b'Scott Cockburn is business manager for Syngenta Crop Protection in the United Kingdom.although Cockburn says they are behind on no- used, with some even grazing sheep on the till practices compared to Canada. crop. No-till and chemical treatments have been Stubble hygiene has also been tried out,experimented with. Some farmers claim the flea although this relies heavily on the use of glypho- beetle infestations are worse at night, so theyll sate which is another whole debate. Chemicalspray for them then. WERE control has been used, but pests such as aphidsWere getting lots of theories with all of this.GETTING are starting to show chemical resistance. People want to do things that theyll swear blind Cover crops have been experimented with.at, Cockburn says. But so far no one has beenLOTS OF Farmers have also tried seeding at later dates able to crack the code and find the perfect pest the crops germinate in colder temperatures, kill- control method. THEORIES ing the aphids off. Companies have even begunMoving forward, the industry will start to marketing precision agriculture tools to helpcatch up to the regulations and will release newWITH ALL determine optimal seeding dates to beat aphidproducts to assist farmers in their fight againstOF THIS. attacks. pests, Cockburn expects.Rapeseed farmers have also been playingNew crop breeds like RAGTs soon-to-be- PEOPLE around with similar practices. Some have triedavailable Wolverine BVDV resistant winter wheat seeding their winter rapeseed crops at earliervariety will be able to withstand aphid attacks,WANT TO dates, claiming it causes better stand establish- Cockburn says. In the long-term, new biocon-ment, making them able to with withstandtrols, biostimulants and sprayable pheromonesDO THINGS infestations. Others argue a later seeding dateshould hit the U.K. market to protect cereals likeTHAT works better as their crop misses the window forwinter wheat.the main aphid attack. Some have used higherRapeseed, on the other hand, faces a tougherTHEYLL seeding rates to try and dilute infestations, but iffuture. The viability of the crop will depend on all plants reach maturity, the crop is then over- new pesticide discoveries and biocontrols. ThereSWEAR crowded. is hope, though, as white mustard has pest Others have tried alternative crops, such asresistance and it is related to rapeseed. CockburnBLIND AT.linseed, maize, soybeans, sunflowers or pulses,suspects those resistance genes will be brought Scott instead of rapeseed in their rotations. Trap crop- into future rapeseed varieties.ping, where the previous rapeseed stubble isUndoubtably we will get new pesticide dis- Cockburnleft out for the flea beetles to attack while thecoveries. They will come along, but theyre fewer new crop germinates, has been experimentedand harder to find nowadays, he says. with. Cover crops, such as mustard, have been NOVEMBER 2020 GERMINATION.CA 47'