b'Scott Cockburn is business manager for Syngenta Crop Protect in the United Kingdom.case scenario, theyre completely severing the main stem, so theble is left out for the flea beetles to attack while the new crop plant just dies. germinates, has been experimented with. Cover crops, such as In winter cereals, farmers have experimented with agronomicmustard, have been used, with some even grazing sheep on the practices to try and protect their crops. They have started usingcrop. No-till and chemical treatments have been experimented minimal tillage, although Cockburn says they are behind com- with. Some farmers claim the flea beetle infestations are worse at pared to Canada on no-till practices. night, so theyll spray for them then.Stubble hygiene has also been tried out, although this reliesWere getting lots of theories with all of this. People want to heavily on the use of glyphosate which is another whole debate.do things that theyll swear blind at, Cockburn says. But so far Chemical control has been used, but pests, such as aphids, areno one has been able to crack the code and find the perfect pest starting to show chemical resistance. control method.Cover crops have been experimented with. Farmers haveMoving forward, the industry will start to catch up to the also tried seeding at later datesthe crops germinate in colderregulations and will release new products to assist farmers in temperatures, killing the aphids off. Companies have even beguntheir fight against pests, Cockburn expects.marketing precision agriculture tools to help determine optimalNew crop breeds like RAGTs soon-to-be-available Wolverine seeding dates to beat aphid attacks. BVDV resistant winter wheat variety will be able to withstand Rapeseed farmers have also been playing around with similaraphid attacks, Cockburn says. In the long-term new biocontrols, practices. Some have tried seeding their winter rapeseed cropsbiostimulants and sprayable pheromones should hit the U.K. at earlier dates, claiming it causes better stand establishment,market to protect cereals like winter wheat.making them able to with withstand infestations. Others argue aRapeseed, on the other hand, faces a tougher future. The later seeding date works better as their crop misses the windowviability of the crop will depend on new pesticide discoveries and for the main aphid attack. Some have used higher seeding ratesbiocontrols. There is hope, though, as white mustard has pest to try and dilute infestations, however if all plants reach maturity,resistance and it is related to rapeseed. Cockburn suspects those the crop is then overcrowded. resistance genes will be brought into future rapeseed varieties.Others have tried alternative other crops, such as linseed,Undoubtably we will get new pesticide discoveries. They will maize, soybeans, sunflowers or pulses, instead of rapeseed income along, but theyre fewer and harder to find nowadays, he their rotations. Trap cropping, where the previous rapeseed stub- says.SW44/ SEEDWORLD.COMSEPTEMBER 2020'