Weather: the past week has really made crops look well in the fields, because most are in very good order and the rain before the hot weather saw crops jump out of the ground.

The sunshine is good for grain fill on winter barley, but no doubt many growers are worried about the very hot temperatures creating stress on crops. Those temperatures are to fall soon and there is some rain is in the forecast, so this will be good for crops.

By now those really high temperatures have passed, but when they come again it is important to keep stress away from crops and avoid spraying in the really high temperatures.

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Spring crops: later-sown spring crops have been struggling. They are lacking in moisture and faced very dry conditions in recent days. Some crops after cover crops are also patchy. This was probably a mixture of many things. Some is phytotoxicity where the cover crop was heavy and is breaking down and interfering with crop growth; slugs and crows have also attacked.

Keep on top of disease prevention, as the warm temperatures and rain on the way will create an ideal environment for diseases spreading. Treat crops at mid-tillering if they haven’t already been treated with fungicide and look after any nutrient deficiencies.

Crops which need to be treated for wild oats, canary grass or Italian ryegrass should be done soon.

Late-sown crops may still receive the lower rate of 0.6l/ha, but crops receiving the application later will need a higher rate of 0.82l/ha. This rate is needed for canary grass and Italian ryegrass. It should be noted that Axial Pro does not have a label for canary grass, but it does show good control of the problem weed. Canary grass is another weed with a high seed number and the ability to multiply in fthe ield rapidly.

Winter crops: for winter oats that have not received their head spray, you should be putting on a broad-spectrum fungicide, a strobilurin and a mildewcide included. Many crops will be passed this stage.

Winter wheat will need a T3 at flowering to try to control fusarium. Examine how winter wheat disease programmes are performing in the coming days and weeks. Especially after the rain that is to come over the next few days. Start to walk winter barley for grass weeds in the coming days.

Grass weeds: control grass weeds in break crops. Beans and beet provide ideal opportunities to control grass weeds. Falcon and Stratos Ultra are options. Falcon needs to be applied before bean crops start flowering.

ITLUS: the Irish Tillage and Land Use Society hosts its summer field day next week in east Cork. It takes place in Goldcrop, R and R Farms and Midleton Distillery on Thursday, 4 June.

If you would like to attend you must register by close of business on Thursday 28 May. Email itlussec50@gmail.com. The cost is €55 for members and €85 for non-members. That includes refreshments and your lunch during the day.