Mostly dry weather, lots of interest and plenty of novelties CU LTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY ILVO searches for solutions for pests and diseases with a drone The aim of the ILVO research drone is to see what it could add towards more sustainable crop protection in Belgian agriculture. The stand of ILVO, the Flemish Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries Research based in Merelbeketrok, attracted a lot of attention with a big helicopter drone. Peter Rakers, network manager of the Smart Digital Farming department, explains that this eye catcher has been purchased for research into the possibilities of deploying drones to search for pests and diseases and possibly to combat them with a spray device. The aim is to see what a drone could add towards more sustainable crop protection in Belgian agriculture. Spraying with a drone is currently not allowed, but there could be exceptions, for example for very site-specific crop treatments. Potentially, we could significantly reduce the use of these products and this could eventually change legislation. For example, consider the treatment of a newly-emerging Phytophthora outbreak. What we also want to find out is how we can use drone cameras to search for, identify, and map out weeds, pests and diseases. Simply making charts could already be useful because, even if we were not allowed to spray with a drone, the charts could still be used for the field crop sprayer, according to Rakers. The first year of trials with crops such as the potato is almost over. For reliable measurements and conclusions, many years of testing will follow, the ILVO researcher expects. Already good experiences with new alternatives for CIPC at Arvesta Arvesta is a consultant and supplier of crop protection agents and fertilisers for agriculture in Belgium. The Dutch company Alliance of Nieuwkuijk also forms a part of Arvesta. The companies were present with a joint stand, where, among other things, they drew attention to alternatives for the sprout inhibitor Chlorine-IPC that will be banned next year. A specialist in this field is consultant Crétiënne Oomen. He explains that Alliance has already gained ample experience with the alternative sprout inhibitors MH and 1.4SIGHT and that the first practical tests with Biox-M have now been carried out. Ethylene is another well-known alternative, but Arvesta has not yet gained any experience with that. ‘We keep our customers regularly informed about this via our digital spray guide, for which we’ve also developed an app, says Oomen. In the coming years, MH will be the basic product for sprout inhibition for many ware potatoes that go into storage. You apply this in the field, a few weeks before haulm killing. It only works if the field conditions are suitable.’ Unfortunately this is not the case for every crop every year, the adviser points out. ‘If the crop has absorbed MH well, you can be sure of a sproutinhibiting effect of 3 to 6 months. If you haven’t been able to apply MH or if it has failed to work, we recommend that you use new sprout inhibitors such as 1.4SIGHT and Biox-M before storage. This also applies to the time after which MH has stopped working. We’ve already gained very good experience with 1.4SIGHT. So good, in fact, that we see fewer storage losses than when we used Chlorine-IPC. We don’t yet have gained ‘Using our digital spray guide, for which we’ve also developed an app, we keep our customers regularly informed about our experiences with new storage products’, says Crétiënne Oomen. sufficient experience with Biox-M. We still need to try different ways to fine-tune the dosage and the duration of intervals. If you want to achieve the lowest possible costs in the new situation, a successful basic MH treatment has a big influence on both products’, says Oomen. Potato World 2019 • number 4 27 Pagina 26
Pagina 28Scoor meer met een online winkel in uw uitgaven. Velen gingen u voor en publiceerden mailings online.
Potatoworld 2019/4 Lees publicatie 54Home