iblon’s 2024 performance earns the trust to stay for 2025

For Colin Woodward, AICC agronomist covering farms across the home counties, the intense disease pressure of spring 2024 proved the perfect test for Bayer’s new broad-spectrum fungicide, iblon® (isoflucypram).

Having seen its performance in AICC trials during the previous two seasons, he decided that to get the most from its activity against Septoria, yellow rust and brown rust would require consideration of the variety and crop situation before choosing whether to apply at either the T1 or T2 timing.

Before becoming an agronomist on a full-time basis, Mr Woodward was the farm manager and agronomist at Great Tew Estate, Chipping Norton which he retains as a client of Colin Woodward Agronomy, the company he founded in 2022.

“iblon® has strengths at both timings but can only be used at one, so deciding which came down to the variety’s disease resistance and the expected disease pressure. On this basis I opted for iblon® at T1 on those varieties with poor disease resistance, such as Skyfall and Crusoe and at T2 on those with better resistance, such as KWS Extase and KWS Palladium,” Mr Woodward says.

So how did it perform?

“The 2024 season was my first opportunity to use iblon® on the commercial crops I oversee. It was a positive experience. I got on with it really well, especially at T1 in those varieties with weaker disease resistance. It helped that we were able to get on top of disease early, but the strong protectant activity of isoflucypram meant crops stayed clean for a long time after. It will figure in my programmes again for this reason,” Mr Woodward says.

“At the T2 timing it was equally impressive. There are few products offering such strong activity against Septoria, yellow rust and brown rust. This meant I could structure the programme according to the variety and the disease situation and with changes in the brown rust population negatively affecting the performance of some other fungicides, the broad-spectrum activity of iblon® is to be welcomed,” he adds.

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iblon® contains isoflucypram. iblon is a registered trademark of Bayer. Use plant protection products safely. Always read the label and product information before use. Pay attention to the risk indications and follow the safety precautions on the label. For further information, including contact details, visit www.cropscience.bayer.co.uk or call 0808 1969522. © Bayer CropScience Limited 2025