The first text alerts, which are linked to the online Brassica Alert pages have gone out for this season, giving growers early warning about the risks of key diseases such as ringspot and white blister.
For the first time this year, spore detection technology contained within the traps gives an instant feedback of spore presence, together with a quantitative assessment of the intensity of spore numbers which can be used to calculate disease risk levels.
“Being able to issue forecasts of disease risks within hours of trap inspection will help to target application timing more effectively, before disease impacts on plant health and crop quality,” says Allium & Brassica Centre agronomist, Simon Jackson. “It’s particularly important with the increasing unpredictability of weather conditions.”
For example, with ringspot, Simon says growers typically have five days from the point of infection, before the disease breaks out into damaging physical symptoms, and this is the key time to use the available fungicides to keep the leaves clean.
Brassica Alert also provides risk forecasts for key pests, along with the AHDB Pest Bulletin published on the Syngenta website. Syngenta Technical Manager, Dr Max Newbert, recalled the quality of mid-season Brussels sprout production was impacted by high numbers of beetles, with feeding damage to the buttons. “The availability of Minecto One targeted at chewing pests provided effective incidental control.” The product will also control aphids, but growers need to consider the use of drench treatments at sowing carefully so that the availability of Minecto One on the crop is not prevented.
Photo Caption: Syngenta Technical Manager Dr Max Newbert
Photo source: Syngenta