Pioneer, part of Corteva, can provide UK growers with two unique seed treatments on its varieties being shipped to UK farms.
Andy Stainthorpe, Pioneer Sales Manager for seed and silage inoculants, said that under current UK regulations, farmers are limited in choice from the rest of the market.
“The current situation is that anybody producing seed in the UK is treating their seed with a very limited range of products due to current regulations,” Andy said.
“Because we treat our seeds outside the UK in Europe, we are able to apply seed treatments that are approved in the EU on our seed and import them to the UK, giving farmers valuable options.”
Scenic Gold fungicidal seed treatment has proven effect against phoma, alternaria, downy mildew and damping off. It sets a new standard against existing solutions.
The insecticide seed treatment Lumiposa is extensively used in Europe and is an option available when looking for establishment assistance for crops challenged by a range of insect pests.
Either or both of these treatments can be specified when ordering any of Pioneer’s most popular seed varieties in the coming weeks before drilling gets underway in 2024.
Lumiposa provides protection against many different insect species, and is particularly effective against cabbage root fly, which is known to be a significant pest across Europe.
“There is no permit for treating seeds with insecticide in the UK at the moment, so your choice is seed without an insecticide or sow with imported seeds which are treated with an EU approved insecticide seed treatment,” says Andy.
“We’ve been selling imported seed treated with Lumiposa for the last several years, and farmers are always coming back to us with positive feedback on the seed’s performance.
