Buffer zones

We are still awaiting clarification on the requirements for buffer zones from the Department of Agriculture.

The 2m uncultivated buffer along a watercourse, marked as a blue line on the Ordinance Survey Ireland maps is now 3m and this is clear.

However, it is not yet clear what is to happen beside a drain which is not a watercourse. STRIPE technology, which can allow buffers to reduce could play a role in this. I will update readers as soon as an update is available.

Seed

If you haven’t ordered your spring cereal seed yet, or indeed seed for break crops like beans or oilseed rape, then make this a priority. Bean seed should be ordered immediately as there should be good demand for seed, and if weather holds it might be a good time to start planting from now on.

As a lower area than normal of winter crops were planted, there is likely to be high demand for spring cereal seed and spring barley in particular. Order early to make sure you get your preferred variety.

The spring cereal recommended lists were in the Irish Farmers Journal a few weeks ago and are on the website at www.ifj.ie/tillage.

Oilseed rape

February is an important month for deciding on a nitrogen plan for oilseed rape. You can download an app on your phone to assess green leaf area index (GAI) or ask your adviser for help in deciding on a nitrogen strategy.

Crops with a GAI score of less than 1 will need some nitrogen as soon as possible, while those above 1 will keep until March.

Crops of oilseed rape which were not sprayed over winter for disease (which is a large percentage of crops) should be monitored for light leaf spot. It appears as white dots on the leaves.

A handy way of checking for it is to pick some leaves, put them in a plastic bag which can be sealed and leave the bag at room temperature for a few days to see if symptoms develop.

If crops haven’t yet been sprayed, then prothioconazole (Proline) is a good choice to spray with, but if you need a growth regulator effect then look at using metconazole or tebuconazole.

Temperatures are to drop to below freezing at the weekend so it might be best to leave the sprayer in the shed for those few days.

Pesticides consultation

There is still time to submit to the Government’s consultation on the new Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulations.

The closing date was extended to Friday, 24 February. You can email your views on pesticide use in Ireland to surconsultation@agriculture.gov.ie.

Barley Conference

The Teagasc Boortmalt malting barley conference takes place on Friday, 24 February at 10:30am in the Riverside Hotel, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.