There can be little doubt that the EU proposal to cut the impact of pesticide use seems to imply a similar impact on pesticide usage. The sector has had enough challenges without this and for some, it may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, or at least it may appear that way.

As we prepare to wrap up most of this season’s crop protection – at least on cereals – we must begin to ask questions about the validity of this final spray.

It is well proven on spring barley, but less so on winter wheat and the dry year to-date must force the question.

For some, it may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back

We are torn between the fact that crops remain generally clean and good weather for flowering should mean much lower risk of ear diseases. But there is an absolute need to maximise grain fill in crops that are nearly all a bit on the thin side. And if temperatures begin to drop, grain fill will last longer.

Reducing usage

Steven Kildea of Teagasc provides advice for these decisions across crops that were racing towards the final hurdle in the recent warm, dry conditions. We might well ask if this season will be remembered in a similar way to 1984, 1985 or 2018.

Is the suggested reduction of 50% in pesticide use a step too far for growers on this island? Teagasc believes that it is, at least until new technologies are developed that are at least as successful as the more traditional tools that we use.

There has been a certain predictability about other diseases, like septoria and ramularia, which make their control inevitable

Predictive risk may be very useful for diseases like BYDV and this technology is being developed at Oak Park and tested at a number of sites. But there has been a certain predictability about other diseases, like septoria and ramularia, which make their control inevitable.

Other developments in technology may also have a role to play in our ability to reduce usage, if the claimed efficiency of delivery can be transferred to the field. We take a look at MagGrow sprayer technology and enquire about its potential to help meet their future requirements.