Cura Crop 2017 – A closer look at disease
02.05.2018

Don’t judge a leaf by its colour.
How do you check your crop for disease? Glance over the leaves and look for any lesions or pustules? For years, this has been the case. But at BASF, we wanted to know whether there’s more to your crop than
meets the eye. That’s why last year we embarked on an innovative piece of research, attempting to bust the myth that no visible infection means no disease, even in a lower disease year.
What we did.
Before T2, we surveyed 132 farmers across the country to see what they thought about their crop’s health. We asked them, by looking at the leaves of their crops, to decide whether or not they thought they were infected with Septoria.
We wanted to compare this with our own genetic analysis, where presymptomatic (non-visible) infection can be measured.
So we took samples of leaves 1-4 and analysed their DNA using qPCR to reveal indications of disease.
What we found.
Instances of disease were far higher than the farmers’ original perception. 60% of the farmers thought their crops were free of disease but the DNA analysis shows disease levels are far higher.
Latent disease levels could be clearly detected by DNA analysis. At the T2 timing, the vast majority (75-90%) of lower leaves (L3 & L4) were infected.
What’s more, 50-65% of upper leaves (L1 & L2) were also infected.
What it means for your crop.
The results from the Cura Crop 2017 analysis have shown that regardless of whether your crop shows visible signs of disease or not, curative spray applications are still beneficial.
Every crop is at risk from Septoria and rust, even in an apparently low disease year. This has to be taken into account when making effective fungicide decisions.
Effective crop protection is about combating and managing infection in the best way possible. Maintaining fungicide treatment, even when no disease is visible, could improve your crop’s performance.
Minimise your risk and for the best performing SDHI, choose Xemium®: proven to provide superb control of Septoria in wheat.
For the latest Cura Crop press release, please click here.