Crop Protection

Assistance to optimise spring grass weed application

13 March 2022, UK: This season, farmers and sprayer operators can receive instant individual advice to optimise every Axial Pro application. Each product box now comes with a QR code for operators to quickly scan and download the invaluable Syngenta Spray Assist App.

Furthermore, the code gives growers and agronomists free access to Syngenta’s powerful Protector digital platform and agronomic management tool for a full crop year.

Syngenta Spray Assist provides an exciting tool to enhance spring grass weed control, as well as ensuring optimum application techniques for other timings and crops throughout the season.  

Simply completing a few details on farm location, and equipment, the App’s powerful algorithms combine a wealth of application trials results with weather data, crop, growth stage and treatment, to compute the optimum sprayer settings and recommendations.

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Syngenta New Farming Technologies application specialist, Harry Fordham, highlighted trials had shown that tailoring Axial Pro application technique to the size of the weed and the crop can significantly enhance results.

“Early applications while weeds and crop are still small, that are the priority to prevent grass weed competition and minimise viable seed return, are best delivered with angled nozzles, producing a medium droplet spectrum at 100 l/ha,” he advised.

“However, as the crop extends above the weeds, a switch to a more vertical nozzle producing a larger droplet spectrum can achieve better penetration through the canopy to reach weed leaves.

“Spray Assist will give the best combination of the operator’s available nozzles and sprayer settings to achieve optimum results in the conditions.”

Using the App’s unique forecast facility for the coming days could potentially enable applications to be adjusted to take advantage of better conditions, where possible.

Spray Assist can be tailored to specific farm situations, to provide advice on a range of 16 crops and over 45 treatments timings, including details for over 600 nozzle options.

The App is part of a suite of Syngenta digital tools developed for growers and agronomists alongside the company’s innovative Protector platform. Integrating customisable farm mapping it enables users to collect, record and analyse observations from their fields on the go.

“Centred on then farm’s location Protector provides agronomic insights to help make informed data-based decisions throughout the season and maximise the potential of crops,” reported Mr Fordham.

The App includes a disease prediction tool that allows growers and agronomists to track the risk level of Septoria, Brown Rust, and Yellow Rust in individual wheat fields.

The predictive model has been built, refined, and validated with Syngenta’s data collected from over 15 years of studies. Risk visualisation gives a five-day summary of the disease risk in individual fields.

Coupled to an detailed 10-day weather forecast, it shows predicted growth stage changes, weather risks and spray window to pre-empt and manage potential threats. Protector has the capability to alert growers or agronomists to increased risks for specific fields or diseases.

The Axial Pro offer makes Spray Assist and Protector available to all customers free for the full season.