Corteva Agriscience says the stabiliser has demonstrated reductions in nitrogen leaching of approximately 50%, and denitrification through greenhouse gases of around 45%.

This means the nitrogen in slurries, digestate, or other fertilisers, is kept where it is needed as maize crops develop. 

“Maize establishment season is upon us and huge amounts of slurry and digestate will be applied to crops to get them off to the best possible start,” says Clare Stapley, category marketing manager for Corteva. 

“For efficiency, agronomic, and environmental reasons, it’s logical to keep as much of the nitrogen in those inputs where they need to be. 

“Stabilisers increase and extend nitrogen availability. Across our trials programme the average yield response is over 10%.”

Improving use efficiency

Instinct utilises Corteva’s unique Optinyte technology, keeping more nitrogen in the soil for longer periods, significantly improving use efficiency. The product works by slowing down the conversion of ammonium to nitrate, preventing nitrogen loss through leaching and denitrification, and ensuring more remains in the rooting zone.

Application is flexible – Instinct can be mixed into slurry or digestate before field application, or sprayed on shortly after. It’s also compatible with any fertiliser containing ammonia, such as sludge, urea, UAN, and ammonium nitrate.

“The most important element of use is ensuring good soil contact, so it should be applied before cultivation, or when rain is due to ensure good incorporation,” adds Clare.

For dairy farms specifically, Instinct offers significant advantages, particularly for maize crops which often face nitrogen limitations due to current regulations.

“Forage maize has an NMAX limit of 150kg N/ha so it is often undersupplied with nitrogen,” says Ryan Came-Johnson, area manager for Corteva in the South of England.

“Modern varieties are typically higher yielding and therefore may have higher nitrogen requirements. If they don’t get adequate nutrition, they will never reach their full yield potential.”

Timing crucial

The timing of nitrogen availability is another crucial factor that Instinct addresses for maize growers.
“Because of the way maize is grown it generally receives all of its fertiliser and nitrogen requirements at drilling,” Ryan explains. 

“However, maize actually has a large nitrogen requirement later on in its growth stages. By applying Instinct and keeping the nitrogen in its most available form for longer you’re making it more available at that later time when the maize needs it the most.”

Economic benefits

The economic case for using Instinct is also compelling. “By applying Instinct, which is a fraction of the cost of nitrogen, farmers could potentially apply less artificial nitrogen because they’re getting more from what they are applying and getting increased nitrogen availability from their manure applications. By making it more available for longer, you lose less so you don’t need to apply as much,” explains Ryan.

“You don’t need to necessarily change what you put on, Instinct just makes everything work better and more economically.”

As well as maize, the stabiliser can be used on cereals, oilseed rape, sugar beet, potatoes, and grass. 

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Mr Keyte manages Ragley Home Farms in Alcester, Warwickshire. Of the farm’s 1,600 arable hectares, half is in production while the remainder is in the mid-tier stewardship scheme or under SFI.  

“We’ve 15 soil types here – everything from sand to blue clay,” explains Mr Keyte. “Even though our average field size is just 6-6.5ha, we can go from one extreme to another in a single field. It makes farming complicated and is why there are so many crops in the rotation.” 

Ragley Home Farms produces winter oilseed rape, winter barley, borage, spring barley, oats and winter wheat. Some land is rented out for vegetable production and the farm is home to 1,000 sheep.  

Autumn drilling falls into three windows 

“Due to black-grass we used to hold back drilling until mid-October. This year we started sowing winter wheat on 16^th September but had to put the drill back in the shed on 21^st September when it started raining,” says Mr Keyte.  

Other than a small window around 5^th October when some oats and wheat were sown, the drill wasn’t in the field again until 6^th November when Mr Keyte completed sowing 325ha in ten days.   

According to the local BASF Agronomy Manager, Colin Mountford-Smith, Mr Keyte’s situation is typical of the region.   

“Most of the growers in central & west midlands got their planned acreage drilled this past autumn,” he says. “The West of the region had a good window early in the season, and again from the middle to the end of October. This was when most of the acreage went in the ground. Andrew’s further east, and was unlucky to have this window short cut. 

“Unfortunately, at the back end of the season, emerging crops faced a lot of rainfall, leading to some re-drilling or backward or thinner crops.”

Drilling date, weather and soil type lead to variable establishment  

While drilling date and weather have been important factors, soil type has often determined how well crops have established at Ragley Home Farms.  

“In the main, the September drilled winter wheat got away well. Some of the Extase even got a bit ahead of itself and we might hold back fertiliser to try and let it catch up.  We have also got wheat from this early drilling slot that went into lighter land that suffered with the heavy rain – the soil capped and the crop got wet before it had a chance to establish.  It hasn’t recovered.  

“The October drilled crops generally look okay, but the November-drilled wheat is also variable.”   

Fungicide programmes to kick off with broad-spectrum products  

As well as working out which fields to redrill this spring, Mr Keyte is thinking about his fungicide programme for the season. 

“We’ve not sat down and drawn up the season’s programmes yet but as we spotted brown rust coming through in the Crusoe when crop walking on the 14^th February, we’ll be applying a fairly strong T0 on some of the crops. Last year we’d a tebuconazole mix but I think there’s more disease around this year and some of the crops went into the ground earlier.” 

Mr Mountford-Smith agrees, adding: “With the relatively mild autumn and winter, there’s potential for high pressure from all the major diseases this year and anything that was drilled early will be more vulnerable. These crops, in particular, would benefit from the broad-spectrum control Revystar XE offers early in fungicide programmes.  

“Across 31 BASF and independent trials we’ve seen it consistently outperform Ascra Xpro at T1 giving, on average, a 0.21t/ha uplift in yield¹. This season Revysol-based products will offer fantastic value on farm and definitely feature in the programme.“ 

“Revysol can also help to protect other chemistry within the programme which have a higher resistance risk.  The newer SDHIs and Qiis for instance, when used at high rates can apply a higher selection pressure and should be protected.”

Reducing the risk of resistance developing is a consideration for Mr Keyte when putting together his fungicide programmes. 

“We follow the advice from the manufacturers, use a variety of modes of action, pay attention to rates and try not to use the same active ingredients too often. We don’t want to be losing any fungicides through misuse,” he says. 

With such a wide variety of crops to manage this spring, Mr Keyte is likely to have a variety of programmes depending on yield potential and disease pressure. 

“Thinner crops will have ‘as little as possible, but as much as necessary’ but those with potential will have whatever they need to keep them clean. With so much of the winter wheat not likely to yield what it should, we need to get the most out of those that will. 

“For now, however, it’s about fertiliser applications and trying to move some of those more backwards crops forward.” 

_{¹ Based on rates of 0.75-litres/ha of Revystar XE and 1.0l/ha AscraXpro}

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At this year’s BeetTech25 conference, the BBRO covered four key areas which interim head Professor Mark Stevens said are the details growers need to take heed of in order to grow a successful sugar beet crop. These are:

• Check farm hygiene – By managing potential host plants and residues for pest and disease infection, your IPM is taken care of, so ensure spoil heaps and overwintered weeds are either destroyed or removed
• Consider potential nematode risks – For example soil type, moisture and cropping history, and consider BCN tolerant varieties where necessary
• Timely cover crop destruction – This will lead to better seed bed consolidation, better establishment and, ultimately, yield
• Weed issues – What and where are your weed issues? Plan ahead to keep on top of these.

Farm hygiene

Prof Stevens explained that, with question marks over the future availability of plant protection products, and following DEFRA’s announcement in late January that the neonicotinoid sugar beet seed treatment Cruiser SB would not be available to growers in 2025, the need to use a diverse range of IPM approaches is vital. He pointed out that it’s better to deal with these issues before they establish, especially as growers can no longer rely on cold winter temperatures; although he pointed out that the cold weather at the beginning of 2025 will have helped somewhat.

“We anticipate that aphids will probably not start coming into the crop until about the middle of May, which is very different to where we have been in the last couple of years, when we were seeing aphids arriving in the third week of March or early April,” he said, explaining that this could alleviate aphid pressure on young crops at the cotyledon stage.

Should insecticide sprays be required, the two active substances available to growers are acetamiprid (Insyst) and flonicamid (Teppeki or Afinto). BBRO will be operating its aphid monitoring programme this season, which will extend to 46 monitoring sites.

Prof Stevens also said that BBRO is working with NFU Sugar to request emergency authorisation for an additional spray of Insyst.

It was mentioned that while there are potential new insecticides in the pipeline, it will take some time before they are made available to growers – not before 2026, at the earliest.

Where possible, site at-risk crops away from known sources of infection. Spoil heaps need to be regularly monitored for new growth and sprayed or removed, ideally.

Nematodes

Dr Alistair Wright discussed concerns around beet cyst nematodes (BCN) and free-living nematodes (FLN), with BCN now being seen in patches across all four sugar beet factory areas. He explained that for some farmers who have not previously suffered with nematode issues, the recent increase to cover crop mixes does raise the need for better understanding as some species may act as hosts to both nematodes and other pests and diseases.

Dr Wright explained that once BCN has infested the soil, it’s something “you won’t be able to get rid of”, with garlic-based nematicide Nemguard, used for docking disorder, not being a suitable option. Instead, he recommends growing a BCN-tolerant variety where BCN is a known issue. For the 2025 season, there are four BCN-tolerant varieties available to growers – Harryetta KWS, Katjana KWS, Daphna and Button.

Cover crops

While growers are keen to use cover crops for the soil health benefits they can bring, care must be taken when it comes to managing the green bridge effect they provide to both virus and aphids, warned BBRO applied crop scientist, Dr Georgina Barratt.

Timing of destruction is also a consideration. Some cover crops have higher frost susceptibility than others, and these differences can be seen within various cover crop mixes. One of the examples given by Dr Barratt was a black oat and vetch mix, where frost had destroyed the vetch leaving only straw, but the black oats survived.

For any growers using glyphosate for green cover crop destruction, Dr Barratt reiterated the importance of following stewardship guidelines.

BBRO offers a full Cover Crop Guide, which lists the various information regarding different cover crops and the risks and benefits to sugar beet growers.

Weed control

Pam Chambers of British Sugar discussed weed control in sugar beet. “Taking time to plan weed control before drilling is time well spent,” she commented, urging growers to consider the following:

• Look at the history of the field and note the weed species expected
• Review previous years’ weed control – what did and didn’t work? Will you use a pre-emergence herbicide?
• Conventional or SMART varieties? Monitor the presence or absence of BCN, ALS resistance and weed beet when making varietal choices for individual fields
• What products are available; should you use straights or formulated products, what best fits your situation and is there any cost benefit to one over the other?
• What will your weed control strategy cost be?
• Identify problem weeds to create a long-term control strategy across the farm
• Cultural control – what opportunities are there? Aim to use sugar beet as a ‘cleaning crop’.

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“Glyphosate is probably the most important herbicide for UK farmers and there is no obvious replacement hence any case of resistance is concerning,” says John Cussans principle weed science consultant at ADAS who led the research.

“But we must retain perspective; it’s resistance in one weed species on one farm, it is not a widespread problem yet. For context, over the period 2018 to 2023 we have collated data for samples of Italian ryegrass which were submitted for standard resistance tests. They have been screened with glyphosate, and we have not found a single resistant sample. This single case does however serve as a firm reminder of the importance of glyphosate stewardship otherwise we are likely to see more cases.”

At present, in addition to the one confirmed case, three suspect populations of Italian ryegrass are under investigation with results expected later this year. To date, Italian ryegrass is the only weed with suspect populations in the UK. Extensive testing of black-grass and a 2023 survey of 166 brome samples found no populations of concern.

“Experience from around the world suggests ryegrass species are high-risk with regards to glyphosate resistance. Globally, there are several cases of resistance in annual ryegrass Lolium rigidum and Italian ryegrass Lolium multiflorum.

“However, other weeds can also develop resistance; glyphosate stewardship concerns every farmer, not just those managing Italian ryegrass. We know that herbicide resistance tends to develop field-by-field so farmers can work to maintain glyphosate efficacy on their farm.”

Reducing resistance risk

There are fundamental stewardship steps that all farmers using glyphosate need to take. On top of that, farmers with higher risk systems have to be extra vigilant and consider adjusting their approach to reduce selection pressure for glyphosate resistance.

“From the cases we know about, the two main risk factors are Italian ryegrass populations and little or no mechanical weeding through cultivation in the system. There are many good reasons for a reduced cultivation system, but for all the benefits, more focus on glyphosate stewardship is one of the trade-offs in such a system.

“Of course, cultivation doesn’t give farmers a free pass. They should also follow good stewardship practice, but they have more tools available.”

Use a sufficient dose of glyphosate to kill all target weeds because any weed which survives a glyphosate application is a potential resistance risk. Selecting the right rate for the size and hardest to kill species in the weed spectrum is the starting point. Correct application technique ensures the required rate reaches the intended target.

There are many aspects of sprayer setup, maintenance and operation that can influence application quality. Nozzle choice, forward speed of no more than 12 km/hour and water quality are three of the most important. 

At the time of application, weeds should be actively growing to allow translocation of glyphosate throughout the plant for effective control. Do not apply to plants under stress such as waterlogging, drought or during very cold weather. Also, avoid applications during the stem extension phase of growth because the glyphosate is translocated to the growing tip but not to the roots leading to potential regrowth.

Repeat applications of glyphosate to the same individual weed is a major resistance risk. A small number of weeds often survive a herbicide application. In all likelihood, this is not due to resistance but because of application or field effects. Take no chances, ensure survivors are controlled with another chemical mode of action or non-chemical method.

More information on effective glyphosate stewardship is available in the 2021 WRAG publication ‘Guidelines for minimising the risk of glyphosate resistance in the UK’.

Dealing with suspect cases

Early intervention is vital to minimise the risk of development of more cases of resistance. Work with a BASIS-qualified advisor to investigate any instances of poor control from glyphosate.

“The vast majority of cases of sub-optimal control with glyphosate will have nothing to do with resistance. It will be due to the application rate, timing or conditions. Spring 2024 is a good case in point, many farmers suffered from poor control for one or more of these reasons.”

“If you’ve ruled out the obvious causes, then seek further advice and consider a resistance test. Take a precautionary approach; the absolute key element of stewardship is to prevent any suspect population which has survived a well-timed and appropriate glyphosate application from setting seed. Consider non-chemical intervention, such as mechanical weeding through cultivation, or in extremis ploughing and be rigorous with machine hygiene.”

Industry response

As the market leader in glyphosate herbicides, Bayer has commented that it is following the situation closely. Nevertheless, Bayer said it anticipates that glyphosate will remain a core pillar of integrated weed management on farm which is the experience in other markets with cases of resistance.

It is important to emphasise that this is one case of resistance in one weed species. Bayer regularly screens black-grass, Italian ryegrass and other weed species within its own resistance monitoring programme and has found no populations of concern for glyphosate in the UK.

Reducing the risk of further cases of resistance should remain a priority for all farmers, advisors and registration holders. Bayer is committed to promoting awareness of the established guidelines for glyphosate stewardship. Resistance tends to develop within the field, so farmers’ actions directly affect the likelihood of resistance developing on farm.

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Technical support manager for Techneat, James English, confirmed: “The 24m Multicast Twin Air now comes with the option of a more flexible 400 litre sized hopper, together with new cover crop cartridges available alongside existing Avadex, grass seed and small seed versions.

“For enhanced operator control, the Twin Air’s two control systems offer half width shut off with the addition of a new electro-hydraulic control system that reduces the amount of spool valves required to operate the sprayer boom, making the operation of the machine easier.

“Finally, a high-output hydraulic fan delivers increased airflow when carrying the Avadex granules or seed to double spreader plates mounted at 500mm spacings along the boom. The Multicast Twin Air is available as a 24–36m ‘self-fit’ kit or can be fitted by most UK sprayer manufacturers,” he concludes.

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This marks the beginning of an exciting and strategic partnership between two trusted names in the agricultural industry.

Carr’s Billington supplies an extensive range of farming and agricultural solutions, serving customers with dedication and expertise. With a strong reputation for customer service and a commitment to quality, Carr’s Billington is an ideal partner to represent Merlo’s innovative range of telehandlers.

Merlo UK national sales manager, Owen Buttle commented: “Carr’s Billington is a trusted supplier of leading agricultural brands, and this partnership represents Merlo’s continued commitment to strengthening its dealer network, and providing agriculture customers, across the North of England with strong and comprehensive coverage. We are delighted to welcome Carr’s Billington to the Merlo dealer network.”

Exciting opportunites for customers

He continued: “As well as sales and installations, Carr’s Billington offers exceptional service, repairs as well as stocking a wide range of fast-moving parts. This level of support ensures customers receive the best experience with their Merlo products.

Reflecting on the new partnership, Carr’s Billington machinery director, Tom Jobling, added: “Following a thorough evaluation of suppliers and key brands, we are excited to add the Merlo product range to fill a gap and strengthen our portfolio.

“The Merlo agreement is a significant addition to our range and presents exciting opportunites for our customers. We look forward to expanding our offering and forging a successful partnership with Merlo.”

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Jim, who has been working successfully with maize growers in Cumbria and South-West Scotland for 15 years, still sees maize as the top performing forage crop with significant potential for market growth under the Sustainable

“Farming Incentive. He also feels it’s still the key break crop for wheat, due to its ability to achieve higher gross margins than most other crops. However, when it comes to selecting the right variety, the path isn’t always a clear one, as he explains.

“Maize doesn’t travel well, so what you often find is that varieties that performed well in one region of the UK don’t necessarily replicate that performance elsewhere due to differences in weather and soil types. The agronomic standard of maize varieties has also improved tremendously during the last 10 years and, whilst that’s a positive, it also makes variety choice more difficult given there’s now a bigger talent pool for growers to consider.

“When I began regional maize trials 20 years ago, we would trial 30–40 varieties from which possibly 6–8 varieties would perform well and go on to be recommended for on-farm trials with customers. Now, we have to look far more closely at year-on-year consistency, separating the very good varieties from the good ones by extending regional trials over two years before recommending a new variety to farmers.

“Following some challenging growing conditions for maize in recent years where a lack of summer sunshine has often resulted in the FAO maturity date of many maize crops stalling, many growers are once again facing difficult late season harvesting conditions.

“Given these weather patterns could become the ‘new normal’, I would certainly advise growers to look at earlier maturing varieties for 2025, given the potential weather problems when harvesting later maturing varieties.

“I can also see a future trend towards earlier maturing, dual-use varieties and predict that many maize growers may even trade-off a small percentage of yield in order to lift their crops 2–3 weeks earlier if adverse harvest conditions continue to persist in the future.”

Key statistics  

“When weighing up the key statistics on the DL, I’d also advise growers to look at both starch content and dry matter yield (DM) rather than focusing solely on fresh-weight yield. Other key considerations should be usage: grain, biogas or feed – and what you intend to sow after the maize, whether it be wheat, a cover crop or something else.

“If you’re intending to grow maize on rented land, then you must soil sample before planting and get the nutrition strategy right from the get-go. Ultimately, it’s all about what suits your farming system best and managing expectations.

“With results in from this year’s HLH maize trials it’s worth highlighting the new maize variety Hagrid, marketed in the UK by independent seed breeder, Elsoms Seeds. High yielding, with an excellent DM percentage it definitely looks one to watch,” he confirms.

Complexity of choice

Supporting Jim’s views on the complexity of varietal choice in the UK maize market, Daniel Ott, product manager maize international for German breeder Saaten Union, sees the strong historical link between successful maize varieties bred in Germany that then prove well adapted to UK conditions as a good starting point when selecting the right variety.

He adds: “As a leading maize breeder, Saaten Union have a trials network of over 70 locations, including three in the UK, across 16 countries with over 6,000 trial plots, so we know we have the right tools to breed varieties that can thrive in UK soils and climatic conditions. We also deliberately trial in locations where we can expect stressful conditions.

“For example, on very light and sandy soils, cold heavy soils and in sites with little annual rainfall to test drought stress during flowering.  Having access to a large, diverse range of new varieties, we are then able to tailor these varieties to specific end use markets such as energy maize, silage or grain.

“Whilst the number of the varieties on the UK DL is significant, in Germany we have 252 silage and 184 grain varieties along with many other EU registered varieties available to growers, so the decision-making process is just as, if not more, complex from a numbers perspective.

“For UK growers, usage, FAO maturity dates and yield are still key factors supported by an understanding that the UK climate may mean later harvest dates now becoming the new normal with growers leaning towards use of earlier maturing varieties.  

“Having experienced a lot of success in the UK with SU Neutrino, a high-yielding biogas variety, we have now successfully launched SU Addition, a multi-use earlier maturing variety that produces high-energy, highly digestible quality silage for feeding, biogas and corn-cob mix. It’s UK registered, available to farmers for the 2025 season and is specifically bred to perform consistently in UK conditions,” he concludes.

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Hosted by the England family in Warboys, Suffolk, the trials site is part of the Hutchinsons Helix initiative, and is dedicated to testing out environmental stewardship options which fall under the Sustainable Farming Incentive part of ELMS.

During the open day, growers could join a tour of the crop plots, in which they could learn about the different stewardship mixes, learn how to establish them successfully and discuss the benefits they deliver to biodiversity and soil health.

Getting the right benefits

Alice Cannon, agronomist and regional technical support manager, talked through selecting the right cover crop species, in order to address identified needs, and build diversity into the rotation.

She said it’s not just about getting the payment for the SFI option – it’s important to ensure your farm gets the right benefits from the cover crop, too.

Phacelia, she explained, is fantastic for pollinators. However, it can be a bit of a nightmare to manage once it sets seed – but with a challenging soil comprising Grade 1 Fenland and heavy clay-based soils on at the Warboys site, the phacelia helps to crumble the soil surface, creating a friable layer and giving better seed-to-soil ratios.

“Diversity is the absolute key when selecting covers. Cover crops won’t work 6–7 inches down – that’s for the metal to take care of. But creating that friable, structured soil near the top is where they excel,” Ms Cannon shared.

She added that turning to the spade and having a dig to see what’s going on underneath is really important for greater soil management.

“For the 2024 SFI options, phacelia works well because you need a herb, a legume, a cereal or an oilseed in a lot of the spring or summer cover crop options, compared to the 2023 options where you only needed two species for the winter cover or companion crop options,” Ms Cannon commented.

The management and termination of covers was also an important consideration when deciding what to grow, she said.

“White mustard, for example, is cheap, and can do a great job for soil structure given its deep tap root. But it does have a high carbon:nitrogen ratio, which means that if it’s not managed correctly, there can sometimes be a yield loss of 30–50% in the following spring cereal as so much nitrogen is used by the soil biology to breakdown all that carbon.

“It also wraps around the drill, so while the biomass above the ground is helpful for pollinators etc, it needs to be managed properly for the following commercial crop. It has to be sprayed off 6–8 weeks before drilling your commodity crop, or alternatively, and preferably, use it more sparingly within a wider cover crop mix.

“Every species has its pros and cons, so you need to understand those fully to deliver the benefits you want, both above and below ground. And if you’re intending to drill your cover crops beyond September, you’re seriously limiting the benefits they will bring.”

Understand and manage soil impacts

Trials at the Warboys site have highlighted one potential risk that should be considered when planning to grow a multi-year stewardship mix containing a high proportion of legumes.

The work found that the sudden release of natural nitrogen that built up in the root nodules over the course of a four-year AB15 grass-free legume fallow (containing vetch, clover, sainfoin, lucerne and others) acted as a “super food” for soil biology, prompting a spike in the consumption of organic matter, that in turn, caused soil aggregates to collapse.

“Soil aggregates form around organic matter, so when that is consumed, the structure collapses, causing the soil to become tight,” Hutchinsons technical manager, Dick Neale, explained. “The soil’s not compacted, and is still in good condition, full of roots, with decent infiltration, but it does need to be managed carefully to open that structure back up.”

A comparison of a multi-species MaxiCover mix versus just wheat grown in plastic grow tubes neatly illustrates this. The mix of root architecture and depths in the MaxiCover mix leaves a stable, moist, friable soil, whereas the wheat is a dense mat of roots.

“It’s still good rooting and soil aggregation, but with such a thick mat of root, it could be tricky to drill into and achieve good seed-to-soil contact, especially when you consider a disc drill travelling at 10kph has around seven hundredths of a second to cut a slot, place a seed, and cover it over with the press wheel,” explained Mr Neale.

Combining commodities with cover crops

Charles Parkinson farms on brashy soil in Stamford, Lincolnshire. The rotation of wheat, barley, winter oats, winter beans and winter OSR is joined by rotational land in the NUM3 legume fallow under SFI, as well as 60ha of unproductive land under wild bird cover mixes. A total of around 10% of the farm is guaranteed an income under SFI, but Charles has stacked yield maps to work out the productivity and profitability of each area in order to get the best out of his land.

“We also undertake companion cropping, with berseem clover and buckwheat alongside OSR, for pest control and soil health. Where it’s profitable to grow commodity crops we do, but where it’s not we can guarantee an income for that land under SFI,” commented Charles.

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“The rains washed away the threat of virus yellows, whilst good summer temperatures have helped the crop to pile on yield in recent weeks, while the incidence of foliar disease is mercifully low so far, says SESVanderHave trials manager, Wayne Tonge.

“We have started harvesting replicated plots testing the next generation genetics and treatments with our bespoke mobile tarehouse.”

In parallel, broader screening of commercial performance across the network of Club SV Growers continues apace, with early indications of good yields, sugar contents and low impurities from new varieties Gadwall and Hoopoe, the company says.

“Results from our beet cyst nematode trials for Hoopoe are demonstrating superior performance to Jackdaw which many growers planted this spring,” comments Mr Tonge.

READ MORE: Maximise yield and sugar content during harvesting

READ MORE: Sugar beet growers begin harvest for 2024/25 campaign

Mobile strip trial harvest

The mobile strip trial harvest is proving extremely popular with Club SV growers, and is generating considerable interest when neighbours see how easy and fast the process is, according to SESVanderHave’s newest employee, seed sales adviser, Hector Adcock.

“It’s giving growers some really useful insights into performance. Combined with our drone image analysis, linked weather station network and the immediacy of generating data and the ability to sequential harvest using GPS locators, it’s proving an extremely powerful tool.”

There is, however, considerable field variability as expected after late drilling and high pressure from damping off and soil pest complex, but results are giving growers instant insight into real-time performance on their own farms with their own inputs and agronomy.

SESVanderHave says it is committed to continue investing in extending its trials network from the current 90ha to ensure growers have access to more relatable and reliable data.

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Preserving sugar content during harvesting, cleaning and loading is a priority, especially whilst temperatures remain warm. Target optimum crowning, low levels of root damage and bruising, minimal time in clamp, especially large clamps containing large amounts of soil and green material.

To minimise root breakage, avoid running the harvester too aggressively. Assess for root breakage and bruising at the clamp. Check for any over crowning and loss of yield. Use the BBRO ‘Harvesting Assessment Guide’ for assessing losses.

Ensure a regular dialogue between harvester and haulier and avoid leaving large clamps for longer than necessary before delivery, particularly given current temperatures. Avoid too much soil and top in clamps. Avoid leaving large clamps (more than 2m in height) with lots of soil and tops for more than a few days in warm conditions.

Foliar diseases  

Incidences of foliar disease are widespread but at a low level.

BBRO’s cercospora monitoring programme is now coming to an end, with the data collected from the spornado monitoring traps providing a clear insight into spore release. 

The risk forecast (based on forecasted weather conditions) has only triggered in a few areas, in which cercospora has been found. There have been pockets of cercospora found across the growing region, which may be linked more to local factors.  

If you are planning late lifting, you may want to consider a third fungicide to keep your canopy as healthy as possible, making the most of both late sunlight and frost protection. 

The latest results from the BBRO Spornado spore monitoring network (week 36) show the areas in which cercospora spores have been captured during the week commencing 2nd September, with no newly developed disease found in crop:  

At a recent BeetField event at Yaxley, Cambridgeshire, professor Mark Stevens, head of science and interim head of BBRO, offered the following eight-point plan for autumn disease management: 

The BBRO Plant Clinic is a free service to sugar beet growers, offering an initial response to enquiries within 48 hours. Find more information here.

READ MORE: Sugar beet growers begin harvest for 2024/25 campaign

READ MORE: Two sugar beet factories open as 2024/25 campaign begins 

Weed beet and bolters  

Keep on top of weed beet and bolters as these have increasingly been seen in crops. One weed beet could produce 1,500 viable seeds, this is of particular concern for anyone using Conviso Smart technology.

One of the key stewardship actions to preserve the longevity of this chemistry is to ensure scrupulous removal of bolters to prevent seed shed and a problem developing where the seed bank becomes contaminated with weed beet tolerant to ALS-chemistry.

Consequently planning, meticulous management and attention to detail is vital – and cost effective for all growers.

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