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News Headlines 

Modesto - new OSR seed treatment  

Modesto - new OSR seed treatment


Modesto - Impact of new oilseed rape seed treatment shows from establishment
to harvest


A new insecticidal seed treatment for oilseed rape can help growers lift the ceiling on oilseed rape yields.

Called Modesto, it has been developed by Bayer CropScience to improve crop establishment, pest control and yield in winter oilseed rape according to the company's seed treatments campaign manager Adrian Cottey. "The yield potential for current varieties is 6.5t/ha but average farm yields are half this. In HGCA trials fungicide treatment has consistently produced 0.7t/ha more than untreated and this new seed treatment can give the same yield benefit."

Containing clothianidin, their new generation neo-nicotinoid insecticide, it will be a significant improvement over current standard Chinook in many ways he claims. "With aphids and Turnip sawfly on the label, as well as Cabbage stem flea beetle , it offers broader spectrum control and is longer lasting, providing six to eight weeks protection from germination, and it's robust enough to mitigate pest changes being brought about by climate change."

Head of crop protection at Broom's Barn, Dr Mark Stevens (right) reckons Turnip yellows virus (TuYV) is one of the main reasons for the flat trend in yields. "It's become something of a forgotten problem, probably because it's so difficult to recognise. Symptoms are often confused with physiological or nutritional deficiencies and usually not expressed until six months after initial infection from aphids migrating in to crops the previous autumn.


TuYV symptoms- reddening or purpling of leaf margins and interveinal discolouration - often confused with physiological or nutritional deficiencies

"Peach-potato aphids (Myzus persicae) are the main vector, but it is also carried by the Potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae) and has an extremely wide host range including all brassica crops, lettuce and many weed species. Broom's Barn research has shown that it can decrease oilseed rape yields by 26%. In addition it can hit crop value by reducing oil content and increasing glucosinolate concentration."


TuYV indicators 

Dr Stevens says the milder autumns we've had recently are allowing more survival of aphids and spread of the virus over winter. As a result he has seen infection levels in crops monitored by Broom's Barn shoot up to almost 80% in April 2007 and 2008 from a 'normal' level of 10% or less. Accompanying this has been an explosion in aphid infectivity. Over the last 18 months up to seven out of 10 aphids caught in Rothamsted suction traps were carrying TuYV.

In Bayer CropScience trials to assess the impact of seed treatments Modesto produced a 0.4t/ha benefit in 2007 and 0.7t/ha this year. Dr Stevens concludes that seed treatments are key for limiting TuYV and Modesto offers longer protection than Chinook. Future work at Broom's Barn will look into spray timings, aphid monitoring and varietal resistance to devise integrated control strategies for TuYV.


Turnip Sawfly

To compare Modesto against existing standard Chinook for Cabbage stem flea beetle control, Frontier Agriculture included both in their 2007/08 winter oilseed rape trial on the Yorkshire Wolds. Their national trials manager Jim Carswell says it's a known hot spot for the pest and pressure turned out to be huge in autumn 2007.

"Plant numbers established and ground cover were highest in the Modesto plots and plant population was maintained better into late autumn than by Chinook. Modesto seemed to result in more even flowering and maturity too and yielded nearly a tonne more than untreated. The insecticide seed treatments also seemed to increase oil content, by reducing pressure from aphids spreading virus, and Modesto did best producing 48.1% oil content compared with 45.1% from the untreated."

Based on Frontier's results Mr Carswell says Modesto seems very exciting for the future. "It's important to use insecticide seed treatments where pest pressure is deemed high and to monitor crops and apply a follow-up insecticide spray where necessary. In this trial the highest average yield came from applying the pyrethroid approximately six weeks after drilling." Mr Carswell also notes that best results were achieved by drilling 80 seeds/sqm.

Modesto treatment will be available on winter oilseed rape seed for autumn 2009 and will be supported by Bayer's Advanced Seed Treatment Technology programme to promote the highest standards in all aspects of seed treatment application and use. Treated seed must be fully incorporated for safety, which precludes use in autocast systems.