Spring at last

The recent few good days have certainly made some difference to land and there is a lot of field work now going on. Not all land is dry enough to work but most growers are getting work done, either catching up on overdue inputs into winter crops or ploughing or planting spring crops. Ironically it was this week last year when field work began too.

There has been a lot of land ploughed in the past week or so and some of that has now been planted. In general it is taking a day or two between plough and drill to get land dry enough to work. A fine forecast is very welcome.

Winter crops

Some growers have been out on winter grain crops with rollers in recent days. As well as burying stones, rolling helps to induce tillering when there is adequate nitrogen, it helps root anchorage and a level seedbed be very useful if lodging were to occurr (seems unlikely but who knows).

While the recent sunshine has helped perk crops up, growth is still slow but this may be about to change. Rapid growth now could still help tillering in later sown crops and that would be useful in many fields.

Most crops have improved somewhat so the bare patches are now very evident. The most forward crops will soon be at GS30 so be ready for GS31 soon after the first week in April – nature nearly always balances out.

In general disease levels are low in winter crops but there is mildew on some winter barley. Watch out for yellow and crown rust once growth cuts in but these may not be a problem this year.

Three-crop rule

This week the Department of Agriculture stated it was prepared to consider exempting tillage farmers from the two/three-crop requirement under Greening due to the exceptionally wet weather. This will be a simple process during BPS application for those who have generally been compliant with the measure. It is still good practice not to have to depend on a single crop.

Planting: Don’t compromise on seedbed conditions as we move into April. Combine drilling and a good firm seedbed makes for a good start. It is by no means late yet for any spring crop by virtue of how the year has unfolded to date.

Beans and spring wheat are the planting priorities, followed by oats. When these are completed move to spring barley, especially malting. There is some spring barley already sown.

Seed rates should always be influenced by ground conditions and seed size. Target 35 seeds/m2 for beans – 175-210kg/ha (11-13 st/ac) for 450g to 550g TGW seed. Make sure soil pH is up close to 7 for beans – apply granular lime if needed.

Plant wheat at about 300-330 seeds/m2 or 135-165 kg/ha (8.8-10.7 st/ac) with seed between 45-50g TGW. Target oats at 300-350 seeds/m2, 125-145 kg/ha (8-9 st/ac) for 40g seed. Drill barley at 330-350 seeds/m2 to establishing 300-330 plants/m2 – 155-170 kg/ha (10-11 st/ac) for 45g seed.