Weather remains relatively kind to crops but the harvest for winter barley looms nearer. Growth and grain fill appears to be good and the majority of crops appear to show good potential. An occasional drop of rain coupled with plenty of bright sunny weather with bursts of heat provide good grain fill conditions.

Winter barley fields where patches were dying off are now less noticeable as crops begin to turn. It would seem that mid-July will see a general start to the harvest but some early areas may be going before that.

Crows continue to attack winter barley but only in places. Early crops may now be past the most vulnerable stage but later ones could still be targeted. The risk of damage will be greater where patches are lodged. Do what you can to keep crows out. Kites can work very well in lodged patches as long as there is some wind movement.

Final sprays:

Final fungicides on spring wheat should be applied at early flowering. This should be a triazole mix but watch for the presence of mildew and yellow rust. A contact fungicide might also be considered as it can control a number of troublesome diseases on this crop should the weather turn wet for the remainder of the season.

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