13 March 2025, UK: As I write this it’s great to see some sun and longer, warmer days. Looking back on the last few seasons, it’s encouraging to feel that the season is starting on a better note. Soil conditions are generally better than we’ve experienced in the last two years at this time, and it does feel a bit spring like.
The annual aphid forecast has just been released by Rothamsted Research, and it suggests a slightly later than average flight in England.
The headline message reads ‘if spring does not throw any abnormal conditions, aphids will be flying at about the average time in Scotland and 1 – 2 weeks later in England, compared with when they would be expected to historically’.
The predicted numbers of aphids would also suggest an average number at emergence. Hopefully, this will lead to a low to average year for aphid pressure, but we’ll keep you updated if anything changes.
Early start for biologicals
Encouraging initial results suggest a benefit in leafy salad crops from early use of biological products.
With the season at the crop establishment stage, it’s a good opportunity to share some more of our ‘look see’ type trial results.
At the Syngenta seeds autumn demo there were some drilled spinach plots which were treated pre and post emergence with VIXERAN and MAXICROP from our biofertilizer and biostimulant portfolio.
Although not replicated and our first look at positioning in drilled salad crops, there was a nice trend to show that these products could potentially promote early growth and biomass. This was measured by using an app to scan the plots for crop ground cover as shown below.
The results are shown in the graph below, which illustrates a trend for improved early growth from application. Although limited data, and more work is planned in 2025, this suggests there may be a benefit from applying a VIXERAN® biofertiliser at pre crop emergence, with potential further benefits from a MAXICROP biostimulant at early crop emergence.
Further work is needed, but our aim is to find positions where these products help grow more resilient crops, by providing improving nutrient availability during difficult periods, or where the crop demand increases as growth habit changes.
Hopefully this will deliver increased consistency and certainty, as well as potentially increasing plant health overall.
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