16 April 2025, UK: With spring barley drilling now well underway across most regions of the UK, it is worth giving some thought now to your fungicide and PGR plans. Correctly tailored fungicide and PGR programmes can help to boost yield and protect grain quality and are therefore critical for achieving malting premiums.
When it comes to disease, the weather is undoubtedly a key factor driving pressure in crops. It is important to take steps to protect your crops for whatever the season brings.
If wet conditions predominate, expect the wet weather diseases of Rhynchosporium and Net Blotch to become an issue. In hotter, humid weather conditions brown rust can be the main risk.
Cultural disease risk factors
While the prevailing weather conditions will undoubtedly have a big impact on disease pressure this year, it is worth being aware of additional cultural factors that also come into play too. Sowing date, variety choice and rotation are some of the key elements to consider here.
Any earlier drilled crops are expected to be at increased risk of disease. With some crops being sown before Christmas and drilling potentially continuing throughout April or even longer in some areas if conditions become difficult, the range of drilling dates nationally could be huge.
Rotation has big implications for disease risk, as growing consecutive barley crops increases the risk of inoculum carryover, particularly important for Rhynchosporium and Net Blotch.
Knowing a varieties resistance to the different diseases can help you to tailor your fungicide programmes accordingly and help achieve the full potential from the genetics.
Syngenta are recommending that all growers review their fungicide programme with a BASIS qualified advisor to ensure it is still appropriate for their individual situation.
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Adapting your fungicide programme
The following is the latest Syngenta fungicide guidance for spring barley:
T0KAYAK®
T1ELATUS® Era
T2MIRAVIS® Plus + ERA®
Early Net BlotchAdd KAYAK®
Low disease levelsTriazole, or ELATUS® Era 0.4 l/ha by spring or winter varieties
Low disease levelsMIRAVIS® Plus + ERA®1.0 – 1.33 l/ha by spring or winter varieties
Other foliar diseasesAdd triazole
Moderate disease levelsELATUS® Era 0.4 – 0.6 l/ha by spring or winter varieties
High disease levelsMIRAVIS® Plus + ERA® 1.25 – 1.5 l/ha by spring or winter varieties
High levels of Net Blotch or RynchosporiumMIRAVIS® Plus + ERA® 1.0 – 1.33 l/ha by spring or winter varieties
Brown rust dominant MIRAVIS® Plus + ERA® + AMISTAR®1.0 – 1.33 + 0.4 l/ha by spring or winter varieties
Protect your crops with a tailored PGR approach
Avoiding lodging is important due to the potential impacts on yield and resulting difficulties with harvest, but lodging can also further negatively impact grain quality which is so important in malting barley crops.
It is important to consider the impacts of drilling on lodging risk. Later drilled crops tend to have less anchorage and are more prone to lodging than earlier drilled spring barley. Use of higher seed rates and higher levels of nitrogen usage can also increase lodging risk.
One MODDUS® application between GS30-32 will give the crop a good foundation, strengthening straw early on. In high-risk areas, a follow up ethephon-based application may be needed, to reduce height and the risk of lodging later in the season. In dry seasons, drought can act as a natural PGR and so rates and applications should be adapted to avoid over-regulation.
Crop
T0 GS30
T1 GS31-32
T2 GS37-39
MODDUS® rate recommended within the PGR programme
Winter Malting Barley(low nitrogen)
–
0.1 – 0.2 l/ha (+ CCC)
Ethephon based product
Spring Barley
0.1 – 0.2 l/ha
Ethephon based product
Adapt rates to local situation and weather conditions.
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