Bayer 365

Crop Progress

Winter barley harvest started in mid-July in Scotland, which is earlier than I can ever recall. At the time of writing, it’s a little too early to talk about yields, although crops in the area are looking OK, except very short. The lack of straw might prove problematic for livestock farmers.

Grant's agronomy tips for August

1. Consider creating a stale seedbed before planting oilseed rape and wheat

2. Aim to get oilseed rape drilled by the end of August

3. Consider a cover crop on land destined for spring cropping

4. Keep on top of blight and plan potato crop destruction

5. Get farm-saved seeds tested before making decisions on seed treatments

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Crop Progress

Wheat is still holding on well in Yorkshire with some green leaf showing at our trials site at Cawood, as this is written. Some winter barley has been cut, and yields, while average, have perhaps been better than expected. Potatoes and sugar beet are both at full canopy development. Virus yellows is being found in lots of sugar beet crops in eastern England, but maybe not quite to the same extent in this area yet.

Adam’s agronomy tips for August

1. Watch out for secondary growth in cereal crops

2. Use moisture to help get oilseed rape away

3. Follow up initial sugar beet disease control sprays

4. Practice good bolter management, especially in Conviso varieties

5. Incorporate tuber blight control into blight programmes

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It’s decision time for oilseed rape in the west. Gareth Bubb looks at the case for and against and other key agronomy decisions this August.

Gareth’s agronomy tips for August

1. Decision time: Do you continue to grow oilseed rape?

2. Don't be afraid to plough if you need to reset grassweed control

3. Plan catch crops or stubble management to manage fields between crops

4. Consider contractors for pre-emergence sprays

5. Weigh up pros and cons of earlier drilling

6. Consider rubler blight activity in potato blight programmes

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Crop Progress

Harvest is well under way in the east at time of writing, but most growers will just want to be shutting the gate on this season and forgetting about it. If the problems with cereals and oilseed rape weren’t enough, there are huge amounts of virus yellows appearing in sugar beet crops now – hardly a field doesn’t have some in, although there’s not much that can be done now.

James' agronomy tips for August

1. Protect remaining sugar beet yield with fungicides

2. Focus on tuber blight control

3. Moisture is a key requirement to give the best chance of success with oilseed rape

4. Make best use of stubble management

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Crop Progress

Cereals and oilseed rape harvest is ongoing in the Midlands, and as expected, yields of oilseed rape have been all over the place due to poor establishment and cabbage stem flea beetle challenges. Potato and sugar beet crops have reached full canopy. With the loss of neonicotinoid seed treatments in sugar beet and perfect conditions for aphids transmitting virus yellows, there have been widespread reports of infections in crops this summer.

Darren’s agronomy tips for August

1. Decide how much further protection wheat crops need

2. Assess whether your spring cereals are going to make it?

3. Watch out for aphids and leaf miners in sugar beet

4. Continue or begin blight programmes in potatoes

5. Watch out for Bruchid beetles in peas and beans

6. Consider using Climate FieldView for analysing harvest data and more

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Crop Progress

The majority of oilseed rape in the south has been cut with very mixed reports, although there has been some over 3.5t/ha, which is pretty good for a season like this, there has been some areas yielding much lower. Winter barley overall has been a pleasant surprise, again with some crops yielding over 8t/ha. What wheat that has been cut at the time of writing has been variable, within fields as well as across the region.

Richard’s agronomy tips for June and July

1. Attention to detail critical for OSR growers

2. Start next season's weed control before you plant the next crop

3. Assess soil structure for remedial action

4. Watch out for powdery mildrew in strawberries

5. Continue monitoring top fruit for pests

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