The past year has been “a tale of two halves,” and farmers were relieved to be finished with the combine after a long harvest. That was the message from a panel of agronomists at Tillage Day.
Brian Reilly spoke about using sulphur as a fungicide, sap analysis, and the year gone by at Tillage Day. \ Claire Nash
Brian Reilly, from Drummonds, explained that the spring barley area was up 50 to 60% from last year, as large amounts of winter wheat were not planted in autumn 2023.
While this was not an ideal scenario, yields ended up being good, with excellent quality grain and good straw too.
John Martin, from Centenary Co-op, agreed with Brian. The co-op’s total grain intake is made up of 50% spring barley, so the harvest was “a relief” for farmers and merchants alike.
Imported varieties made up 33% of his spring barley area, and John was very impressed with how they performed, given that farmers were worried about how they would fare when planting them due to the seed shortage.
He said that the main lesson to be taken from the year is that soil conditions at sowing are extremely important.
Farmers need to have patience as “twenty-four or forty-eight hours can make a huge difference” in how dry the soil is, especially underneath the surface.
Protein Aid Scheme
Teagasc’s Ciarán Collins told the crowd that a lot of spring beans were planted very late due to the wet spring and the Protein Aid Scheme provided some security to farmers.
He explained that when beans are planted very late, there are two potential scenarios: there is a dry summer and the beans yield very poorly, or there is a wet summer and the harvest runs very late.
Taking this into account, Ciarán noted that the optimal planting window for spring beans is between 1 February and the middle of March.
Drilling beans at a later date is possible and they can yield well, but he said “the risk of something going wrong is higher.” Ciarán also explained that when planting beans late, or on lighter land, a higher seeding rate is advisable
Turning to winter cereal plantings, John revealed that his plantings were up 25% to 30% on the past two years, and it will probably end up just above the long-term average. Ciarán presented estimated winter cereal planting figures from talking to people in the seed trade and merchants.
The winter barley area is around 50,000ha, which Ciarán noted is lower than what he expected considering the good weather and the fact that the area was at least 30,000ha higher than this figure in 2019.
Winter wheat is at 55,000ha, but this is increasing slightly as farmers plant after harvesting maize, beet, and potatoes recently.
The winter oats area has also increased to over 15,000ha, but Ciarán expects the total oats area to remain at a normal level or slightly above average.
John Martin speaking to the crowd at Tillage Day. \ Claire Nash
Despite a tough couple of years for winter wheat, these figures show that farmers have not moved away from the crop.
Brian explained that he has confidence in the future of winter wheat in Ireland.
The breakdown of the Cougar gene in 2020, which provided good septoria resistance, resulted in a number of emerging varieties failing in Ireland.
Septoria
Brian says that breeders are now moving on from this and there are many new varieties with better septoria resistance beginning to be trialled in Ireland.
“Next year, there are three or four really good winter wheat varieties coming,” and while it may take a few years for these varieties to be commercially available, it is still very positive for winter wheat growers.
Brian then discussed the effectiveness of fungicides on septoria. “We’re finding on our trial site that since the loss of chlorothalonil, things are becoming very tricky, and the weather is also becoming very tricky.” This has meant that septoria control has become more difficult.
However, Brian has found some ways of dealing with the disease, “Sulphur is now paramount in our T0 applications. We can’t just use it on its own, you must use it with a strobilurin.”
Brian could not explain why this was the case, but he says that their trialling has shown yield increases of between 0.4 and 0.7t/ha. He then warned farmers that not all sulphur products are the same and you must choose carefully.
Ciarán Collins discussed the winter planting area, crop nutrition, and beans at Tillage Day. \ Claire Nash
Building healthy plants through ‘targeted nutrition’
Crop nutrition was another hot topic at Tillage Day. The three agronomists agreed that the basic soil fertility, including soil pH and the phosphorous and potassium indices, must be right before you start to look at micronutrients.
Adequate amounts of fertiliser must also be available to the crop.
Brian Reilly explained that micronutrition comes after this and is mainly used for two reasons - to build plant health and to reduce and prevent plant stress.
Ciarán Collins advised farmers to “get the big stuff right”, starting with a soil test, and then to walk the crops and see whether the crop is healthy and strong or coming under stress. He also stressed that farmers must be careful with their crop nutrition spend and must ensure that the product works on their farm.
“Everything that we put on a crop has to give us a return, that’s crucial. If you’re trying something that you haven’t used before, it’s always worthwhile to put it in one tank and not another or to skip a tramline.”
This can help farmers to see what effect a product is having on their crop and it gives the farmer a better understanding of how products work.
Organic fertiliser
John Martin emphasised the importance of organic fertiliser, saying that the highest yields in his area are generally from farms that have access to farmyard manure, slurry, or compost.
Ciarán agreed with this and said that winter barley in particular seems to do well when organic manures have been applied.
Sap testing for nutrient deficiencies was discussed on the day. Brian told the crowd that the level of nutrients in the leaf of a crop is measured before the key spray timings in cereals, and weekly in potatoes.
“It’s targeted nutrition. We’re able to target exactly what the plant needs, which as well as supporting the plant, can also reduce the cost”.
Brian explained that a sample of new and old leaves is taken on a Monday or Tuesday in the same fashion that a soil sample would be taken, the leaves are stored in a fridge and delivered via courier to a lab.
The results are then returned to the farmer by Thursday. Farmers can then tailor their nutrition programme depending on what nutrients the crop is deficient in. In Brian’s case, each sample costs €40.
Crop walking is still vital to this, and knowing the field history is very important. If a deficiency is present one year, it is likely to reoccur the next year.
Sap testing over a number of years can help to build a picture of where deficiencies are occurring.
Turning to biostimulants and amino acids, Brian said that they have trialled 40 to 50 different products at their trial site, but not all of them work.
The most benefit is seen when applied to potato and vegetable crops. Each product is tested for at least three years before Drummonds will recommend it to their growers.
John said that he has used a lot of seaweed products on crops, especially forage crops such as beet and maize.
He likes these products because they are natural, and he said he has seen crops stay greener for an extra week or two when used, but it is hard to quantify these benefits.
He would like to see more research done on these products to provide information and assurance to farmers.
Brian agreed and mentioned that he has noticed crops are fitter, healthier, and stronger when seaweed products are used.
He advised farmers that a little and often approach is best, which can be done by including a small amount at each spray timing.
The past year has been “a tale of two halves,” and farmers were relieved to be finished with the combine after a long harvest. That was the message from a panel of agronomists at Tillage Day.
Brian Reilly spoke about using sulphur as a fungicide, sap analysis, and the year gone by at Tillage Day. \ Claire Nash
Brian Reilly, from Drummonds, explained that the spring barley area was up 50 to 60% from last year, as large amounts of winter wheat were not planted in autumn 2023.
While this was not an ideal scenario, yields ended up being good, with excellent quality grain and good straw too.
John Martin, from Centenary Co-op, agreed with Brian. The co-op’s total grain intake is made up of 50% spring barley, so the harvest was “a relief” for farmers and merchants alike.
Imported varieties made up 33% of his spring barley area, and John was very impressed with how they performed, given that farmers were worried about how they would fare when planting them due to the seed shortage.
He said that the main lesson to be taken from the year is that soil conditions at sowing are extremely important.
Farmers need to have patience as “twenty-four or forty-eight hours can make a huge difference” in how dry the soil is, especially underneath the surface.
Protein Aid Scheme
Teagasc’s Ciarán Collins told the crowd that a lot of spring beans were planted very late due to the wet spring and the Protein Aid Scheme provided some security to farmers.
He explained that when beans are planted very late, there are two potential scenarios: there is a dry summer and the beans yield very poorly, or there is a wet summer and the harvest runs very late.
Taking this into account, Ciarán noted that the optimal planting window for spring beans is between 1 February and the middle of March.
Drilling beans at a later date is possible and they can yield well, but he said “the risk of something going wrong is higher.” Ciarán also explained that when planting beans late, or on lighter land, a higher seeding rate is advisable
Turning to winter cereal plantings, John revealed that his plantings were up 25% to 30% on the past two years, and it will probably end up just above the long-term average. Ciarán presented estimated winter cereal planting figures from talking to people in the seed trade and merchants.
The winter barley area is around 50,000ha, which Ciarán noted is lower than what he expected considering the good weather and the fact that the area was at least 30,000ha higher than this figure in 2019.
Winter wheat is at 55,000ha, but this is increasing slightly as farmers plant after harvesting maize, beet, and potatoes recently.
The winter oats area has also increased to over 15,000ha, but Ciarán expects the total oats area to remain at a normal level or slightly above average.
John Martin speaking to the crowd at Tillage Day. \ Claire Nash
Despite a tough couple of years for winter wheat, these figures show that farmers have not moved away from the crop.
Brian explained that he has confidence in the future of winter wheat in Ireland.
The breakdown of the Cougar gene in 2020, which provided good septoria resistance, resulted in a number of emerging varieties failing in Ireland.
Septoria
Brian says that breeders are now moving on from this and there are many new varieties with better septoria resistance beginning to be trialled in Ireland.
“Next year, there are three or four really good winter wheat varieties coming,” and while it may take a few years for these varieties to be commercially available, it is still very positive for winter wheat growers.
Brian then discussed the effectiveness of fungicides on septoria. “We’re finding on our trial site that since the loss of chlorothalonil, things are becoming very tricky, and the weather is also becoming very tricky.” This has meant that septoria control has become more difficult.
However, Brian has found some ways of dealing with the disease, “Sulphur is now paramount in our T0 applications. We can’t just use it on its own, you must use it with a strobilurin.”
Brian could not explain why this was the case, but he says that their trialling has shown yield increases of between 0.4 and 0.7t/ha. He then warned farmers that not all sulphur products are the same and you must choose carefully.
Ciarán Collins discussed the winter planting area, crop nutrition, and beans at Tillage Day. \ Claire Nash
Building healthy plants through ‘targeted nutrition’
Crop nutrition was another hot topic at Tillage Day. The three agronomists agreed that the basic soil fertility, including soil pH and the phosphorous and potassium indices, must be right before you start to look at micronutrients.
Adequate amounts of fertiliser must also be available to the crop.
Brian Reilly explained that micronutrition comes after this and is mainly used for two reasons - to build plant health and to reduce and prevent plant stress.
Ciarán Collins advised farmers to “get the big stuff right”, starting with a soil test, and then to walk the crops and see whether the crop is healthy and strong or coming under stress. He also stressed that farmers must be careful with their crop nutrition spend and must ensure that the product works on their farm.
“Everything that we put on a crop has to give us a return, that’s crucial. If you’re trying something that you haven’t used before, it’s always worthwhile to put it in one tank and not another or to skip a tramline.”
This can help farmers to see what effect a product is having on their crop and it gives the farmer a better understanding of how products work.
Organic fertiliser
John Martin emphasised the importance of organic fertiliser, saying that the highest yields in his area are generally from farms that have access to farmyard manure, slurry, or compost.
Ciarán agreed with this and said that winter barley in particular seems to do well when organic manures have been applied.
Sap testing for nutrient deficiencies was discussed on the day. Brian told the crowd that the level of nutrients in the leaf of a crop is measured before the key spray timings in cereals, and weekly in potatoes.
“It’s targeted nutrition. We’re able to target exactly what the plant needs, which as well as supporting the plant, can also reduce the cost”.
Brian explained that a sample of new and old leaves is taken on a Monday or Tuesday in the same fashion that a soil sample would be taken, the leaves are stored in a fridge and delivered via courier to a lab.
The results are then returned to the farmer by Thursday. Farmers can then tailor their nutrition programme depending on what nutrients the crop is deficient in. In Brian’s case, each sample costs €40.
Crop walking is still vital to this, and knowing the field history is very important. If a deficiency is present one year, it is likely to reoccur the next year.
Sap testing over a number of years can help to build a picture of where deficiencies are occurring.
Turning to biostimulants and amino acids, Brian said that they have trialled 40 to 50 different products at their trial site, but not all of them work.
The most benefit is seen when applied to potato and vegetable crops. Each product is tested for at least three years before Drummonds will recommend it to their growers.
John said that he has used a lot of seaweed products on crops, especially forage crops such as beet and maize.
He likes these products because they are natural, and he said he has seen crops stay greener for an extra week or two when used, but it is hard to quantify these benefits.
He would like to see more research done on these products to provide information and assurance to farmers.
Brian agreed and mentioned that he has noticed crops are fitter, healthier, and stronger when seaweed products are used.
He advised farmers that a little and often approach is best, which can be done by including a small amount at each spray timing.
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