Spring cropping


Spring crop trials boost blackgrass battle


• Barley more competitive than wheat • Bigger reduction in blackgrass weeds • Care needed to achieve good seedbed


S


pring barley offers a much more competitive option than spring wheat for re-


ducing blackgrass numbers when planted at like-for-like seed rates, according to field trials. Carefully considering cultiva-


tion techniques prior to planting spring barley could slash black- grass seed return by more than 4,000 seeds/m2


ings from Syngenta trails as growers consider spring crop- ping options after the difficult autumn.


Trials in Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire showed that increas- ing the seed rate of both spring barley and spring wheat pro- gressively reduced the number of blackgrass ears present, said Syngenta field technical manag- er Georgina Wood. Blackgrass ear numbers were substantially lower in the spring barley than spring wheat – but both crops showed a reduction in blackgrass ears at every seed rate tested – of 87, 175, 350 and 525 seeds per square metre. In the case of the popular


10 12 14 16 18 20


0 2 4 6 8


87.5 175 Propino Seed rate (seeds/m2)


Source: Syngenta trials, mean of two sites (Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire) 24 MIDLAND FARMER • JANUARY 2020


350 525 87.5 175 350 Spring Wheat 525 , suggest key find-


spring malting barley varieties, Laureate and Propino, drilled at a standard 350 seeds/m2


, blackgrass


ear numbers were a massive 94% lower than in the spring wheat drilled at the same seed rate. The same herbicide treatments were used across both crops.


Subsequent work on Laure- ate at our heavy land Innovation Centre at Barton, Cambridgesh- ire, also confirmed spring barley to be about a third better at reduc- ing blackgrass than spring wheat, said Ms Wood. “This was in a di- rect drilling situation.”


Other work at the Barton site compared cultivation methods. It confirmed that ploughing – rath- er than direct drilling – before planting spring barley further reduced blackgrass. Ear num- bers of the weed feed from 84 to just 1/m2


– a reduction of 98%.


Competitive effects of spring barley against black-grass Competitive effects of spring barley against blackgrass


Fewer weed seeds Ms Wood said this was poten- tial for arouwnd 4,000 few- er blackgrass seeds being shed and returned to the seed bank per square metre based on each


Cultivation methods should be matched to conditions, says Georgina Wood.


Laureate spring barley competes well against blackgrass


blackgrass ear producing 50 seeds – although she suggest- ed further research was needed. “Clearly this was one site in


one year. Cultivation methods need to be matched to individu- al situations and will depend on the conditions. If there’s a risk of bringing more buried black- grass seed back to the surface then ploughing may not be the best option.”


Growers forced to plant more spring cereals this season due to impossible autumn conditions should choose the most compet-


itive varieties – and the correct cultivation method to minimise the number of weeds germinat- ing and to exert the most pressure on the emerged weeds. With the majority of black- grass germinating in autumn, the opportunity for stale seedbeds is a further advantage of spring cropping. Later drilling or a move to spring cropping may not have been by choice this season, but better blackgrass control will be a real benefit.


Good seedbed


Another advantage is that black- grass germinating within the crop has less time to tiller, said Ms Wood. Again, this means few- er ears and potentially less seed return. Although it can be chal- lenging, taking time to achieve a good seedbed will have signifi- cant benefits too.


“Good soil conditions produce even crop emergence for more competitive and higher yielding crops, whilst also aiding weed control – because cloddy seedbeds can shelter emerging blackgrass from herbicide sprays.


“If you are growing spring malting barley, check what con- tracts are available. Propino may be most suited to export opportu- nities, while Laureate has full ap- proval for both malt distilling and brewing uses for harvest 2020 on the MBC Approved List.”


Number of black-grass ears per m2


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