I ended my last Crop Watch on the 1st of this month by saying I suspected we were in for payback for the dry weather we had been having. A client of mine who is a regular contributor to FW told me this morning that 230mm so far this month has already become the wettest [...]
Although another wet and wild day is taking place we have not faired as badly as some parts of the country but field applications are very much at standstill and winter ploughing is impossible. One of the children at the rugby club said to me yesterday can you please do something about this weather and [...]
It’s time to shut the gate. Despite the recent unsettled and blowy weather most growers have all but completed their scheduled autumn sprays. As temeratures fall and crop growth slows oppurtunities for any remaining autumn/winter Atlantis applications will be rare. However, applications made in December and January have worked well after a spell of mild [...]
At this time of year the weather changes very quickly and so do the ground conditions. Opportunities for spraying have diminished rapidly but then we did have a fantastic spell earlier! Seedbeds have been ideal and coupled with good soil temperatures cereal crops have made a good start with the bonus of very little slug [...]
Blackgrass control in wheat has got off to a bad start in many areas. The worst situations are first wheats following oilseed rape where blackgrass control in the rape crop was incomplete. Subsequent management has been undermined by the weather – most notably the lack of rainfall to stimulate emergence in stale seedbeds followed by [...]
Rain and high winds have stopped nearly all field work though I do have a customer that managed to drill a field of wheat this week. So there are plenty of spraying jobs to be done once the weather calms down. Blackgrass is developing rapidly and in wheat Atlantis seems now to be the only [...]
The predictive system told us that we should be seeing Phoma in rape crops by mid October. Given the dry conditions through most of August, September and October I must admit to being sceptical! I have treated some crops for Phoma but the majority are still virtually free from the disease. Soil temperatures have now [...]
With soil temperatures falling, rainfall due and lower day and night temperatures, application of propyzamide or carbetamide is now taking place. To enhance the activity of both products for blackgrass control a graminicide is also being be added. Remember that if a fop i.e Fusilade Max had be used earlier in the season, then a [...]
The last two weeks have seen very few opportunites for spraying with wet and windy conditions dominating. Thus far in November I have measured 5.5 inches of rain, so if you took the sprayer into some fields I dont think it would get out! Occasional fields have seen persistent slug activity and have required more than [...]