East: Internal damage to oilseed rape

If you go to Germany or France you do not see crops with large canopies, as they have hard winters and springs. Smaller rape crops are not exhibiting these symptoms. With soil temperatures below 4 there will be very little evidence of Nitrogen uptake by crops as roots will only function if the temperature is 4.All my  rapecrops will be or have recieved their first top dressing of N/S. Rape does actually grow at lower temperatures and daylength then cereals.

Winter cereal grown on light land are showing evidence of frost lift, and when there are no night frosts forcast hopfully these will be rolled in order to consolidate the roots. With such hard night frosts manganese defficient crops have not been treated, as this would only exacerbrate the problem.  With such low soil temperatures there is very little evidence of new root growth in cereals.

Atlantis appliactions will be dealyed until soil tempertures increase and there is evidence of active growth. All wheat crops that are to be treated will be top dressed in order to  encourage  growth of weed and crop. Blackgrass has only just started to grow as there  new roots are just appearing.

Blackgrass does grow at lower temperaures, and light intensities than wheat.Having had all blackgrass tested on my farms over the years, and all exhibiting various degrees of resistance Atlantis will be applied on its own in order not to comprimise it effecicay.

With disease development been delayed, hopfully the  To timing will be where it should be i.e end of March.

If the whether holds during the next few days, hopfully all spring barley /spring wheat and spring beans will be drilled. At present with such low soil temperatures I am advising all beet drills to remain in the shed.