Recently by Andrew Riddell

We've had the rain can we now get back to sunshine! Cereals are generally looking well, some areas were suffering from moisture stress but the rain arrived in time for the majority of crops.

Disease levels have been low all season and wheat is relatively clean to the bottom leaves. Many canopies are more open than normal so the lower leaves will provide a useful contribution towards final yield.

From the roadside far to many fields are showing damaging levels of sterile brome and not only in non inversion systems. The bad patches should be mapped and treated at every opportunity. Low levels are easily rouged before the patches develop.

Oilseed rape crops look relatively even across the field. Canopies are shorter than normal which will make dessication and combining easier. 

Wheat crops are generally looking very good and forward crops have ears beginning to appear. Many crops are shorter than normal but the recent cooler wet weather will add growth to the canopy.

Disease levels are low due to the cool spring and relatively short interval between T1 and T2. My options for T3 in responsive situations will be based around prothioconazole and chlorothalonil either as Proline + Amistar Opti or Firefly + Chlorothalonil. Remember new label Bravo is limited to two applications and total chlorothalonil must not exceed 2000g/ha.

Winter barley especially six row varieties are vigorous and up to normal canopy size. The Bontima treated crops are extremely clean and it will be interesting to see how they perform at harvest.

Temperatures are below seasonal averages resulting in rather slow crop development. Never have I seen such a difference in growth between the lower parts of the county and land above 400 ft which received a big dump of snow at the end of March. After some reasonable growth in mid March the snow really did set crops back.

Wheat in the later parts has final leaf three appearing and crops are getting their T1 fungicide. With more wheat following white crops this season don't forget to check for eyespot.  Septoria levels are low to moderate in susceptible varieties and yellow rust has been kept out by the T0 spray.

Mildew as ever is very much site specific but generally at lower levels this season. Apart from late N on milling varieties the final nitrogen should have been applied to feed types.
Winter barley is well on its way with the flag leaf tips beginning to appear.

Finally the weather has settled down allowing crops to get going. March certainly went out like a lion this year with heavy rain and snow causing soil slumping and capping on some heavier spring barley seedbeds. Potato planting is in full swing and spring barley has finally been drilled on the later sites.

Oilseed rape crops are growing fast and by now should have recieved a light leaf spot fungicide. Final nitrogen should be applied soon and then thoughts will turn towards planning the mid flower fungicide to protect against sclerotinia. With so much of the acerage on a four or five year rotation it's seldom wise to miss out this spray. Keep an eye out for poor growing areas and check the roots for club root. Early assessment is vital in order to reduce future losses - there are more tolerant varieties coming along.

Forward winter barley is approaching T1. Disease levels are generally low but remember this is the most important spray timing in barley so don't reduce rates too low. Product choice should be Proline based, and I'll be trying Bontima (isopyrazam) on some crops too. Barley will soon move very rapidly so don't forget trace elements where appropriate.

We've just had a week of dry weather and what a huge difference it has made. A cold dry wind has dried soils very quickly, it's hard to believe we were still under snow at the start of the month.

Fertiliser spreaders have been busy and most cereals will now have received their first application of nitrogen plus sulphur. Spring barley drilling is well under way in the earlier areas and this week should see most others catching up.

Seedbeds may be cooler than normal at this time but soil conditions look excellent, do aim to get some N, P & K into the seedbed before drilling to maximise efficiency of availability of the nutrients.

As ever oilseed rape shows the greatest variation between fields. Over the last month or so we've had significant frost without snow cover and small canopies have literally shrunk nearly out of sight from the field gate. Those established by early September are looking well and should soon begin moving more rapidly.

We are just beginning to see some signs of life in OSR crops. New root growth can be found and leaf growth will respond to any rise in temperature. Pigeon damage is mainly confined to the earlier areas where the snow was first to retreat however vigliance is required since there are more relatively small crops than usual.

Harvest 09 was a slow affair and much of the rape area was established towards the middle of September. Most of those crops have a GAI of less than 0.5 but have good root growth so still have good potential but they can't stand any further set back from pigeon damage. Most weed control was Metazachlor based and has done a satisfactory job.

Where cleavers still exist we will use Galera when conditions warm up later in March. Volunteer cereals and wild oats will be moped up with a graminicide again when warmer conditions prevail. Any early spraying will be for light leaf spot where the autumn application failed to go on. Where brome or blackgrass have not yet been treated the only treatment available from now will be a full rate graminicide when growth begins.

At this time of year the weather changes very quickly and so do the ground conditions. Opportunities for spraying have diminished rapidly but then we did have a fantastic spell earlier!

Seedbeds have been ideal and coupled with good soil temperatures cereal crops have made a good start with the bonus of very little slug damage. If an autumn herbicide hasn't been applied to wheat there are now products such as Othello that will control larger annual meadow grass when applied in the spring.

Some early sown winter barley is going rather yellow especially on headlands. Crops will have used up any available soil nitrogen and where roots have come across unfavourable soil conditions the results are clear for all to see.

Oilseed rape has continued to make reasonable growth and those sown in mid September will generally go into winter with sufficient top growth but more importantly they have decent roots.

 

October weather has been very kind in this area. Most have finished drilling and even recent sowings are coming through very quickly. After the last two very wet autumns it's great to be given a chance to get crops established properly allowing the roots to maximise their potential in undamaged soils.

A few oilseed rape crops are acting as a reminder of how wet it was a couple of months ago. The worst were drilled during the first week of September and heavy rain that followed caused soil slumping and capping which reduced plant vigour.

Due to the slow harvest, much oilseed rape was drilled in mid-September. Most of these crops have two to four pairs of leaves and good root development so the canopy should be ideal come the spring. (If the pigeons can be kept off!)

If not already done, a fungicide for light leaf spot protection should be applied soon and I will be favouring Proline (prothioconazole) or Punch C (carbendazim flusilazole) applied at three quarters rate.

September has been a month of contrasting weather start to finish. During the first week we had around 75mm of rain in 36 hours, and many fields of oilseed rape drilled just before that rain have suffered from soil slumping and capping.

Since then we've had no further rain, so many fields have plants which are struggling and in need of softer surface conditions. Many crops have yet to receive a herbicide as soils are either capped and few weeds have emerged, or conditions have not been conducive to spraying. We have had moderate winds for the past couple of weeks making spraying impossible and also sucking away moisture.

We have held back from applying metazachor-based products but will get it on once moisture is assured to arrive. Cereal drilling is well under way. On lighter soils wheats after white crops will need more careful management throughout the season. Good rooting is key so to start with and make sure you know the P and K status. Splitting the P and K between autumn and spring will help ensure best use. Target those fields for good grassweed control.

The phrase "no two years are the same" is so true for the drilling conditions compared with last year. There has been rapid drilling progress with seed-beds ranging from dustbowls on earlier worked heavier land to good, fine and firm seed-beds.

Those successful enough to conserve seed-bed moisture have seen wheat crops emerging quickly and thankfully with little slug damage so far. For other crops a good rain will be needed for germination to take place.

Pre-emergence herbicides are being applied where grass weeds are a problem, which is even more crucial in barley as there are so few successful post-emergence options available.

The question of how early to sow second wheats has been asked many times already, indicating how well drilling is going. However, the last week in September is typically the earliest timing when used with a take-all seed dressing.