Barclay Crop Protection

Pre-harvest desiccation will drive glyphosate demand

Dry weather and predictions of lower yields have not eliminated the need for pre-harvest desiccation, according to agronomist David Barker of DKB Crop Protection Ltd.

This year could see a huge demand for glyphosate, Mr Barker warns, as growers attempt to correct uneven ripening within fields and to ease potential harvesting problems in open crops.

"Redshank and fat-hen have crept into many crops where the canopy has suffered as a result of the drought," he reports, "and pansies have become a particular problem in some areas. Although they won't have any significant effect on yield, even quite a thin stand will challenge combine knives and slow down progress through the crop."

Mr Barker, who advises clients in an area between York and Newcastle, says it's his light-land farmers who have really suffered during the drought while on heavy land, barleys and wheats are looking 'very good considering the bizarre weather'.

"Roots seem to have gone looking for moisture and found it," he says. "Many of our crops are still quite green, although that's a mixed blessing. Some of the two-row barleys have seen a lot of second growth with early tillers ripening and late tillers still green. We've also had problems with volunteer wheat in barley, much of which is still green and will have to be dried out before we can consider letting the combines go in.

"What's really noticeable is just how few fields are evenly ripe from one end to the other, which will perhaps see a greater-than-usual proportion of fields needing to be desiccated."

Growers should focus on cost and quality when it comes to selecting a suitable glyphosate product, says Mr Barker. "We always use a fully-wetted product, such as Gallup Hi-Aktiv, which gives us good cost control without having to sacrifice product quality, effectiveness or ease-of-use. The only time we can't use it 'straight out of the can' is where we know it's being mixed with excessively hard water and a conditioner is required."

Any growers hoping to spare themselves another input cost and go without any crop desiccation this year should consider whether that won't prove a false economy, Mr Barker points out. "The choice is simple: desiccate now, or face higher drying costs later.