. “The soil is also very heavy, so crops do very well in a dry year like the one we’ve had.”

He added that his close working relationship with his agronomist, Chris Martin, of Agrovista, has allowed them to perfect the farm’s agronomy programmes to get the management “spot-on” in input choice and timings. The crop was sown at a very low seed rate, using simple cultivations but ensuring maximum attention to detail in achieving good seed to soil contact and post-sowing consolidation.

“I don’t believe in early sowing of oilseed rape,” Mr Tuer explained. “This crop wasn’t sown until the 6th September at a rate of 35 seed/m2 with a Vaderstad drill, after min-tilling with a Heva Combilift, followed by shallow discs and a packer.”

Following on-farm trials developed by Chris Martin, the fertiliser applied in four splits totalling 220kg of nitrogen as urea. The application dates were 10 March, 20 March + sulphur, 28 March and 12 April + sulphur. “We also applied foliar nitrogen in June with the second sclerotinia spray,” he noted.

Chris Martin took what he describes as a “conventional spray programme” of an autumn phoma and Light Leaf Spot spray of Frelizon (pentiopyrad + picoxystrobin), followed by an early spring application of Monkey (tebuconazole + Prochloraz), and combined with the nutrition product Headland Bo-La (boron + molybdenum). The scelertonia programme then consisted of Recital (Fluopyram + Protioconazole) at early flower, followed up three weeks later with Proline (prothioconazole) in tank mix with Nufol (foliar nitrogen), which Mr Tuer described as a “Rolls Royce Agrovista programme.”

“I’ve fallen in love with growing oilseed rape! But I invest to yield, make sure my soils are in good condition and keep everything simple – my rotation, cultivations and my agronomy,” Mr Tuer said. He also yielded 12.2t/ha from a crop of Glacier winter barley.  He has also registered with the ADAS Yield Enhancement Network project with a field of the variety, Kielder. “This field previously yielded 16t/ha in 2010,” so he is very hopeful that it should do very well this year.

Agrovista UK is totally committed to providing unrivalled value and innovative solutions for British farmers, both now and in the future. This commitment is focused on customer service, research driven advice and technical innovation. It relies strongly on the dedication, expertise and professionalism of all employees as well as the company’s many global and local suppliers. It also embraces care for the wider countryside with an understanding of the politically important environmental role now played by farmers. www.agrovista.co.uk

CropTec 2015

Agrovista are one of the many exhibitors at this year’s CropTec event.

Are you looking to new technology to reduce your unit cost of production, improve competitiveness and boost profitability? make sure you visit CropTec on Tuesday 24th & Wednesday 25th November, East of England Showgorund, Peterborough.

To encourage knowledge exchange among the British farming community further, this year’s event is FREE for farmers to attend. You MUST pre-register online to ensure you receive your free place.