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Wheat disease management guide updated for 2008

Resistance can dramatically affect fungicide performance so new information should be taken into account when planning programmes. The HGCA Wheat Disease Management Guide has been updated for 2008. The guide aims to support growers in their decision-making on many aspects of disease management in wheat.

"Although British farmers can produce high-yielding wheat crops of good quality, disease management is essential to realise a crop's yield and quality potential," said Professor Graham Jellis, HGCA's director of research. "Fungicide use is very cost-effective and when fungicide inputs are not optimal, gross margins are reduced. Wheat price has relatively little effect on optimum input levels"

The largest individual project that HGCA funds outside of the Recommended Lists, is the independent trialling of fungicide performance in winter wheat, and the results from this work feature in the new Wheat Disease Management Guide. It also covers crop physiology and a description of root and stem-base diseases, foliar diseases and ear diseases. Subsequent sections provide guidance on estimating disease risk and the relative performance of fungicide treatments. 

"By looking at the performance of the fungicides available, the guide will help growers develop a spray programme," said Graham Jellis. "It has the latest information on activity ratings against diseases such as eyespot, yellow and brown rust and septoria tritici. The guide also stresses the importance of considering varietal resistance when planning a fungicide programme. Effective varietal resistance is now available to allow considerable cost savings in controlling some diseases, yet such savings are not generally made in practice."

"Fungicides should be matched to the primary disease risk, which depends mainly on variety, sowing date, location and local weather. Often fungicide mixtures with different properties, from different fungicide groups, are most effective.

To help select appropriate dose see the Fungicide performance tool on the HGCA website. More information on wheat, and other cereal, diseases can be found in the HGCA/BASF Encyclopaedia of Cereal Diseases which will be available shortly. The HGCA Wheat Disease Management Guide is also available at www.hgca.com. A printed copy of the guide is available on request from HGCA.

Release date: 1 April 2008

For further information contact:
Graham Jellis, HGCA Director of Research, 020 7520 3932 graham.jellis@hgca.com
Madeleine Archer, HGCA Press Officer, 020 7520 3926 madeleine.archer@hgca.com