Spring barley growers in Scotland will need to turn to new single purpose seed treatments in future, following the loss of regulatory approval of the two most popular options.

However, only one option will provide the comprehensive early season seed-borne disease control they have become accustomed to in previous seasons, according to Neil Thomson, of Bayer.

He said that Redigo Pro (prothioconazole + tebuconazole), which growers might be familiar with as a single-purpose seed treatment in wheat, is also now available for use in spring barley.

It could fill the gaps left from the loss of the spring barley approval for Raxil Star (fluopyram + prothioconazole + tebuconazole) and the loss of Kinto (triticonazole + prochloraz), he told The SF.

“As spring barley isn’t in the soil long – only five to six months – it is vital it gets off to the best start. You need to maintain control of seed-borne diseases like microdochium nivale, loose and covered smuts and leaf stripe, all of which can be damaging to yield or quality if left untreated.

“In addition, when it comes to producing malting quality spring barley, ergot infection can lead to crop rejection. A product like Redigo Pro, which reduces germination of treated ergot particles, plays a key role in dealing with this issue.”

It has label claims for all these main seed-borne diseases and reduction of ergot. “Losing the spring barley approval for Raxil Star has left a hole, but growers are fortunate that Redigo Pro is available to use without any noticeable change in performance,” he added.