Archive Article: 2000/06/30
Andrew Hebditch
Andrew Hebditch farms
285ha (700 acres) of
owned, tenanted and
share-farmed land at Coat,
Martock, Somerset. Silt
and clay soils support
winter wheat, barley and
oilseed rape, plus spring
peas, linseed and beans
IT hardly seems possible but harvest is now less than three weeks away. Barleys are turning and we should be combining by about July 20, weather permitting. We have fitted an RDS Ceres 2 monitor to the combine so yields reported this year should be accurate to within 3% and available on the day, provided we have correctly calibrated for specific weight and moisture content.
All crops have filled out extremely well in the past month, especially wheat. Given some good sunny weather for the next month that should give a useful tonnage. All crops are still standing and we have had only 11mm (0.4in) of rain so far this month. I would not worry unduly if we had no more until September.
Downy mildew in the Victor spring beans has been treated a second time with Folio (chlorothalonil + metalaxyl) and the problem now seems to be under control. Hallmark (lambda-cyhalothrin) was added to give some control of bruchid beetle, in case there is a premium human consumption market.
More worrying is downy mildew appearing in Solara combining peas. The variety is supposed to have good resistance but maybe it is breaking down, which would be a shame for such a reliable variety. Maybe it is a candidate for culling next year. In contrast, Nitouche peas are vigorous, waist high and disease free. However, I cannot see them standing at harvest.
We decided to go through the wheats again at flowering with 0.4 litres/ha of Folicur (tebuconazole) to control any fusarium and with blossom midges active an insecticide was added, also controlling the few aphids present.
Nozzle blockages have been a nightmare on our Cleanacres Airtec sprayer this season, but after a few phonecalls the problem was solved. Age and certain chemicals had started to degrade the inside of the hoses and small pieces of rubber were stripping off the internal walls, it seems. A change of all pipes downstream of the inline filters cured the immediate problem and the rest will be changed this winter.
Andrew Hebditch hopes to have instant and accurate yield information on his Somerset farm this harvest with a new meter fitted to the combine.