February Agronomy Update

As we roll on through summer, now’s the perfect time to lock in a few key decisions that can help to get you in a position to optimise the program in 2026 — particularly around seed protection.

This update is a quick overview of:

Fungicide seed treatments (cereals, pulses, canola)
Insecticide seed treatments (cereals, pulses, canola)

1) Fungicide Seed Treatments – Quick Refresher

Seed treatments don’t win the season, but they absolutely help prevent you from losing it in the first 3 weeks. Think of them as lower-cost insurance + early establishment support.

Seed treatments are a farm management and agronomic decision. Use should be based on disease/insect management and price; handling and logistics will come in behind that.

Key Message

Clean seed with good germination and vigour is the best start.
Good application and coverage of the seed treatment is just as important as the product choice.
Generally, seed treatments are about protecting emergence + early vigour, not “solving” in-crop disease
If the paddock is high risk, you still need a strategic in-crop fungicide plan.
Do not use seed from crops that had smut and bunt last season.
Treatments for smut and bunt should be applied each year.

Extra Tip: If using retained seed, consider seed testing + germination + seed health. It’s one of the cheapest “mind-easing” investments on the farm.

Cereals (Wheat / Barley / Durum Wheat)

Crop	Diseases	Price / 100kg Seed	Product Examples
Wheat & Barley	Smut and bunts	$2 - $7	Raxil / Vibrance
Wheat & Barley	Pythium and Rhizo suppression	$15	Vibrance / Rancona / Evergol Energy
Wheat (inc Durum)	Crown Rot	$35	Victrato
Barley	SFNB	$30	Systiva

Trials have indicated that the most effective treatments for loose smut are Vibrance, Evergol Energy and Vitavax. Some products do not include an insecticide to protect against stored grain insects (check label) Some products only control or suppress specific diseases and not basic smut and bunt so you may require a (check label).

When seed treatment value is highest:

Early sowing into cooler soils
Cereal-on-cereal paddocks
High stubble loads
Higher risk areas for smut and bunt
Paddocks with known rhizo or Crown Rot history

2) Pulses (Lentils / Peas / Vetch / Faba Beans)

Pulses can look perfect in the silo and then fall over at emergence like a fainting goat if we ignore seedling disease risk.

Main targets:

Pythium / Rhizoctonia (root rots / damping off)
Botrytis + Ascochyta suppression early (varies)
Seed-borne infection risk depending on seed source

Where treatments matter most:

Tight rotation
Early sowing
Heavy soils / cold starts
Paddocks with pulse history
Saved seed with unknown disease status
High rainfall finishes / higher stubble retention

Crop	Diseases	Price / 100kg Seed	Product Examples
Lupins	Brown leaf Spot, Pleoichaeta Root Rot, Rhizoctonia, Anthracnose	$25-$30	Iprodione & Thiram
Lentils, Field Pea, Vetch	Aschochyta, Seedling Root Rot, Black Spot	$7	Thiram + Thiabendazole
Faba Beans	Seedling Root Rots Fusarium, Pythium	$7	Thiram + Thiabendazole

Canola

Canola establishment is everything. If you miss the start, you spend the whole year chasing it.

Main targets:

Blackleg (early suppression)
Seedling disease + early root issues
Early vigour support

Crop	Diseases	Price / 100kg Seed	Product Examples
Canola	Black Leg Control	$140	Jockey Stayer, Saltro Duo
Canola	Black Leg Suppression	$140	Maxim XL, ILeVO
Canola	Damping Off, Hypercotyl Rot, Pythium	$140	Maxim XL
Canola	Black Leg Control, Damping Off, Hypercotyl Rot, Pythium, Root Rot, Rhizoctonia	$140	Saltro Duo

Crop	Insects	Price / 100kg Seed	Product Examples
Canola	RLEM, Green Peach Aphid	$14-$120	Gaucho, Cruiser Opti, Equento Extreme, Poncho Plus
Canola	RLEM, Green Peach Aphid, Lucerne Flea, Wireworm	$120	Poncho Plus
Canola	RLEM, Green Peach Aphid, Lucerne Flea, Wireworm, Bronze Field Beetle, Vegetable Beetle, Millipede		Equento Extreme
Canola	Earwigs, Millipedes, Slaters	$23-$46/ha	Transcend Bait

Canola Reminder

Seed treatments help reduce early blackleg pressure, but your main blackleg plan still includes:

variety rating + rotation + stubble management
foliar fungicide decision based on risk

3) Action Checklist (Next 2–6 Weeks)

Confirm crop and variety plan
Decide seed treatment strategy by paddock risk
If using retained seed: germ test + 1000 grain weight
If using or sourcing imi tolerant seed – Test for herbicide tolerance
Book seed early (especially canola)