Welcome to the Corteva Agriscience™
Forage Agronomy Update
These regular technical notes are a seasonal commentary to help those interested in improving grassland and forage productivity on dairy, beef, sheep and equestrian enterprises.
You can claim two CPD points for subscribing to this email update.
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- Early season chickweed control
- Use of clopyralid containing products on grassland
- NEW Grazon Spot
- Corteva Forage App
- PACTS
- The impacts of M3 genetics on faecal starch losses and milk
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- Meet Pieter, Chris, Tom and Matt, our Forage and Seed Promoters
- Ask a question
- BASIS
- Further BASIS opportunities
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Early season chickweed control
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Chickweed emerges from early spring onwards and its prostrate growth habit allows it to rapidly take over any gaps in grassland.
Chickweed competes aggressively with grass for space, light, water and most importantly nutrients, and so needs to be controlled. An individual chickweed plant can produce up to 1300 seeds, with a short cycle of five to six weeks from germination to seed dispersal. Plants are capable of four to five generations in a year and seed buried in the soil can remain viable for up to 25 years, so it’s not a weed to ignore.
In new sown leys, it is a weed that needs control. It swamps grass and when it dies back leaves bare patches of ground for other weeds, notably docks to colonise.
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In the first photo on the left, the untreated plot is on the left and the Envy® treated area on the right. The next 3 photos show the colonisation of docks over an 18-month period.
Watch for its presence in damaged swards e.g. autumn poached or where slurry injectors open up the sward allowing chickweed to colonise.
For chickweed control use Envy:
- Apply from 1st February until the end of November
- Contains florasulam, enabling good control in cooler temperatures (5○C at 10cm depth on a rising plane)
- Effective on common and mouse-eared chickweed
- Apply at 1.0L/ha in both newly sown leys and established grassland, or 1.5L/ha if the weed spectrum requires it
- Has excellent grass safety, rainfast in two hours and a stock exclusion period of just 7 days
- Use in established grassland at 2.0L/ha to control buttercups, dandelions and docks
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Use of clopyralid containing products on grassland
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Labels have now changed with new MAPP numbers now in operation. Products with previous MAPP numbers, and which are already on farm, can be used until 31st October 2023. The new labels are designed to mitigate against the risk of herbicide residues ending up in manures and composts which might be used where sensitive plants are grown such as in gardens and allotments. The restrictions on use are now similar to aminopyralid.
These are the two highest risk areas where problems occur, so adhere to these restrictions and the risk to third parties is largely eliminated:
- Do not make hay with grass treated with aminopyralid or clopyralid
- Do not allow manure from grass treated with aminopyralid or clopyralid to leave farm
These changes are coming into effect now for 2 key reasons:
- With high price of nitrogen, more manures will likely be leaving farms
- Peat has been banned in manufactured composts and animal manures are increasingly being used as alternative raw material
For more details click here.
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We have introduced Grazon® SPOT this year. It’s the same formulation as Grazon® Pro but in a smaller 0.5 litre bottle, enough for 8 lots of 10 litre knapsack fills – ideal for those treating smaller areas.
Use either product to precision target your spray and get excellent control of broad-leaved dock, curled dock, creeping thistle, spear thistle, common nettle, bramble, broom and gorse in established grassland. These products have activity against a range of other weeds – see the Corteva Forage app for details.
Key use label statements:
- Only apply through a knapsack or other hand-held equipment, e.g. lance
- Application rate is 60 ml in 10 litres of water
- Rainfast in 2 hours
- Apply between 1st March and 31st October
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The Corteva FarmMoreForage and Corteva Forage apps will be updated soon so you'll notice some changes next time you use them. The app will now be named the Corteva Forage App and will provide easier access to all its great features.
If you've registered as an advisor, the app will update automatically on your device. All you have to do is enter your email address on the sign in page, then the app will recognise your details and log you straight in.
If you are involved in forage crop agronomy and haven’t already downloaded and used this tool, download today to ensure you have access to a range of advice and support to help you identify:
- The best solutions for weed control
- The right maize hybrids to deliver your needs
- How to improve silage quality with the right inoculant
Key features include:
- Easy access to technical support and FAQs
- Optimise weed control with our grassland weed wizard tool
- Decision trees for grassland herbicides and silage inoculants
- Product information including labels, tech sheets, weed lists and how to use
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If you sell Forefront® T, you will need the app to continue recording your sales for stewardship reasons.
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The latest results from the annual Pioneer Accurate Crop Testing System (PACTS®) are here. We conduct these on-farm trials every year so that we can accurately describe the performance of the Pioneer maize hybrids we offer. Click here to view the PACTS book in PDF format.
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The impact of M3 genetics on faecal starch losses and milk production
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P7034 is the first Pioneer maize hybrid to meet the M³ advancement criteria and provide UK growers with access to the advantages of Dent textured grain.
When feeding cows or beef cattle, Dent maize can provide a significant nutritional advantage – i.e. increased ruminal starch degradability. Dent starch is high in soft-floury endosperm and is more readily broken down in the rumen than the hard, vitreous endosperm found in Flint grain hybrids.
Starch that isn’t broken down and digested in the rumen or hindgut will pass through the cow to be excreted in the faeces. Nutritionally, this is an expensive loss - indicating poor utilisation, nutrient losses and wasted energy. Ideally, residual starch losses should be less than 3% (Urness, Oct 2011), with losses over 5% being a cause for concern.
Studies have shown that Dent hybrids demonstrate a 2% reduction in faecal starch losses compared to typical Flint hybrids (Laflotte, et al July 2016). Each 1% reduction in faecal starch can be equated to an extra 0.35l milk/day (Ferguson, 2003). The 2% reduction in faecal starch associated with Dent hybrids gives an additional 0.7l milk/cow/day. Based on a typical forage intake of 30kgs maize silage/cow/day, 1 tonne of maize silage would feed 33 cows/day. At 0.7 l/day this equates to 23 litres milk/tonne of maize silage fed. Assuming a price of 32p/litre for milk (Defra, September 2021) and 23 litres of milk/tonne of maize silage, an additional £7.36 of milk/tonne can be achieved from feeding Dent starch silage. The value of this, assuming 36.8t maize/hectare is £271/hectare.
The nutritional benefits of feeding maize with Dent genetics are quantified by these figures. Ultimately, the reduction in faecal starch losses associated with increased ruminal starch degradability will give rise to increases in milk yield and liveweight gain (the energy required to produce 23l of milk equates to approximately 3.5kg of liveweight gain). M³ genetics are currently only available to the UK grower via Pioneer’s hybrid P7034.
Click here to find out more on P7034.
Source: Progressive Dairy, 11th Oct 2011 - Faceal starch analysis: a closer look (Jon Urness)
Source: 2015 French Dairy Trial, University of Lorraine
Laflotte, A, L. Aubry, B. Mahanna and F. Owens. Proceedings 2016 JAM Meeting Abstract 15902, Salt Lake City, July 2016
Source: Dairy Performance, 29th September 2011 - Getting the rest of the story on fecal starch
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Meet Pieter, Chris, Tom and Matt, our Forage and Seed Portfolio Promoters!
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In October we were delighted to announce that we now have a complete team of Promoters for the Forage and Seed Portfolio. Pieter, Chris, Tom and Matt have been appointed so we can proactively provide a higher level of sales support to our dealers and their sales staff, and at the same time significantly increase our capability to demonstrate the performance of our products in the field to farmers who may buy and use them.
Maximising the efficiency of production starts with a farmer selecting the right product for the right situation. One of the most important ways we can assist with that selection challenge is to be in the field helping users of Pioneer seed and silage inoculants identify which product is the ideal one to use. Our Promoters will be demonstrating the performance of new Pioneer maize and winter oilseed rape hybrids in different growing situations. They will be using different and newest tools we have to identify ways of improving silage quality through improved silage production management, and of course the application of the most appropriate and effective Pioneer silage inoculant.
Don’t hesitate to contact the Promoter that covers your area to ask for a product demonstration so you can determine first hand the ideal product choice for your situation.
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Pieter Botha
Mobile: 07915 127965
Territory: Berkshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex and Wiltshire
Chris Pashby
Mobile: 07737 612318
Territory: Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire
Tom Carey
Mobile: 07432 154981
Territory: Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire
Matt Conradie
Mobile: 07788 735780
Territory: Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire, South Wales and West Wales
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Q.When can grassland herbicides first start to be applied?
A. Most grassland weeds such as docks need to show active growth before a herbicide application is made. Typically weeds start to grow when temperatures are above 8oC and rising over a number of days. For good control you will want to see sustained active growth. Chickweed though, will grow in cooler conditions. Buttercups and dandelions emerge early and are best treated before they flower. More details on those weeds next month.
Q. What is the ideal water volume to apply grassland herbicides?
A. When applied via flat fan nozzles, water volumes for established grassland can range from 200 litres to 400 litres depending on the volume of grass present. Corteva encourage the use of low drift air inclusion nozzles with an application volume of 200 litres for all situations.
Q. What is the difference between common and mouse ear chickweed?
A. Both species come from the same family: Caryophyllaceae. Common chickweed (Stellaria media) is capable of 4-5 generations per year. It has few hairs and its stems are slender and weak. Common mouse-ear chickweed (Cerastium fontanum) has hairy leaves and stalks. The flowers are often bunched together, on short stalks. Its leaf and stalk tend to be thicker than common chickweed. They can also feel sticky.
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2 BASIS points (1 crop protection and 1 personal development) will be awarded to those subscribing to the Forage Agronomy Update. Please include course name ‘Forage Agronomy Update’ and ref number: CP/119500/2223/g, on the training record and send to cpd@basis-reg.co.uk.These details are valid until 31 May 2023.
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There are several opportunities to gain BASIS points from Corteva’s forage portfolio:
- Forage Agronomy Update – 2 BASIS points
- Forage Agronomy Guide – 1 BASIS point and/or 2 NRoSO points
- Forage App – 1 BASIS point
- Forefront T Stewardship (advisors only) – 2 BASIS points
- Technical Briefings (including grassland and maize) – points available
- Knowledge Trails – points available at specific shows
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Use plant protection products safely. Always read the label and product information before use. For further information including warning phrases and symbols refer to label. ®™ Trademarks Corteva Agriscience Limited and its affiliated companies. All other brand names are trademarks of other manufacturers for which proprietary rights may exist. All manufacturers tradenames and trademarks are duly acknowledged. © 2023 Corteva. Doxstar® Pro contains fluroxypyr and triclopyr. Envy® contains fluroxypyr and florasulam . Forefront® T contains aminopyralid and triclopyr. Grazon® SPOT and Grazon® Pro contain clopyralid and triclopyr. Leystar® contains fluroxypyr, clopyralid and florasulam.
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