Derek Rogers, Ballyboughal, Co Dublin

Derek is very happy with crops this season and sees good potential across the farm. He commented that weather conditions have been nearly perfect. In the past few weeks, there has been an ideal amount of rain and conditions have been cool enough to keep disease pressure low. He is now looking for sunshine in June to get grain yields up.

The head was emerging on winter wheat this week. It received its T2 fungicide spray early last week. This was Peacoq at 1.8l/ha and Croton at 0.9l/ha. Rust is now under control in Bennington and Graham, having been treated with strobilurin chemistry earlier in the season.

Winter oilseed rape received Filan (Boscalid) at 0.5kg/ha, along with some nitrogen in the form of Efficient 28N at 20l/ha at 50-60% petal fall.

Derek explained that they also carried this out last season, and thought it worked well as the pods were filling. Biomag was also applied.

Magnesium is being applied to many crops on the farm and while there are magnesium deficiencies in parts, they are not across the farm. However, Derek feels the magnesium application is good practice and helps to prevent disease.

He noticed that oilseed rape is much taller in general this season, by approximately 1ft, and is watching it closely for risk of lodging.

The head is now out on his winter oats and they received Navaro at 0.9l/ha and Comet at 0.5l/ha, along with Biomag at 2l/ha.

Potatoes

In the potato fields, the Queens are flying ahead. They have already received two blight sprays. Derek is happy with weed control in the Queens and the main Rooster crop. Blight pressure has been low. The maincrop potatoes will receive their first blight spray at the end of this week.

Despite difficult spraying conditions at times, everything is up-to-date on the farm and crops are looking very well.

Iain McMordie, Downpatrick, Co Down

Iain McMordie's spring beans were beginning to flower and received their first fungicide this week.

Iain was happy to be up-to-date with spraying this week after a few weeks of showers and wind which have been difficult to get out in. He had been picking his moments carefully to fill up the sprayer.

When we spoke on Monday, he had just sprayed some spring beans with tebuconazole fungicide at 0.7l/ha, as they began to flower before rain came in the afternoon. Those beans were planted on 25 March, but the earlier sown crop, planted on 7 March, had already had fungicide applied. Beans had received Falcon at 0.7l/ha approximately two weeks ago, mainly to control volunteer cereals and some brome.

Iain has now finished applying nitrogen to his winter wheat, topping it up to 190kg N/ha using liquid urea. He noticed a tiny bit of scorch through the crop after application, but is happy with how this technique is faring out. The T2 fungicides were applied around 21 May.

A range of products were used across different varieties at T2. All crops received Folpet and EPSO Combitop, while the main fungicide varied between Ascra and Revystar. The Graham winter wheat had rust and it received tebuconazole at T2.

With winter barley sprayed a number of weeks ago, the last of the crops to be treated are oilseed rape and spring oats.

The winter oilseed rape received Juventus at 0.7l/ha at petal fall on 15 May.

Spring oats received sulphur, along with tebuconazole and a mix of Moddus and CeCeCe on 28 May. There is some virus present in the oat crop.

Iain is generally happy with crops. Looking back, he might have applied a higher rate of nitrogen to his winter barley and noted there is some barley yellow dwarf virus in his winter barley, but it is not bad in the tolerant variety – Idyllic – which he is happy to see having an effect.

Dan Twomey, Robert’s Cove, Co Cork

Dan Twomey has been spraying when the weather allowed over the past few weeks in south Cork.

Dan is fairly happy with crop conditions in south Cork, but he noted that there has been very little rain. While crops are generally coping at present, they may come under pressure for moisture in the coming days if that rain does not come.

Winter barley finished up in the second week of May. With a number of different varieties on-farm, including KWS Cosmos, Pixel, Infinity and KWS Tardis, crops were sprayed at awns emerging right up to the head being half emerged. He applied 0.4l/ha of Decoy, 0.8l/ha of Priaxor, 1.5l/ha of folpet and 5kg/ha of EPSO Combitop. Dan is on a two-spray fungicide programme on winter barley.

The spring barley received its fungicide over a number of days, but was completed around 25 May.

Windy conditions delayed spraying and Dan noted that some rhynchosporium came into the last crops to be sprayed due to the delay.

Barley yellow dwarf virus is visible across his spring barley crops, with single yellow leaves appearing.

Dan doesn’t notice a difference in the amount of virus between early and late sown crops. Spring barley planting began around 20 March and finished around 3 April. All crops received an aphicide with the weed spray.

Spring wheat and oats were both due plant growth regulators. They received 1l/ha of CeCeCe and 0.2l/ha of Moddus in the second half of May.

The spring wheat received Elatus Era at 0.7l/ha and will get two more fungicides, with the final strong application at the end of June. The spring oats received Decoy at 0.4l/ha and Comet at 0.5l/ha for disease control.

Beet

Beet is growing quite well, Dan commented. It received the first of its weed sprays and will receive the second at the end of this week or the start of next week. Nitrogen was applied after the herbicide, 150kg/ac of CAN plus sulphur was applied.