Free placebo pellets to enable growers to calibrate their spreaders
29th May 2018
With the 2018 ‘slug pellet season’ rapidly approaching, Adama says that it is once again providing free placebo pellets to enable growers to calibrate their spreaders without the need to
With the 2018 ‘slug pellet season’ rapidly approaching, Adama says that it is once again providing free placebo pellets to enable growers to calibrate their spreaders without the need to use live slug baiting pellets.
As farmers gear up towards the new season of slug pellet applications, it is important to ensure that all applicable spreading machinery is properly tested and calibrated: not only will this ensure slug pellets are applied accurately and evenly across the desired spreading width, it will also ensure applications are made in line with the relevant spreading guidelines and buffer zone regulations.
To enable spreaders to be calibrated and set-up correctly without the need to use live slug baiting pellets, Adama is providing a limited amount of placebo pellets: these ‘dummy’ pellets are a perfect copy of Adama’s Gusto 3, Carakol and Enzo metaldehyde-based slug pellets, but whilst they replicate the ballistic characteristics of these ‘live’ products, they don’t contain any active ingredient.
The placebo pellets are available in very limited quantities and will be distributed to growers on a first come, first served basis: to apply for a FREE 5kg bag of dummy pellets go to https://uk.campaigns.adama.com/free-placebo-slug-pellets
Be #SlugAware
In addition to ensuring slug pellets are spread accurately, Adama also urges growers to carefully consider when to apply slug pellets, and is once again prompting growers to consult its WaterAware app featuring #SlugAware prior to making any applications. #SlugAware is designed to protect the longevity of metaldehyde-based pellets such as Gusto 3 by ensuring they are only applied when absolutely necessary: by considering factors such as soil type, humidity, soil moisture, temperature, cultivation method, wind and current and previous crops, #SlugAware gives growers a low, medium or high threat of slug activity warning based on their land’s specific conditions in a given 24 to 72 hour period.
With this information to hand, growers can be better equipped to make more informed crop protection decisions, thereby ensuring key active ingredients are only ever applied at the right time and thus reducing the risk of these chemicals being lost from the crop protection armoury due to regulatory pressures. The WaterAware app featuring /#SlugAware is completely FREE to download and use.