Agronomy update from around the UK

On the positive side, around 90% of planned winter cropping (wheat and barley) did get sown as planned last September, with just enough time to establish itself and withstand the wet weather that followed. The exception being late- sown wheat after potatoes, which either could not be drilled, or did go in, only for establishment to be compromised – or fail completely – in wet, waterlogged soils.

Disease-wise, September-sown wheats have not faced the same yellow rust pressure as elsewhere, and while septoria pressure is high, most growers have kept it at bay thus far, with robust early fungicide applications to prevent disease spreading up the canopy from lower leaves. How long those flood gates hold may be another matter given the pressure that has
built in recent mild, unsettled weather.

There are also some concerns about how the exceptionally wet season may have compromised winter crop rooting. So far, most crops look okay, but if soils dry out, some could start to struggle. Yield prospects are probably average at best.

Weed control has been another big challenge, particularly where residual chemistry could not be applied due to the weather, forcing growers to rely on less effective contact herbicides. Stale seedbeds will be important for managing seed return before next season.

Finally, oilseed rape. Most crops were drilled on time last autumn and established well, so look pretty good at the time of writing, therefore yield prospects are cautiously optimistic. Cabbage stem flea beetle does not (yet) present the same issues as further south, but we know pressure is building, so we must stay vigilant.

Weed control has generally been very good given that most growers managed to apply good, robust pre- or early post-em herbicides.

As elsewhere though, the wet, unsettled spring with so few spraying opportunities and wet soils, has been incredibly challenging to all farmers and agronomists, not least for timing and applying fungicides, growth regulators and fertiliser. Crops have also been racing through growth stages in mild conditions, with plenty of disease to contend with, notably septoria, and rusts, with some varieties worse than others.

Generally, where growers have used robust programmes at TO and T1, they have stayed in control, whereas where timings slipped, situations have been compromised. Once septoria, yellow or brown rust gets into a crop, it is becoming harder to eradicate.

This region grows mainly Group 1 and 2 milling wheats, and with some attractive price premiums available, forward-thinking farmers have been willing to invest in crops to look after them. We’ve also seen more nitrogen applied to hit required protein levels, which brought extra lodging and disease risks that had to be managed.

Overall, there is good potential for winter wheats; hopefully we get the sunshine needed to fulfil that.

For winter oilseed rape, apart from a few early losses (c.10%) due to slugs and flea beetle, those crops that got past the end of September, look really good, so yield prospects are very positive. Areas that did suffer early losses have generally been re-sown with either a second wheat, oats, or a spring crop (e.g. barley, beans, or oats).

Establishment, rooting, and yield potential have all been compromised though, as has grassweed control, with few crops getting the planned pre-em. On the upside, the unsettled spring has kept crops, growing, despite their shallow rooting and limited scavenging ability, thereby avoiding any early droughting-out.

Disease pressure has been very high throughout, with rust proving a continual headache – mainly brown rust in barley and yellow rust in winter wheat, with even some stronger varieties coming under pressure. Septoria too, has been favoured by high April and May rainfall, forcing growers to use robust and well-timed fungicides to protect whatever yield potential crops have. With such a wide range of growth stages, and rapid development, timing sprays accurately has been key, but not easy to achieve.

Powdery mildew has also stood out this season, probably as a stress response to nutritional deficiencies caused by compromised rooting.

‘Overall, winter wheat yields are likely to be average at best, and late-sown wheats may perform closer to a spring crop. We may also find that lighter land crops do better than a normal year given the availability of moisture throughout spring.

Spring crops, notably barley and oats, had a late start, but generally look okay. Spring beans seem particularly good this year, so there are high hopes the weather is kind and this potential carries through to harvest.

While many growers in this area have pulled back from oilseed rape due to the agronomic risks, some have persevered and there are a few very good-looking crops, with big canopies, plenty of pods, and high yield potential after a very long flowering period. Hopefully we get the sun needed to fill and ripen those pods. At the other extreme, some crops were written off earlier in the year due to incredibly high slug pressure, combined with flea beetle damage.

The other major issue, for this season and next, is the fact that only around 5-10% of all winter cereals received the usual pre-emergence herbicide, putting all the emphasis on less effective post-ems. This has generally only given moderate black-grass control, and sub-optimal ryegrass control, so problem areas need managing carefully this autumn.

The winter barley area is down in this region, largely due to economics, but those crops that are in the ground (mainly hybrid varieties) look good. Stress earlier in March did see some crops abort tillers as it was impossible to get onto fields to apply the nitrogen needed to support them, so this may compromise yield slightly.

Late ramularia has been the main disease issue, and we also saw early brown rust infestations with the at GS 31-32, although these were relatively easily controlled main fungicides.

All of the planned oilseed rape area was sown last autumn, and overall, 92-93% has survived in one form or another. Roughly, two-thirds of crops look good with decent yield potential, 20% are average, and another 20% are marginal, largely due to the combination of waterlogging and flea beetle attack.

We have seen some crops get quite ‘top heavy’ during the spring due to the lack of deep root anchorage, which will increase lodging risk, and may have yield implications where flowering and pod fill was affected. Equally, with shallow rooting, we may find crops drought-out very quickly if/when conditions dry out properly.