A D D I N G V A L U E T O T H E B U S I N E S S O F C R O P P I N G

From the Ground UpISSUE 90 I Winter 2017

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By now you should have received your voting papers for the FAR 2017 Referendum, which determines the future of research and extension for the cropping industry. A ‘yes’ vote will ensure FAR’s continued existence and on-going contribution to the cropping industry, while a ‘no’ vote would result in the organisation being wound up, and all research and extension programmes ceasing.

To continue, FAR needs a significant percentage of farmers to vote. More than 50% must be in favour and they must represent more than 50% of the cropping area. Voting is very straight forward and can be done either on-line or by postal ballot. It is very important that you vote if you have grown arable crops, maize or cereal silage harvested in the last twelve months. We need your support to secure the future of your investment in the cropping industry.

Under the Commodity Levies Act a referendum of growers must be held every six years to ascertain the support for the industry good activities FAR undertakes. With the range of issues facing the industry today, this is even more important than when FAR was formed over twenty years ago. Although FAR has helped ensure huge increases in yield (sometimes double) in crops such as wheat, barley and ryegrass through improved agronomy, it is currently in areas relating to the right to farm where FAR is having to provide data and options for farmers.

• Work on biosecurity is helping prevent a couple of major weeds becoming established in crops in New Zealand and helping to eradicate pea weevil from the Wairarapa.

• FAR has developed a Farm Environment Plan that is tailored to cropping farmers that can be completed without the need for a consultant.

FAR needs your vote• FAR has successfully challenged the ability of OVERSEER® to

accurately estimate N losses from cropping systems resulting in plans to improve the model for cropping systems and the delay until it will be required as a regulatory tool by some regional councils.

• FAR currently leads an on-going project designed to provide measured N loss values for crop systems in three regions of New Zealand.

• FAR has identified the presence of herbicide resistance in weeds in a number of areas in New Zealand and is working with farmers to develop effective weed control options. Managing resistance is essential to protect our seed industry.

• FAR has provided information which has delayed the time until Diazinon is banned thus allowing time for biological and cultural control solutions to be developed.

• FAR reviewed the evidence for stubble burning as part of the ECan air quality plan and this contributed to ensuring stubble burning can continue in most areas in Canterbury.

FAR has been very focussed on “Adding Value to the Business of Cropping”. We need you to vote now to ensure FAR gets a clear mandate for the next six years. The closing date for voting is 22 August.

If you have any questions about FAR, or the referendum, please contact us or your local Board member – details at back of this newsletter.

Knowledge exchange…integrated management strategies. Resistance to fungicides is a major concern across all arable crops and the AHDB are involved in a number of projects looking at cultural methods of slowing its development and managing crops where resistant pathotypes are present.

Climate change is another concern, with work underway to identify potential new weeds, pests and diseases that could establish under new climatic conditions. Researchers are also investigating the potential impact of climate change on crops which are currently being grown, and options for new crops which could become viable if temperature and rainfall figures alter.

These new crops could be important, as consumer demand for foods derived from traditional agricultural products, such as bread, has been steadily declining since the mid-1970s. This is another trend which is reflected here, with 2015 data showing many people are avoiding cereal products due to perceptions around carbohydrates and gluten.

Agricultural productivity is another concern as on-farm productivity in the UK has fallen considerably compared to the USA, France, Germany and the Netherlands in recent decades. Dr Bolton sees Brexit as another complicating factor which will require the agriculture industry to steel itself for a very different economic environment.

Dr Bolton’s vision for agriculture in the UK is similar to that in New Zealand…greater exposure to risk as a result of increased competition, price volatility and environmental change. She believes that the best response to this, from an agronomic perspective, is to build more resilient and adaptable systems.

From visiting FAR research trials and FRNL monitor farms to meeting with other levy organisations and presenting at the FAR Conference, Dr Susannah Bolton, Head of Knowledge Exchange at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) in the UK, lived up to her title during a recent visit to New Zealand.

Dr Bolton’s conference presentation updated New Zealand growers and industry on some of the key issues and areas of research for arable farmers in the UK. Among the topics she touched on were weed, pest and disease management, including agrichemical resistance, climate change, food trends, productivity and Brexit.

Dr Bolton noted that in the UK, as in New Zealand, Ramularia is becoming increasingly problematic. Historic plant samples show that Ramularia has been present in the UK since at least 1852, but it has only became a problem there in the last two decades. In response, the AHDB are running intensive monitoring programmes using spore traps linked to weather stations and crop inspections, with the aim of developing

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It’s official, New Zealand’s Seed Industry Research Centre is up and running.The Seed Industry Research Centre (SIRC) is a collaboration between seed companies and the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR), and will focus on industry-good research projects including developing seed research and extension capability at all levels of the New Zealand industry.

SIRC spokesman, Ivan Lawrie from FAR, says growers, seed companies, exporters and end users will benefit from the new entity, which has been formed with the aim of enhancing New Zealand’s $200 million export seed sector.

“Seed crops are a big export earner for New Zealand and can also provide a very profitable addition to arable farming rotations, and as an industry we want that keep it that way. SIRC will provide a research funding framework to help our industry maintain its position as a global leader in seed production.

“SIRC will be funded through existing farmer levies and from contributions from the member seed companies and research organisations. Together, these funds will be invested in non-proprietary seed research right across the value chain.

“Research capability is an area we are particularly interested in. Internationally, the number of seed research and extension experts is falling, so part of the centre’s focus will be on

providing long term funding to support existing research groups and on encouraging and nurturing new talent.”

Mr Lawrie says that while FAR and industry have invested substantially in seed research over the years, it has been hard to meet the needs of the entire industry and value chain.

“SIRC provides the opportunity to collaborate right across the industry on issues around seed production and seed quality, which means that the whole industry, and New Zealand, will benefit.”

SIRC is a virtual centre, which, rather than employing staff, will initially be run using existing administrative structures within FAR and participating organisations. Each organisation has nominated a technical representative to discuss priorities, and research will be contracted out to the most appropriate research groups in order to keep overheads to a minimum. FAR’s 2017/18 herbage and vegetable seed research projects will be incorporated in the centre. The initial four governance board members to be appointed are: David Birkett (FAR), Nick Pyke (FAR), David Green (NZPBRA) and Barry McCarter (NZGSTA); a fifth independent board member will also be appointed.

Stakeholders in the Seed Industry Research Centre include members of the NZ Plant Breeding and Research Association, some members of the NZ Grain and Seed Trade Association, FAR; Lincoln University, Massey University, the University of Canterbury, AgResearch and Plant & Food Research.

Founding industry members are Agriseeds NZ, PGG Wrightson Seeds, DLF Seeds, Cropmark Seeds, Seed Force, Genetic Technologies, Carter Seed Management and South Pacific Seeds.

Seed Industry Research Centre

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Stubble burning worth $4.8 million to New ZealandThe 2013 stubble-burning review commissioned by Environment Canterbury, and led by FAR, has been acknowledged as playing a critical role in ECan’s decision to retain stubble-burning as a permitted activity under the proposed Canterbury Air Regional Plan. A new report, The economic value of stubble burning to the New Zealand arable sector, by economist Glenn Greer from Plant & Food Research, has found that the 2013 review, which was carried out by an expert science panel, provided the evidence that enabled the Commissioners to balance the benefits to industry and the wider economy with community concerns around smoke nuisance and the risk that fires could escape, damaging property and incurring costs of control.

As a result, the proposed plan imposes restrictions on the timing, and other aspects of the practice, and resource consents will be required to burn in buffer zones that have been established round some rural towns, but stubble-burning is still permissible under these conditions.

The new report has estimated the value of stubble burning to the New Zealand economy to be $4.8 million annually in 2015/16 dollar terms.

The use of stubble-burning in Canterbury has declined during recent years but it is still considered a valuable strategic tool, to be used when incorporation of crop residues would adversely affect the establishment of the following crop or impose significantly higher costs of production.

The review acknowledged that the practice had some negative impacts, not only on air quality and the risk of fire damage, which were the main concerns expressed by the wider community at the time of the review, but also on soil carbon, other nutrient levels and on greenhouse gas emissions. However, the evaluation found that the value of the loss of soil nutrients is likely to be much less than the value to the arable sector of retaining the use of stubble-burning as a strategic management tool.

This analysis has been based on existing data, the views of a number of farmers and others. There is immense variability in the crop husbandry practices used by individual arable farmers and this estimate of the “typical cost” and the “typical production system” is a broad-brush approximation. In total the net annual value of stubble-burning in New Zealand, less the value of nitrogen losses has been estimated to be $4.8 million annually in 2015/16 dollar terms. The practice is particularly valuable in the production of small seed crops where market demand is volatile and cropping decisions may have to be implemented very rapidly.

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The real cost of Septoria tritici blotchThe payback on investment into monitoring and disease management strategies for Septoria tritici blotch (STB) by FAR and Plant & Food Research can be counted in the millions.

A report, “The economic cost of speckled leaf blotch (Zymoseptoria tritici) resistance to fungicides to the New Zealand arable industry”, commissioned by FAR, found that STB, also known as speckled leaf blotch, or SLB, can reduce feed wheat yields by 15 to 20 percent depending on the severity of infection. In an irrigated crop with a yield potential of 10.5 t/ha, this equates to losses of over 1.6 t/ha if low levels of disease are present and up to 2.6 t/ha when infection rates are high. Working on a price of $300/t, these add up to potential losses of $480 (low) and $789 (high) per hectare.

Multiplied out across 10 percent of New Zealand’s feed wheat growing area, and including the cost of extra fungicides added to deal with increasing disease levels, STB could cost our arable industry up to $3.5 million in a year when infection levels were high.

In New Zealand, Plant & Food Research monitors STB resistance, providing early warning of signs of fungicide resistance or reduced product efficacy, to inform the disease management programme developed and updated by FAR to protect the wheat industry.

FAR Cereal Research Manager Rob Craigie, says the report highlights the importance of maintaining access to effective fungicides for STB control as well as some of the reasons that New Zealand growers are so dependent on fungicides for STB management.

“Integrated disease management (IDM), which uses a combination of cultural and chemical control methods, is recognised internationally as the most effective approach to protecting the efficacy of fungicides. However, as noted in the report, there are several reasons why controlling STB in New Zealand wheat crops is difficult using IDM. Firstly, we do not have access to any truly resistant cultivars; secondly, late sowing, which reduces plant exposure to disease spores is also known to reduce yield potential, and thirdly, stubble burning only removes disease reservoirs from the burnt paddock, and has no impact on spores which are blown in during the growing season. This means that New Zealand growers need to be taking all possible steps to slow the development of STB resistance to fungicides.”

STB resistance to fungicides in New ZealandQoL fungicidesResistance to this group developed quickly. QoIs were first used in the 1996; resistance was first reported in 1998, and by 2003 resistance was widespread in Europe. In New Zealand, QoL resistant isolates were first reported in 2006 and these fungicides are now ineffective in controlling STB in most areas of New Zealand.

DMI fungicidesSTB resistance to DMIs has been reported in Europe, the United States and Australia, while a significant reduction in sensitivity of pathogens is showing up in the UK. In New Zealand, PFR testing shows reduced efficacy against STB, but no evidence of resistance in the field as yet.

SDHI fungicides Resistance to SDHIs in the field was first reported in the UK and Ireland in 2015 and 2016. To date, no SDHI resistant strains of Septoria tritici blotch have been reported in New Zealand.

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The Maize Hybrid Performance Trial (MPT) programme is now able to provide more valuable information on hybrid performance with the publication of the third edition of its results booklet.

This edition is the first to include results from multiple sites and multiple years, providing more robust data and thus supporting better decision making for growers. FAR’s spokesperson on the Maize Technical committee, Allister Holmes, says the 2016/17 MPT book provides hybrid results as averages from three seasons, and up to eight separate trials.

“Results averaged over multiple seasons are more valuable than results from a single season as they show the hybrid’s ability to perform over seasons with different weather patterns. Ultimately, the most consistent performers will rise to the top of multiple year results. The more trials a cultivar has been in, the more confidence can be taken from its reported performance.”

This year’s booklet reports on the results from six maize trial sites. Silage trials were hosted on farms at Tamahere and Gordonton in Waikato, Whakatane in Bay of Plenty, Ohakea in Rangatikei, Opiki in Manawatu and Lincoln in Canterbury; while maize grain trials were restricted to the Tamahere, Whakatane, Ohakea and Opiki sites.

The number of trial sites will increase to eight for the coming season, with two of the maize seed companies in the programme hosting, managing and harvesting MPT trials.

The Maize Hybrid Performance Trial results books are sent out to maize growers and are also available in the publications section of the FAR website.

Maize Hybrid Performance milestone

New Technical PanelFAR and Potatoes NZ have formed a Technical Panel to consider and prioritise research projects for the potato industry and to help guide the direction of research and the investment of levy funds in order to provide the best return for growers.

The group plans to meet twice a year, once in the winter, to discuss the previous season’s results and then decide what the research focus and areas of investment should be for the following season and again in the summer to view and discuss research trials in the field. Their role will include reviewing ongoing research trials and guiding FAR/PNZ into new areas where research would be beneficial.

The panel, which met for the first time in mid-July, includes growers, agronomists and industry personnel. The first meeting evaluated the current suite of research projects, and how they align to grower needs and the strategic goals of Potatoes NZ. A number of important concepts were discussed ranging from basic research and development ideas. In particular, the panel considered that there was a significant increase in the need for research results that could assist growers with issues around environmental compliance.

If you have any ideas around the research and extension then please let FAR or the technical panel know. Having input is vital to delivering the best results to our potato growers.

Potato update 2017ConferenceThe Potatoes NZ conference was held in Pukekohe at the end of July. The first day included a half day agronomist’s forum which attracted over 90 people. It covered a range of topics including psyllid management and a general summary of potato research and development work. Break out groups generated good discussion and ideas for future work.

The following two days comprised of presenters covering a wide range of topics from agronomy to health and safety and marketing. The theme of telling a story and portraying the potato industry positively kept shining through. We have some great people in our industry who are all doing amazing things.

One of the key speakers was John Sarup an agronomist from the UK who presented on the challenges facing potato producers in the UK. Apart from the uncertainty around Brexit, most of the issues they are facing, including water, pests and diseases and clean land are similar to those being dealt with here in New Zealand. John has a wealth of knowledge and we will investigate options for getting him back to New Zealand during the growing season so he gets the chance to talk to more growers.

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White blister control on radish seed crops

Table 1. Seed yield (<2.6 mm) of hybrid radish following treatment with 13 fungicide combinations applied at label rates for the control of white blister, grown near Southbridge in the 2016/17 growing season.

TRT# Product1 No. of applications Seed yield (kg/ha) Similar groups3

5 Pristine® 6 1739 a6 S.F +Az 6 1559 b3 Az f.b. Ridomil + Az 1 f.b. 6 1504 bc8 Ridomil+Az f.b. Ridomil+SF f.b. Ridomil+Az 2 f.b. 2 f.b. 2 1404 cd4 Ridomil 4 1353 de

12 FAR1601F f.b. Pristine f.b. FAR1601F 3 f.b. 1 f.b. 2 1271 e2 Ridomil 6 1259 e

10 Az f.b. Ridomil f.b. Az 1 f.b. 4 f.b 2 1070 f7 Proline® 6 914 g1 Untreated 0 868 g9 Foschek™ 6 796 g

13 Sportak® EW+Adexar®2 f.b. Ridomil 6 421 h11 Sportak® EW+Adexar2 6 127 i

P Value <0.001LSD0.05 136.8

CV% 8.531 Az= azoxystrobin (Amistar®); S.F. = Seguris Flexi; Ridomil = Ridomil Gold® MZ WG; f.b = followed by.2 Combination caused severe stunting of the crop.3 Treatments with the same letter are not statistically different from each other.

A trial was set up to investigate control options for white blister (also known as white rust) on hybrid radish located near Southbridge, Canterbury in the 2016/17 growing season.

Disease expression in the trial and many surrounding crops, was later than previous years with first infection seen Mid-December (first lesions on untreated plants) and disease symptoms not readily seen until late January. Many fungicide products increased (P<0.001) seed yield above the untreated control. The trial was harvested by plot combine and each plot included two sets of female rows. Seed yield is presented for seed >2.6 mm and on a per hectare basis adjusted to include the area of male lines.

While this trial has identified products useful for reducing white blister incidence and increasing seed yield, many of these treatments do not follow anti-resistance strategies and future work is required to investigate the best timing for different chemistry. For example Metalaxyl – M (Ridomil Gold® MZ WG) should only be used 2-4 times each season, while products containing both SDHI and Strobilurin fungicides should only be applied twice within the same season. White blister belongs to the Oomycete group of fungal diseases which are known to develop resistance to multiple fungicide groups. For treatments 3 and 10, the first application of Amistar® was applied 10 October, all other treatments received their first application on 6 December, prior to the expression of disease, except for treatment 4 which was delayed to 28 December when the first symptoms were seen.

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DISCLAIMER This publication is copyright to the Foundation for Arable Research (“FAR”) and may not be reproduced or copied in any form whatsoever without FAR’s written permission. This publication is intended to provide accurate and adequate information relating to the subject matters contained in it and is based on information current at the time of publication. Information contained in this publication is general in nature and not intended as a substitute for specific professional advice on any matter and should not be relied upon for that purpose. No endorsement of named products is intended nor is any criticism of other alternative, but unnamed products. It has been prepared and made available to all persons and entities strictly on the basis that FAR, its researchers and authors are fully excluded from any liability for damages arising out of any reliance in part or in full upon any of the information for any purpose.

Members of the FAR Board DAVID BIRKETT (Chairman) Northern South Island 03 324 4499

ALAN HENDERSON Northern North Island 07 871 9934

PAUL MACKINTOSH South Western North Island 027 446 3166

HUGH RITCHIE Eastern North Island 06 856 8279

STEVEN BIEREMA Mid Canterbury 03 302 2655

PETER MITCHELL South Canterbury/North Otago 03 434 9244

STEVE WILKINS South Otago/Southland 027 437 5209

Dr MIKE DUNBIER Appointed Member 03 358 6479

RICHARD GREEN Appointed Member 027 497 3692

DR TONY GREGSON Appointed Member

A D D I N G VA L U E T O T H E B U S I N E S S O F C R O P P I N G

Foundation for Arable Research PO Box 23133, Templeton, Christchurch 8445

Phone: 64 3 345 5783, Fax: 64 3 341 7061

From the Ground Up ISSN 2324-1411 (Print)

ISSN 2324-142X (Online)