High levels found of foliar disease (From Gazette & Herald)

High levels found of foliar disease

HIGH moisture level in crops and soil following the heavy rains of April and early May has pre-disposed winter wheat in Yorkshire to a potential onslaught from the foliar disease Septoria tritici, according to BASF.

The warning is based on an assessment of crop conditions at the BASF agronomy site at Rawcliffe Bridge, Selby, which shows high levels of the disease in the base of the crop, particularly in the varieties Option and Einstein.

And when the upper leaves were analysed with BASF's new in-field Septoria tritici test kit, they showed significant levels of latent disease that may not appear on the surface of the leaf for up to two weeks.

"Recent rain will have spread infection to new growth, so growers should not assume that leaves that appear clean and healthy are free from disease," says Graham Hartwell, BASF's agronomy manager for the Yorkshire region.

His advice to growers who have not yet carried out the T2 spray is to apply a minimum rate of 0.75 l/ha of Opera plus 0.45 l/ha of Opus, and to increase the Opus if the disease pressure is high. And if mildew is a threat, he recommends adding 0.25 l/ha of Flexity in mixture with fenpropimorph.

Updated: 12:09 Wednesday, May 26, 2004