Potato Review

EU Commission confirms end of the road for Monceren “Slugs treated with metaldehyde die on the surface and when the crop canopy is pulled back they are easy to identify,” Ben said. “Slugs that have ingested ferric phosphate do not die immediately and instead will stop eating and gravitate underground where they eventually die. Crop monitoring becomes even more important where ferric phosphate has been applied.” In cereals and oilseed rape crops, he adds that Fe-Lyn has been rigorously tested for durability, persistence, evenness of spread pattern and attractiveness. With the product now also available in potatoes, growers can be confident going forward. “Fe-Lyn spreads evenly at 24m with a single spinner or 36m with a twin system, such as a Stocks Fan Jet Duo, provided the spreader being used has been properly maintained,” he says. “Fe-Lyn’s durability also stands out over its competitors, especially in high rainfall situations. Some other ferric phosphate brands simply breakdown too quickly when they get wet. This increases the likelihood of having to go back in for a repeat application that was not planned, which leads to additional product and application costs. “I know in other parts of the UK, the take-up of ferric phosphate for slug control in cereals and potatoes has been slower and there is still some education required, principally because the behaviour of the slugs once the product has been ingested is different to that of metaldehyde. “Growers who are new to Fe-Lyn can take confidence from others that have used ferric phosphate,” said Ben. “Fe-Lyn works very well due to its use of a high-quality pellet giving many benefits for slug control, especially important in potatoes when poor slug control can cost thousands of pounds.” *Stephanie Cornwall paid a visit to the De Sangrosse factory recently for a ‘behind the scenes’ look into its research and development. Full details will be included in the next issue of Potato Review. www.potatoreview.com www. tongengineering .com e: sales@tongengineering.com t: +44 (0)1790 752771 > Gentle Handling > Advanced Design > Intelligent Control THE COMPLETE SOLUTION Designed with you in mind B ayer is maintaining its previous advice not to use the potato tuber treatment, Monceren (pencycuron) this season after the European Commission followed through on proposals to set a new maximum residue limit (MRL). The Commissionís proposal of a lower limit of 0.01 mg/kg is expected to become official by June. A transitional period of up to six months is likely to follow to allow treated crops in store to be cleared after which any imported or treated crop will have to meet the new MRL. While this means Monceren could still be applied during spring 2020, the potatoes produced from the treated tubers would need to be sold by the end of the unconfirmed transitional period. Therefore to minimise the risk of exceedances of the MRL, Bayer is continuing to advise growers not to apply the product this spring on any crops, either entirely or in part, that will be used in food or feed. Seed growers who cannot be certain that part or all of their crop will not be diverted to these markets should also consider using an alternative product such as Emesto Prime (penflufen). Bayer will take back unopened and undamaged stocks of Monceren. For returns, contact the distributor. Bayer has helped ensure other tuber treatments are available by increasing supplies of Emesto Prime, which has been shown to deliver better yield protection than Monceren in independent trials. Across several seasons and different soil types, Emesto Prime has been found to be a step-up in performance against black scurf and stem canker through unbeaten protection against seed-borne Rhizoctonia solani,î says Edward Hagues, Bayer’s Campaign Manager for root crops. As well as being formulated to ensure smooth application, trials have shown that crops treated with Emesto Prime have on average less than half the incidence of black scurf and a gross yield of 1t/ha more than those treated with alternatives such as flutolanil, Ed added.