Recently by David Martindale

All crops generally look very well as the long run of mild weather continues. With very little rain in the past month most autumn spray programmes have now been completed.

A lot of Atlantis has been applied to small blackgrass in ideal conditions so hopefully control will be maximised. The main issue affecting cereals at present is the high levels of disease, particularly mildew.

Most barley crops are carrying some mildew but varieties such as Cassia, Cassata and Saffron are suffering particularly badly. With such mild weather the mildew has had a free run with no frosts to check disease development. Although exceptional, some crops of barley will warrant a mildewicide so that the barley plants can maintain shoot numbers, biomass and ultimately yield.

The vast majority of oilseed rape and cereals crops look really well. The exception has been patchy emergence of cereals on the heavier land but these areas are now beginning to fill in.

 

In wheat attention now turns to using Atlantis (mesosulfuron-methyl and iodosulfuron-methyl) plus a residual partner when the blackgrass has 1-3 leaves. This timing is proving to be tricky where crop emergence has been patchy as some parts of the field are ready to apply Atlantis now and in other areas the crop has only just emerged. 

In fields where sterile brome is a problem it would be best to apply herbicides such as Broadway Star (pyroxsulam + florasulam) in the autumn rather than spring to gain best control. In terms of broad-leaved weed control oilseed rape volunteers have grown quite large due to the warm weather and volunteer bean populations are high due to problems harvesting due to low pod set. These will be controlled with more contact-acting herbicides.  

Drilling is progressing at a fantastic pace due to settled weather. Good

seed-beds are being achieved with the earliest winter wheat crops now at the two- to three-leaf stage.

If no insecticide seed dressing has been used, such as Deter, then these early crops will soon need treating with a pyrethroid insecticide to control aphids. This can often be tank mixed with manganese where required.

 

Slug pressure so far has been low as seed-beds are generally good and conditions are dry. There has been a little slug grazing on wheat after oilseed rape so be on the lookout for damage until the crop has reached the three-leaf stage.

Yields from this harvest have been the most variable for a long time across all crops. The moisture retentive soils have produced some sensational yields whilst those on thin or light land have been understandably down on output, although perhaps not as low as anticipated.

Oilseed rape drilling is well underway and seedbeds so far have been very good. A much higher proportion of land is being established by a subsoiler seeder unit with confidence growing year on year with this technique. Pre-emergence herbicides have been applied to moist surfaces and with good seed-beds they should work well. 

Be on the lookout for slug damage as crops emerge and treat with slug pellets where required. It is worth remembering the Metaldehyde Stewardship guidelines, which limit individual doses to 210g/ha of active ingredient, but preferably less than 160g/ha. Also, do not spread metaldehyde slug pellets within six metres of a watercourse.

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 recent rains have finally allowed crops to uptake nitrogen and they have improved dramatically.  However, many crops of wheat look better from the roadside than when actually in them.  It is certainly a season to take the "glass half full" rather than "glass half empty" approach.

A higher proportion of potato crops are requiring post-emergence contact herbicides such as rimsulfuron as lower pre-emergence residual rates were used with seedbeds being so dry.  Be sure to check the latest crop growth stages for post-emergence herbicides as crops are growing rapidly at present.

T3 fungicides on wheat will soon be applied where required based on triazoles such as prothioconazole, tebuconazole or metconazole.  A strobilurin such as pyraclastrobin will be used to boost brown and yellow rust control where required.  Milling wheats will certainly require a higher rate of triazole to protect from fusarium infection. 

The dry weather continues.  It is now beginning to get serious for crops on light or thin wold soils with later-drilled autumn crops particularly affected.  Heavy land crops are generally looking well, particularly early sown first wheats and oilseed rape.  The benefits of fields receiving manure or slurry is clear to see this spring.

T1 fungicides have been applied on time to winter wheat crops which has kept the yellow rust pressure on varieties such as Oakley and Viscount well under control.  Attention now moves to the T2 timing on winter barley as awns are beginning to emerge.  With the weather being so dry and disease pressure low this T2 fungicide will be a top up to protect recent growth and take the crop through to harvest. 

There are many options available but a strobilurin plus triazole mix will suffice in most cases.  If ramularia is of concern then some chlorothalonil or the new SDHI fungicides will have some activity.  There are very few winter barley crops that will need further growth regulating with products such as Terpal (chloroethylphosphonic acid + mepiquat) or Cerone (ethephon) due to the dry weather providing natural growth regulation.

An exceptionally dry March along with some cool temperatures has limited crop growth. At least the dry conditions have allowed a large area of cereals to have been rolled where frost lift occurred.

Winter wheat crops are now at, or close to, the T0 timing.  Yellow rust is evident in susceptible varieties such as Oakley so the inclusion of a triazole at T0 is a must. Crops are generally quite open due to lack of tillering so ear counts could be on the lower side of the optimum at harvest. 

This is reducing the need for as much plant growth regulator at the T0 timing, but extra spend may be necessary to combat spring emerging weeds such as charlock, knotgrass and bindweed due to lack of crop competition.

Most crops look well and have received some early nitrogen.  Weather conditions are now suitable for applications of Atlantis (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron) or Broadway Star (pyroxsulam + florasulam) to winter wheat.  The cold winter has sparked a huge flush of spring germinating wild oats. These wild oats are only just emerging so there is plenty more time for some more to emerge before controlling. 

Levels of wheat bulb fly deadhearts are much higher than usual, even where earlier egg hatch applications of chlorpyrifos were made. The only option available is to apply some dimethoate to limit any further damage.

It will soon be time to consider T0 fungicides on the earliest wheats before long on Septoria tritici or yellow rust susceptible varieties, such as Oakley and Solstice. This fungicide can often be coincided with any plant growth regulator that is required and will consist of a triazole with chlorothalonil. 

Most crops look surprisingly well after the cold and snow of December.  The exception is winter oats which have taken a real battering with some fields now to be drilled with a spring crop.  Some fields of winter beans have also suffered, so a careful check on plant populations is needed before deciding whether to re-drill or not.

Pre-emergence herbicides and autumn applied Atlantis (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron) mixes have worked well at controlling blackgrass in winter wheat.  Any outstanding Atlantis applications will be due once conditions are suitable.