BASF talks up Headline's "plant health" benefit

In Regina, during the Farm Progress Show, BASF held a media seminar to teach us about the extra benefits of using Headline fungicide. BASF is collecting all sorts of evidence from farmers and researchers to show that Headline is more than just a disease control product. The active ingredient pyraclostrobin also helps the crop with improved plant growth (through nitrogen use efficiency and more photosynthesis) and greater tolerance to drought and other stresses, we were told.

Amber Shirley, senior technical service specialist with BASF in North Carolina, says there have been 5,000 documented on-farm trials of Headline in the U.S. over the past three years. And in that time, U.S. corn acres treated with Headline have gone from 7,000 in 2005 to seven million in 2007.

She says Headline will control grey leaf spot and anthracnose, the major U.S. corn diseases, but farmers will rarely spray for these diseases. Farmers are using Headline for the added “plant health” benefits, she says.

Shirley quoted a Stratus survey of U.S. farmers that says the overall corn yield benefit from a Headline application is 15 bushels per acre.

Headline is approved on a bunch of crops. The rate for corn in the U.S. is six ounces per acre (equivalent to the 160 ml per acre rate in Canada.) At that rate, Headline costs U.S. growers $20 per acre, including adjuvant and application.

Headline is registered on a long list of crops in Canada, including corn, cereals, potatoes and pulses. BASF claims an 11 per cent yield benefit for peas treated with Headline.

Applicaton tips for peas....

The media package we got included a fact sheet about Headline use on peas. Here are some tips lifted from the fact sheet:

—For optimum plant health results, apply Headline at the early flower stage.

—Use a rate of 160 ml per acre.

—Use a minimum 10 gallons of water per acre for ground application, or five gallons by air.

—Research has shown that increasing water volume to 20 gallons per acre increases coverage, which increases disease control.

—Do not apply Headline more than twice per growing season.