Every year crops are exposed to different conditions, making the management of weeds, pests and diseases a challenging job. Webber and Chivell offer a range of agronomic services to assist in the effective management control of pests and diseases in agriculture.

Weeds

Weeds choke out plants, rob them of valuable water and nutrients and therefore have the potential of causing dramatic yield losses. In addition, they can contaminant forage crops, interfering with both grazing or harvest/fermentation of silage and can cause animal health issues. They can also be carriers of disease.

The bulk of weeds are controlled by knockdown sprays prior to sowing and approximately six weeks after germination.

A Webber Chivell agronomist can determine the spraying threshold for any given situation. The agronomist will collect the following key information to determine a chemical recommendation:

1. What is the crop in question?
2. What weed(s) are in the crop?
3. When is the crop to be grazed or harvested?
4. For the chosen herbicide what is grazing/harvest withhold and plant back?
5. If a pesticide is required are there any issues with chemical compatibility?

Pests

Webber Chivell offer a full service of providing both chemicals and contract spraying services. With either ground spray rigs for pasture/brassica crops or drones for maize crops.

Slugs, snails, and insects including: caterpillars, beetles, aphids, mites, and fleas are not only capable of killing young plants outright but also spreading diseases in crops.

To reduce economic losses, it is important to check for the presence of insects both prior to sowing crops and throughout the crop life. Webber and Chivell’s agronomists can provide advice on the best management and control of pests and diseases.

Diseases

Diseases are caused by pathogen build up in the soils or are introduced by carriers of and vectors of disease. Plants that are nutritional stressed are most vulnerable to diseases. Webber and Chivell’s core business is to soil and plant tissue test and provide informed fertiliser recommendations to ensure that pasture and crops are performing at their best.

Key steps to ensuring a successful crop outcome include:

• Eliminate weeds and pests and address nutrient deficiencies prior to and after sowing.
• When spraying paddocks make sure that fence lines are sprayed with herbicides and pesticides to reduce habitats where pests can hide and then reinfest crops.
• Rotate Crop to prevent disease and pest build up in soils.
• Ensure the soil moisture, soil temperatures and seed beds are ideal prior to sowing.
• Using clean well calibrated equipment so as not to introduce pathogens and to apply fertiliser, seeds and chemicals at correct rates.
• Monitor crops regularly and take appropriate action as required.