This summer's heavy rainfall has created an unusual situation in agriculture. In several districts the fields are severely flooded and the harvest cannot be brought in, which is causing losses for farmers, but at the same time the situation is throwing light on other aspects worth thinking about improving in future, such as the quality of seed material, the use of plant protection products and so on. Yields are also being damaged by fusarium head blight, whiteheads, sooty mould, septoria and others. In many places triticale and rye are only of fodder quality, and the situation with wheat is similar. Although the government has declared a state of emergency until the autumn, we also need to think now about what this will cost us in the future.

At present the situation differs somewhat from region to region in Latvia – while around Ventspils everything is still more or less in order, Madona and Latgale as a whole have been hit by heavy rains. If the seed material was not of sufficient quality to begin with, then of course the growing conditions created by this year's weather have only made matters worse, and as a result grain quality is very low. On the other hand, the critical weather conditions have highlighted a number of problems and risks caused by cheap seed material that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

One of these problems is fusarium head blight, which can have various causal agents. It is one of the most dangerous cereal diseases and most often affects wheat, barley, oats and rye. The disease appears mainly during and after flowering of the ears, particularly in damp, warm weather. It not only reduces yield and grain quality, but mycotoxins also form in the grain. Fusarium head blight is not always easy to spot – if the infection is slight, only individual ears may be damaged and from a distance the field can look healthy. What is more, if the pathogen of this disease is present in the seed material, by using such seed we are simply continuing to spread the disease further. Fusarium can also damage the germ of the grain, which stops developing and eventually dies. The pathogen of this and other diseases can also enter the soil through poor-quality seed. It can overwinter in the soil on plant residues (straw, roots, weeds) and survive there for several years. Dealing with the consequences is then even harder, and treatment with fungicides may not produce the hoped-for result. If the infection is already in the soil, spraying fungicides onto the leaves or ears will not destroy it.

Another problem worth paying attention to is whiteheads. At the moment, driving around various fields in Latvia, you can see this phenomenon. Whiteheads means that the ear turns white while the rest of the plant is still green. The grains in these ears are usually poorly developed or entirely empty, which in turn affects subsequent sowings. Weak plants are also more susceptible to sooty fungi, and what is known as sooty mould can develop. This most often appears at the end of ripening and in damp conditions, showing itself as a black or dark green coating on the ears or grain. With each successive generation of grain that carries the agent causing whiteheads, the problem only spreads and yield quality falls.

The quality of the seed material matters a great deal in reducing these risks. When choosing seed material, it is worth considering – has the cheap seed been properly cleaned, and has it been graded by density and weight using a gravity table? On most farms this simply cannot be done, because the resources and the knowledge are lacking. “Dotnuva Seeds” has set up a dedicated laboratory, and our team includes experienced plant pathologists who have taken part in various trials and are able to recognise the risks.

Agriculture as a whole currently faces many and varied challenges, and they began back in the spring, when there was a moisture deficit. Then came the rainfall and high temperatures, which not only put the soil under stress but also made it harder to plan the use of plant protection products. That created problems with powdery mildew and septoria (the second most widespread pathogen). Septoria is also difficult to combat, because it develops slowly – the first symptoms (small, pale green, watery spots) appear only two weeks after infection. This means the infection is already present but not yet visible.

As a result of stem base diseases, and under the influence of the weather, a large proportion of fields have now also gone down in lodging. If the vascular tissue is damaged up to the first node, it cannot hold the ear up, and the upper part breaks or bends more easily, particularly in wind or rain. Those farms that did not try to save money on plant protection products are the ones benefiting now. Unfortunately, those who reduced fungicide doses in the hope of saving money only increased the risks. An apparent saving of 10 to 20 euros can end up costing as much as 300 or 400 euros in lost yield quality and volume. During grain formation, more than 70% of the mass that makes up the grain comes from the ears and flag leaves, so it is important to protect them. If there is a shortage of one essential element (nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium, for example), yield losses can be 20-30% or even more. We are seeing this in many places now, and the weather is only bringing the problem into sharper relief.

In the Kurzeme area there are also fields where 50% or even 75% of the harvest has already been brought in, but the situation differs from district to district. Although farmers' spirits have lifted somewhat with the first grain threshed, it has to be understood that in Latvia, and especially in Latgale, there are still fields so badly flooded that machinery cannot get onto them and harvesting has not even begun, while the grain has already become soaked and lost quality. In many places triticale and rye are only of fodder quality, and the situation with wheat is similar. Although the government has declared a state of emergency until the autumn, we also need to think now about what this will cost us in the future. The agricultural sector had no safety cushion, so the support being given now most likely means that something will be taken away from other sectors. To avoid similar situations in the future, we need to think about better-quality seed material, suitable plant protection products, and ways of diversifying the activities within a farm. If all the eggs are put in one basket, a single bad harvest year can also bring a farm's existence to an end.

This year's experience shows vividly that there are no trivial details in agriculture – every stage, from the quality of the seed material through to the timely choice of crop protection measures, determines the yield result and the viability of the farm. We cannot influence the weather, but we can reduce the risks with quality seed material, the intelligent use of technology and a diversified approach to farming. That is the only way to ensure stability in the future and to avoid a situation where one bad year threatens the whole farm.