Ergot in hybrid barley seed

Joe Boy

Member
Location
Essex
Apparently this is quite normal as the open pollination leads the parent crop very susceptible to ergot infection.

Why can't syngenta clean it all out. It does not look good when you open a very expensive bag of seed and see a load of ergot sitting on top!

What are other hybrid barley growers thoughts on this.

What's the risk to subsequent crops even if the barley is not effected?

Would the seed dressing on the seed have any effect on stopping the ergot growing?
 

Fuzzy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
Apparently this is quite normal as the open pollination leads the parent crop very susceptible to ergot infection.

Why can't syngenta clean it all out. It does not look good when you open a very expensive bag of seed and see a load of ergot sitting on top!

What are other hybrid barley growers thoughts on this.

What's the risk to subsequent crops even if the barley is not effected?

Would the seed dressing on the seed have any effect on stopping the ergot growing?
I does annoy me when i get a load of Malting Barley rejected for a single piece of ergot and then i see and here of these big companies sending out crap seed. (not just barley).
 

Joe Boy

Member
Location
Essex
None in ours that i can see, are you drilling yet then Joe?Have heard kinto has some effect on ergots in seed.

Hi Andrew, Ive started drilling on BG free fields, done some wheat, was going to start on barley this afternoon but was thrown by all the ergot in the seed. I don't want to give myself a problem in future years.

I've not got much confidence in the weather this autumn so getting on with it.
 

Joe Boy

Member
Location
Essex
there are standards laid down as to the amount of ergot pieces that are allowed in cereal seed hvs 1/kg, in lower standard in 500g 3 pieces in rye its higher

That's what I was told, 3 pieces in 500g! That's loads. Why is so much allowed in seed. One rule for farmers a different one for merchants. Seems bonkers to me.

What is the risk from planting all this ergot. How many years can it survive in the soil.?
 

Fuzzy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
That's what I was told, 3 pieces in 500g! That's loads. Why is so much allowed in seed. One rule for farmers a different one for merchants. Seems bonkers to me.

What is the risk from planting all this ergot. How many years can it survive in the soil.?
The big companies lobby government to write the rules to suit them, NOT us !!! The lying and thieving politicians then get rewarded with highly paid jobs on boards of these companies.
 

Farmer Dod

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
ingesting ergot infected grain can cause hallucinations problems with the nervous system and blood flow as well as abortion in humans
Think it's even been suggested as a potential cause of the Salem witch trials and even amputations in medieval times. It seems to be zero tolerance for our end users (with good reason) so seems only fair that seed is to the same standards.

Seem to remember Charger (I think that was the variety) milling wheat being notorious for ergot due to its more open nature at flowering.

Another example of one set of standards for one part of the supply chain, another set of standards for everyone else.
 

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