Simon Wadlow
8 May 1998
Simon Wadlow
Simon Wadlow farms 200ha
(500 acres) at The Croft,
near Bridgnorth, Shropshire.
Key crops are winter wheat
and sugar beet, plus winter
oats, barley, oilseed rape
and beans. Forage maize,
set-aside and pasture make
up the balance
Simon Wadlow farms 200ha
(500 acres) at The Croft,
near Bridgnorth, Shropshire.
Key crops are winter wheat
and sugar beet, plus winter
oats, barley, oilseed rape
and beans. Forage maize,
set-aside and pasture make
up the balance
WHAT a month it has been! We had 58mm (2.3in) of rain in the first 10 days of April, followed by frost and snow.
Arable work was impossible until Apr 14, when we were able to apply the second split of nitrogen to the winter wheat.
Consort following beans received 110kg/ha (88 units/acre), which, after the first application, brings the total to 150kg/ha (120 units/acre), all that we had intended. In view of the recent weather I am wondering if we should give it some more.
Other wheats were given 100kg/ha (80 units/acre) with the intention of making a third application this week.
This little burst of activity was followed by a further 25mm (1in) of rain over several days and it was not until Apr 25 that we could get the sprayer out. All cereals needed spraying.
Top priority was to get 2.25 litres/ha of chlormequat along with Tilt (propiconazole) at 0.3 litres/ha onto the Aintree oats where the second node was well and truly detectable. By Apr 29 all wheat and barley had been sprayed with a fungicide and, where required, with either Cheetah S (fenoxaprop-ethyl) at 0.75 litres/ha or Grasp (tralkoxydim) with Output additive at 1 and 0.75 litres/ha, respectively, to control volunteer oats.
Our sugar beet drill is mounted on the back of the power harrow. With a front mounted press/spring tine combination we normally go from furrow to sown in one pass. Sadly, there is not enough frost mould for that to work this year, and an extra pass with the power harrow has been required.
It was not until Apr 29 that we began beet drilling. Zulu was sown at 19cm (7.5in) spacing on 51cm (20in) rows and the completed field looks quite respectable. We now hope the weather holds so that sowing can be completed without further delay. *
Simon Wadlows machinery saw only short bursts of activity during April. Beet sowing was delayed until the end of the month.