Top Crop Manager

Features Agronomy Cereals
Boost to germination, improved emergence bolsters cereal crops

Mar. 30, 2016 - As risk of disease continues to rise across Western Canada and threatens cereal crop quality, effective disease control and strong plant health should be top of mind for growers.

Using an integrated approach to managing cereal seed and soil-borne diseases has been well-established as a best management practice. Testing for germination and vigour, disease prevalence on-seed, and choosing a multiple-mode-of-action seed treatment with activity on the key diseases like F. graminarium, Cochliobolus and Pythium that cause damping off, root rot and seedling blight will help get crops off to a profitable start.

Often not thought of when choosing a seed treatment are the benefits beyond disease control, and what those mean for your cereal crop during the season.

Russell Trischuk, technical marketing specialist for functional crop care at BASF, points to Insure Cereal as a great tool for cereal growers, bringing more than just disease control, but the proven benefits of AgCelence. "It's a three mode-of-action, ready-to-use seed treatment that contains pyraclostrobin, triticonazole and metalaxyl. Because Insure Cereal contains pyraclostrobin, growers can expect to see the benefits of AgCelence early in the season with improved germination, more even emergence, and excellent stress tolerance, especially in cold, wet spring conditions."

Ensuring an even crop emergence has important implications when it comes to properly timing your herbicide and fungicide applications. An evenly staged crop means you can maximize the benefit and efficacy of an in-crop herbicide or fungicide application.

"In more than 40 trials in wheat, we witnessed about a two- to three-bushel advantage over competitive treatments," said Trischuk. "During recent years, we have had a very extensive trial program with this product, which compared it to competitive treatments. When we were in the field, we noticed obvious differences in emergence. We had plants coming out of the ground a lot quicker, and more importantly, a lot more evenly staged."

Saskatchewan grower Chris Wittig, whose operation is located near Quill Lake, confirms the AgCelence benefits of Insure Cereal. "In the last couple of years, we've had some real tough conditions and it's very important for us to get the crop off to a very good start. We've been using Headline and Priaxor on foliar crops for years and with the AgCelence benefits that have been seen with those, we were pretty excited to hear Insure Cereal would include the same benefits in a seed treatment."

Growers can learn more about BASF products at agsolutions.ca.

 

March 31, 2016  By BASF


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