It's definitely been a case of better late than never in the past month. A good 5-8cm of rain in June has made all the difference to much of our winter wheat and with it our morale. At least we should now see some decent bushel weight compensation for all those lost tillers.
The much-needed rain has, however, brought us extra harvesting challenges to add to that of highly variable oilseed rape crops.
We've seen a major flush of weed growth in the bottom of the thin, but thankfully now very much greener, wheats we have on all but the light ground.
With plenty of available nitrogen in the ground - not to mention stay green fungicides and later-maturing varieties - we'll also be in for more than our fair share of delayed crop ripening and secondary tillering.
At last some decent sunshine. This should help the haymakers and will fill the pods and ears of combinable crops as well as bulking up potatoes which have bred well. However, the higher temperatures along with the thundery showers will no doubt increase the risk of late blight in potato crops.
Winter barley crops are starting to turn and most will require pre-harvest glyphosate as a management aid. On the subject of glyphosate, all spray operators must be extremely vigilant to prevent drift on to other crops, particularly potatoes and vegetables.
Spray drift can travel long distances even with light winds if the temperature is high. Hedges and trees do not guarantee protection for neighbouring fields. A drift suppressant should be considered and also remember to pay attention to wash out procedures when switching from desiccation to spraying sensitive crops.
Desiccation of oilseed rape crops is well underway with only the later-maturing varieties and fields remaining. Most have been treated with glyphosate plus pod sealant. Harvest should be relatively straightforward, as most crops are shorter than normal, providing they desiccate evenly.
The June rain has helped fill seeds and pods, although there are noticeable areas of pod abortion, especially in lower lying areas of fields and poorer soils. Hopefully, pod fill will have compensated for some of this early pod loss.
So far its been a bonanza summer for aphids. They have moved into every
crop I have looked at. Despite being easily found in wheat in most cases
they haven't reached threshold for treatment.
Most spring crops
have needed spraying with pirimicarb and peas and beans are still being
treated where infestation is occurring. Ladybird adults and larvae are
helping to mop up large numbers of aphids and in some crops are keeping a
lid on populations.
Although we seem to be galloping rapidly towards harvest, with two very hot weekends dramatically altering winter crops, there are still things to do and problems to be addressed.
Most wheat crops are just about past the stage when aphids can do much harm. Aphid numbers did start to build up, but there were very few crops where treatment was warranted. Late crops of winter wheat and spring cereals still need to be checked as aphid infestations can increase rapidly and the weather is certainly in their favour.
Beans and peas also need careful monitoring for aphids. In spring beans there are now green aphids as well as the usual clusters of black. The green ones are harder to see and tend to be more widespread through the crop.
Make sure any aphicides are safe to beneficial insects and preferably spray late evening when bees are less likely to be in the crop (difficult, as bees are still foraging at 9.30pm).
