27 May 2011

Second wheat performance could well suffer to an even greater extent than last year, warns Rob Plaice of Monsanto Crop Protection following analysis of this season’s initial NIAB take-all root assessments at HGCA Recommended List trial sites across the country. The GS31 assessments from seven of the eight RL second wheat sites reveal an average Take-all Index of 7.4 on the 1-100 scale in a range of varieties receiving no take-all active seed treatment. Two sites are already showing infection levels of more than 10%.

This is slightly higher than the average 7.0 Index recorded at the sane growth stage in 2010 (when only one site showed infection levels above 10%) despite the noticeably colder early winter and markedly drier spring across the main arable area of the country.

The rest of the article can be read here.