“Although most of the plants are still less than 15cm high, cutting through the stem section it is quite clear where growth has started to elongate,” he said. Crops on the free-draining warm soils have been first to move, but growers in other areas should be ready for the kick-start of spring growth.

“We know that TOPREX will give the greatest reduction in height from application at early stem extension - which is most suitable for tall varieties or dense crops that will be more susceptible to lodging,” he advised.

“An alternative application at late stem extension, through to visible green flower bud, will enhance crops where the primary objective is to maximise branching. That will help the plant to intercept more sunlight and could prove especially useful this season for smaller crops that have been held in check over the winter.”

Mr Roberts highlighted that reduced plant height and improved rooting demonstrated in ADAS trials is crucial to reduce losses caused by lodging, which has been reported to affect over a third of the crop area in a bad year – and resulted in over 50% yield loss where plants lodged during early pod fill.  

Creating more uniform crops with a TOPREX treatment has also shown to produce a shorter, synchronised, flowering period. This has the effect of reducing sunlight reflectance by flowers and allows more light to be absorbed by the green leaf. Synchronised flowering assures the more even development of pods and seed ripening.

Light Leaf Spot control

“Growers applying TOPREX now will further benefit from a valuable top-up in Light Leaf Spot control, which is evident at low levels in many crops,” advised Mr Roberts. “The combination of creating a healthy plant architecture now, followed by AMISTAR treatment through the flowering period, will give the best chance to make the most of the green leaf area to drive up yields.”