Tillage management: sunshine, dry ground and spring cropping

Weather: The past two weeks have been excellent for tillage farmers to get work done. It’s taken pressure off and seen large areas of crops of spring barley planted well ahead of St Patrick’s Day for the first time in a long while. Prices may not be at their best, but a good start is half the battle and winter and spring crops have now gone in super conditions for many. Many have yet to plant and there is wetter ground which is taking time to dry, but it is being given the time to dry in current conditions. Rain is forecast over the weekend, but there is drier weather in the forecast for next week. Planting in March lowers barley yellow dwarf virus risk significantly and this is something to keep in mind. Seed is now scarce for spring oats and beans.

Winter barley: Winter barley is heading for GS30 in a lot of places, while earlier sown crops are ahead of this. Anything which is a little bit on the thin side will benefit from a growth regulator like Cycocel to help with tillering at or before GS30. This needs to be applied in kind conditions so needs to be sprayed when the risk of frost or low temperatures is gone. Add a tidy up herbicide where needed. If there is disease present you could add in a small amount of fungicide, but for crops around the GS30 mark a strong fungicide will be needed in a week or so. The crop might be able to wait for that application. Talk to your agronomist on what is best to do in your situation. Assess disease on early crops now, some are at fungicide timing. Most crops have now received compound and a split of nitrogen.

Winter wheat: Winter wheat should have received compound fertiliser at this stage or should get it in the coming days. First fungicides are a while off, but see if Cycocel is needed on crops in the coming days. Tidy up weeds where needed. Winter oats will also need compound applied if it has not been applied already.

Nutrition: All crops should receive foliar nutrition with the tidy-up herbicide or growth regulator if it is needed. Known deficiencies should be treated as early as possible. You can ask your agronomist about leaf analysis to see if a crop is lacking in more nutrients than you think.

Beans: Apply a pre-emergence herbicide where possible. Many of you will be busy dealing with other crops at present, but beans will be slow to come up so you have some time before you need to apply it. You should apply sprays like Nirvana or Stallion Sync before the stem of the plant is within 13mm or half an inch of the soil surface. Rolling beforehand will help with application. Damp conditions can also benefit this herbicide.

Safety: There is a lot of work to be done on farms, but take your time and stay safe as you get that work done. The weather forecast looks like there won’t be too much rain over the weekend or next week.