June 2011 Archives

Rainfall during June has improved many crops, but it may have arrived too late for the winter barley. Oilseed rape and wheats generally look well on the heavier land, but wheat on lighter soils or late drilled after roots will struggle to produce good yields. 

Many barley crops have obvious levels of secondary growth. Consider applying pre-harvest glyphosate where necessary as a harvest aid, although getting the application timing right could prove tricky due to the wide maturity variations within a field.

Aphids have been building up again in peas and have required controlling with an insecticide.  Keep monitoring crops as recent warm weather can soon allow aphid numbers to increase quickly above the 20% of plants infested threshold.

The recent rainfall also increases the risk of leaf and pod spot in peas. Therefore, applying a fungicide now will provide some useful protection. Black bean aphid numbers are building up in bean crops which may also warrant an insecticide.

The rain has finally arrived and for the second time this year the countryside has turned green overnight. Whether it is in time enough to save any struggling wheat or barley crops I'm not sure, but it is certainly a welcome sight. 

It has certainly justified continuing with the T3 fungicide protection programme, as many of these crops will now continue to stay green for a near normal period of time. To that end, all my wheats will have had a triazole/strobilurin ear-wash by the time this report goes to press. However, the overall fungicide spend this year will be similar or less than last year. 

The rain has meant final germination of all the spring-drilled crops and as soon as the weather warms up I'm sure the maize will take off nicely. As it was so dry at drilling hardly any crops received a pre-emergence herbicide and those that did nearly all need over-spraying. 

After another 25mm of rainfall over the weekend and with more rain forecast for this week, I am waiting for the first comment wishing it to stop. That aside our crops have greened up fantastically in the last week to fortnight as they pick up some much needed nitrogen and move on.

Crops look fantastic from the road, but maybe when you get into them they are all a tiller short. The crops looked similar at the same stage last season around here and they went on to yield well because they got adequate sunshine in June. So now we have had a bit of moisture, we could do with some sunshine and warmth, but not too much.

Winter barley may be starting to turn and I am just hoping that with heavy rain and winds that they remain standing until harvest. I don't think that harvest will be much earlier than normal with this crop, but a lot depends on weather from now on.

Crops have responded well to recent rainfall with many looking greener and more robust. Whilst the availability of earlier applied nitrogen will improve grain fill, at best we can hope to maximise the remaining potential of each crop.

For milling wheats, assessing the need to apply a top-up of foliar nitrogen is difficult and may ultimately depend on the size of the expected premium. For lower-yielding crops, late nitrogen uptake may be enough to ensure that the required grain protein is achieved. However, higher-yielding milling wheats are more likely to require a top of foliar nitrogen to achieve specification, which can be applied until milky ripe.

Aphid colonies are present in both wheat and pulses. At the moment, populations in wheat are relatively low with an abundance of predators in many crops.  However, keep an eye on these populations as they could build quickly and move on to the ear if temperatures warm up. In pulses, if a second fungicide is outstanding check whether an additional aphicide is also required.

At last we have had some widespread rainfall with everyone getting a good soaking. Until now, the rain we have had has been patchy and showery with some getting just about enough and others getting nothing at all. The upshot of the patchy rain has been extremely variable crops with some growers delighted with harvest prospects and others disappointed by the damage done by drought

Wheat crops have remained relatively free of disease with very low pressure from septoria. I never thought I would be writing that in this part of the world. There are reports of yellow rust, particularly in Oakley, but where growers have stuck to a reasonable fungicide programme, this disease has also been well controlled.

The debate at the moment revolves around whether to apply T3s to the wheats. This decision will have been made easier by the rain. If the weather is now going to be unsettled, the main benefit of the T3 will be to prevent late ear diseases as there is no need for a late septoria top-up this year.

The severe winds of last week have left many crops battered and extremely dewaxed. Cereal crops sprayed soon after are showing signs of scorch.

On the whole, most oilseed rape crops had finished pollination so the premature removal of the last of the petals should not have too great an impact on yield. Any aphids daft enough to take flight will now be swimming in the North Sea. However, if the weather settles down and temperatures increase, be vigilant in checking for these pests. 

Unsuitable spraying conditions have meant that some spray intervals may have been compressed, however, it is important that growers aim to keep up with their fungicide plans as there are many crops in this area with good yield potential that needs to be protected.

There has been a decent amount of rain for some areas over the weekend, but sadly, not for all.

Most winter wheat is now in flower so safe from orange wheat blossom midge, but the later crops, with ears just emerging, still need monitoring. As grain starts to fill, all crops need to be checked for aphids in the ears. Aphid populations were building in the warm weather, but the large numbers of ladybirds in crops this year seem to be limiting the infestation. Spray only if threshold numbers are found and use a product safe to beneficial insects.

T3 fungicides have been applied in the past week though the dry conditions have deterred some growers from spraying, especially where T2 was delayed until ears were emerging .

With winter crop treatments nearly finished, don't forget the spring crops. They may have been badly affected by the drought, but they are of potentially high value so need looking after.

Some rain has appeared at last within the past couple of weeks - enough to potentially encourage disease development. Any crops with reasonable yield potential are being topped up with a T3 treatment to extend the period of protection and try to maximise green leaf retention and increase grain fill. 

In milling wheats, the T3 is also targeted at fusarium as the dry spring has been conducive to F culmorum development which has been climbing up the leaf layers as confirmed by monitoring sites. The risk of subsequent disease development on the ear is increased by wet weather.  Also yellow rust is likely to become more active with increased leaf wetness so susceptible varieties will also be candidates for a T3 top-up fungicide.

Grassweed control has generally been good where stale seed-beds and pre-emergence residuals were successfully utilised in the autumn. Early autumn Atlantis (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron) treatments worked well, but conditions for spring applications were not always ideal.