Agrii agronomist Andrew Farley says that, with the excellent price of oilseed rape, every pod is worth preserving and growers should be applying an effective anti-pod shatter product together with their desiccant this harvest to make sure that the crop holds on to as much seed as possible. “As far as I am concerned it is a “no-brainer” to use the pod-sticker, Iskay bearing in mind the high price of oilseed rape. I am convinced it is the right thing to do this harvest. Many rape crops have struggled this year and it is vital that as much yield is preserved as possible.”
Alan East, Technical Manager for Interagro, who market Iskay, agrees that every seed shed means yield losses and subsequent reduction in profitability. “In adverse conditions, potential seed losses due to pod shatter can be as high as 25%, which represents a significant amount of money these days. Taking an average crop of 3.4 t/ha at £379/tonne today, a 25% loss is worth well over £300/ha. This is especially pertinent this year as many farmers have had to nurture and micromanage their crops through the season. With high rape prices and variable crops, it is worth finishing the job properly and actively minimising losses at harvest by using Iskay.”
“Trials work with our distributor partners Agrii has shown that the use of Iskay can result in yield increases of over 0.52 t/ha, worth over £197/hectare with rape at £379/tonne. Such a treatment also results in increased oil content which will increase the overall price benefit.”
Alan explains that Iskay is a specialist blend of polymers, emusifiers and surfactants, designed specifically to minimise seed losses in oilseed rape due to pod shatter during harvest, improving yield and reducing the number of volunteers after harvest. “Iskay is a specialist pod sticker that forms a lattice or mesh over the fragile pods, securing the upper and lower pods together, preventing pods from opening up and shedding seed at harvest. You can see how it works on a fascinating animation on our web site www.interagro.co.uk under Iskay”
“The use of Iskay has no adverse effects on the crop and allows pods to mature naturally. It doesn’t affect the speed of desiccation and has no adverse effects on seed quality or seed maturity, so that growers can manage their harvest more efficiently,” Alan says.
“Its use also has a knock-on effect by reducing rape volunteers in subsequent crops. Oilseed rape volunteers are more and more difficult and expensive to control. They also encourage higher slug populations which are becoming more difficult to tackle with restrictions in slug pellet usage.”
Iskay has been used successfully in Hungary, Poland and other European countries in podded crops including oilseed rape, peas, beans, linseed and flax. It is being trialled in grass-seed.
Iskay is recommended at a dose rate of between 0.75 to 1 litres/ha in 150-400 litres of water as a medium quality spray. The higher dose rates and higher water volumes should be used in dense crops. Iskay is applied from when pods are green and bendy (BBCH 80) up to fully ripe when nearly all pods are ripe and seeds black and hard (BBCH 89). It can be used alone or in tank mix with desiccants such as glyphosate or diquat. It is packed in a 5 litre pack and is available throughout the UK from Agrii.
