The Colder It Is, The Better.

A mild winter, stressed crops and delayed spray applications all played their part in the brown rust situation that developed in the 2024 growing season. As a result, the cost, complexity and frequency of spray programmes increased at a time when most were keen to keep expenditure down – something that will be an even more pressing priority this year.

It can be terrifying to find brown rust in crops early in the growing season, It has the ability to keep cycling and can be very difficult to control once it gets established.

While warmer conditions are one of three key drivers for any epidemic, the effect of higher temperatures in February and March on the latent period of brown rust were particularly notable last year.