Better weather: While the forecast is not yet settled, the warmer conditions, coupled with the end of waterlogging, are very welcome for crops. Spring crops in particular are looking better with the increase in heat, but weeks of wet conditions may make them more susceptible to dry conditions due to inhibited rooting. Many later-sown crops still show patchiness and they might benefit from an overall spray of trace elements now. Many crops are a bit pale, but this may be more a matter of a lack of all nutrients than a shortage of nitrogen, where it had been applied. Fix the trace elements first.

Winter crops: Improvement continues. Wheat crops seem to be staying quite clean. Perhaps this is verification of the importance of having low disease pressure at the start of the spraying season. Most wheat crops now have flag leaves emerged and T2 sprays should be applied. They should be sprayed with an SDHI, triazole and multisite. Possible programmes include Adexar, Aviator, Seguris or Treoris plus a triazole. Always include a multi-site like chlorothalonil or Phoenix. Crops with mildew will need a specific mildewicide, like Corbel or Tern. Winter barley growth stages vary from earing out to well into grain fill. Final sprays should be applied as the ears emerge. Final sprays should include a triazole, an SDHI and/or a strobilurin and a multisite active for ramularia. Products options include Siltra, Bontima, Ceriax, Venture Extra or Treoris plus triazole. Oat crops are at various stages of earing out so final sprays in the next 10 days or so. Final sprays should include a strobilurin plus a triazole. Options include Amistar plus Folicur, or Jenton plus Folicur where mildew is present.

Spring crops: Barley varies from mid-tillering through to stem extension. Spray later-sown and patchy crops to prevent BYDV. Some crops now have rhyncho and/or mildew.

Apply fungicide around the start of stem extension. This will be based around prothio (Proline), but only in mixtures. Watch Frontier, Propino and Soldo in particular, but other varieties will also get rhyncho, especially in dirty seedbeds.

T1 sprays on barley could be Proline or Helix (mildew present) with a strobilurin or an SDHI such as Vertisan or Intellis. Preformulated products include Siltra, Bontima, Ceriax, Fandango, etc. Consider CCC on thin later crops to help them tiller, or Moddus plus CCC on very thick crops.

Wheat crops are at stem extension and so at CCC stage. Watch label rates for spring wheat. Watch Trappe in particular for mildew and rust. If these diseases are not present, there may be no real septoria pressure until after flag leaf, so a basic triazole plus contact spray may suffice.

Early spring oats are also at stem extension, so growth regulation is required. A mildewicide will be needed on most varieties using Talius if it is not yet present, or Tocata if mildew is already present.