Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Page 33
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 37
Page 38
Page 39
Page 40
Page 41
Page 42
Page 43
Page 44
Page 45
Page 46
Page 47
Page 48
Page 49
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 53
Page 54
Page 55
Page 56
Page 57
Page 58
Page 59
Page 60
Page 61
Page 62
Page 63
Page 64
Page 65
Page 66
Page 67
Page 68
Page 69
Page 70
Page 71
Page 72
Page 73
Page 74
Page 75
Page 76
Page 77
Page 78
Page 79
Page 80
Page 81
Page 82
Page 83
Page 84
yield loss and occasionally total loss. These diseases not only result in lower yields but they lower grain quality and value. Another disease is Rhizoctonia root rot which is caused by Rhizoctonia solani or R. oryzae. It attacks the seed and young seed- lings which results in uneven emergence and plant popula- tion. Ultimately it can reduce yields. Its primarily a problem in the Pacific Northwest and in the southern Australia wheat belt according to James Cook of Plant Health International. Innovation and Investment Companies continue to invest resources in improving wheat not just on the chemical and crop protection side. A number of companies are working on hybrid wheat and biotech wheat with the expectation of increased demand and knowledge that yields have been increasing less than 1 percent annually. Companies and organiza- tions announcing investments or collaborations in recent years have included Arcadia BASF Bayer CropScience Dow AgroSciences Limagrain KWS Lochow Monsanto Syngenta and Vilmorin. Another area of expanding research is in seed treatments which can help to protect the seed and seedling and help get the crop off to a good start. Fungicide seed treat- ments help to reduce losses caused by seed transmitted and soilborne fungal diseases of wheat. Some seed treat- ment products contain a fungicide and an insecticide and offer additional protec- tion against fall season insects such as aphids. Research has shown that the use of certified seed combined with fungicide seed treatments is highly effec- tive in preventing the spread of disease says Jeff Vogel manager for the Kansas Department of Agricultures Plant Protection and Weed Control program. One of many potential solu- tions in this area is Syngentas Vibrance seed treatment fungicide which is formu- lated to boost a crops ability to root by delivering disease protection. The active ingredi- ent is sedaxane systemic in the plant and mobile in the soil and provides a resist- ance management tool as it adds another seed treatment mode of action from the SDHI Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitor class of fungicides. Weve been testing Vibrance since 2008 and have replicated trials on wheat barley and legumes says Dave Barta of Crop Production OCTOBER 2015 SEEDWORLD.COM 29 Services in Spokane Wash. Vibrance performed well and provided solid yield responses most of the time which I think is really important. Weve tested it on winter wheat in about 25 locations and we noticed an average increase of about three bushels per acre above CruiserMaxx Cereals alone but in addition to the product. Additionally Syngenta offers CruiserMaxx Vibrance Cereals a seed treatment that combines four chemistries to again increase root growth and safeguard seeds seedlings and roots from a broad range of seedborne and soilborne diseases as well as insects. It features sedaxane in addition to mefenoxam difenoconaole and thiameth- oxam which the company reports provides best-in-class Rhizoctonia activity. In spring wheat trials in Minnesota and North Dakota CruiserMaxx Vibrance Cereals provided more than a 10-bushel-per-acre yield increase in fusarium protec- tion versus untreated seed. Another breakthrough technology for wheat growers is Xemium a product devel- oped by BASF. Its effective against Rhizoctonia and other pathogens and belongs to the class of carboxamides. Xemium works by inhibiting respiration in the mitochondria of the fungi. BASF discovered carboxa- mides in 1974 and has contin- ued researching the chemistry long after its discovery. The active ingredient in Xemium is a SDHI. Xemium has been available as a foliar application for wheat since 2012 but the newest innova- tion is Xemium as a seed treat- ment. It not only protects the treated seed but it continues to protect young plants as they emerge and grow. As a seed treatment the formulation is different. Its new water-based seed coating allows for easy handling and flexible mixing. The active ingredient has a unique mobil- ity leading to better distribu- tion in the root. From the roots Xemium travels with the water flow to the above ground plant into the leaf tips. BASF has verified that Xemium can also increase the root mass and the improved health of the roots will positively influence the physiology of continued root growth. This allows the plants to become stronger and less sensitive to stressors such as heat cold or disease. Xemium also protects against bunt leaf stripe loose smut pink snow mould seed- ling blight and sharp eyespot. Additionally its shown to be