Iain McMordie –
Downpatrick,
Co Down
It’s been a dry month in Down with just 9.7mm of rainfall. Generally speaking, Iain’s crops are doing well, but the flag leaf has begun to curl in some of his winter wheat crops, which were sown on dry, shallow soil.
Iain's spring oats are due a head spray this week.
His winter wheat crops had their T2 fungicide three weeks ago of Ascra Expro (1l/ha) plus Arizona (1l/ha). He applied the crop’s head spray this week, which consisted of Prosaro (0.6l/ha). He also added EPSO Top at 5kg/ha into the tank. Iain is happy with most of his wheat crops and it remains a low disease pressure year for him. He did note however that there have been some recent reports of yellow rust in the area.
When talking to Iain this week, he was in the middle of hand roguing wild oats and brome from some of his winter barley crops. He said that there appears to be more rye brome than sterile brome in crops this year, which makes it easier to pull.
Grain fill is progressing well on his winter barley crops, but Iain says that the straw is quite long, as only one PGR was applied. He held off applying a second PGR due to cold weather at the time.
Iain’s spring beans are growing well and started to flower in the first week of June
His winter oilseed rape was sprayed at the end of May with Highgate (1l/ha), along with EPSO Top (2.5kg/ha). Flowering has now finished and Iain says the pods are filling well. His spring oat crops are looking reasonably well and received an application of Tebucon (0.75l/ha) and Moddus (0.1l/ha) at the end of May. He also added EPSO Top (2.5kg/ha) into the tank. The heads are now emerging and the crop is due its final fungicide spray this week, consisting of Mirador (0.6l/ha) and EPSO Top (5kg/ha).
Finally, Iain’s spring beans are growing well and started to flower in the first week of June. So far, they have received a T1 fungicide of Tebucon (1l/ha), along with Bortrac (0.5l/ha).
Iain is currently preparing for a Northern Ireland Food Chain Certification (NIFCC) inspection which will cover all areas from grain storage, to pesticide and fertiliser records, to crop husbandry.
Con Barry – Lixnaw,
Co Kerry
With temperatures reaching highs of 23°C and rainfall amounting to 30mm for the month of June, growing conditions have been good in north Kerry, explains Con.
Con is nearly finished his second cut of silage on the farm.
There is little disease in the upper canopy of his Bennington winter wheat crops. However, he says that where the sprayer missed parts of the field, the crop has been entirely defoliated by septoria and yellow rust.
The crop received a head spray last week of Jade (1l/ha) and Globaztar (0.4l/ha). He notes that the fields that received Alister Flex are considerably shorter than those which didn’t.
Con’s winter hybrid rye is looking very impressive and he is now trying to judge how quickly the crop will ripen. He intends on crimping the crop this year, as he is interested to see how the crop’s grain yields: “If the crop turns out to be viable, there will be more of it grown,” he says.
Con expects that the crop will be ready for crimping, ie when the grain reaches 40% moisture content, by the end of July. He will decide closer to the time whether to pit the straw or bale it. His spring barley crops received a T1 fungicide spray two weeks ago of Macfare Xpro (0.8l/ha). He also applied Cycocel (1l/ha), as crops were looking very lush and soft. His spring oat crops have yet to receive a fungicide and remain very clean.
They received one application of Cycocel (1.5l/ha) and Con intended to follow up with another application, but the crop got too advanced. The crop will be whole cropped, so he is not concerned about losing it if it lodges.
Con says that in some cases, his second cut was better than his first
He intends on applying a herbicide to knock out wild oats in his maize crops over the coming week. Some of his maize crops will also have to be sprayed to knock out nightshade and redshank. He will add EPSO Combitop in the tank on both occasions.
He is nearly finished the last of his second cut of silage. Con says that in some cases, his second cut was better than his first.
Padraig Kehoe –
Enniscorthy,
Co Wexford
The pressure is off in Wexford as continued settled weather has allowed Padraig to virtually complete this season’s spraying campaign.
June has been an excellent month, with just 9.1mm of rainfall so far and temperatures reaching highs of 23°C.
Crop growth has been good. While crops are far from coming under-pressure for moisture, he says his spring beans would “take a drop” if they got it.
Padraig is very happy with the progress of his winter wheat.
They are currently around waist height and two weeks ago received a fungicide of Signum (0.65l/ha), as well as Stratus Ultra (1l/ha). The crop is due its final fungicide next week.
The effects of the cold and very wet May are evident in Padraig’s spring barley crops. While he has some good crops, many are yellow and stunted. His later sown crops are particularly bad. Across all crops, he thinks yields will be average at best.
All spring barley crops are very clean however, and last week they received a head spray of Decoy (0.4l/ha), Priaxor (0.8l/ha) and Arizona (1l/ha).
Winter wheat
His Graham and Astronomer winter wheat crops are looking excellent and he thinks the potential is there for a good yield. Padraig says there is relatively high septoria pressure in the crop, but it remains confined to the lower leaves. He hasn’t seen any rust in his crops this year.
Padraig says that, while not all heads are affected, up to 40% of grains are blank on some heads
Last week, he applied a head spray of Globaztar (0.5l/ha) and Protendo Extra (1l/ha), as well as Magnetech (1l/ha).
His winter oats are also looking good and remain clean. The crop received its head spray three weeks ago, which consisted of Elatus Era at 0.8l/ha.
His Bono winter hybrid rye has gone downhill since talking to Padraig last. There is a high amount of black grain sites appearing in the crop, which could be as a result of the May frost.
Padraig says that, while not all heads are affected, up to 40% of grains are blank on some heads. While this is disappointing, it won’t put Padraig off growing the crop again.
Iain McMordie –
Downpatrick,
Co Down
It’s been a dry month in Down with just 9.7mm of rainfall. Generally speaking, Iain’s crops are doing well, but the flag leaf has begun to curl in some of his winter wheat crops, which were sown on dry, shallow soil.
Iain's spring oats are due a head spray this week.
His winter wheat crops had their T2 fungicide three weeks ago of Ascra Expro (1l/ha) plus Arizona (1l/ha). He applied the crop’s head spray this week, which consisted of Prosaro (0.6l/ha). He also added EPSO Top at 5kg/ha into the tank. Iain is happy with most of his wheat crops and it remains a low disease pressure year for him. He did note however that there have been some recent reports of yellow rust in the area.
When talking to Iain this week, he was in the middle of hand roguing wild oats and brome from some of his winter barley crops. He said that there appears to be more rye brome than sterile brome in crops this year, which makes it easier to pull.
Grain fill is progressing well on his winter barley crops, but Iain says that the straw is quite long, as only one PGR was applied. He held off applying a second PGR due to cold weather at the time.
Iain’s spring beans are growing well and started to flower in the first week of June
His winter oilseed rape was sprayed at the end of May with Highgate (1l/ha), along with EPSO Top (2.5kg/ha). Flowering has now finished and Iain says the pods are filling well. His spring oat crops are looking reasonably well and received an application of Tebucon (0.75l/ha) and Moddus (0.1l/ha) at the end of May. He also added EPSO Top (2.5kg/ha) into the tank. The heads are now emerging and the crop is due its final fungicide spray this week, consisting of Mirador (0.6l/ha) and EPSO Top (5kg/ha).
Finally, Iain’s spring beans are growing well and started to flower in the first week of June. So far, they have received a T1 fungicide of Tebucon (1l/ha), along with Bortrac (0.5l/ha).
Iain is currently preparing for a Northern Ireland Food Chain Certification (NIFCC) inspection which will cover all areas from grain storage, to pesticide and fertiliser records, to crop husbandry.
Con Barry – Lixnaw,
Co Kerry
With temperatures reaching highs of 23°C and rainfall amounting to 30mm for the month of June, growing conditions have been good in north Kerry, explains Con.
Con is nearly finished his second cut of silage on the farm.
There is little disease in the upper canopy of his Bennington winter wheat crops. However, he says that where the sprayer missed parts of the field, the crop has been entirely defoliated by septoria and yellow rust.
The crop received a head spray last week of Jade (1l/ha) and Globaztar (0.4l/ha). He notes that the fields that received Alister Flex are considerably shorter than those which didn’t.
Con’s winter hybrid rye is looking very impressive and he is now trying to judge how quickly the crop will ripen. He intends on crimping the crop this year, as he is interested to see how the crop’s grain yields: “If the crop turns out to be viable, there will be more of it grown,” he says.
Con expects that the crop will be ready for crimping, ie when the grain reaches 40% moisture content, by the end of July. He will decide closer to the time whether to pit the straw or bale it. His spring barley crops received a T1 fungicide spray two weeks ago of Macfare Xpro (0.8l/ha). He also applied Cycocel (1l/ha), as crops were looking very lush and soft. His spring oat crops have yet to receive a fungicide and remain very clean.
They received one application of Cycocel (1.5l/ha) and Con intended to follow up with another application, but the crop got too advanced. The crop will be whole cropped, so he is not concerned about losing it if it lodges.
Con says that in some cases, his second cut was better than his first
He intends on applying a herbicide to knock out wild oats in his maize crops over the coming week. Some of his maize crops will also have to be sprayed to knock out nightshade and redshank. He will add EPSO Combitop in the tank on both occasions.
He is nearly finished the last of his second cut of silage. Con says that in some cases, his second cut was better than his first.
Padraig Kehoe –
Enniscorthy,
Co Wexford
The pressure is off in Wexford as continued settled weather has allowed Padraig to virtually complete this season’s spraying campaign.
June has been an excellent month, with just 9.1mm of rainfall so far and temperatures reaching highs of 23°C.
Crop growth has been good. While crops are far from coming under-pressure for moisture, he says his spring beans would “take a drop” if they got it.
Padraig is very happy with the progress of his winter wheat.
They are currently around waist height and two weeks ago received a fungicide of Signum (0.65l/ha), as well as Stratus Ultra (1l/ha). The crop is due its final fungicide next week.
The effects of the cold and very wet May are evident in Padraig’s spring barley crops. While he has some good crops, many are yellow and stunted. His later sown crops are particularly bad. Across all crops, he thinks yields will be average at best.
All spring barley crops are very clean however, and last week they received a head spray of Decoy (0.4l/ha), Priaxor (0.8l/ha) and Arizona (1l/ha).
Winter wheat
His Graham and Astronomer winter wheat crops are looking excellent and he thinks the potential is there for a good yield. Padraig says there is relatively high septoria pressure in the crop, but it remains confined to the lower leaves. He hasn’t seen any rust in his crops this year.
Padraig says that, while not all heads are affected, up to 40% of grains are blank on some heads
Last week, he applied a head spray of Globaztar (0.5l/ha) and Protendo Extra (1l/ha), as well as Magnetech (1l/ha).
His winter oats are also looking good and remain clean. The crop received its head spray three weeks ago, which consisted of Elatus Era at 0.8l/ha.
His Bono winter hybrid rye has gone downhill since talking to Padraig last. There is a high amount of black grain sites appearing in the crop, which could be as a result of the May frost.
Padraig says that, while not all heads are affected, up to 40% of grains are blank on some heads. While this is disappointing, it won’t put Padraig off growing the crop again.
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