Wheat and see
How many trials does it take to find out what really is the best fungicide for your farm ? The answer , as Nigel Durdy discovered , is just one .
“ When BASF claimed I could achieve an extra £ 20 / ha margin using Adexar ® at T1 I have to admit I was pretty doubtful ,” says Mr Durdy , who farms 200ha of combinable crops in Epworth in partnership with his brother , Adrian .
But an on-farm trial , on a second wheat crop , which compared Adexar ® at T1 against the farm standard Tracker ® and market competitor Aviator Xpro ® , provided the definitive answer .
“ I expected Adexar ® to do slightly better than Aviator Xpro ® and the farm standard , but I didn ’ t expect the results we got . We got a payback of £ 133 / ha extra with Adexar ® , which is phenomenal .”
“ I expected Adexar to do slightly better than Aviator Xpro and the farm standard , but I didn ’ t expect the results we got .”
BASF has great belief in its Xemium ® fungicides , Adexar ® and Librax ® and so this year has decided to give its time , technology and investment to prove conclusively to another 50 growers across the UK which is the best wheat fungicide at T1 and T2 .
This will be done by supporting them , through the BASF Real Results Circle , to test Adexar ® and Librax ® against any other SDHI they care to choose ; on their farm , in their soil and in a way that conforms to their farm ’ s systems and drivers .
Mr Short said , “ We ’ ll cover the costs of the BASF products , expertise and on-farm trials management , to prove Adexar ® / Librax ® delivers the highest yields and margins . We will be conducting the trials in partnership with BASF ’ s independent industry partners ADAS and Agspace .”
Dr Daniel Kindred , Senior Research Scientist , ADAS , “ Farmers will be deciding on what fungicide comparisons are to be made , what will be most relevant to them on their farm .
“ We are involved to make sure the comparison is fair to start with and that the two areas of the field chosen are comparable . We know that there is spacial variation in fields and it is easy to come up with the wrong conclusion . We will be using statistical approaches we have developed and so , if there is a difference between treatments , we will be confident that this is due to the treatment rather than the inherent variation .
Across the 50 farms in different regions of the UK , you will then be able to see where you have the biggest effects and where you don ’ t have any effects . It will also be possible to see how certain situations , for example extremes of weather influence the treatments .”
Mr Short said , “ Growers will discover a lot more than simply the best fungicide – they will get great insight into unlocking yield potential .”