Over the last few years, there has been a lot of focus on the best ways to protect barley crops against such damaging diseases as the two forms of net blotch. Now some of the attention has shifted across to the best ways of managing Septoria tritici blotch (STB) in wheat.

Strains of STB that can’t be controlled by older fungicides are causing increasing damage in many cropping areas, and the good rainfall in many cropping over summer could lead to an increase in the likelihood of STB being a threat again in 2021.

As a seed treatment that controls foliar diseases well into the season – as well as soil-borne and seed-borne ones – Systiva^® from BASF is now the first-line solution of choice in both crops.

Systiva is well established as one of the leading seed treatments for barley, but is not yet as widely used in wheat. That’s partly because its registration for STB only came through last year and partly because so much more wheat is sown untreated, with growers relying on traditional in-crop treatments to do the job.

The proven yield benefits of using Systiva suggest it’s time for a rethink.     

Good years in cropping begin with enough early moisture for strong crop establishment, but the downside of autumn rain can be high disease pressure when the crop is most vulnerable. That looks like being a possible scenario in 2021.

Winter rains and winds can often add to the challenge of finding a suitable application window for in-crop fungicide solutions, in wetter years, when disease pressure is likely to be higher than average, this can seriously impact potential yields. So, if you’re aiming to realise the biggest yields the conditions allow, why wait to see what happens before acting? Using the best available disease protection upfront is a very smart and cost-effective precaution.

Systiva provides more comprehensive and sustained disease protection than other seed treatments to help crops make a stronger start. Trials show that both wheat and barley crops treated with Systiva have increased vigour and produce consistently bigger yields than untreated seed. 

For more information on the benefits of sowing barley and wheat treated with Systiva, visit crop-solutions.basf.com.au/products/systiva or talk to your local Nutrien team.