Article taken from the Agronomist & Arable Farmer
Tightening EU regulation may be threatening the existence of some core active ingredients and the efficacy of many others through label changes, but it is also galvanising researchers to develop novel solutions to maintain profitable arable crop production in the UK.
This fresh thinking could produce better results than are being achieved by conventional chemistry, believes Craig Morgan, Agrovista’s head of technical research and development.
Speaking at the recent CropTec event at Peterborough on the topic of Practical Solutions were already showing plenty of promise despite being in their infancy. “The political and regulatory landscape is changing, though the full extent is not yet defined. This makes it difficult from an R&D perspective in trying to second guess what might happen, but we are doing our best.”
Agrovista’s Trials
Nowhere is this clearer than in Agrovista’s own trials. “We have moved away from simple product comparisons and are now actively looking at solutions and programmes in preparation for the changes that lie ahead,” he said. These include work examining new uses for existing chemistry to help offset the potential loss of cereal and OSR herbicides and fungicides.
“We have taken existing chemistry and introduced it to new cops,” Craig explained. “Agrovista already has two patents for use of old chemistry, one as a cereal herbicide, one as an OSR herbicide.
“We are also looking at different timings and techniques, particularly on cereal fungicides, and we are coupling all that in with some imagery technology to help growers identify problems and improve control.”
Moving away from chemistry, Agrovista has started assessing different cropping patterns to improve weed control and relieve the pressure on current chemistry, particularly in the blackgrass sphere. The use of a black oat and vetch cover crop to integrate grassweed control with spring cropping on heavy land is showing particular promise.
“Our success in year one was phenomenal,” said Craig. “We reduced our heavy population of black-grass to a level below 5 heads/m². In addition, we don’t use any ALS chemistry in these programmes and potentially we will use less fungicide too.”
Further work aims to improve application technology. Agrovista is using a commercial sprayer rather than hand-held equipment to assess the impact of application speeds, nozzle type, angle pressure, water volume and drift under realistic commercial sprayer rather than hand-held equipment to assess the impact of application speeds, nozzle type, angle, pressure, water volume and drift under realistic commercial conditions.
A Key focus is maintaining efficacy when using drift reduction technology in aquatic buffer zones, which could increase to 30m in the near future, said Craig. “There is fantastic work looking at the impact of drift reduction on non-target areas. But there is no work looking at the effect of this technology on control, and that is one of my biggest fears about this changing legislation.
“This technology could have some big impacts on biological performance of pesticides, and our work is clearly showing some big differences.”
OSR establishment is also being assessed, including the use of wider rows to allow a total herbicide to be applied between the rows. This means selective herbicides are only applied to the rows themselves. “We are probably using about one-third of the dose that would normally be applied overall, helping to stop these actives getting into water,” said Craig. “Coupled with that, companion planting – sowing berseem clover and vetches in the OSR rows, is massively improving soil structure and there does seem to be some impact on pest control too, which we will explore further.”
Summary
Summing up, Craig said some regulatory changes would cause problems, particularly in the fungicide sector. But some would also provide new opportunities and spur the industry to do things differently. “they might make us look at growing crops in a different way, bringing some new thinking that, in turn, could create some new solutions,” he concluded.
Loss of Actives – Key Factors
- EU regulatory position – 87 actives under threat:
- 17 insecticides – 10 at high risk
- 35 herbicides – 17 at high risk
- 32 fungicides – 12 considered high risk
- Three others – two at high risk
- Two molluscicides – both at high risk
- Water Framework Directive
- Drift control
- Label changes
- Rates/maximum number of applications
- Timings
- Wider buffer zones and drift reduction technology
- Weed and disease resistance:
- New techniques/timings
Tightening EU regulation may be threatening the existence of some core active ingredients and the efficacy of many others through label changes, but it is also galvanising researchers to develop novel solutions to maintain profitable arable crop production in the UK.
This fresh thinking could produce better results than are being achieved by conventional chemistry, believes Craig Morgan, Agrovista’s head of technical research and development.
Speaking at the recent CropTec event at Peterborough on the topic of Practical Solutions were already showing plenty of promise despite being in their infancy. “The political and regulatory landscape is changing, though the full extent is not yet defined. This makes it difficult from an R&D perspective in trying to second guess what might happen, but we are doing our best.”
Agrovista’s Trials
Nowhere is this clearer than in Agrovista’s own trials. “We have moved away from simple product comparisons and are now actively looking at solutions and programmes in preparation for the changes that lie ahead,” he said. These include work examining new uses for existing chemistry to help offset the potential loss of cereal and OSR herbicides and fungicides.
“We have taken existing chemistry and introduced it to new cops,” Craig explained. “Agrovista already has two patents for use of old chemistry, one as a cereal herbicide, one as an OSR herbicide.
“We are also looking at different timings and techniques, particularly on cereal fungicides, and we are coupling all that in with some imagery technology to help growers identify problems and improve control.”
Moving away from chemistry, Agrovista has started assessing different cropping patterns to improve weed control and relieve the pressure on current chemistry, particularly in the blackgrass sphere. The use of a black oat and vetch cover crop to integrate grassweed control with spring cropping on heavy land is showing particular promise.
“Our success in year one was phenomenal,” said Craig. “We reduced our heavy population of black-grass to a level below 5 heads/m². In addition, we don’t use any ALS chemistry in these programmes and potentially we will use less fungicide too.”
Further work aims to improve application technology. Agrovista is using a commercial sprayer rather than hand-held equipment to assess the impact of application speeds, nozzle type, angle pressure, water volume and drift under realistic commercial sprayer rather than hand-held equipment to assess the impact of application speeds, nozzle type, angle, pressure, water volume and drift under realistic commercial conditions.
A Key focus is maintaining efficacy when using drift reduction technology in aquatic buffer zones, which could increase to 30m in the near future, said Craig. “There is fantastic work looking at the impact of drift reduction on non-target areas. But there is no work looking at the effect of this technology on control, and that is one of my biggest fears about this changing legislation.
“This technology could have some big impacts on biological performance of pesticides, and our work is clearly showing some big differences.”
OSR establishment is also being assessed, including the use of wider rows to allow a total herbicide to be applied between the rows. This means selective herbicides are only applied to the rows themselves. “We are probably using about one-third of the dose that would normally be applied overall, helping to stop these actives getting into water,” said Craig. “Coupled with that, companion planting – sowing berseem clover and vetches in the OSR rows, is massively improving soil structure and there does seem to be some impact on pest control too, which we will explore further.”
Summary
Summing up, Craig said some regulatory changes would cause problems, particularly in the fungicide sector. But some would also provide new opportunities and spur the industry to do things differently. “they might make us look at growing crops in a different way, bringing some new thinking that, in turn, could create some new solutions,” he concluded.
Loss of Actives – Key Factors
- EU regulatory position – 87 actives under threat:
- 17 insecticides – 10 at high risk
- 35 herbicides – 17 at high risk
- 32 fungicides – 12 considered high risk
- Three others – two at high risk
- Two molluscicides – both at high risk
- Water Framework Directive
- Drift control
- Label changes
- Rates/maximum number of applications
- Timings
- Wider buffer zones and drift reduction technology
- Weed and disease resistance:
- New techniques/timings