Weather

The weather hasn’t allowed for much work since last week.

Some have been able to get out with fertiliser on winter crops, but there is still a host of work to be done in those fields, including herbicide application to some of those crops.

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Nitrogen

One thing that is noticeable is that some winter crops are suffering as they have not yet received nitrogen. In some cases, growers have not been able to get out to crops, but others are holding off to see if nitrogen prices drop.

Nitrogen prices have been dropping and it makes sense to buy when needed, but where ground can be travelled then crops need nutrition.

You could end up losing more money in yield than you do by trying to save money waiting on the price to fall. All nitrogen should be applied by GS32 to winter barley and winter oats.

Growth regulator and fungicides

Looking at some late-sown wheat this week it was in need of some bulking up and was at GS30. CeCeCe was to be applied when the temperatures increased.

Winter barley crops that have not yet received a growth regulator should consider a mix of growth regulators at this stage. Freezing temperatures are in the forecast for Friday and late next week again, so keep an eye out.

There are plenty of reports of disease in early-sown winter barley crops and action should be taken on this as soon as possible.

Spring crops

Crops which have emerged are sure to be under some stress given the weather. They are March sown, so the advice would be not to apply an aphicide. They have their seed bed fertiliser, so wait for tramlines to be in good order before you travel with nitrogen.

Remember to up seed rate as April moves on. For example, on spring barley with a thousand grain weight of 52 and a target plant population of 300 plants/m2, in early to mid-April that equates to a seeding rate of 188kg/ha or at a TGW of 54 that’s a seeding rate of 195kg/ha.

There are plenty of people with beans to plant still, and crops should come up quickly once planted. Remember there’s a possible payment of €500/ha or more for the crop this year, depending on the area sown.

Under the Protein Aid Scheme the maximum payment which can be paid in 2023 is €700/ha, but Department examples show if an estimated 12,007ha were planted that payment would be €583/ha.

Safety

When the dry weather comes there is a lot of work to be done. Take your time and take breaks. Get prepared to make work more efficient when the weather turns.

Crop Protection Magazine

The Irish Farmers Journal will publish a 48-page Crop Protection magazine free inside next week’s paper.

It’s a must to pick up for the year ahead, as it has product lists for herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and plant growth regulators, along with their PCS numbers and guidance on rates and timings. It will come in handy for spray season, but also for record keeping throughout the year.