Blackgrass rockets
Blackgrass rockets
RIP it up and start again. That could be the best advice for fields where bad blackgrass has got away unscathed so far this autumn, says Lincs-based Aubourn agronomist Jonathan Holmes.
"Ive got two fields where I have already recommended glyphosate and re-drilling. The growers couldnt get the pre-emergence spray on because it was too wet and windy and now the blackgrass is like the hairs on a cats back."
Both wheats, one near Scunthorpe and the other near Lincoln, were drilled mid-September and have raced away. The problem is that despite destroying two good chits of blackgrass pre-drilling, without a residual pre-emergence spray the blackgrass has flourished too.
"In such soft lush growth were better to spray off and direct-drill. Lexus/Hawk plus oil might kill the blackgrass, but the chances are it wont get all of it and with it so warm we are sure to get crop damage."
Compared with the £30/ha cost of such a mix 4.0 litres/ha of glyphosate, fresh seed and a pass with a suitable drill will not be much more, he reasons. "It should be reasonably cost effective for this season and it is certain to be in the long-term." *