Jockey shows yield boost and long-lasting yellow rust suppression suggests Frontier

By Rob Jones

23 July 2012

Frontier trials have shown that Jockey seed treatment may be a very useful tool in growers' armoury this autumn after its significant performance in substantially reducing yellow rust and boosting yields.

According to Frontier's Jim Carswell, in three of the company's trials on the highly rust susceptible varieties Robigus and Oakley, plots treated with Jockey held off yellow rust infections until the T1 spray timing in mid April.

The trials were conducted on two sites - Haywold in East Yorkshire and Horningsea in Cambridgeshire - compared Jockey (fluquinconazle + prochloraz) with a single purpose seed dressing.

"At Haywold we have been running trials across 14 different varieties on Jockey versus a single purpose seed dressing since 2001 to assess the benefits of broad-spectrum seed treatments for take all control - the mean yield recorded over the 11 seasons has been 10.95 t/ha for Jockey - treated versus 10.62 t/ha for the plots treated with the single purpose dressing," explains Jim Carswell. "Over five years in Cambridgeshire the same consistency in performance has been seen with yield differentials from the same treatments of 9.26 t/ha with Jockey treated versus 8.94 t/ha for the single purpose treated."

He says that he puts this yield boost down to control of take-all but even in low take-all pressure seasons, our trials have still shown a benefit from Jockey. One possible reason was the stimulation of rooting that Jockey is recognised to deliver following work conducted by Pete Berry at ADAS for BASF.

But what is of more value to growers this season is the impact of Jockey on yellow rust control. He said to put the current varietal susceptibility into context, of the 38 varieties (Recommended List candidates included) growing at Horningsea this year, in the untreated trials only eight varieties didn't have significant yellow rust issues when I walked through them at T1 timing.

Latest News in Cereals

Flexible, but robust herbicides needed for spring cereals this season
Improved environment guidance for businesses
The new landscape of UK slug control
Better than expected wheat crops need careful attention
Careful agronomy needed to eke out crop potential
Breakthough in wheat breeding science offers greater yields
Frontier enters into partnership to distribute Koch Advanced Nitrogen
New aquatic buffer zones appear on pesticide labels
Online calculator launched for planning fungicide spend
Consider range of actives in spring barley fungicide programmes

"At Haywold, a third wheat Robigus crop drilled on the 14th September treated with the single purpose dressing showed 11.7% foliar yellow rust at GS32 on the 16th April versus just 0.7% in the Jockey treated crop."

Under the highest yellow rust pressure Frontier trials experienced this year at the Yorkshire site, on an Oakley crop drilled in a first wheat slot on the 23rd September, the Jockey treated crop showed zero yellow rust foliar infection compared with 6.7% infection on the plots treated with Kinto seed dressing (prochloraz + triticonazole) at GS32 on the 16th April."

On the third Jockey trial, again on Robigus at Horningsea, the crop drilled on 20th September in a second wheat slot show zero foliar yellow rust at GS32 on the 16th April compared to 1.7% for the Kinto treated." Mr Carswell says that the trials consistently show that the suppression of yellow rust is significant even on very rust susceptible varieties.

Frontier's Bob Mills suggests that with over 60% of the drilled area this autumn likely to be susceptible, or very susceptible to yellow rust, Jockey makes "very good sense particularly after the early BYDV threat wanes by later in September." He added that the Fusarium pressure following the wet summer adds to the need for a robust seed treatment.