For grower Mike Dagg of Crailing Tofts near Kelso in Roxburghsire, there’s no doubt Crusade has an important place in the blight control programme.

The issue

“We grow 850 acres of potatoes for Greenvale AP and Branston, destined for Sainsburys and Tescos. All the potatoes are ware pre-packed and of the highest quality to meet the stringent demands of the supermarkets. All 12k tonnes are refrigerated in our non-CIPC stores until they are needed.

We operate a LEAF farm and operate to the highest standards to keep potatoes fresh, blight free and free of eye movement so we can supply potatoes throughout the year.

Keeping late blight out of potatoes is a top priority in the season and this is achieved by close attention to detail, and applying a robust fungicide programme to all parts of the crop. Even in marginal spraying conditions it’s vital to keep going, especially with such a huge acreage of potatoes to get round.”

The result

“With Crusade, the spray pattern was noticeably improved with less drift and better coverage to the whole crop. With the crop putting on new growth every week, it’s vital every part of it is protected and Crusade kept us spraying. There were many days where we couldn’t have sprayed if it wasn’t for Crusade. The drift reduction was really quite significant. The leaves looked noticeably protected like a polished car bonnet.”

The inclusion of Crusade can help mitigate against some of the weather constraints impacting growers.

Jim McNair, Agronomist, Agrii