Mixed weather:

Sunshine and good drying conditions over the weekend led to frantic activity on the land but it looks like we may be headed into more broken weather. Hopefully rainfall amounts will be small. The better weather certainly drove growth and earlier crops have moved well into stem extension. Oats are even more advanced.

Planting:

Don’t compromise on seedbed as we move into April. Combine drilling and a good firm seedbed make for an essential start. Spring crops need to stay at max growth from emergence to generate high yield potential.

While April is with us it is not yet late, but planting should be completed soon. Early April crops are not necessarily at a yield disadvantage but it is important that they get a good start. Having a fine firm seedbed helps to prevent transient trace element deficiency which can hit yield potential.

Seed rates should always be influenced by ground conditions and seed size. Get any remaining beans drilled ASAP at 35 seeds/m2 -- 175-210kg/ha (11-13 st/ac) for 450g to 550g TGW seed. Soil pH is critical (need pH 7) for beans.

Plant spring wheat at about 300-350 seeds/m2 or 150-180 kg/ha (10-12 st/ac) using 45-50g seed. Drill barley at 350-375 seeds/m2 to establishing 300-330 plants/m2 – 155-170 kg/ha (10-12 st/ac) for 45g TGW seed. Target oats at about 400-450 seeds/m2 – 160-180 kg/ha (10-11.4 st/ac) for 40g seed.

Get fertiliser into the seedbed at planting. Combine drill where possible. Fertilisation rates depend on soil test results and historic crop yield. The basic fertiliser rate for an Index 3 soil is 25kg P/ha and up to 110kg K/ha at around 7 t/ha yield where straw is removed.

Fertiliser:

All winter crops should have received their first nitrogen by now (with sulphur) along with P & K. Forward crops are now into stem extension so it is close to the time for the main N dressing. Do not risk leaving crops hungry around this time. Active growth minimises the risk of loss, should there be heavy spills of rain post application.

Crop protection:

Most crops have shed their winter appearance in favour of lush green growth. This, combined with the arrival of stem extension, makes plant protection more urgent. Rust pustules are evident on some crops and this signals either yellow, brown or crown rust. So keep an eye out for these diseases.

Fungicide will be needed now on winter barley – watch out for mildew and net blotch as well as rhyncho. First fungicides will tend to be a triazole plus a strobilurin or SDHI mix. If you don’t have active rhyncho consider giving prothioconazole a rest as it is a very heavily used active on barley.

Forward oats is mainly past GS31 so PGR needs to be applied. This might be Ceraide or a Moddus/CCC mix. Winter wheat is also pushing into stem extension so it may shortly be time for a CCC or Moddus/CCC treatment between GS30 and GS31. Be careful about embracing additional cost.