What drives modern agriculture forward? Obviously, this is science, in-depth research and high technologies, the effect of which is available to the general agricultural public indirectly - through the products, solutions / services brought to the market. From now on, Ukrainian farmers can feel the pulse of scientific research, research and development directly, because Syngenta has launched an educational platform based on the leading Ukrainian R&D station in Bila Tserkva. And here, each of the industry professionals can believe even more in their own strength, be sure of the effectiveness of innovative solutions and approaches.
Each of the leading companies has its own R&D structures, without which it is impossible to talk about a serious position in the market. Usually this is a combination of two areas: Research and Development (development of products, solutions, etc.). In the case of "Syngenta" Ukraine, we can currently talk about Training, that is, training and educational work for clients, since the Syngenta Training Center has been operating since the beginning of June on the basis of the company's R&D station in Bila Tserkva.
Openness to farmers. "We are launching an educational platform for farmers. Why here? Because the station where we are located has excellent technical equipment, an extremely large number of interesting researches, field experts, biologists, scientists who are engaged in product development work here, - says Maryana Shvai, marketing manager of the Syngenta company. — This is the leading R&D station in the company's network in Ukraine. In parallel, an educational platform in Vinnytsia is also being launched."
The R&D station is, in fact, an internal structure, and the company wants to share its achievements, especially in such a difficult time, when it is very important to open up, share and unite.
It is clear that Syngenta has an extremely large number of interesting products that need to be told about to the agricultural community, and most of the events held by the 73 GOOD NEWS FROM THE FIELDS company are focused on getting to know them. However, there are also many solutions, services and technological approaches combined with products. And within the framework of the Syngenta Training Center in Bila Tserkva, considerable attention was paid to them. So the program of events here is extremely intense and full.
A combination of science and practice. The participants of the event got acquainted with the areas of activity of the research center, its technical equipment, talked with specialists.
"This is our first such experience, joint work with the marketing department. Before that, the station worked only for internal customers of the company, but we decided to change something, because such are the requirements of the time, - explains Vitaly Nagorny, head of the biological research department of Syngenta. — The purpose of this event is simple: we want to combine practice with theory. Here, farmers can see everything in the field, and then get knowledge in the audience. It is also an opportunity to show our latest products, technologies and services."
Reference grain protection. The intensive program of the training center begins with experiments under the open sky. During the field tour, the participants got acquainted with the specifics of the establishment of research plots, received data on the weather conditions of this season, the power supply system, etc. Also, everyone could learn in detail about the equipment used by biologists. In particular, sprayers for experiments, each of which is made and configured for a particular specialist.
On wheat (Aktor variety, which is used in Europe as a benchmark against septoriosis and viral diseases), various protection systems were presented, combining such fungicides as Miravis® Neo, Miravis® Ace, Magnello®, Amistar® Extra, Elatus® Ria, Tilt® Turbo, which has demonstrated its effectiveness against a wide range of common pathogens.
The focus of attention was primarily on SDHI products, which contain the unique active ingredient Adepidin® from the new subgroup of N-methoxy-pyrazolecarboxamides. Miravis® Neo (propiconazole + azoxystrobin + Adepidin®) has three different mechanisms of action on pathogens, provides their reference control on wheat and barley. The participants of the event note the unique effectiveness of the drug in controlling spotting, fusarium and septoriosis, as well as helminthosporiosis on barley. By the way, the effect of Miravis® Neo with various surface-active substances and herbicides in the tank mixture was studied on the plots with the Highlight winter barley variety.
And Miravis® Ace (Adepidin® + propiconazole) confidently claims the title of the best defender of the ear. Overall, this fungicide controls the widest range of diseases among the specialty ear protection fungicides (T3). Due to the latest and powerful mechanism of action, it provides the highest quality protection against fusarium head blight, alternaria blight, septoriosis and saprophytic fungal microflora. Effective control of mycotoxins is also among its advantages.
Anti-stress solution for sunflower. The effectiveness of the anti-stressor biostimulant Quantis® in reducing phytotoxic effects caused by insurance herbicides was demonstrated on sunflower. The high-oleic intensive hybrid Talento is quite sensitive to growing conditions and the possible negative effects of pesticides. For comparison, 10 variants of insurance herbicides were taken: products of Syngenta, other originator companies, and generics. They were used both in their pure form and with the addition of an anti-stress agent in the tank mixture. MA No. 3/2023 74
The positive effect of using Quantis®, namely the reduction of phytotoxic manifestations on the plant, was noted by all guests and specialists. This amino acid-based drug of natural origin provides stable results and reduces yield losses caused by abiotic stresses and problematic use of pesticides. Experts emphasize that Quantis® is a well-studied drug with proven effectiveness, unlike many other drugs on the market in this segment that work only on the "trust" of the farmer, and not actually in the field.
Interestingly, Mykola Dovhal, the head of the plant protection product marketing department in Ukraine at the Syngenta company, touched on such a trending topic in Europe today as the interaction of stimulants with herbicides regarding the effect on weeds. In particular, will the activation of physiological processes in weed plants after the application of systemic drugs contribute to the accumulation of toxic elements in them and their death in the future? The company plans to start relevant tests next year.
Sunflower: new hybrids and segments. Communication in the audience was extremely rich. In particular, the guests of the event were presented with an updated portfolio of sunflower hybrids. Hennadiy Malyna, head of the oilseeds technical support group at Syngenta, noted that for the 2022-2023 season, Syngenta significantly expanded its line of hybrids in all segments and even introduced a unique segment to the market.
In the classic segment, hybrids SY Teos and SY Amazonia have entered the market, which are characterized by high resistance to lupus and, accordingly, are recommended for cultivation in areas where there are problems with its new aggressive races. However, according to their characteristics, these hybrids are suitable for sowing in all sunflower regions. These hybrids are also resistant to powdery mildew.
In the high-oleic segment, there are two novelties for classic technology. In 2022, the SY Othello hybrid entered the market, which is primarily recommended for the conditions of the South and Southeast. A special feature of this hybrid is resistance to new breeds of wolfberry, as well as to rust, which is a problem in arid regions or in dry years. And in 2023, agrarians will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with SY Phenomeno, which is also characterized by resistance to new races of lupus and downy mildew, therefore it is suitable for cultivation in the conditions of the Northern Steppe and Forest Steppe. Today, this hybrid can be considered as a potential addition to the well-known Tutti hybrid.
In the segment of HTS (sulfohybrids), a novelty appeared - Sureli. This mid-ripening, moderately intense hybrid hit the market last year and was an instant hit with customers in all growing regions. Experts are sure that it will be popular everywhere where sunflower is grown.
In the new segment of high-oleic HTS-hybrids for Syngenta, medium-ripe Suvango and Subeo should be considered by farmers. They are designed for farms with moderately intensive and intensive cultivation technologies, and the company expects record harvests in this segment.
The Clearfield® Plus segment was replenished with the SY Michigan KLP hybrid. It can be perceived as an enhancement to the hybrid SI Bacardi KLP due to its resistance to new races of wolfberry, excellent pollination of the basket, etc.
The high-oleic segment of Clearfield® Plus has two novelties: the extensive hybrid SY Flavio KLP notes high initial growth energy, it is adapted to the conditions of the Steppe, and the rather intensive SY Diego KLP, according to experts, can become the successor of Talento.
And, of course, there is a lot of interest in the whole new A.I.R.™ segment of the sunflower market. It includes CI Иpica AR for cultivation in conditions of the Steppe, Southern Forest-Steppe and intensive CI Futura AR, which is designed for a wide geography — from the Forest Steppe to the North and West. Both hybrids are resistant to both tribenuron-methyl and imazamox / imazapyr. "This gives flexibility in choosing a herbicide for the farm. And you don't need to break the developed technology - whether it's sulfo, Clearfield®, or classic," emphasized Hennadiy Malyna.
Sunflower is one of the key crops for Ukrainian agricultural producers, so the problems of its cultivation at the training center were comprehensively considered. In particular, the biological features of sunflower and the course of the growing season are analyzed, the data on the dependence of the level of infection of the field on the timing of the return of sunflower in the crop rotation are given, and the influence of the timing of sowing on the level of disease damage is also considered.
Systemic protection against diseases. Sunflower diseases every year become an increasingly serious challenge during cultivation and lead to a yield loss of 0.5–2.5 t/ha. In addition, they significantly affect the quality indicators of seeds: oil content, acid number of oil, germination and germination energy.
Specialists examined the species composition and locations of pathogenic sunflower mycoflora and the most harmful diseases of recent seasons: septoriosis, fomosis, fomopsis, rust, sclerotiniosis. It is emphasized that the latter is too difficult to control, and the main factors that should be addressed to reduce crop losses from this disease are indicated. The main thing is still the prophylactic application of effective fungicides in the correct phase (beginning-mid-flowering), since after infection, the use of any drug is questionable. However, sunflower protection systems from the Syngenta company, which include, in particular, such products as Amistar® Extra, Amistar® Gold, Setar®, have clearly proven their effectiveness in disease control during recent seasons.
A.I.R.™ Hybrid Herbicides and Blight Control There was also considerable interest in herbicide selection for the newest A.I.R.™ hybrid segment. Specialists recommended options for different types of crops: with a low clogging of lupus and no ragweed, high clogging of lupus and low clogging of ragweed, etc. Carcass control of A.I.R.™ hybrids is also becoming relevant. It is advisable to use any herbicide that is not an ALS-inhibitor in grain crops, and Elumis®, Kallisto® will be the optimal solution for corn. Pre-plant or post-harvest glyphosate can also be used.
A healthy way of farming. The importance of regenerative agriculture was considered during an online conversation with specialists of the world-famous agricultural company Dyson Farming. Its owner, the largest farmer in Great Britain, Sir James Dyson, was recognized as the country's richest man in 2020. Restorative methods of farming in the English manner, in particular, include the minimization of soil cultivation and the extensive use of cover crops, integration into crop rotation of root crops, optimization of the water regime, etc.
And Valery Dubrovin, manager of carbon farming and soil health at Syngenta, highlighted the issue of crop residue management and approaches that characterize a healthy way of farming. One conclusion is that the longer the soil is covered with plants during the season, the better it is for its health. And therefore, for the fertility of your field and the obtained crops.
The health of the soil largely depends on the crop nutrition system. In the EU countries, a method of optimizing nitrogen nutrition has been introduced, taking into account NUE (Nitrogen Use Efficacy), which should be based on the balance of nitrogen between the nitrogen applied with fertilizers and removed with the crop. In general, the logic of calculations in real conditions here also needs deeper and more balanced approaches.
Interra® Scan — a new soil mapping service from "Syngenta" The event also discussed a new technology for precision agriculture. Interra® Scan enables the creation of the highest resolution maps (over 800 points per hectare) and provides up to 27 layers of information available to growers through the Interra® Scan platform. The system uses passive gamma radiation detection technology followed by laboratory analysis for detailed mapping of soil physical and chemical characteristics. The importance of this methodology is that it is not affected by soil moisture, compaction, vegetation cover or cultivation condition, which provides a much wider operational window for soil scanning compared to other systems. The platform makes it possible to create task cards for fertilizer application equipment, PPE, liming, and seeding rates. In this way, we optimize the use of resources and increase the potential of each field.
Yevhen Buyun, senior technical expert, Syngenta company.
Spraying drones "in sight". Spraying with the help of drones is no longer an innovative wonder, but an effective technology that is becoming more and more widespread. The company "Syngenta" is probably the leading expert in this field, because it has conducted and is conducting a number of experiments with various cultures and products of different classes and types of action. Technical expert Yevhen Buyun presented the obtained data and focused on the actual issues of ultra-low-volume application. The results of the experiments show that less than 5 l/ha of the pouring solution does not provide the basic indicators of coverage and the proper efficiency of the majority of ZZR. It is also important when considering weather factors (temperature, wind speed, air humidity) to take into account such indicators as thermal inversion and psychrometric temperature difference. In general, when cooperating with service companies that provide drone spraying services, you should be especially attentive to the setting of technical tasks.
Pre-emergent herbicide protection: apply where needed and as much as needed.
Experts consider the differentiated use of soil herbicides to be an innovation that will become common practice. Regarding the effectiveness of such an agricultural approach, there are already convincing data from international and Ukrainian experiments.
In particular, this is a reduction of phytotoxicity at the level of 35–52% without loss of efficiency, effective control of weeds in all zones of heterogeneity (up to +15% compared to the farm scheme) and, of course, this is a significant reduction of the pesticide load on the soil.
Syngenta company specialists are able to create task maps for clients depending on the characteristics of farm equipment and taking into account the history of the field, protection technologies, etc.
3D sawing technology
During the training program, the next step in the development of spraying technology from the Syngenta company was presented - sprayers 3D 90. Innovative sprayers allow you to minimize the risk of losing the working solution, extend the time period of application of 33P, improve the quality of coverage of the target object and safety.
Experts believe that 3D 90 is the ideal choice for applying pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicides, T0, T1 and T3 treatments, desiccation and fungicidal treatments of potatoes and tomatoes.
A community of real professionals. "Our farmers are very experienced and inquisitive, have a lot of practical experience, which is invaluable," noted Maryana Shvay. It is also important for us to create a community of such professionals, a platform for sharing experiences, and an interactive meeting format. It is especially important now."
And we can say that the idea was 100% successful. Such passion, curiosity, sincere involvement in the discussion and exchange of opinions still need to be found. And you will find it only at the Syngenta Training Center. The R&D station in Bila Tserkva and the scientific research potential of "Syngent" unite true professionals in their field.
Vitaly Nagorny, head of the biological research department, Syngenta:
— We are used to perceiving science as something aloof, as something far from ordinary life, everyday work in the field. And here we are open - we show what and what we are working on. Farmers from all over Ukraine can familiarize themselves with our, so to speak, internal scientific kitchen.
This is the only such powerful R&D station in Ukraine, it includes research departments of seed and agrochemical directions for almost all crops that are in the portfolio and are grown in Ukraine. In addition, AgroGid services, technical support service, etc. Other companies do not have anything similar on this scale. We also have hubs in Western Ukraine, in the Southern region.
Our station is not just at a high European level, but in many ways it even exceeds it. Here there is a powerful material and technical base, highly qualified specialists — the scientific potential is truly unique. In particular, we research products even before registration. It takes 8-10 years to bring them to the market, and only 1-2 out of 100,000 molecules are translated into the final result. One product is laid in parallel in dozens of countries around the world. And our main goal is a high-quality drug that is effective and safe for the environment.
Oleksandr Verzhihovskyi, operations director of the agricultural holding "IMK" (currently 120,000 hectares in cultivation in the Sumy, Chernihiv and Poltava regions):
— We have been working with Syngenta since the foundation of our company. We use almost the entire range of its products, we always use technical support services, we participate in the company's training events, which are among the best and most useful on the market in terms of the level of organization and the amount of knowledge provided.
During this year's event, we saw dozens of field experiments, and this is evidence that Syngenta invests a lot of money, time, and resources in field research and training. And, most importantly, all this is not just for the sake of a scientific experiment, because the results of research are a real help to us, agricultural producers, in solving problems of varying degrees of complexity. All recommendations on the use of PPE (application norms, application schemes and regulations, etc.) are based on the practical experience of the company's employees, so they deserve attention and trust. For all our long cooperation with the company, its drugs and their application schemes, integrated technologies have never let us down.
Oleksandr Girman, chief agronomist of "IMK":
— "Syngenta" is one of our strategic partners. Today, we use about 30% of pesticides and 90% of sunflower seeds from this producer.
This is the second time we are visiting the Bilotserk Research Station. For the first time, our team (production management of the holding, chief agronomists, engineers and research agronomists) underwent training in the winter, when we got to know in detail the company's approaches to work.
The company's field research deserves special attention. We have our own research center, where we conduct research on various drugs, schemes and the economic feasibility of their use. You can't compare them - in this regard, we have a lot to work on.
The work done by Syngenta specialists is invaluable. After all, the weather conditions for growing cereals are "the same" every year: excessive or moderate moisture, drought, frost, etc. Everything is repeated from year to year, although in different combinations, which may be hundreds, or thousands. (Smiles.)
We should also not forget about the economic expediency of using drugs. Due to unstable market prices, we have slightly revised our own crop rotation, increased the percentage of wheat and sunflowers, which require careful protection from weeds, diseases and pests. Accordingly, the number of pesticide treatments and the cost of transporting water have increased. Therefore, we decided to reduce the working solution rates to 50–70 l/ha, which significantly reduced logistics costs and made it possible to increase the variable productivity to 650–700 ha. Under such a norm, all drugs work perfectly.
Also, keeping up with the times, we actively use unmanned equipment to apply pesticides, particularly desiccants. "Syngenta" is the first company on the market, whose specialists, in the course of practical field experiments, substantiated the expediency of the standards for the application of pesticides by drones for various drugs. Quite interesting information, something to think about.
Practice, research and testing should be at the core of the activity of a modern agricultural producer. However, taking into account the scale of the required research, it is quite expensive to conduct relevant work in the economy. Entrust this matter to professionals, be ready for today's challenges, be one step ahead, be from "Syngent"!
Comments