As growers continue to take the limited opportunities to get drills moving, in Yorkshire one agronomist is resigned to the fact that some of his planned area will be left fallow this year.

“A quick round up of my clients’ drilled areas reveals a shortfall of around 22% on last year’s acreage and add to that the crops that are unlikely to make it and we could end up with a 30% decrease,” says Patrick Stephenson. “I am already looking at the implications of this from a cropping perspective.”

On the heavy, wet and cold soils that pose the greatest threat to successful establishment this autumn, he thinks it inevitable that they will not be cropped this harvest year. “I am trying to convince myself that this is a great opportunity to get these fields ‘sorted’,” he says.

“They are likely to have problem weeds so good, selective use of glyphosate, cover crops and cultivations will help correct many issues, but do not attack these fields like a bull in a china shop,” warns Mr Stephenson.

“Plan and look at trial work carried out during the 1990s on set aside management, identify the key weeds and act accordingly.”

In the south, Agrii agronomist Iain Richards is banging the drum for spring peas as an alternative where oilseed rape has failed or winter cereals cannot be established. “Peas look like a decent fall back,” he says.

“They do well on heavier ground and can be drilled up until April if we need to wait for soil conditions to improve. Early maturing large blue varieties such as Daytona can be harvested nicely ahead of winter wheat, giving us good early first wheat entry,” explains Mr Richards.

“That way our present problems don’t spill over into rotational issues next season and there are some good contracts currently being offered,” he adds.

Despite these concerns, there are some positive tales from our Avon agronomist Stephen Harrison, who has seen drilling progress made on freshly ploughed maize ground even if it is confined to the lighter soils under his jurisdiction.

“Not all is doom and gloom. Wheat crops established earlier on light ground are progressing well and are now at three leaf stage.

“In some cases an autumn application of Atlantis (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron) with a partner will be imminent, as blackgrass has reached two leaves. Blackgrass populations are generally lower after flufenacet based pre-emergence treatments which have performed well in the cool moist conditions,” notes Mr Harrison.

“Peas look like a decent fall back.”
Agrii agronomist Iain Richards

Pest pressure remains high, with Mr Harrison seeing slugs as a constant threat in the slow emerging crops. “To add insult to injury I have found high populations of leatherjackets in wheat after rape in the most westerly part of my area.

“It will merit an application of chlorpyrifos, but we will need to be extremely careful to avoid drift and run-off into ditches or surface water,” he adds.

Reports on oilseed rape crops continue to paint a very mixed picture across the four regions, with the risk of crop failure still looming large. The use of root stimulants is a favourable option for Suffolk’s Frontier agronomist Brian Ross.

“Based on past experiences, I am taking a pragmatic approach to rape crops that have good plant numbers. This will lead to the use of root stimulants that have previously helped the rootstock through the winter and in one case led to the best yields a customer had ever had,” he says.

“I have also had reports from some of my clients of respectable sugar beet yields, with some sugars at 19%, which considering the lack of sunshine this year is quite surprising,” adds Mr Ross.

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