Speaking at the SRUC’s annual Agronomy 2018 event at the Carfraemill Lodge in Lauder, Dr Fiona Burnett, head of Crop and Soil Systems at SRUC, asked farmers to consider the need for timing one (T1) applications, especially of SDHI fungicides, if crops were showing minimal disease challenge.

“It’s all about finding win-wins, really. Extra timings add unnecessary cost as well as fuelling resistance,” she said. It comes as the latest evidence from the AHBD fungicide performance trials suggest a decrease in SDHI efficacy.

With new fungicide chemistry still a number of years away, she reminded farmers of the importance of protecting the present tools available to combat diseases to bridge this high risk period.

Dr Neil Harvis, crop protection team leader with the SRUC, also stated that ramularia in spring barley could be an issue this year following the epidemic that was reported across the UK in 2017. He stressed the importance of multisites, like chlorothalonil, where ramularia control is required with SDHIs and azoles efficacy reduced in 2017 trials.