20 September. Rain needed in most areas to get late sown oilseed rape growing. Pre-emergence herbicides being delayed in dry conditions.

Winter Oilseed Rape

South: crops range from cotyledon to 5 true leaves – bulk of crops are now around 2 true leaves.
Fertiliser: most min-tilled crops have had 30 kg/ha N applied to seedbeds.
Phoma: none seen to date, even on volunteers in nearby rape stubbles.
Flea beetle: shot holing of leaves quite widespread even though most crops seed treated with Modesto/Cruiser – possibly due to dry seedbeds.
Turnip Sawfly – no larvae seen as yet, though adults noted egg-laying around 2-3 weeks ago.
Volunteer barley – large flush in min-tilled crops after spring barley in particular.

Eastern Counties. Pat Turnbull reports that drilling finished about 10 days ago. Varieties DK Cabernet, Castille, Es Astrid, Vision, Lioness. All Cruiser seed treated. Light land crops emerged rapidly and well and now at 4 leaf stage. Heavier soils are very dry although some rain last week. There are now two phases of emergence a lot of rape only cotyledon some seed still dry.
Fertiliser: small amount of N applied straight after drilling on most fields some farmers delayed applying any N because drilling was very early this year. We now have delayed emergence due to dry conditions and will need to review this soon.
Weed control: pre –emergence applied to about 50% of area, remainder waiting for early post-emergence because of very dry conditions. Mainly used Novall + /- Centium. Centium pre-em only. Cereal volunteer especially spring barley emerging rapidly some fields need urgent action.


East Midlands. Very varied crops – a few crops on better land at 2 leaf but vast majority at cotyledon and sitting waiting for rain. Many plants sitting in cobbly dry soils.
Slugs : on the whole very low damage – worst damage on air seeded crops on subsoiler where very rough finish.

West Midlands. All crops now drilled with a range from last week of August to Wednesday 16th September. Earliest crops now at 4-6 true leaf, crops drilled during last 7 days are sat in dust and will need rain to germinate. Variocast crops and light land crops coming to a standstill due to complete lack of moisture.
Weed control : Falcon going on this week where volunteers bad. Will delay if possible and include fungicide for phoma. Vast majority of crops have been treated pre emergence with weed control OK at the moment on the earlier drilled crops. Where pre emergence missed have applied post emergence with Falcon (mainly after winter barley).


North East. All crops are sown now. Earliest sown into moisture have 3 leaves. Later sown crops in dry seedbeds are emerging very slowly and unevenly. Rainfall is needed before they will establish properly.
Weed control: most crops will be sprayed early post-emergence (expanded Cotyledons) with Springbok, and Aramo will be applied as soon as enough Blackgrass has come through.

Winter Wheat.

South East. Peter Cowlrick reports that drilling of Claire, Scout and Viscount now underway, with some farms around 20% drilled by end of this week. Solstice, Gallant  and Cordiale will start being drilled next week. Most first wheats should hopefully have been been drilled by end of September (except Soissons and crops after Grain maize/potatoes). Farms growing second wheat Einstein/Cordiale with Latitude, should finish drilling by 5-7th October.
Slugs: trapping of fields after oilseed rape pre-/or post-drilling is indicating generally low levels of slugs – populations are generally very low though on fields that have been disced/cultivated twice pre-drilling.

East Midlands. Martin Eudall reports Just a few crops drilled so far – most crops to go in any time now – majority next week.
Weed control: pre-ems to go on as crops drilled but cloddy/poorer seed beds will receive Liberator rather than Crystal for crop safety reasons.

West Midlands. Bryce Rham reports that now having to deal with extremely dry seedbeds, minimum tillage after potatoes the soil is like powder. Wheat drilled in the last week unlikely to germinate without rainfall. Seedbeds are very good (best we have seen for several seasons).
Weed Control: all early drilled wheats will receive Crystal + Graduate or Hurricane pre or peri emergence, or Liberator pre or peri emergence.

Eastern Counties. Brendan Butterworth reports that first wheats Alchemy and Claire being drilled at present, 20% Drilled. Cobbly seedbeds where ploughed, some seedbeds fine and level. Very little soil moisture. Less than 18 mm of rainfall in August.

North East. Phillip Tuplin reports that drilling started on 10th September. Seedbeds after rape and pea crops have retained just enough moisture for seeds to germinate. It is very dry and dusty but seedbeds have plenty of tilth. Much of the later worked fields are very dry. Good seedbeds will be difficult to create without a significant rain. 9mm rain this week but not enough for any significant effect on smaller crops which need  more moisture to assist with nitrogen and phosphate uptake.
Slugs: too early to see any damage in newly drilled crops, but volunteer rape plants have been attacked in some stale seedbeds.
Weed control : stale seedbeds have not been very successful, but most have just been worthwhile spraying off with Roundup pre-drilling. The threshold level for spraying is low. Pre-emergence sprays are planned for all fields. Where a severe problem is known and crop is early sown a mix of Liberator/DFF is being applied, and where still a problem but slightly less so or later drilled a mix of Defy/DFF will be used.

Sugar Beet.
Pat Turnbull reports that good root weight very high sugars some 19 to 20% but very dry difficult lifting conditions with root breakage on many soils.

Virus Yellows at highest levels we have seen for a while on those fields where a seed treatment was not used. These are mainly the fields prone to Docking Disorder which receive an application of Vydate granules at drilling we are considering using treated seed on all these fields in the future in addition to Vydate.

Some more confirmed cases of Rhizomania in mid – Norfolk on heavier soil types. The patches are small and we will now switch to tolerant varieties on these farms. Beet cyst nematode confirmed on one farm this year on alight soil where beet has been grown 1 in 3 for along period.