This has been one of the better autumns in recent years for crop establishment. Most seedbeds were in great condition at planting and perhaps the only concern related to dryness or something else that delayed or slowed establishment. But that might now prove to be beneficial.
Established full crops made for a pretty sight. Earlier this week, I took to the fields in north Kildare to see how crops were faring and to see if there were any issues lurking quietly in the background. The crops did not disappoint and looked very well as the sun shone low in the sky following the weekend rain. But there were a few things worth reporting.
Early planting, good establishment and good autumn growth have left many winter barley crops looking very dense.
Full wheat crops
While there has been a big swing to winter barley, there is still an amount of wheat in this region, but the prominence of barley becomes very evident when you see the crop following beans, a slot traditionally reserved for the wheat crop.
The few wheat crops I saw were at varying growth stages and husbandry. The more forward ones were around GS13/14, with generally only one tiller. The majority of wheat crops were ploughed, one-passed and rolled.
The presence of wheel tracks in the tramlines also indicated that they had been sprayed for weeds and probably also for aphids.
While crops looked very well, there were weeds coming through, which makes one wonder if conditions were that bit too dry for residual chemistry?
The weeds that seem to be coming now include chickweed, field speedwell, some groundsel and cleavers. There was also some fumitory and volunteer rape, but there was no grass visible.
One crop I visited was sown as min-till into a rape stubble. The crop looked like there had been a lot of volunteer rape growth and that this had been cultivated for planting. While there was no big cover of rape, many of the chopped stems survived and these could yet produce a lot of foliage before herbicide could be applied in spring.
If that happened, then weed control might require two treatments; one to kill the rape to enable penetration of the next spray, which would target seedling weeds and grasses.
There were very few other weeds present in most of that field and the crop itself had barely one leaf unfolded. But a few areas in the field were a mass of chickweed and speedwell, both seedling and surviving volunteers. The crop itself was not a pretty sight, but it is fine and will look much better in spring when the volunteer rape is eliminated.
A patch in a winter barley crop showing very little growth.
Bulk in early barley
The first winter barley crop I walked into was late sown and looked much different to most barley crops this autumn. It still did not have its second leaf fully unfolded, while most crops had two or three tillers present in a big canopy.
This crop had been established by ploughing, one-pass and then rolled. It looked perfectly good, but the year will govern whether or not there will be a yield penalty for late planting.
The crop was generally clean and it had not been sprayed, as there were no tracks in the tramlines. Some clumps of volunteer barley came through the ploughing from last year’s stubble.
The late establishment means that there were relatively few weeds present, but there is a level of annual meadowgrass coming through, which is still only emerging.
The grass is not bad in most areas, but it is quite variable throughout the field. The same could be said of other weeds, of which chickweed and speedwell were by far the most predominant. But there was a fair bit of establishing oilseed rape in places also.
There was a bit of crow damage evident in the field and a few slugs moving about, but no real symptoms of that damage. All in all, this crop had a very full appearance, but it needs to tiller to generate its yield potential.
The next crop of winter barley was much more forward at GS14, with about two tillers. This crop looked like it had been sprayed and there was no evidence of grass weeds present.
However, there were a good few broadleaved weeds coming through, with things like groundsel, speedwell, fumitory and chickweed quite evident.
While this crop was more forward, it was a bit worrying to see some older leaves dying back already. If this is hunger-driven, it may not bode well for spring growth or for yield potential.
Unfamiliar symptoms
The next crop of winter barley I walked into looked quite different, because it was greener and had more vigorous growth. This crop had about three tillers and four to five true leaves present.
The main weed present was volunteer beans and they were obviously suffering from herbicide treatment, which seemed to have done a good job on all other weeds.
So this looked like a crop of barley after beans, a slot that was traditionally held for wheat and an indicator of current trends.
Perhaps surprisingly, this crop had quite a bit of leatherjacket damage going on. There was plenty evidence of plants being cut below ground and this was still occurring in local patches.
There was also a level of powdery mildew on the crop and this seemed responsible for some leaf death on older leaves.
But there was another unusual phenomenon here also. There were a couple of small patches which were quite bare and the plants present had severe yellow tipping and the first leaf had not yet fully unfolded.
I had not seen this before, but the base of the stem in the ground seemed to be infected or discoloured with some form of rot. It was not rotten, just brown, and seemed structurally sound.
However, when I pulled one seedling from the ground, it was obvious that the roots were mainly abnormal, showing symptoms that are often associated with chemical damage.
But it is difficult to rationalise this, as I only encountered two very small definite patches. Perhaps it was a spill of something in recent times or perhaps even a spill of oil or diesel.
Rape flowering
Flowering now is generally associated with charlock in a rape crop. There is some charlock in this field and it is very visible and very severe in patches.
A few charlock plants have flowered, but even more rape plants are in flower at this point. And many more rape plants have their flower heads clearly visible. This is very advanced and hard frost could be a real risk.
The crop itself has a bit of light leafspot on some plants. Some herbicide had been used as some weeds were dying back, but an amount of grass, groundsel, poppy and, unusually, knotgrass and black bindweed, are also present.
This has been one of the better autumns in recent years for crop establishment. Most seedbeds were in great condition at planting and perhaps the only concern related to dryness or something else that delayed or slowed establishment. But that might now prove to be beneficial.
Established full crops made for a pretty sight. Earlier this week, I took to the fields in north Kildare to see how crops were faring and to see if there were any issues lurking quietly in the background. The crops did not disappoint and looked very well as the sun shone low in the sky following the weekend rain. But there were a few things worth reporting.
Early planting, good establishment and good autumn growth have left many winter barley crops looking very dense.
Full wheat crops
While there has been a big swing to winter barley, there is still an amount of wheat in this region, but the prominence of barley becomes very evident when you see the crop following beans, a slot traditionally reserved for the wheat crop.
The few wheat crops I saw were at varying growth stages and husbandry. The more forward ones were around GS13/14, with generally only one tiller. The majority of wheat crops were ploughed, one-passed and rolled.
The presence of wheel tracks in the tramlines also indicated that they had been sprayed for weeds and probably also for aphids.
While crops looked very well, there were weeds coming through, which makes one wonder if conditions were that bit too dry for residual chemistry?
The weeds that seem to be coming now include chickweed, field speedwell, some groundsel and cleavers. There was also some fumitory and volunteer rape, but there was no grass visible.
One crop I visited was sown as min-till into a rape stubble. The crop looked like there had been a lot of volunteer rape growth and that this had been cultivated for planting. While there was no big cover of rape, many of the chopped stems survived and these could yet produce a lot of foliage before herbicide could be applied in spring.
If that happened, then weed control might require two treatments; one to kill the rape to enable penetration of the next spray, which would target seedling weeds and grasses.
There were very few other weeds present in most of that field and the crop itself had barely one leaf unfolded. But a few areas in the field were a mass of chickweed and speedwell, both seedling and surviving volunteers. The crop itself was not a pretty sight, but it is fine and will look much better in spring when the volunteer rape is eliminated.
A patch in a winter barley crop showing very little growth.
Bulk in early barley
The first winter barley crop I walked into was late sown and looked much different to most barley crops this autumn. It still did not have its second leaf fully unfolded, while most crops had two or three tillers present in a big canopy.
This crop had been established by ploughing, one-pass and then rolled. It looked perfectly good, but the year will govern whether or not there will be a yield penalty for late planting.
The crop was generally clean and it had not been sprayed, as there were no tracks in the tramlines. Some clumps of volunteer barley came through the ploughing from last year’s stubble.
The late establishment means that there were relatively few weeds present, but there is a level of annual meadowgrass coming through, which is still only emerging.
The grass is not bad in most areas, but it is quite variable throughout the field. The same could be said of other weeds, of which chickweed and speedwell were by far the most predominant. But there was a fair bit of establishing oilseed rape in places also.
There was a bit of crow damage evident in the field and a few slugs moving about, but no real symptoms of that damage. All in all, this crop had a very full appearance, but it needs to tiller to generate its yield potential.
The next crop of winter barley was much more forward at GS14, with about two tillers. This crop looked like it had been sprayed and there was no evidence of grass weeds present.
However, there were a good few broadleaved weeds coming through, with things like groundsel, speedwell, fumitory and chickweed quite evident.
While this crop was more forward, it was a bit worrying to see some older leaves dying back already. If this is hunger-driven, it may not bode well for spring growth or for yield potential.
Unfamiliar symptoms
The next crop of winter barley I walked into looked quite different, because it was greener and had more vigorous growth. This crop had about three tillers and four to five true leaves present.
The main weed present was volunteer beans and they were obviously suffering from herbicide treatment, which seemed to have done a good job on all other weeds.
So this looked like a crop of barley after beans, a slot that was traditionally held for wheat and an indicator of current trends.
Perhaps surprisingly, this crop had quite a bit of leatherjacket damage going on. There was plenty evidence of plants being cut below ground and this was still occurring in local patches.
There was also a level of powdery mildew on the crop and this seemed responsible for some leaf death on older leaves.
But there was another unusual phenomenon here also. There were a couple of small patches which were quite bare and the plants present had severe yellow tipping and the first leaf had not yet fully unfolded.
I had not seen this before, but the base of the stem in the ground seemed to be infected or discoloured with some form of rot. It was not rotten, just brown, and seemed structurally sound.
However, when I pulled one seedling from the ground, it was obvious that the roots were mainly abnormal, showing symptoms that are often associated with chemical damage.
But it is difficult to rationalise this, as I only encountered two very small definite patches. Perhaps it was a spill of something in recent times or perhaps even a spill of oil or diesel.
Rape flowering
Flowering now is generally associated with charlock in a rape crop. There is some charlock in this field and it is very visible and very severe in patches.
A few charlock plants have flowered, but even more rape plants are in flower at this point. And many more rape plants have their flower heads clearly visible. This is very advanced and hard frost could be a real risk.
The crop itself has a bit of light leafspot on some plants. Some herbicide had been used as some weeds were dying back, but an amount of grass, groundsel, poppy and, unusually, knotgrass and black bindweed, are also present.
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