Article taken from South East Farmer Magazine
By Alice DyerGrowers and industry experts met at the Agrovista top fruit and stone fruit technical seminar at Brands Hatch Hotel conference centre to learn about the latest advances the fruit industry.
Horticultural consultant Alex Radu chaired two discussions — the growers choice interactive (GCI) review and the spotted wing drosophila (SWD) update. GCI from Agrovista is an online disease and pest fore-casting service for top fruit growers using the latest com-puter modelling techniques to ensure efficient, timely and effective use of plant protection products. GCI presents weather data, including a 10 day weather forecast, as well as diagnosing timing and sensitivity of scab events, nectria and erwinia events, and the evolution of codling moth activity. In 2014 GCI went through significant changes with RIMpro, changing from a server based software to an iCloud application, allowing it to become a more robust system with the speed of loading model graphs improved. Data from the last year suggested the weather had a big influence on both pest and disease. However significant infections varied dramatically between region and farm.
In some cases, codling moth showed a partial second generation, causing significant damage to fruit, while canker was seen in fruit at harvest and leaf drop before fungicides were applied. Scab varied from location and a new nectria canker model was verified with a significant number of infections reported at the end of the summer and autumn. With a poor outlook on SWD expected for this year, Alex highlighted the importance of preparing for pest control during the winter months with emergency approval expected to be granted on some pesticides. Agrovista recommend the use of Tracer, and Biopest Droso traps to be deployed in wood-land from the end of February. Control of SWD is difficult due to the physiological development of the pest which has a 12 to 79 day life cycle resulting in rapid reproduction, as well as a restricted choice of pesticides available, and the build up of resistance. It is recommended to alternate chemicals to prevent resistance, as well as putting in place a number of cultural controls including crop hygiene, netting and removal of cover post harvest. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) researcher, Louisa Robinson Boyer of Plantworks Ltd, spoke about how food production challenges and yield plateaus can be overcome with the help of microbes.
""Growers need to consider what's going on below the soil surface, and the importance of nutrient uptake," Louisa explained.
""Nutrient uptake can be greatly increased with the help of biological root treat-ments that unlock phosphorus without eliminating chemicals.""
Adding microbes to the soil can also help to alleviate moderate flooding due to improved soil structure and give plants a better chance of survival with microbes only dying if the plant dies. Louisa aimed to create a better understanding regarding the application of management strategy for the use of microbes in commercial situations. High quality mycorrhizal inoculum is available for commercial use at Plantsworks Ltd, which last year produced 100 tonnes of in vivo AMF and can improve fruit production with higher productivity per plant by increasing active uptake surface of a root by up to 700 times. In a recent study one straw-berry grower saw 40% less water use, higher yields and fruit size and quality remaining the same with the help of AMF which creates a symbiotic association between fungus and roots of plants.
Paul Bennett, senior fruit agronomist at Agrovista, assured the audience of growers and industry specialists that ""despite another difficult growing and sales season with more challenges arising it is still possible to be a successful fruit grower."" Discussing phosphites after the European Union pesticide regulatory body has classified all phosphites as PPPs in a new class of products known as biostimulants, Paul explained that a projected change in EU fertiliser regulations proposed that all low rate phosphite applications would come under the revised fertiliser regulations. DEFRA and Chemicals Regulation Directorate have agreed that low dose use of phosphites in the UK — and the fact that they're used as root and leaf promoters — means that they may be used as fertilisers and that they are outside of the EU biostimulant class. Legally, UK phosphite labels must make no fungicidal or biostimulant claims and can only promote leaf, shoot and root development. EU tests in 2014 showed that the current maximum residue level (MRL) of two milligrams a kilogram on some crops was being exceeded due to use of phosphite foliar feeds and the EU imposed a blanket 75mg/kg MRL while discussions were underway. From 1 January this year MRLs reverted to 2mg/kg on some crops including stone fruit, bush fruit and cane fruit. Chlorpyrifos was also restricted to pre bloom on apples, pears and plums meaning spray programmes, particularly in moth control, will need adapting.
By Alice DyerGrowers and industry experts met at the Agrovista top fruit and stone fruit technical seminar at Brands Hatch Hotel conference centre to learn about the latest advances the fruit industry.
Horticultural consultant Alex Radu chaired two discussions — the growers choice interactive (GCI) review and the spotted wing drosophila (SWD) update. GCI from Agrovista is an online disease and pest fore-casting service for top fruit growers using the latest com-puter modelling techniques to ensure efficient, timely and effective use of plant protection products. GCI presents weather data, including a 10 day weather forecast, as well as diagnosing timing and sensitivity of scab events, nectria and erwinia events, and the evolution of codling moth activity. In 2014 GCI went through significant changes with RIMpro, changing from a server based software to an iCloud application, allowing it to become a more robust system with the speed of loading model graphs improved. Data from the last year suggested the weather had a big influence on both pest and disease. However significant infections varied dramatically between region and farm.
In some cases, codling moth showed a partial second generation, causing significant damage to fruit, while canker was seen in fruit at harvest and leaf drop before fungicides were applied. Scab varied from location and a new nectria canker model was verified with a significant number of infections reported at the end of the summer and autumn. With a poor outlook on SWD expected for this year, Alex highlighted the importance of preparing for pest control during the winter months with emergency approval expected to be granted on some pesticides. Agrovista recommend the use of Tracer, and Biopest Droso traps to be deployed in wood-land from the end of February. Control of SWD is difficult due to the physiological development of the pest which has a 12 to 79 day life cycle resulting in rapid reproduction, as well as a restricted choice of pesticides available, and the build up of resistance. It is recommended to alternate chemicals to prevent resistance, as well as putting in place a number of cultural controls including crop hygiene, netting and removal of cover post harvest. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) researcher, Louisa Robinson Boyer of Plantworks Ltd, spoke about how food production challenges and yield plateaus can be overcome with the help of microbes.
""Growers need to consider what's going on below the soil surface, and the importance of nutrient uptake," Louisa explained.
""Nutrient uptake can be greatly increased with the help of biological root treat-ments that unlock phosphorus without eliminating chemicals.""
Adding microbes to the soil can also help to alleviate moderate flooding due to improved soil structure and give plants a better chance of survival with microbes only dying if the plant dies. Louisa aimed to create a better understanding regarding the application of management strategy for the use of microbes in commercial situations. High quality mycorrhizal inoculum is available for commercial use at Plantsworks Ltd, which last year produced 100 tonnes of in vivo AMF and can improve fruit production with higher productivity per plant by increasing active uptake surface of a root by up to 700 times. In a recent study one straw-berry grower saw 40% less water use, higher yields and fruit size and quality remaining the same with the help of AMF which creates a symbiotic association between fungus and roots of plants.
Paul Bennett, senior fruit agronomist at Agrovista, assured the audience of growers and industry specialists that ""despite another difficult growing and sales season with more challenges arising it is still possible to be a successful fruit grower."" Discussing phosphites after the European Union pesticide regulatory body has classified all phosphites as PPPs in a new class of products known as biostimulants, Paul explained that a projected change in EU fertiliser regulations proposed that all low rate phosphite applications would come under the revised fertiliser regulations. DEFRA and Chemicals Regulation Directorate have agreed that low dose use of phosphites in the UK — and the fact that they're used as root and leaf promoters — means that they may be used as fertilisers and that they are outside of the EU biostimulant class. Legally, UK phosphite labels must make no fungicidal or biostimulant claims and can only promote leaf, shoot and root development. EU tests in 2014 showed that the current maximum residue level (MRL) of two milligrams a kilogram on some crops was being exceeded due to use of phosphite foliar feeds and the EU imposed a blanket 75mg/kg MRL while discussions were underway. From 1 January this year MRLs reverted to 2mg/kg on some crops including stone fruit, bush fruit and cane fruit. Chlorpyrifos was also restricted to pre bloom on apples, pears and plums meaning spray programmes, particularly in moth control, will need adapting.