Heat is helping: Most crops with adequate moisture under their feed have progressed well in the past few weeks. The accelerated growth has helped crops fill in, as well as remain quite clean. But there are a few dirty crops about and they serve as a warning of the need to protect against disease because not everything is right all of the time. Spring crops remain under some pressure where they are suffering from dry conditions. Mildew is an issue in some spring barley crops and one should watch for brown rust too in case it sneaks through in the heat. But most crops remain clean, helped by the generally dry weather. Spring crops that continue to look pale should be given some form of multi-element tonic to drive them on, or at least to stop them from slipping backwards. Applying big quantities of a foliar element like nitrogen might have difficulty showing benefit if moisture rather than nutrients is the main limiting factor.