Recently in East Category

As this is being written, three inches of snow cover the ground and there have been at least three decent frosts. All this, is to my mind, is a very good thing. Many crops are just too lush and forward especially since the Christmas period, with them greening up and appearing to be taking up mineralising nitrogen. It's just not right for this time of year.

Disease levels in wheat which had calmed down during late November were being reported as increasing again, particularly yellow rust with some brown rust as well. Many people had resisted the urge to apply fungicide up to this point on the advice of most experts, but if the mild weather had continued, rethinks were on the cards.

However, this spell will certainly put a brake on things and may bring things back to where they should be disease wise anyway, time will tell.

There is an air of optimism as crops have come through the winter in good condition, promising good yield potential. The mild winter weather has had a huge impact on our agronomic starting point this spring; it has encouraged well tillered, forward crops, weed growth and disease development, whilst having little impact on aphid survival. The recent cold snap during the transition of January to February is unlikely to change the magnitude of these factors but may influence the pace of fieldwork in early spring.

Following the mild winter it is worth checking that all cereal crops were protected against BYDV infection (by seed treatment and or foliar sprays) into early November, at least. Any crops unprotected until this time could host aphids from an extended autumn flight bought about by mild conditions. As a precaution it could be worth controlling any overwintered populations in these crops before colonies expand and spread the virus in early spring.

Rain in early November and some perfect spraying conditions subsequently have resulted in rapid blackgrass emergence in wheats and a considerable amount of Atlantis/Horus (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron) being applied. Soil moisture has also activated the residuals to the extent that the later sown wheats contain some sick looking blackgrass.

There is still some follow up Atlantis/Horus to be applied and while conditions remain suitable, with soil temperatures still around 10C, it will be sprayed if conditions allow. In some cases larger and more difficult blackgrass warrants the addition of a contact + residual partner.

Wheat crops are a mixed bag with some very lush crops plastered in mildew and some of the earlier drilled crops still struggling to emerge.  Barley tends to respond to an autumn fungicide in such circumstances more than wheat, but there has been some mildewicide applied to struggling wheats especially on lighter and chalkier soils.

What happened to the promised October snow!

Since my last article we have still not had any significant rainfall (or snow!), just days of mist, and unseasonably warm temperatures.

The temperatures have encouraged rapid blackgrass growth, if the blackgrass has 2 or more leaves I am still encouraging autumn Atlantis use.  At the same time we have to be mindful that this product needs to go onto a dry leaf, and dry on.  Needless to say the spray window each day is not that long. Atlantis should be applied with a residual partner, my early results with prosulfocarb as a tank mix partner are looking favourable.

It is all very well and good saying: "once the frosts come, most of our present problems will go", but when is this going to happen?

All week the queries come in about decisions on whether to spray ccereals with fungicides. Winter barleys in this area are covered in mildew and quite rank in growth. There is some debate about the thickness of the crop needing to be controlled and if control of mildew does occur, will this lead to too many tillers being left and, therefore, a possible loss in yield.

Certainly later barleys are at risk if this weather continues, plus the fact that aphids are readily being found in many crops, meaning a trip through is likely anyway. There has already been some fungicide treatment applied and I suspect more will be done.

A lack of rainfall is continuing to cause problems, especially for later drilled and second wheats. Earlier drilled cereals have generally established well and are at early tillering stages. Dry seed-beds have resulted in variable performance from residual herbicides and in some places SU grassweed herbicide treatments have already been made. 

If conditions remain relatively mild there may yet be more Atlantis/Horus/GF-2070 applied this autumn. In some cases a non-SU 'holding' treatment is being used to increase control of emerging grass weeds with a view to tidying up in the spring with SU chemistry.

There are a lot of patchy wheat crops about and I suspect some that will never produce a fully established crop. Likewise weed emergence is also patchy making herbicide decisions difficult. In these situations it has been a case of protecting the emerged crop against aphids - if they have not been treated with Deter - and applying some manganese. Where volunteer beans have come through, these have also been dealt with.  

The dry weather continues. At the time of writing large parts of my area have received less than 25mm of rain this autumn. As such the seedbeds are still relatively open, and the residual herbicides used to date are unlikely to have created as good a chemical seal as last year.

That said, you can see blackgrass being affected by the residuals. The fact the blackgrass emergence has been delayed, combined with earlier drilling and fewer stale seedbeds could result in a challenging year on some farms.  

To help control the annual grass weeds this autumn, I am eager to use a contact chemical such as iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium or pyroxsulam. Both these products will need to be applied with a residual partner.

This has to be the fastest growing autumn I've seen for quite a while both in plant growth and speed of drilling. Land after sugar beet has been ploughed, drilled and up in 10 days.

The rain 10-14 days ago has really helped everything, particularly the patchy emerged crops in this area. Seed-beds are the best seen since the early drillings, so we are hopeful that this good start to the year will continue.

However, the speed of growth has brought some problems, in that certain crops are carrying some high levels of disease. For the first time in many years I am having to control mildew in some varieties of barley along with some alarming manganese deficiencies.

Recent rain has evened up cereal establishment and oilseed rape growth. Where cereal drilling was stalled due to dry and hard soil conditions, the moisture has finally allowed cultivation of reasonable seed-beds.

Moist, friable seed beds are ideal for the activity of most pre- or early post-emergence herbicides. If any of these sprays have been delayed they should be applied swiftly before grass weeds emerge. In these conditions recently sown crops are likely to emerge quickly, however, they should be monitored carefully for slug damage until full establishment.

Cereals that have not been treated with an insecticidal seed dressing, such as Deter (clothianidin), should be protected from aphids and consequential BYDV infection using a foliar insecticide.