Field conditions are still very soggy and the drains are running well. Oilseed rape has much better establishment and growth than last year,
but pigeons are starting to be a problem. It's too late for Kerb
(propyzamide) so you need to move to carbetamex for weed control.
A lot of crops were not sprayed for phoma - consequently the disease is rife and needs controlling. Flusilazole applied at up to 0.5-0.6l/ha should give good control. Light leaf spot isn't really a problem in this area, but it is a disease that likes the cold so it needs looking out for.
First nitrogen applications are high up the agenda once the crop starts growing and most will be putting on nitrogen and sulphur. We'll be carrying out SMN testing before making the first nitrogen application and at stem extension we will look at plant growth regulator fungicide options. Metconazole is good where there is excessive growth.
A lot of crops were not sprayed for phoma - consequently the disease is rife and needs controlling. Flusilazole applied at up to 0.5-0.6l/ha should give good control. Light leaf spot isn't really a problem in this area, but it is a disease that likes the cold so it needs looking out for.
First nitrogen applications are high up the agenda once the crop starts growing and most will be putting on nitrogen and sulphur. We'll be carrying out SMN testing before making the first nitrogen application and at stem extension we will look at plant growth regulator fungicide options. Metconazole is good where there is excessive growth.
Residual herbicides applied to wheat have worked well, especially Liberator (flufenacet + diflufenican). Some growers that didn't manage to apply insecticides in the autumn are concerned about BYDV, but temperatures will have been low enough to kill some aphids and I'm hopeful there won't be too much BYDV around.
Plant counts are good and have tillered well. There are no signs of mildew and a few rust spots that did exist have succumbed to the cold weather - I'm not expecting a massive rust problem this season. There is some slug damage in wheat, but they have eased off since the cold weather and the crop will start to grow through the damage as soon as temperatures start rising.
A lot of people are still tying to control blackgrass as there were very few opportunities for applying Atlantis in the autumn. But growers shouldn't rush to apply spring Atlantis and should wait until there are temperatures of 8-10C and the crop weed is growing away.
However, you should get Atlantis applications out of the way before mid March when T0s will be required. To improve Atlantis efficacy you don't want to mix it with any other products.
Barley generally looks yellow and fed up due to the cold weather, but it should perk up as the weather warms up. Growers are waiting for the ground to dry out before planting spring beans, but it is likely to be 10 days before they are able to get started.
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