Branston warns growers of biofumigant claims

Branston, the UK's leading supplier of potatoes, used its annual Summer Field Walk to alert growers to unsubstantiated claims surrounding the use of some biofumigation products. Speaking at the annual gathering of members of Branston's Lincolnshire Producer Group, Dr Andy Barker – the company's Research &Development Manager - said that with increasing constraints on the use and availability of chemical pesticides, there is considerable interest in biofumigation but urged growers not to believe everything they hear about this emerging technique. Members of the Producer Group, also heard from Syngenta about chemical usage and how to identify lower grade generic imitations of higher quality products.