An increased focus on disease prevention through earlier application of crop fungicides is contributing to improved grain yields for the Kellock family near Lake Rowan.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Chris and Libby Kellock, together with their sons Sam and Nick, grow wheat and canola across their Hillview farm as well as at properties near Dookie and over the border at Mulwala in NSW.
About 600ha is under irrigation, while they also run a small Merino sheep flock and mixed herd of beef breeders.
Crops are now sown with an air drill set on 300mm row spacings after years of using a precision seeder, while stubble retention and management has played a long-term role to help improve their soils.
All canola stubbles are mulched using a stubble cruncher, wheat stubbles are sometimes cut for straw if it is marketable, and burning is carried out only if required.
With the tight canola-wheat crop rotation, diseases are a constant threat and are high on the management agenda.
“We are certainly looking at diseases more and have become more reliant on fungicides,’’ Chris said.
“We also rotate our varieties — we are growing hybrid Roundup Ready varieties now.
“It’s always a challenge, but we are seeing yield responses to fungicide usage and it has been best to concentrate on disease prevention rather than cure.
“Once disease takes hold, it can be difficult to control, so we mainly use fungicides for prevention now.’’
Blackleg and sclerotinia are the key diseases in canola, with aerial blackleg becoming more prevalent depending upon rainfall.
In wheat, the main target has shifted from stripe rust to powdery mildew.
Disease pressure can also be influenced by the level of disease resistance in different varieties, and the Kellocks ensure they use different fungicide groups and active ingredients to control both diseases.
“We really look at the active and the per cent of active in fungicides,’’ Chris said.
After monitoring the single use of the prothioconazole active ingredient in other parts of the world, the Kellocks were pleased with its introduction into Australia last year following the release of Proviso fungicide by ADAMA Australia.
Proviso, which also can be used in cereals, is a novel prothioconazole fungicide featuring ADAMA’s unique Asorbital technology.
This enables enhanced uptake and systemic activity for improved efficacy, compatibility and crop safety.
It also can be used in tank mixes with a range of other crop protection and nutrition products to control a broad range of diseases, as well as to assist disease management, from an early stage.
Chris said depending upon the paddock and threat of blackleg, they used Proviso in the canola early and applied another fungicide later.
“We have gone early the last couple of years to give protection and that is responsible for some of the increase in yield we are seeing,” he said.
“It’s protecting the leaf as well as against the aerial blackleg and it’s reducing the amount of ‘sclero’ in crops.
“Proviso, with straight prothioconazole, was more economical and I definitely think it has a fit in controlling blackleg and ‘sclero’ in canola. It seems to be doing the job and I think we will go with a similar plan this season.’’
He said the powdery mildew in wheat could be difficult to control, especially in irrigated crops, and prevention was again the best strategy.
“We are seeing it in thick crops of some wheat varieties and it’s particularly hard to cure once it’s in the thick canopy,” he said.
Chris said they liked to use a mix of fungicides to guard against powdery mildew resistance and, on the recommendation of long-term agronomist Tony Kelly from Advanced Ag, based at Shepparton, they also used the new Maxentis EC fungicide from ADAMA Australia last year.
As a dual mode of action fungicide containing prothioconazole and azoxystrobin, Maxentis EC provides improved disease control spectrum, efficacy and resistance management in cereals and canola, as well as an important rotation option following commonly used in-furrow and seed treatment fungicides.
“We got in early, when the disease pressure was not as great, and it was effective,’’ Chris said.
“The dual mode of action works well as another tool and we will look to use it again this year in certain situations.’’
Meanwhile, the Kellocks applied another ADAMA Australia product last season — the new, flexible herbicide tank mix partner, Priority, with LVE herbicide for improved control of marshmallow in wheat.
Priority, which contains florasulam, can be used in all major cereals as well as established rye-grass pastures.
“It was applied with our broadleaf weed control spray,’’ Chris said.
The Kellocks’ use of ADAMA Australia products last year paid off too when they became one of the winners of the company’s major product competition and received on-farm delivery of a Traeger PRO 780 wood-fired pellet grill package valued at $2200.
MMG agricultural editor