Disease levels are low in crops, but growers must be prepared to monitor crops regularly when growth kicks-off again, warns an agronomist.

After a prolonged spell of dry weather through February, crop progress has been checked this week as temperatures plummeted and snow settled.

This will also have checked any disease development, says Perthshire agronomist Hamish Coutts, but growers need to be on the lookout.

“In general, disease levels are much lower than the past few years, but we have seen how quickly things can change,” he explains.

Crop nutrition is high on the list of priorities for agronomists this week, despite many having already applied a first application of nitrogen to winter crops.

In the south, ProCam’s Nick Brown has seen the arrival of cold winds set back his oilseed rape crops even further.

“Some of the poorer rape crops now look worryingly thin and will need all the help they can get if acceptable yields are going to be achieved,” he says.

Mr Brown is recommending that a higher-than-normal proportion of nitrogen be applied early to these crops to help stimulate canopy growth.

This will be combined with a trace element mix, including some foliar phosphite to further encourage canopy expansion once temperatures start to rise.

The same applies for his winter wheat and barley, which are looking short of tillers for this time of the year, particularly barley crops that are less able to compensate.

“Again a higher proportion of nitrogen should be applied earlier and I’ll be using the trace element and growth regulator mix shortly to improve vigour and encouraging rooting,” he explains.

“Some of the poorer rape crops now look worryingly thin and will need all the help they can get if acceptable yields are going to be achieved.”
Nick Brown, ProCam

In the east of England, Strutt and Parker agronomist Ryan Hudson has been encouraging rooting in his backward crops by running the rolls over them.

“Where crops weren’t rolled in the autumn, they have now been rolled, but the soils needs to warm considerably before significant growth begins,” says Mr Hudson.

Spring drilling has also continued in his area, where he has seen some oats, spring barley and spring beans going into good seed-beds, particularly on the lighter land.

On the heavier land it is still very wet underneath, so Mr Hudson has broken the surface with tines in problem places to aid the drying process.

In the west, David Morris, adviser for Countrywide Farmers, is also seeing a large contrast between the best and worst soil conditions.

He points out that even some of his lighter land has caused problems, with the last major investment in land drainage being 40 years ago during the 1970s.

Mr Morris has seen a renewed interest in re-building organic matter in soils with many soils being in such poor condition.

“This is nothing new and emphasises the wisdom of previous generations of farmers who took more care of the condition of their soils,” he notes.

An increased use of organic manure is planned and he has also seen an increased interest in deals that swap straw for farmyard manure.

Where summer fallows are planned, Mr Morris is recommending the use of a cover crop despite the costs involved in establishment. “There should be benefits in the future.

“Adding grass leys into the rotation might be the best solution for the future, but I don’t expect this to happen in 2013,” he concludes.

More on this topic

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