Agrochemical company Rotam report that crop consultants and farmers who’re looking for savings in the wrong areas could end up with more expense in the long run.
Paul Savage, Rotam’s marketing manager, says that with commodity prices predicted to stay low this year, farmers will be revising their crop protection plans, hoping to keep inputs down to a lower-than-ever level.
However, he believes that ‘flexibility will be key this spring…flexibility in rates of actives, time between applications and the type of chemistry used’.
He adds that the recent abnormally mild and wet autumn, coupled to the current mild winter, is likely to lead to higher rates of crop diseases and weed pressures this spring.
“Farmers who’ve used residual herbicides in the autumn will have to keep a careful eye on making sure that the right level of weed control is still there in crops this spring, especially for the key weeds. We’re already seeing a loss of normal persistence with autumn applied residuals,” says Paul.
“The kneejerk reaction for many farmers is to buy the cheapest available product to supply the actives wanted, especially if they’re generic, but this isn’t always the best solution,” he says. “The performance of an agrochemical is made up of many components, and it’s not just as simple as looking at the active, it’s the whole formulation quality that’s important.”
Rotam’s claim its fungicide and herbicide products performed very well again in 2015, and were used nationally as part of effective disease and weed eradication strategies.
