When most people brew tea, it is to have a well-earned cuppa, but Staffordshire farmer Steve Brandrick did it to support a fungicide-free wheat trial.
This home-brewed tea uses a blend of molasses, microbes and trace elements to help keep plants fed and healthy. Steve was a little unsure of the idea at first, but he put his trust in his agronomist, Daniel Lievesley of DJL Agriculture, and it paid off after a sluggish start.
Daniel, one of the 2025 Agronomist of the Year finalists, was an early adopter of regenerative strategies and is keen to reduce farming’s carbon footprint and improve margins. He describes his approach as “out of the box”.
Although yields were a little down on a more conventional approach, there was still enough going through the combine to satisfy Steve, with the reduced costs making for a healthy margin. And as the crop is used to feed his cows, yield is secondary. “Ultimately, it’s about quality and if input costs are down, I can accept lower yields.”
Prevention policy
Daniel says it is about prevention rather than cure – a healthy plant is better able to prevent disease from establishing.
Rather than viewing nutrition as a way to improve yield once tillers start to form, Daniel sees it as a more fundamental requirement through the life of the crop.
“The role of nutrition in preventing disease is often overlooked. The nutrient status of the plant substantially influences the potential degree of disease infection by affecting growth and the chemical composition of the leaf tissues. The risk of infection is lowest when an optimal nutrient supply is available. This can be monitored through regular SAP and tissue testing.”
When it comes to nutrients that support plant immunity, Daniel says research has demonstrated that several micronutrients play an important role.
“Zinc, boron, manganese and calcium can significantly inhibit disease invasion in plants by stabilising and maintaining structural integrity and rigidity of the cell wall.
“Additionally, if deficient in magnesium and potassium, plants are more susceptible to infection from airborne pathogens because leaf tissue increases in soluble sugars and amino acids. Zinc plays a critical role in plant disease tolerance and should be considered as a preventive solution in a disease management plan.”
Microbial activity
Daniel also advocates an early application of potassium silicate; this helps support microbial activity to improve soil organic matter and increase nutrient availability.
Plants require a balanced supply of 18 essential elements throughout their lifecycle to sustain growth, repair tissue and help resist disease. Deficiencies in macro- and micronutrients often lead to impaired cell wall structures and accumulation of metabolic products that attract pathogens.
“In addition, adequate plant nutrition can improve drought- and heat-stress tolerance, which in turn might help the plant stave off fungal infestations from aspergillus, which causes aflatoxins that can destroy crop values,” he adds.
Every crop nutrition programme is tailored according to soil type and any deficiencies identified using soil and tissue tests. Soil amendments include composts and biostimulant products such as seaweed extracts, humic acids and beneficial microbial inoculants that help increase nutrient availability.
An integrated approach
But nutrition isn’t the answer on its own. Daniel has been an advocate of integrated strategies for some time. He advises growers to look for resistant varieties and also consider blends.
“The landmark research carried out by Rose Kristoffersen at Aarhus University in Denmark shows blends can help reduce the development of fungicide resistance. Danish growers have been doing this for a long time. I believe a minimum of four varieties is required to reduce the risk of crop disease.”
Steve has now added more resistant varieties like Champion and Dawsum to the blend. Last season, he did have to apply a T2.5 of Prosaro (prothioconazole + tebuconazole) with some seaweed as a check against brown rust. Apart from that, it was just the balanced blend of nutrients that kept disease at bay.
Rotation diversity also plays a part in reducing inoculum carryover. Cover and catch crops help reduce crop threats, thereby protecting plant and soil health.
After a light harrow, the trial field was direct-drilled into an eight-way cover crop blend of buckwheat, linseed, phacelia, fodder and tillage radish, gold of pleasure (Camelina sativa), common clover and sunflower.
“The cover crop was sprayed off with a blend of glyphosate and humic/fulvic acids to help absorption as well as enhance soil biology. The wheat grew steadily throughout the winter and wasn’t treated until February, which consisted of a foliar phosphorus, manganese and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria mix,” explains Daniel.
A blend containing Champion and Dawsum only needed a T2.5 of Prosaro (prothioconazole + tebuconazole) last season, despite brown rust pressure © S Brandrick
Cover crop importance
A cover crop becomes an important part of the crop rotation nutritionally, especially when drilled early, as a greater level of biomass is achieved. Research has shown that cash crops grown following cover crops, specifically legumes, can take up to at least 30-60% of nitrogen produced by cover cropping (Clark, 2012).
“Overwintering legumes in cover crops or oilseed rape companion crops like balansa clover or crimson clover release more nitrogen during decomposition. A key variable with cover crops before corn is the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. The lower the C-to-N ratio of the cover crop, the quicker that nitrogen and other nutrients are recovered by the growing crop.
“The process moves slower when the C-to-N ratio is higher, which is why the first nitrogen application, especially in cereals, becomes more important, and even greater following oats or as a second cereal. Management is critical to better handle variables in a soil health system,” adds Daniel.
His advice on termination is using overwintering legumes one to two weeks before planting and bigger, broader species of cover crops three to five weeks before planting, depending on the site location, soil type and cultivation.
As cover crops build soil health, efficiencies such as nutrient use and water use will improve over time. Don’t expect immediate benefits, he advises.
The focus on health doesn’t mean fungicides don’t have a place. A susceptible variety sown early is likely to succumb to disease intensity.
Chemical fungicides are designed to kill fungi, typically by disrupting their energy production or respiration, but fungi are extremely important. They support the whole ecosystem because they decompose dead plants and animals, which makes their stored nutrients available for plants to absorb and continues the nutrient cycle.
“One reason why I wanted to drop the use of fungicides is the symbiotic relationship soil fungi have with plants. This helps them absorb nutrients from the soil in exchange for some of the plant’s sugars.”
Jeff Tabernor of Moreton House Farm is another Staffordshire farmer looking to reduce fungicide spend. Now in his eighth year of a more holistic approach incorporating the Claydon system, he also used a single fungicide last season, a mix of tebuconazole + azoxystrobin (Toledo + Conclude) on a November-drilled crop of Skyscraper.
He used 100kg N/ha from the bag, with another foliar-applied 40kg N/ha at growth stage (GS) 39 and GS59 supplemented with a blend of biostimulants, microbial inoculants and trace elements to optimise plant health.
