Latest report
--------------------------------------------
3 November
Tod Hunnisett - Chichester Crop
Consultancy, Hampshire
(Click to contact)
Many years ago a tractor driver said to me, "It's a shame dry
weather does any 'arm", which is quite true really as it certainly
makes life easier to deal with.
Nearly all winter drilling has been completed, including winter
beans, and quite a large chunk has already been sprayed and
possibly put to bed for the winter. We have had enough rain for
full germination but not enough to stop progress, which has been
great news.
However, the rain has woken the slugs up. I have seen a few
crops after winter rape where slug numbers have been very high but
they have been eating volunteer rape in preference to the wheat.
The problem is that soon the rape will be gone and that's when
they'll start on the wheat. I'm advising growers to test bait and
treat accordingly before the wheat gets badly damaged. Other than
that I've seen very little damage.
Rain that fell after the dry period has stimulated a fresh
germination of grassweeds, particularly in oilseed rape. Most
non-ploughed rape needs two graminicides before the spring anyway,
so mine will get one with a fungicide sometime soon. Fields with
problem grassweeds have carbetamide or propyzamide programmes
anyway, but I don't think it's yet cool enough to get the best out
of these products.
I've not yet seen any significant herbicide damage in sprayed
cereals despite the early drilling and so-called "soft" crops. We
had a couple of frosts about a week ago so that should reduce the
risk even further.
I do worry that we're in for some payback for the dry autumn as
nature has a peculiar way of balancing itself out. I hope it
doesn't mean months of deluge. As I quoted earlier, it's a shame
dry weather does any 'arm.
You can now read Crop Watch as a blog making it easier for our
agronomists to upload pictures and videos, and for readers to ask
questions.
Click here to read
the Crop Watch blog.
--------------------------------------------
26 October
James Boswell - H L Hutchinson, Kent
(Click to contact)
Wheat was drilled deep into very dry seed-beds which has
resulted in very slow germination. There has been no opportunity
for a stale seedbed and grassweed pressure is very
high.
Most fields have had a pre-emergence herbicide for grassweed
control but due to very dry and warm soils, good control has been
difficult.
Now soil conditions are warm and moist so
Atlantis (mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron) and adjuvant,
Biopower are being recommended. Slug levels are lower than last
year but still need close monitoring.
The majority of oilseed rape crops are now looking stronger at
four to six true leaves. Slug attack has remained low and nitrogen
has been applied to seed-beds which has helped growth. Leaf minor
can still be found on older leaves of early-drilled rape, but newer
leaves and later drilled crops are fine. Because of the very dry
weather Phoma has been difficult to find. But pressure is starting
to increase and close monitoring is advised. Flushes of difficult
blackgrass will need to be addressed soon when soils become wetter
and cooler. Pigeons are present in other crops but yet to be a
problem in rape.
Like the wheat, barley has been slow to emerge. With fewer
actives available, grassweed control in barley is extremely
difficult. The most reliable approach is to use pre-emergence or
early post-emergence applications. This job must take priority as
contact grassweed products are very limited.
-------------------------------------------------------------
19 September 2009
Nick Brown - Chemega (ProCam Group,
Berks/Bucks/Oxon
(Click to
contact)
The contrast between this year
and last could not be greater and as a result good progress has
been made drilling cereals.
Late-drilled crops that caught some
moisture have chitted and are emerging well. Unfortunately the same
cannot be said for early-drilled crops. Some fields that were
planted at depth have only just received enough moisture to chit
and I fear a lot of seeds will not grow. Slugs, conspicuous by
their absence until it rained, have now shown up.
But with the exception of wheat following
rape, damage levels are very low. If you have cloddy seed-beds
beware. I did find some bad seed hollowing on one block following
rape.
Early-drilled crops that emerged well are
now at early tillering and if they where not treated with Deter
(clothianidin) will require an aphicide very shortly. With the odd
exception, blackgrass levels are low at the moment, but rain
forecast this week will no doubt change that.
Most of my rape crops look remarkably
well considering the lack of moisture. The most forward crops,
mostly following fallow, are about a foot tall and will receive a
dose of metconazole very shortly to steady them up.
At the other end of the scale, some
fields have plants at six leaf while areas of the field are still
emerging. These crops represent a challenge and need assessing on
an individual basis. Weed control in these will be difficult since
the small plants are unlikely to get big enough to treat with
either Kerb (pronamide) or Crawler (carbetamide) before the end of
January. Slug activity in rape fields is generally low but these
backward crops are obviously still very vulnerable.
-------------------------------------------------------------
12 October 2009
Swaran Bachoo - Agrovista, Hants/ Wilts
Over the last ten days we have
had some very welcome rain after a drought of nearly six
weeks.
Oilseed rape crops are very uneven and
patchy due to lack of moisture.
The most forward plants are at the
six-leaf stage and some are at merely the two-leaf stage, however
with nearly 15mm of rain the crops should grow fast and even out.
Surprisingly, winter wheat drilled in the third week of September
has emerged fairly evenly and is at the one leaf stage.
All the winter rape has now been treated
with a graminicide to control the volunteer cereals. Any crops not
treated should now be treated as a matter of urgency since with the
rain the volunteers will grow rapidly and compete vigorously with
the small rape plants.
Also make sure to use robust rates of the
herbicides since these chemicals are notoriously slow to act and
the large plants will need higher rates.
Some winter wheat and winter barley crops
have been treated with a pre-emergence herbicide and the remaining
will now be treated during the week commencing 12 October,
particularly where blackgrass is a problem.
It is important to control blackgrass
before it gets beyond the three-leaf stage and ensure that
herbicides from different chemical groups are used in mixtures
where resistance is present.
Blackgrass will have a prolonged dormancy
this year and so it will be necessary to apply robust rates of long
lasting residual herbicides.
Oilseed rape crops have remained largely
clear of phoma but with the arrival of the recent rain, be vigilant
and look out for the typical creamy white leaf spots with black
dots and be prepared to spray.
Most rape crops are small this year so it
may be appropriate to use a non-plant growth regulator fungicide
for the control of phoma.
The rain is also going to throw up the
perennial slug problem.
Check crops regularly and apply slug
pellets but also bear in mind the metaldehyde stewardship
guidelines.
-------------------------------------------------------------
5 October 2009
Tod Hunnisett - Chichester Crop Consultancy,
Hampshire
(Click to contact)
As I write, the rain has just
started after what has been for some a fairly serious dry
spell.
East Kent resembles the African Bush in
the dry season, but for the rest of my patch I'm not complaining.
To have drilling finished by the end of the first week in October
as a result of dry weather is a nice problem to have.
There are only winter beans to go and I'm
sure we'll get a slot for those. The forecast is for a couple of
days of rain which will be just right, thank you very much.
All winter rape has had a graminicide and
pyrethroid except for those that were established after a
plough.
Every year I have a bit of rape that goes
into ploughed ground and I always wish I had more. As far as I can
remember I've never had a rape crop fail after the plough and
there's nearly always a £10 - £15 saving in herbicide cost.
I appreciate the time saved by not
ploughing but if it's being established after winter barley and you
can't combine wheat because it's raining, then surely it makes
sense to plough.
Most of my winter cereals this year will
end up having an early post- or peri-emergence contact/residual
herbicide, largely based around chlorotoluron in mixture with
flufenacet/pendimethalin or diflufenican.
Despite what I wrote last time about not
worrying about dry conditions and the efficacy of residuals, I have
to confess I have pulled away from total pre-emergence
recommendations for fear the crop might not emerge at all.
Now that the rain has arrived most crops
will be up before I get to them anyway.
A few (note I say a "few") day's rain,
followed by a decent frost and a nice cold winter would be just
perfect. Are you listening up there? Perhaps I should go to church
more often...
--------------------------------------------
28 September
James Boswell - H L Hutchinson, Kent
(Click to contact)
Dry and windy weather has been relentless in the south
east.
Oilseed rape crops in the driest areas toward the east of the
region have needed irrigating for germination to take place and
some crops drilled into moisture have struggled to achieve three to
four true leaves.
Early-drilled, forward crops have suffered badly from leaf
miners even in insecticide-dressed seed.
The larvae burrow down into the leaf petiole and can result in
abortion of infected leaves.
Drought stress is now evident in plants and rain is desperately
needed for plant survival.
Wheat drilling is well under way. First-drilled crops into damp
soils where some moisture was retained are at one to two
leaves.
Most recent drillings are into dusty, dry seed-beds but a good
tilth has been achieved.
Drilling continues and determining correct seed rates can be
difficult.
Rates in bone dry soils need to be kept up to at least 275
seeds/sq m.
Drilling has stopped where a good tilth is impossible - dry
cobbles are the only result at the moment. Stale seed beds have
been impossible to achieve and levels of grass weeds will be
high.
Slug numbers have remained low although heavy dews have led to a
small amount of damage.
--------------------------------------------
21 September
Tom Hunnisett, Chichester Crop Consultancy,
Hampshire
(Click to contact)
Drilling is now well under way with most OSR in
and up and in most places looking quite healthy. Many crops
have had a volunteer spray and in some situations this has
been mixed with a post-emergence broad-leaved weed spray such
as metazachlor/quinmerac mixes.
Wheat is being drilled as we speak into
good seed-beds, with many growers pressing on early not wanting to
be left in the same situation as last year, which is
understandable. We are possibly coming to the end of a long dry
spell in the south and my fear is that once the weather breaks it
could be replaced by an equally long wet one.
People are asking about pre-emergence
residual sprays in dry weather and generally speaking I would say
go ahead and put them on. They won't go anywhere and as soon as it
rains they will become activated, and until it rains we're unlikely
to get much weed germination anyway.
The slug risk has reduced considerably
where it has been dry but it hasn't disappeared. This is a good
case for monitoring and perhaps mash trapping. But with all the
focus that is on metaldehyde at the moment I would shy away from
blanket prophylactic treatments.
It's easy to remember the problems of
last year but we must also remember that this time last year we had
only just finished combining after a month of foul summer
weather.
All the discussions are about what we do
without IPU and this makes the pre-emergence residuals even more
important, especially on non-chlorotoluron tolerant varieties.
Often these mixtures work well early post-emergence (ie one leaf of
crop), but plants are often very sensitive at that stage and some
crop effect may take place especially in overlaps.
But I have yet to
see any serious yield reduction from these early symptoms - it is
far worse to let the weeds get away or have crop effect from
applications in the spring.
--------------------------------------------
15 September 2009
Nick Brown - Chemega (ProCam Group,
Berks/Bucks/Oxon
(Click to
contact)
Harvest is nearly complete in this area with the exception of a
few crops of beans and linseed.
Yields have been pleasantly surprising. Rape crops nearly ripped
up in February have exceeded expectations doing around 3t/ha.
Winter barley has reached record yields for many, as has winter
wheat. Most spring crops have also done very well considering the
dry conditions post-drilling.
The major downside to this is appalling prices which, coupled
with the crippling fertiliser prices this season, has certainly
taken the shine off what should have been a vintage year.
Rape crops are establishing well despite the dry conditions and
slug activity is currently relatively low. Don't be fooled into a
false sense of security. I have growers with high levels of slug
activity and some who have had to re-drill. Be vigilant if we get
any rain this coming week; expect slug activity to increase
massively.
About half my rape crops have received a pre-emergence spray and
most of the remaining crops will receive a metazachlor / quinmerac
mix early post-emergence with a graminicide added if volunteer
pressure is high.
I expect the early wheat drillers will start in earnest this
week, but please don't rush to sow into poor seed-beds.
The dry spell means in some areas that a chit of blackgrass has
been impossible to achieve. Blackgrass seed dormancy this year is
also thought to be higher than expected. With increased Atlantis
(mesosulfuron-methyl + iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium) resistance
worries we really do have to focus on achieving good seedbeds and
using a robust pre-emergence treatment.
Last year Defy (prosulfocarb) + difluenican (DFF) mixes
performed very well and in more difficult blackgrass situations
Defy + Liberator (flufenacet + DFF) mixes did exceptionally
well.
--------------------------------------------
7 September 2009
Swaran Bachoo,Agrovista, Hants/ Wilts
Click to contact
The majority of the harvest is now complete, apart from a few
fields of wheat which still remain. With improved weather forecast
for this week, the prolonged harvest will, at last, be finished. On
the plus side, yields have been good. Winter wheats have averaged
about 10t/ha, winter barleys at 7.8t/ha and spring barleys
6.75t/ha, but many spring barley crops have failed the malting
quality due to high nitrogen levels.
A lot of rape crops were drilled in the last 10 days in weedy
min-tilled stubbles, with a view to spray with a metazachlor-based
herbicide and glyphosate pre-emergence. Unfortunately the weather
beat us again. The rape seed has chitted and the crop has just
started to come through. These fields will now need to be sprayed
post-emergence without the glyphosate as soon as the majority of
the crop has emerged. Spraying before this stage can lead to crop
damage, especially if there is heavy rain on light soils, but
spraying later will lead to an ineffective weed control.
Winter wheat drilling will start after the end of the second
week of September and winter barley soon after. But before that we
will create a stale seed-bed and spray off with glyphosate to
reduce the grassweed burden and also the risk of aphid infestation.
Before drilling the cereal crop, carefully work out the seed rate
based on the 1000-grain weight. Take into account the target plant
population, drilling date and seed bed conditions. A low seed rate
non-competitive crop can lead to difficulty with blackgrass
control. Where blackgrass is a problem, delay the drilling and use
a higher seed rate.
In damp cloddy seed beds slugs could lead to serious plant loss.
In oilseed rape crops, slugs are already grazing leaves and cutting
the off the stems. Before drilling the seed lay layers, mash slug
traps in the shape of a W to determine the need for slug pellets.
Remember the new guidelines which prohibit the use of slug pellets
round headlands next to water and ditches and the maximum dose of
700 grams metaldehyde per field between January and December in any
one year.
If you are growing winter barley you really have to be prepared
to throw everything at blackgrass control pre-emergence since the
post-emergence options are now so limited. I will use
Defy/DFF/flupyrsulfuron-methyl (Lexus) mixes at robust rates which
worked exceptionally well for me last year.
--------------------------------------------
3 September
James Boswell - H L Hutchinson, Kent
(Click to contact)
Extremely dry conditions in the south-east during
the second half of August have led to oilseed rape
establishment difficulties.
Direct-drilled and Autocast crops that went into early into
moisture have reached the expanded cotyledon stage and are growing
away well. Slug damage is minimal though vigilance and baiting are
recommended. Cabbage stem flea beetle damage is at low levels.
Crops drilled recently into drier seed-beds are more variable
and in some cases sowing is being held back until rain arrives.
This is delaying applications of residual herbicides until the crop
has reached its first true leaf.
With record wheat yields last year the most popular varieties
seem to be Cordiale and Solstice, although we're still searching
for the ideal variety to fulfil the south-east's Group 3
demand.
Early wheat drillings are set to start around the second week of
September.
With variable blackgrass control last year and pressure
beginning to show on Atlantis (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron), using
a robust pre-emergence treatment is becoming increasingly
important.
Oilseed rape stubbles should be sprayed off with glyphosate
before volunteer plants become too large, harbouring slugs and
making good stubble management difficult.
-------------------------------------------------------------
7 July 2009
Swaran Bachoo - Agrovista, Hants/ Wilts
Most oilseed rape crops have been sprayed off with Roundup
Ultimate (glyphosate), and those which are very uneven will be
sprayed next week with Quad (diquat) when 90% of the seed in the
middle third of the raceme is brown.
Timing will be critical to make sure that the later maturing
seed is at the correct stage and that there is no loss from the
early maturing pods.
Winter wheats are at the cheesy ripe stage (GS80) and some
second crops are showing signs of take-all, accentuated by the dry,
hot weather. Sartorial lesions are now obvious where treatments
were not correctly timed, but it is too late to make economic
applications.
Winter barleys are maturing fast and will be harvested in the
next week.The light chalky soils are desperately dry and rain will
be most welcome for grain-filling, albeit too late for winter
barley and perhaps spring barley.
It's time to investigate reasons for areas of poor growth in
fields and devise plans of action to rectify problems. The reasons
may be many, including nutrient deficiency, soil compaction, or
pest damage.
Make sure proper hygiene standards are adopted to clean and
disinfect grain stores against mites and beetles that can greatly
affect the quality and saleability of crops. Please note that grain
stores should be treated at least six weeks before the grain is
brought into the store.
Thoughts are turning to next year's plantings and the vast array
of varieties available, old and new.
A winter wheat of great interest this year is Gallant, a Group 1
variety, which the millers seem to like; so it may be pertinent to
try a small acreage somewhere to see how it performs.
Otherwise it's best to stick to tried and tested varieties that
suit your farm, as buyers are sometimes very fickle and change
their mind at the last moment. Remember last year's introduction of
Viscount winter wheat?
-------------------------------------------------------------
29 June 2009
Nick Brown - Chemega (ProCam Group),
Berks/Bucks/Oxon
Harvest
is rapidly approaching and winter barleys on light land that
escaped the showers are turning quickly. Heavier soil types
that had plenty of rain are faring better.
Some of the indifferent wheat crops now look superb and are full
of potential.
Whilst disease levels are generally lower than last year's,
problems are beginning to show.
I have a field of Oakley that had a small spray miss at T1
resulting in total defoliation by yellow rust. Another customer did
the same at T2 on Solstice and now the upper canopy is
defoliated.
This new race seems very aggressive and we all need to think
long and hard about next year's variety choices; ideally,
restricting susceptible varieties to an area that can be sprayed in
one day.
The main problem with this approach is that few varieties are
now in the low-risk category and seed supply of them may be a real
issue.
Agronomy-wise it's fairly quiet at the moment, but I had to
spray most of my winter and spring beans last week for black bean
aphids, some crops also having huge numbers of pea aphids in
them.
A few aphids can also be found on wheat ears and it's possible
that this week's hot and humid weather could cause an explosion in
numbers.
It will very shortly be time to desiccate winter oilseed rape.
The biggest challenge this year, given the uneven crops, will be to
get the timing right. Some fields may require splitting to avoid
red seed in the sample.
Last year I used a lot of Pod-Stik applied with glyphosate. This
worked very well, with most users raving over its performance. It
will probably be an even more valuable tool this year.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
15 June 2009
James Boswell - H L Hutchinson, Kent
(Click to contact)
Many winter wheat crops look promising after recent
showery weather. Until the rain arrived some were looking stressed
with flag leaves starting to curl.
Most have had a full fungicide programme applied in good
conditions which has kept septoria levels down on the lower leaves
and produced clean flag leaves.
Orange blossom midge numbers were monitored, but thresholds were
reached in only a small number of cases for treatment with Dursban
(chlorpyrifos).
Mildew has remained at low levels but can readily be found in
Claire.
Yellow rust has arisen only in untreated areas or where timings
have been stretched, particularly in Robigus. Brown rust has been
absent, but the risk will increase if the weather becomes hot and
dry.
Most winter barleys received good two-spray fungicide treatments
and disease has been kept under control.
A bigger problem has been growth regulation, and with the recent
thundery windy conditions we're already seeing pancake flat crops
which is of huge economic concern.
The small proportion of oilseed rape crops unaffected by
pigeons, rabbits or slugs have finished flowering and podded
well.
While many very poor crops were re-drilled with a spring crop, a
few were left that were borderline; these have recovered to some
degree and are still flowering.
Spring beans look very good, although downy mildew levels have
been high and needed controlling with Folio ((chlorothalonil +
metalaxyl-M).
Flowering is coming to an end and crops are podding nicely.
As many are grown for human consumption bruchid beetle control
has been a high priority, many crops receiving Hallmark Zeon
(lambda-cyhalothrin) during flowering.
Spring barley has been popular and disease has been well
controlled
Linseed has also been popular, but with fewer products available
controlling weeds has been difficult, and dry conditions at
application have made mayweed control variable.
-------------------------------------------------------------
8 June 2009
Swaran Bachoo - Agrovista, Hants/ Wilts
(Click to contact)
Rain on Saturday and Sunday was a welcome relief; we had
15-20mm. Until then the weather had been terrific for people on
holiday, but not so good for those growing crops.
We'd had temperatures of 24C plus, and with no more than 16mm of
rain in the previous three weeks and constant wind, soils had badly
cracked and dried out.
Winter wheats are at full ear-emergence to mid-flowering
(GS59-65). Most have had a T3 fungicide and the rest will be
treated this week.
The T3 application should be considered an extension of the flag
leaf spray and is a critical part of the fungicide programme in
disease-prone varieties.
A T3 fungicide is also useful in controlling fusarium ear blight
and so mycotoxins. Tests for these are now being aggressively
carried out by millers, and loads of wheat were rejected last year.
Alas control of fusarium is rather high and difficult to
achieve.
Winter barleys are at the milky ripe to cheesy ripe stage and
too late to spray with fungicide.
Spring barleys are at the full ear emergence and will be treated
with T2 fungicide this week.
Some oilseed rape crops in close rotation that flowered over a
prolonged period have been sprayed with a second sclerotinia
fungicide.
Considering how dry it has been, it's remarkable how good crops
look overall and the recent rain should help them attain their
potential.
Atlantis (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron
) has given poorer than usual grassweed control this year,
probably due to the cold weather in February and March and the dry
spell in April.
It's now time to carry out field mapping of areas where control
has been poor, with perhaps resistance the cause, and to get the
weed seed tested. Remember to collect samples only when the seed is
mature, which is usually when it falls off the head on shaking.
Spring wheat A C Barrie looks particularly good on the better
soils and could yield well, but I fear it's struggling on
Wiltshire's thin chalky land.
-------------------------------------------------------------
1 June 2009
Nick Brown - Chemega (ProCam Group),
Berks/Bucks/Oxon
(Click to contact)
All but the most backward winter rape crops are either at the
end or close to the end of flowering, and unless we have an aphid
invasion the next time field gates are opened will be to
desiccate.
The spring crop is a different matter and varies from Ritz,
which is mostly bad or a crop failure, to the very good. There are
large numbers of pollen beetles in most crops and, given that
spring rape is less able to compensate than winter rape, these are
being treated with insecticide.
Spring barleys look well, although some are very short. The most
forward are just at awns emerging and will receive a second
fungicide based on prothioconazole this week.
Winter beans are a mixed bag, with some late-emerging
moisture-stressed crops of Wizard still only 12in tall and
flowering. Earlier-drilled crops on moisture-retentive clays are
3ft tall and look well. All have received one fungicide so far and
a follow up will be applied three to four weeks after the first. If
the weather stays dry, more emphasis needs to be on bean rust
control with the second spray.
Winter wheats are at ear emergence and thoughts must turn to
ear-wash sprays and orange blossom midge control.
This season is completely different to last. If it stays dry for
the next week to 10 days the fusarium risk should be much lower and
the emphasis of the ear wash should be as much about topping up the
flag leaf spray as on fusarium control.
All quality wheats will still receive an ear wash; the decision
on feed wheats will hinge around variety, yield potential and
levels of moisture stress. At the moment orange blossom midge
levels seem low and I haven't yet found a crop which requires
treatment. Long may this continue.
-------------------------------------------------------------
27 May 2009
Tod Hunnisett - Chichester Crop Consultancy,
Hampshire
(Click to contact)
Most Favourite Recommendation of the Year Award goes to the
ear-wash on winter wheat, which, hopefully, puts the crop to bed
and means the end of the silly season is in sight.
Mine will be a 60-75% triazole dose plus 50% strobilurin. Some
will be late-flag/early-ear combined and some of my later wheats
will have had only two applications of pretty chunky doses of
fungicides.
It's interesting to see what effect the early, robust
applications had on mildew without the addition of specific
mildewicides; those that didn't get their first fungicides until
late certainly have considerably higher levels of mildew.
I suppose we have to start thinking about the dreaded orange
wheat blossom midge (yawn) soon, but I doubt many of my crops will
be treated.
Winter barleys are now all put to bed and are looking pretty
good. One of my crops of Boost has had no herbicides since its
autumn post-em, has only had two fungicide treatments and is as
clean as a whistle. What happens from now on is in the lap of the
gods.
Crop with the Most Amazing Powers of Recovery Award goes to
winter oilseed rape, which has astounded even my dampened optimism.
How many acres were ripped up unnecessarily?
Least Favourite Crop of the Season Award goes to red spring
wheat, which seems to suffer from every problem available and turns
a horrible shade of yellow the minute a herbicide gets anywhere
near it. Unless it yields particularly well or is worth a fortune,
I shan't be recommending anybody grows it next year.
Spring beans and linseed look excellent. We've just had a drop
of rain and the temperatures have risen, so everything feels good
at the moment. Let's hope it continues that way.
-------------------------------------------------------------
19 May 2009
James Boswell - H L Hutchinson, Kent
(Click to contact)
Early-drilled winter wheat is now at boot swollen. Mildew is
confined to wheat stems and remains low risk. Yellow rust could be
found earlier on Robigus where fungicide timings were extended, but
is now back under control.
Brown rust hasn't been seen so far this season, but a change to
warmer weather could see it become a high risk. Septoria tritici is
the main concern at this T2 timing, with levels in the south
reportedly the highest in the country.
The cold winter, early spring and robust growth regulation
programmes have led to shorter-than-normal plants, resulting in
disease pressure increasing by direct disease transfer rather than
rain splash.
Winter barley, fully in ear, looks extremely promising.
Rhynchosporium and net blotch have been well controlled by robust
two-spray fungicide programmes. Mildew levels remain low.
Forward oilseed rape has finished flowering, had two sclerotinia
sprays and podded well. Backward and pigeon-damaged crops have
never recovered and remain thin, uneven and spindly. They have been
flowering at various times and a well-timed sclerotinia spray has
been impossible.
Spring beans have suffered from dry weather and persistent
weevil notching. Downy mildew is a problem earlier than normal this
season and does need addressing. Pre-emergence weed control has
been good, but may need a follow up treatment with Basagran
(bentazone).
Spring barley went into moisture and looks encouraging.
There has been more linseed planted this spring and it
germinated well, but polygonums are a problem and will need
treating.
-------------------------------------------------------------
11 May 2009
Swaran Bachoo - Agrovista, Hants/ Wilts
(Click to contact)
The recent warm weather and some rain has enabled the crops to
make rapid growth.
Those that were seven days behind earlier in the season are now
at the same growth stage as they were last year.
Winter barley is at GS 49, awns just visible, and will be
sprayed, weather permitting, this week with Jaunt (prothioconazole
+ trifloxystrobin + fluoxastrobin) + chlorothalonil.
Please note that the latest timing for the use of chlorothalonil
at the T2 is GS 51(before first spikelet visible).
Winter wheats have leaf 2 emerged and will be sprayed when the
flags emerge in about 10 days' time. This year there are much
reduced tiller numbers and plant numbers are also low. This means
that lower leaves will make a greater contribution. Also leaf 3 on
the secondary tillers would not have received fungicide at the T1
timing, applied two weeks ago.
So it's imperative that a robust rate of a good fungicide, such
as Ennobe (epoxiconazole + prochloraz), is considered for longer
kick-back activity.
Nitrogen fertiliser programmes should now be completed if they
haven't already been.
Red wheat A C Barrie is growing at a rate of knots, typically
like a spring wheat. Atlantis (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron) has,
unfortunately, slightly scorched this variety, perhaps because of
its rapid growth pattern. The variety will require two good growth
regulators and an application of manganese.
Oilseed rape has been sprayed against sclerotinia about a week
ago and a second fungicide may be required if there is a prolonged
flowering. Note that it is against the rules to mix an insecticide
with a triazole fungicide during flowering.
Most pea crops are at the tendril locking stage and have escaped
pea and bean weevil attack. Residual herbicides have not worked
well this year because of the dry weather and may need an
overspray. Ensure there is an adequate layer of wax on the leaves
before applying a herbicide.
-------------------------------------------------------------
5 May 2009
Nick Brown - Chemega (ProCam Group),
Berks/Bucks/Oxon
(Click to contact)
Recent rain has at least perked most crops up, but some areas
remain very dry and we still need a good inch more.
Most winter rape has started to flower and these crops have had
a fungicide against sclerotinia. The question now is will a follow
up be required? Given the problems encountered in the past two
years and the unevenness of flowering, I'm sure most crops will
benefit from a second spray three weeks after the first was
applied. Dose and product choice will be varied according to the
persistency required.
Spring barleys vary enormously, with the furthest forward at
GS30 while some are still at three leaves. Forward crops are about
to receive a fungicide based on a third rate of a prothioconazole
plus strob mix timed at late tillering, the aim being to follow up
four weeks later at flag leaf or awns-emerging stage.
Spring beans are struggling on heavy soils, with some plants
emerged while some seed sits in dry clods yet to germinate. These
crops are suffering from bad pea and bean weevil damage and need
treating now. The aim should be to do this in sunny conditions when
the weevils are active. Weed control from pre-emergence treatments
is variable, which is not surprising given the dry weather.
Winter wheats have mostly received their T1 treatments. Disease
pressure, especially from septoria, is relatively low at the
moment. T2 is still some way off, probably for the bulk of the crop
from 20 May onwards. Again aim to keep the gap between fungicides
to about four weeks.
Winter barleys have recently received a late growth regulator
where needed, and will shortly have a fungicide at awns-emerging
based again on a third rate prothioconazole plus strob mix.
-----------------------------------------------------------
28 April 2009
Tod Hunnisett - Chichester Crop Consultancy,
Hampshire
(Click to contact)
As predicted, once crops woke up they raced through their
development. First awns were showing on some winter barley crops by
the third week of April and well-established Soissons – yes, we
still grow loads in the south of England – had its flag leaf
showing at the same time.
Fortunately, we are not chasing disease, but what was planned as
a late T0 has actually gone on at traditional T1 timing, so I'm
glad I've kept triazole rates relatively robust.
Spring crops have gone in superbly and generally speaking are
developing very evenly. Spring barley is showing a few growing
pains and in the worst cases this can be rectified with trace
elements. But usually I just leave them to it and they grow out of
it on their own. Pre-emergence herbicides on peas and beans seem to
have worked very well. Pea and bean weevil attacks have been
sporadic, with some very bad and some not at all, so good
inspection and prompt treatment is necessary.
Oilseed rape has dragged itself into flower,. but I can't think
of many fields that are wall-to-wall even. Early high pollen beetle
numbers seem to have dispersed themselves without too much damage,
but I did see a crop that had a number of pods missing due to a
late, isolated frost. All crops will be getting a mid-flowering
fungicide, probably tebuconazole + MBC.
Maize is going in as I write and might have had a good drink by
the time this goes to press. Any of my growers who used Cadou Star
last year have asked to use it again, as it worked so well. So that
makes my job easy. I hope there will only be another three or four
weeks of rushing around like the proverbial coloured-behind fly and
things will start to ease off.
---------------------------------------------------------------
20 April 2009
James Boswell - H L Hutchinson, Kent
(Click to contact)
Up to an inch of rain over the weekend was desperately needed.
Most wheats look quite promising though there's some mildew
creeping into the bottom.
The most forward crops are at T1 and it will be important to get
the PGR right. They've already had 1 litre/ha of chlormequat and
0.1 litres/ha of Moddus (trinexapac-ethyl) and they'll get the same
again along with fungicide - generally chlorothalonil with a good
three-quarter dose of triazole, plus Flexity (metrafenone) if
there's mildew present.
Most grassweed control has been completed and Atlantis and
Pacifica (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron) seem to have worked well. We
don't have too many resistance problems.
Winter barleys look better this year than normal. They're not
that awful yellow you often see - they seem more like wheat. Most
are approaching GS32 and a lot of people have already applied
fungicide. But it will be important to keep an eye open for
rhynchosporium and net blotch after the wet weekend.
I reckon about 15% of the winter rape has been pulled up. Most
people have replaced it with spring barley, sown about three weeks
ago, which is now at the two-leaf stage and looks fantastic. It
shows there was still moisture underneath.
Others have gone with linseed, sown about a week ago, which is
just coming through. They'll need to watch out for flea beetle and
be prepared to spray a pyrethroid where attacks are severe.
Nitrogen dressings to second wheats are mostly completed, but
some people with forward strong first crops are waiting until
they've applied their second PGR.
Some oilseed rape looks fantastic, but most suffered pigeon
damage. Some Biscaya (thiacloprid) has been applied against pollen
beetle. It's more expensive, but we do have resistance down
here.
The most forward crops have already been treated against
sclerotinia, and will probably need spraying again in a couple of
weeks, especially if they are in high-risk areas. I think two-spray
sclerotinia programmes could become the norm.
-------------------------------------------------------------
14 April 2009
Swaran Bachoo - Agrovista, Hants/ Wilts
(Click to contact)
In the middle of last week we had about 8mm of very welcome
rain. The ground is now damp, and with the air temperature
averaging 12C crops are growing rapidly.
Grassweed control is now complete and Atlantis (iodosulfuron +
mesosulfuron) applied three weeks ago is working well.
Early drilled wheats are at GS29 and have been treated with a T0
fungicide plus a reduced rate PGR. Where required, a dose of trace
elements has been included.
Traces of Septoria tritici are visible on new growth in Humber,
Oakley and Solstice. All three varieties were severely affected by
septoria in late June last year and I can clearly remember that
towards the end of the month there was sudden senescence in most of
the leaves.
Treat septoria-susceptible varieties with respect and spray
these at the T0 timing or, if this isn't appropriate, use a robust
rate of a good fungicide such as Ennobe (epoxiconazole +
prochloraz) or Proline (prothioconazole) at the T1 timing at GS
32.
Winter barley varieties Cassata and Pearl are infected with net
blotch and rhynchosporium and will be treated this week at the T1
timing with Jaunt (prothioconazole + trifloxystrobin +
fluoxystrobin).
Winter barleys have had all their planned nitrogen and winter
wheats will receive their main dressing at GS31 in about 10 days'
time.
Spring barleys are between GS12 and 14 and until recent rain
were struggling - even the weeds weren't germinating! There are
some patchy fields around where not all the seed has
germinated.
Oilseed rape crops are at yellow bud stage with some pollen
beetles present. Early drilled crops which weren't infested by
pigeons and had a GAI of 1 in March and approaching 2 in early
April have been treated with a PGR fungicide to help with canopy
arrangement and prevent sclerotinia. Temperatures above 10C and
recent rainfall will encourage infection.
-------------------------------------------------------------
6 April 2009
Nick Brown - Chemega (ProCam Group),
Berks/Bucks/Oxon
(Click to contact)
No two years are ever the same and this season is throwing up a
few surprises.
Bad light leaf spot in oilseed rape that has received two phoma
sprays is certainly a surprise. Problems seem most prevalent in the
more forward crops, which are receiving a robust fungicide
preferably including prothioconazole.
With early crops at the yellow bud to first flowers opening
stage, this is a slight compromise, which will confuse the main
sclerotinia spray timing.
Some early control of sclerotinia can be expected from a spray
at yellow bud, but beware of leaving the main spray too far into
flowering.
Watch out - pollen beetles are about in large numbers. While
they're not a problem in forward crops coming into flower, use a
threshold of five per plant for backward or thin crops.
Early wheat crops are at GS30 and have been treated with
chlorotoluron and growth regulator. I have used little triazole at
T0 this year.
Most wheats are still a week off GS30 and, with continuing dry
weather, it is hard to see the justification for a T0 aimed at
septoria control, given that the gap to T1 will be relatively
short. If it stays dry yellow rust could be more of a problem.
Winter barleys will be ready for a T1 by the end of this week
and that should major around prothioconazole plus strobilurin and
growth regulator. Remember this is the most important timing on
barley and so where the main fungicide investment should be.
The recent dry weather has allowed rapid progress with spring
drilling. Early-sown spring barley is tillering, although much of
the crop is sitting in bone dry soils. We really do need
significant rain so these crops can get away.
A month ago I never thought I'd be contemplating a rain dance by
early April.
-------------------------------------------------------------
30 March 2009
Tod Hunnisett - Chichester Crop Consultancy,
Hampshire
(Click to contact)
After what seems to have been an interminably long winter things
finally seem to be waking up.
Crops are going through a sort of adolescent phase where
anything forward has really got moving, but anything backward is
still asleep. This has the effect of making the difference between
the two look even greater. But I have confidence that, provided
there is a plant, the two will soon even up. Anyone with teenage
offspring will know exactly what I mean.
For early-drilled winter crops that established well, the winter
has been brilliant. Growth stages are about right for the time of
year and disease levels are low. Autumn grassweed control has, on
the whole, been very effective and few problems have re-emerged
yet. Even for later-drilled crops we have not been chasing weeds,
so there is something to say for a proper winter.
Some winter rape crops are just about ready for a stem extension
fungicide and some, but not many, will need growth regulation. Some
have had their growth regulated and disease controlled by
pigeons/rabbits/partridges and some have been ripped up and
replaced with something else. Generally speaking anything sown this
spring has gone in superbly and has lifted spirits accordingly.
Normally, when winter wheat is late to move away in the spring
it has a tendency to race through its growth stages to come into
ear at the standard late May/early June timing. Consequently, I
can't see many crops receiving a T0 plus three fungicides this
year.
My early wheats will probably have an early T1 at GS31/32, with
a T2 at GS37 and a follow up at flag leaf/ear. Later or badly
grazed wheats may well only receive two fungicides and little
growth regulation. But, as often before, I could be eating my
words.
-------------------------------------------------------------
23 March 2009
James Boswell - H L Hutchinson, Kent
(Click to contact)
Better recent weather has led to many outstanding grassweed
spraying jobs being completed, with Atlantis or Pacifica (both
iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron) being needed in the most difficult
situations.
Early first wheats are at GS30 and T0 is now being recommended,
an appropriate triazole/chlorothanonil mix proving popular. Disease
levels are variable. Very few rust pustules can be found and mildew
infections are low, but Septoria tritici levels are high.
Wheat development seems slower this year, possibly 7-10 days
late. There is also a huge difference in crop stands where fields
are 300-400ft above sea level after the very cold winter. After two
weeks of dry weather slug activity is minimal, but rabbits remain a
massive problem that still needs addressing.
Pigeons continue to graze oilseed rape heavily causing serious
problems. Where the pests have been controlled a minority of strong
rape crops have started to extend and grow on quickly.
Many crops were sprayed in the autumn for phoma and treatments
have worked well, as levels are now low. But, with so many uneven
crops, special attention needs to be paid to pollen beetle control,
as the worst damage is seen in warmer, sunny conditions with the
crop at tight green bud.
Spring beans have been very popular and seed-beds good. Many
have been rolled and sprayed pre-emergence with herbicide. The need
for these residuals to work well is more important than ever, as
there is such a limited armoury of post-emergent contact products
approved.
-------------------------------------------------------------
16 March 2009
Swaran Bachoo - Agrovista, Hants/ Wilts
(Click to contact)
Most spring barley drilling is complete and seed drilled 10 days
ago is shot and should come through during next week.
All winter wheats and barleys have been treated with 37kg/ha of
nitrogen plus 45kg/ha of SO3, and second wheats have had the same
sulphur and 75-80kg/ha of N. Late September and early October
drilled wheats are at GS24.
Oilseed rape crops will soon be at the stem extension stage and
have already been treated with 40kg/ha of nitrogen and 75kg/ha of
SO3. During the next few days the bulk of the planned remaining N
should be applied to backward crops as there is only about 25kg/ha
in the soil - only half the amount found last year. Remember the
crop can take up to 3kg/ha of N a day during stem extension.
Well established rape crops can wait for their main dressing
until the end of March.
Malting winter barleys should get all their N by the end of
March to ensure malting quality.
There is little evidence of light leaf spot present in oilseed
rape but phoma symptoms can easily found on the old leaves.
Most varieties of wheat have septoria lesions on the old
senescing leaves, and fresh net blotch lesions are evident on
winter barley varieties Cassata and Pearl.
The dreaded slugs are still doing damage in late-drilled fields
of wheat, albeit in small patches but will need treating. Remember
the guidelines for using slug pellets and take all possible
precautions to avoid these getting into waterways.
With soil temperatures increasing and above 6C it's time to
consider application of Atlantis (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron) for
blackgrass control in wheat. But take care to avoid spraying during
frosty weather to avoid crop damage and avoid tank-mixing
chlorothalonil.
-------------------------------------------------------------
9 March 2009
Nick Brown - Chemega (ProCam Group),
Berks/Bucks/Oxon
(Click to contact)
Most decisions on which rape crops are worth saving have now
been made. Thin and backward ones will need a completely different
approach to nitrogen management than forward crops.
Consider using growth stimulants like Route or Quark to
encourage more prolific rooting. In contrast to recent years these
crops will need most if not all their nitrogen applied early on to
aid rapid canopy expansion and encourage small plants to branch
rather than bolt.
If significant fresh phoma lesions are found on backward crops
treatment is still worthwhile. It's still on the cool side for
Galera (clopyralid and picloram) to work well, but remember the cut
off application point is flower buds visible.
There are some thin and backward barleys around and it's
important to remember that barley is less able to compensate for
sub-optimal tiller numbers than wheat. So a higher nitrogen dose
earlier on to encourage further tillering is worthwhile in these
thin crops this year.
Forward wheats are few and far between, the average growth stage
being GS21. Temperatures are just about high enough to apply
Atlantis (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron) and Pacifica (iodosulfuron +
mesosulfuron), but on waterlogged soils aim to wait until active
growth is seen. Try, if possible, to avoid mixing them either with
a growth regulator or chlorothalonil. T0 is still some way off in
most crops.
Spring barley drilling is in full swing, with most crops
receiving a pre-emergence spray of Stomp (pendimethalin) and Defy
(prosulfocarb) at 2 litres/ha plus 3-4 litres/ha, respectively, in
blackgrass situations or straight Defy at 2-3 litres/ha in annual
meadow grass situations.
Defy (on a SOLA) applied straight is very crop-safe, but be
beware of shallow drillings with the Stomp mix.
Late winter beans are just emerging as the spring crop is
drilled. Two new herbicide options exist pre-emergence on spring
beans. Defy (on a SOLA) and Afalon (linuron) are both welcome
additions to a previously limited and expensive armoury.
-------------------------------------------------------------
24 February 2009
James Boswell - H L Hutchinson, Kent
(Click to contact)
Continuous cold wet weather and low soil temperatures left
oilseed rapes crops damaged by pigeons looking very poor and
backward.
Two weeks of warmer weather has allowed nitrogen/sulphur
fertiliser applications to be made which will help promote
growth.
Autumn fungicides to control phoma have been successful and
levels of the disease remain low.
It's now too late to apply propyzamide to rape but this can be
replaced with carbetamide up to the end of February.
Levels of charlock vary, with some hit hard by frosts. Other
stronger plants will need controlling with bifenox (SOLA
needed).
Any cleavers, mayweeds and thistles can still be sprayed before
crop canopy prevents penetration, or green buds start to show. This
job must take priority because time is running out as soil
conditions begin to improve.
Forward-first wheats are approaching growth stage 30. Mildew
levels are low and rust pustules difficult to detect, but Septoria
tritici is rife. A T0 spray will need to be applied, weather
permitting, in the next seven to 14 days, based around a strong
septoria fungicide.
Autumn-applied residuals have worked well, but where blackgrass
is the main problem an Atlantis application is now needed as soil
temperatures begin to rise.
Where thin patches have appeared in fields, keep looking out for
slug activity as temperatures increase.