Net Blotch
Net blotch in barley can cause yield losses from 10% to 40% with a reduction in thousand grain weight.
What is Net Blotch?
The disease can arise from infected seed but the main source of inoculum is infected stubble and volunteer plants. The disease spreads by air-borne spores and rain splash. Cool, wet and humid weather favours this disease as do thick sowing, early drilling and minimal cultivation techniques.
How to spot Net Blotch
The first symptoms are very small, dark brown lesions on the leaves. These develop into short brown stripes or irregular blotches which, on close examination, are seen to consist of a network of brown lines. The ear can also be infected, but lesions do not usually appear.
Net Blotch symptoms on a barley leaf
Close-up Net Blotch symptoms
How to control Net Blotch
Stubble cleanliness helps to reduce the potential inoculum for infection. Varietal resistance factors should also be considered.
Fandango (prothioconazole + fluoxastrobin) is the tried and tested solution used by thousands of barley growers. It provides cost-effective treatment for the broadest spectrum of barley diseases. Independent trials have demonstrated that Fandango consistently delivers greater yields than standard treatments in barley.
If the main focus of the disease control programme is net blotch then upgrading to SiltraXpro (prothioconazole + bixafen) should be considered as this is one of the key strengths of the product.
