North: Blowing soil batters crops in Lancashire

Come back Atlantic weather systems, all is forgiven. The late spring means that crops are universally behind by at least three weeks. 

Cheshire has fared slightly better, as usual, and Lancashire is a mixed bag including some very poor crops.  If growers can break even this year, most will be grateful, we’re not expecting any more than that.  More rain and warmth now will transform prospects.  More drought could spell disaster for some.

On top of everything, we had the most severe wind-blows this year in over 20 years.  Many hundreds of hectares were affected, mostly in Lancashire.

Most crops survived – but they had a severe battering; newly emerged cereals with over 70% defoliation.  Ditches were filled and some minor roads were blocked by sand drifts.  As one grower said: “‘all we need now is a plague of locusts and we’ve got the full set”.

Rainfall in the whole of April was 16mm and we’ve just had our first rain now in nearly four weeks, another 16mm.  This dose is extremely welcome, to soften the ground and get the fertiliser moving into crops.  Hopefully, crops will bounce at long last, but its still far too cold.

On winter wheat, the Atlantis (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron) has now been applied to all crops beyond GS30 (end of tillering) but there are still some backward crops not yet at that stage.  This has given outstanding control of annual meadow grass, wild oats, ryegrass and a lot of broad-leaved weeds. 

T1 disease control has been on an as-required basis, usually featuring low doses of Aviator (prothioconazole + bixafen) or, on poorer crops, straight epoxyconazole.  In many cases, we’ve been clearing the shelves of last year’s leftovers and trying to avoid buying-in extra stocks. Virtually no growth regulators have been used because we want crops to grow; not to stop them.

Oilseed rape is definitely the worst we’ve ever had; we’re left with only 25% of the crops we originally sowed and most of those are pitiful.  If we average 2.5 t/ha, I shall be surprised.  Nonetheless, we’re still committed to spending money on pollen beetle and disease control.  All insecticides used are pyrethroids, as we don’t appear to have significant resistance problems – I have never used any neonicotinoids on established oilseed rape and it now appears that I never will.

Spring barleys are coming on reasonably well but so they should, its now mid-May and none of them have a node showing yet.  We are starting mildew control this week as we approach the end of tillering.  The oats are not so happy – very patchy germination, slow development and they are struggling to make a crop.  Let’s hope they get going soon and can compensate for lateness before day length forces development ahead of leaf growth.

Spring beans are at four to six leaves and most of the pre-emergence weed control worked well.  Maize is now emerging and we will start weed control at the two-leaf stage.  Fodder beet is just about emerged and we are coming up to the second herbicide treatment.  Most of it survived windblows by a simple trick – not being sown, so no loss there.  Spring oilseed rape has emerged so I suppose we had better think about some weed control.

Potatoes are virtually all planted and some are emerged.  We’re still praying for that prolonged spell of nice growing weather.