Drier conditions have enabled good progress with the early spring workload, but regular rainfall is essential to maximise the current yield potential. Warming temperatures, heavy dews and recently applied nitrogen have accelerated crop growth. Most beet crops were drilled into good seedbeds during the 2nd and 3rd week of March and are now beginning to [...]
The dry weather is just starting to show signs of having an impact on the lighter land crops, with early signs of shoots starting to turn yellow which will I guess lead to tiller loss! Field work has never been so easy, with most having applied sulphur N 2-3 weeks ago and now starting to [...]
The weather on the eastern side of the country this past month has met with general approval by all and sundry. Late ploughing has been accomplished, drills have been going full tilt and many growers will have completed spring barley sowing. Some potatoes have been planted in March. First time for many! Although it is [...]
While we still haven’t had much rain, we’re thankful for recent foggy days and lack of wind. They’ve kept moisture losses to a minimum wherever we have a canopy, allowing our winter crops to grow away strongly. With temperatures climbing and sunlight intensity building, our key priority now is to support cereals and oilseed rape [...]
Rain and some warmer days in the second week of March have encouraged an explosion of yellow rust. Unsurprisingly, Oakley is the main culprit but numerous other varieties, especially in later drilled situations, are showing a lot of active yellow rust. Brown rust, mildew and septoria are also all easily found. The combined effect is [...]
Drought seems to be the in topic in both the farming and general media at the moment. Indeed, there are areas of the southwest that are dry, particularly in the east of the region, but in Mid and North Devon the ground is still wet despite a relatively dry fortnight or so. This has brought [...]
All crops continue to thrive since the recent rains have washed in the nitrogen and recent warm weather has allowed rapid crop growth. Oilseed rape crops, in particular, are growing quickly with many now at the stem extension phase. Thick and forward crops will soon be ready for a fungicide with growth regulatory activity using active [...]
Well the cold weather came and went. In fact, over a 10 day period, we went from -16C to 17C. It certainly knocked the disease levels back, but didn’t really slow the growth of most crops with the exception perhaps of oilseed rape. Many wheat crops have already had a growth regulator and will get another one [...]
We seem to be back into milder weather again, after a chilly hiccup last week. Rain in the past 10 days has helped to produce some excellent spring seed-beds and there has been a lot of drilling going on. Conditions are good for pre-emergence herbicides. In pulses they should be the first choice, as post-emergence herbicide options [...]