Hold fire with fix for forward crops
Hold fire with fix for forward crops
GROWERS tempted to arrest forward crops with an early pgr must wait until primary tillers reach at least first node (GS31), warns a Yorks-based agronomist.
"Chlormequat or Meteor early will increase tillers, which is exactly what you dont want," says Phoenix Agronomys Paul Power. "It is wrong to use a pgr in these thick crops before GS31."
But once at that stage, a strong pgr mix of chlormequat plus Moddus (trinexapac-ethyl), probably at 1.25 litres/ha and 0.15 litres/ha respectively, should be applied to shorten basal internodes and stiffen stems, he advises.
"This pgr timing could coincide with a pre-T1 treatment to keep septoria, or perhaps mildew in Claire if present, at bay until GS32 and your main T1 fungicide. It is also an ideal time for a manganese treatment," says Mr Power.
But up to GS31 growers only tool to tame too thick, forward crops is to deprive them of nitrogen, he says.
"And a late season ethephon-based pgr will be needed on more than just the traditionally weak varieties this year." *