Arable


Surprise dry spell eases fears of wet autumn


ing was just possible but subse- quent spraying not.


IN THE FIELD A dry period during November helped ease fears of another wet autumn, says Richard Overthrow


Northants Land Drainage EST 1960


ing until spring, a brief dry spell allowed some more to be done and many completed their winter ce- real programme, even putting in all their bean acreage.


D


The later sown cereal crops shouldn’t need as much herbicide input as earlier sowings which is just as well given that spraying opportunities are rare at this time of year and in many cases drill-


espite thoughts last month that most will have given up on drill-


Many of the residual products can be applied early post-emer- gence but some have a latest ap- plication date of the end of this month – check this if still hop- ing to treat. It’s worth stressing again that the level of herbicide input need not be high for these later sow- ings and a complex stack could compromise crop health anyway, reducing its competitive ability.


Trade-offs In NIAB TAG trials we regularly see a negative trade-off between herbicide input and crop strength in this way, leading to more grass weeds from higher herbicide in- put with later sowings. There have been issues with some of the winter bean crops sown where pre-emergence treat- ment is almost the only option but again for many, good conditions for spraying as well as for drill- ing was asking a bit too much. Products like propyzamide


and clomazone should not be applied post-emergence; carbet-


Consider early fungicide to


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High disease pressure in win- ter barley crops means growers should consider treating suscep- tible varieties with an early fun- gicide, says agronomy firm Hutch- insons. Mild, wet weather has fa- voured the spread of several dis- eases in early-sown crops across much of the UK – particular- ly net blotch, rhynchosporium, powdery mildew and brown rust, says technical development direc- tor David Ellerton.


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Risk has been compounded by the large area of spring barley grown last season, which resulted in more barley volunteers emerg- ing this autumn, from which in- fection can transfer to the new crop, he says.


12 MIDLAND FARMER • DECEMBER 2020


“This combination of more in- oculum on volunteers alongside mild, wet conditions, has been per- fect for autumn barley diseases, although later drilled crops gen- erally aren’t as badly affected.”


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