Farmers and agronomists across the UK agree that spring weeds are getting harder to control, according to new research from Syngenta.
The survey, which questioned agronomists and famers across the UK, found that half of farmers find ryegrass harder to control compared to 65 per cent of agronomists. For wild oats, these figures are 59 per cent and 46 per cent respectively.
Estimates suggest up to 50 per cent of ryegrass populations now display some level of resistance but a third of farmers think that resistance hasn’t increased in the past 10 years, although more than a quarter (27 per cent) didn’t know. Agronomists were more definite in their response, with 45 per cent agreeing that ryegrass resistance has increased in the past decade and 32 per cent said the same for wild oats.
All agreed that the best course of action to manage resistance is a mix of cultural control (changing crops, cultivations) and herbicide rotation, with more than half of both groups either having advised or taken this action.
The increased cost of controlling spring grass weeds varied depending on the group questioned. Whereas 35 per cent of agronomists estimate that the cost of controlling wild oats and ryegrass is more than £20 per hectare, only 14 per cent of farmers agree. A third of farmers thought it may cost between £10 and £20 per hectare, a figure reached by 35 per cent of agronomists surveyed.
All agronomists surveyed have advised the use of AXIAL (pinoxaden) and 92% of farmers have used the market-leading herbicide. As well as having a 10-year proven record of effective wild oat and ryegrass control, AXIAL also maintains control in cooler conditions, in case the weather turns cold during the spring. It not only gives the most reliable performance but is a tried and tested way of making control more cost-effective.
Both groups agreed that the key three features of AXIAL are its flexible use (across barley and wheat), different resistance profile than fop /dim chemicals and superior weed control.
Iain Hamilton, field technical manager at Syngenta, said: “We know that just five wild oats or eight ryegrass plants/m2 can cause a £60/ha yield loss and the longer they are left uncontrolled in wheat and barley, the more yield damage they cause. Cheaper treatments that leave damaging survivors could end up costing farmers more. Better control of grass weeds not only maximises yield potential in the current crop, but reduces seed carryover for the next year.”
