United Kingdom
August 4, 2022
Results from the 2022 Pioneer Accurate Crop Testing Systems (PACTS®) trials have revealed only small differences in yields between PT303 plots that were treated and untreated with a fungicide at flowering.
A trial at Nick Wright’s farm near Lincoln showed that the PT303 strip which received no flowering fungicide gave a gross output yield (adjusted for moisture and oil content) just 70Kg/Ha or 1.6% less than the strip that had. Grain moisture at harvest of both strips was the same at 8.4% and the oil content of the untreated strip was higher by 0.1% at 46.0%.
At a second site on Tim Russon’s New Farm near Burton, Lincoln, plots of PT303 either received no fungicide application at flowering time, one application or two applications. The plot that received one application gave a gross output yield (again adjusted for grain moisture and oil content) of 5,620 Kg/Ha, 2.6% or 140 Kg/Ha higher than the untreated plot. The plot that received two applications gave a gross output yield of 5,720 Kg/Ha, 100Kg/Ha or 1.7% higher than the plot treated once.
Also, at New Farm PT303 was compared with the other variety grown commercially on the farm, DSV Duke. In this comparison, PT303 gave a gross output yield that was 801 Kg/Ha higher than the competitor variety DSV Duke. PT303 had a slightly lower oil content at 46.3% versus Duke at 47.6%.
The data reinforces the value of PT303’s built-in tolerance against sclerotinia as sustained, buoyant prices drive farmers in the UK and Ireland to plant as much as 400,000 hectares this summer.
We are pleased that these results are reflecting the efficacy of PT303’s built-in sclerotinia tolerance.
Planning ahead, growers might adjust their management of the crop knowing that they have a product with existing tolerance. Applying flowering fungicides at a later stage is less risky now with the variety’s built-in protection. In any case, PT303’s tolerance to sclerotinia will step in to support the crop if applications are inadvertently mis-timed.”
New Farm’s Aaron Bird has said that the competitor senesced much quicker than PT303 and, with the disease tolerance of PT303, this is exactly what we’d been anticipating. The longer you can keep these plants green and photosynthesising, the bigger the yield advantage.”
Learn more about New Farm and Aaron Bird’s experience growing PT303
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