| Arable
Crispita meets growing consumer demand for small leaved lettuce A Syngenta survey of consumers’ salad buying habits has revealed 70% of shoppers ate lettuce at least twice a week over the summer this year, with a third eating some form of lettuce leaf every day.
he study, undertaken with shoppers at a supermarket megastore in the north of England, looked at their buying habits and salad crop demands. It included a taste test and consumer reaction to the new Syngenta frilly baby green lettuce variety, Crispita. Whilst Iceberg remained the most widely named favoured lettuce type, a third of the shoppers named other leaf lettuce among their favourites, and over 15% selecting for mixed bags. Romaine and Gem lettuce types were also named as favourites, by 12% and 6% respectively. Rebecca Stilton, Syngenta Campaign Manager for salads,
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reports the survey confirmed there was now a clear desire for smallleaved lettuce; with just 25% stating a preference for large leaved lettuce types. Favourable comments included small-leaved lettuce proving easier to prepare. “The main comments associated with Crispita were: Nice; Tasty Crunchy; Fresh and Sweet. It was also commended for its shape and good colour,” she added. It marks an important development in salad crop sales, with 72% of shoppers questioned now buying bagged lettuce; including over a third that buy exclusively bagged product. “The consumers’ responses pinpointed the paramount
importance of flavour as the key buying decision for purchasing salad, closely followed by appearance and texture,” she advised. “That has significant implications for growers’ variety selection to meet consumers’ preferences, its shelf life attributes and retailer supply chain management.” Syngenta Salad Crop Specialist, George Hallam, added: “Unlike the majority of baby green lettuce varieties, Crispita is perfectly suited to processing as a result of the strong leaf structure, whilst still maintaining sufficient flexibility to minimise cracking during the washing and drying process.
“The sweet taste of the Crispita leaf makes it particularly attractive to the UK consumer and sets it apart from other green baby leaf lettuce.” Mr Hallam also pointed out that Crispita has proven to be exceptionally high yielding due to the robust properties of the leaf. Other agronomic attributes that will make it especially favoured by growers include full mildew resistant to Downy Mildew (Bremia Bl strains 1 - 31), along with good field holding for when variable consumer demand dictates harvest over a prolonged period. Crispita is suitable for both outdoor and glasshouse production.
Effective stewardship can preserve Kerb Flo500 to fight blackgrass in arable rotations Dow AgroSciences is committed to a stewardship programme to protect the long-term future of propyzamide, one of the best options for tackling blackgrass in arable rotations. armers are advised to establish grass buffers between crops and water courses, to establish crops using non-inversion techniques and to pay attention to soil and weather conditions at the time of application. “The wet autumn and winter of 2012/13 meant a wide range of crop protection products were detected in surface waters,” said Andy Bailey, a senior biologist at Dow. “In recent years, we have learnt much about minimising the risk of our herbicide reaching water. We will be working with farmers and their advisers to ensure the risks to surface water is minimised. Without growers
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cooperation there is every likelihood that the products Kerb Flo 500 and newly launched AstroKerb will face restrictions on use.” Dow AgroSciences has funded independent research at the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Loddington estate and at the University of Newcastle’s Cockle Park Farm. At Loddington on sloping land (512% gradient), two establishment techniques – ploughing and noninversion to 15-20cm were compared. Both run-off and drain flow were monitored. “The use of a 6m buffer strip, significantly reduced run-off,” said
24 | Farming Monthly | November 2013
Mr Bailey. “The width of the strip needs to be varied according to the slope. The steeper the slope, the wider the buffer strip.” At Cockle Park, three different establishment techniques were trialled on a slope of 2%: Plough + power harrow to 20cm; a single pass, tined cultivation at 22cm depth; and light disc/press to 10cm. “Most drain flow and surface runoff came from the ploughed land,” said Mr Bailey. “Least flow of propyzamide to drains occurred from min-tillage, but there was little difference in either non-inversion technique when it came to surface run-off.”
Further work will be commissioned, but it is clear that establishment technique affects potential for oilseed rape herbicide to reach surface water and noninversion techniques significantly reduce risk. However, good stewardship also requires attention to soil and weather conditions at the time of application. Kerb Flo 500 and AstroKerb should not be applied when soils are frozen or waterlogged (ie when drains are running); nor when heavy rain is likely within 48 hours of application.
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