•
BRASSICA CONFERENCE
•
THE
VEGETABLE
FARMER •
MARCH 2017
supermarkets in their own
right.”
In terms of labour he said
that he was well aware of the
issues having previously been
involved in a soft fruit
enterprise. “Ending the
presumption of freemovement
does not meanwe won’t have
any immigration,” he stressed.
“We need to look at short term
work permits, but we recognise
that it is not just about highly
skilled labour.”
Increased automation is one
possible solution to potential
labour issues. The automatic
harvesting of broccoli is one
area which has been
investigated by numerous
companies over the last 10-15
years, with plant breeders and
machinery manufacturers all
getting involved. Improvements
in automatic recognition
software and camera
technology have changed the
approach that developers of
suchmachinery are taking.
SarahMcWilliams of KMS
Projects Ltd discussed her
team’s work over the last
decade which has led to the
creation of a prototypemachine
which is now ready for field
trials this year. Having been
tested in controlled conditions
both inside and outside, the
ability of themachine to
identify individual heads of
broccoli has been proven. “We
envisage a threemodule rig
capable of cutting nine rows at
once,” Sarah explained. “Our
vision system can only see what
you can see with the naked eye;
therefore enough of the curd
must be visible in order to be
measured.”
Soil continues to be themost
important resource that
growers have and Dr Lizzie
Sagoo of ADAS presented an
overview of the key findings to
date from the AHDB
Horticulture soils and precision
farming project CP107c. She
explained that this has included
working demonstrations at a
number of vegetable growers
including variable rate fertilisers
at Glassford Hammond
Farming, Controlled Traffic
Farmingwith Barfoots and soil
mappingwith FB Parrish.
Dr Sagoo also presented the
results of a large scale soil
structure survey which had
covered a range of horticultural
crops. “In over half the soils we
looked at there is scope to
improve soil condition,” she
explained. For example,
reducing compaction could play
amajor role and Barfoots had
managed to reduce the area of
the field trafficked over the year
from 100 per cent to just 40
per cent.
She also discussed different
types of soil sampling and
mapping, together with
biomass N sensors which
could have a role to play
in improving yields while
also increasing the
efficiency of inputs. “We
haven’t yet seen a yield
increase from varying the
nitrogen rate,” she
warned. “If you identify
variation in the soil or
the crop you should
identify what’s causing it
before you start trying to
manage it.”
Precision also plays a
key role in crop
protection, with the use
of Phytodrip technology
being used to protect
plants through their early
growth stages. Simon Jackson,
Field Vegetable Technical
Manager for Syngenta
explained how Cruiser 70WS
can help reduce feeding
damage and viruses. “Turnip
Yellows Virus can lead to a 20
per cent reduction in yield
without any visible symptoms,”
he explained. “In trials, early
infection led to the greatest
yield losses and seed treatment
for early control was absolutely
key to controlling defects and
17
• Medium framewith anupright habit.
• Very gooduniformity.
• Smooth, well protectedheavywhite curds.
• Excellent Face-pack presentation.
• High%of class 1 curds.
Formore information, please contact:
Paul Lote: 07813 632392
Anique
Cauliflower for
AutumnHarvest
enzazaden.co.uk
Sowing
Transplanting
Harvest
MidMay to endMay
Mid July to end July
MidNov tomidDec
SarahMcWilliams.
