Crop potential still looks good, particularly, for winter cereals and oilseed rape.  As ears are emerging in wheat then orange blossom midge needs to be monitored.  

An insecticide such as chlorpyrifos should only be used if the threshold of midge on one ear in three for feed wheats and one ear in six for milling wheats is exceeded.  Once the crop has flowered then the orange blossom midge risk period has passed.  

T3 fungicides will be due to be applied shortly.  For milling wheats the rate of fusarium acting triazoles such as prothioconazole and tebuconazole will need to be kept up to provide good disease control. 

For feed wheats Septoria and rust control will be the main targets.  Where only one strobilurin has been used so far it will be a useful addition to the triazole to boost rust control on susceptible varieties.

Spring barley crops are rapidly moving through their growth stages.  As the awns begin to emerge it will be time to consider the T2 fungicide.  With ryhnchosporium and brown rust obvious prior to T1 fungicides then these will be the two main diseases to target. 

Both winter and spring beans are at various stages of flowering.  With recent warmer weather the risk of bruchid beetle has increased dramatically, the at risk period being two consecutive days at over 20C when pods are present for egg laying.  Chocolate spot is very evident in winter beans where the early flowering fungicide was delayed.  Robust rates of a second fungicide towards the end of flowering will be required to keep this under control along with rust.

Maize is now beginning to grow rapidly after a very steady start.  Pre-emergence herbicides have generally worked well due to ample seed-bed moisture.  Contact post-em herbicides are being applied now to catch the early weed flushes where no pre-em herbicide was applied.