South East. Drilling of Claire, Scout & Viscount  underway in last few days. Solstice, Gallant  & Cordiale will start being drilled next week and Xi19 the week after. Most 1^st wheats should hopefully have been been drilled by end of September (except Soissons and crops after Grain maize/potatoes). Farms growing second wheat Cordiale/Solstice with Latitude planning to finish drilling by 5-7 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.

South West. Ideal drilling conditions with adequate moisture and excellent seedbeds being prepared by a number of techniques.  It is an ideal year for stale seed beds and some have managed to have two goes at successive grass weed flushes. Most advanced crops at two leaf stage.
Slugs: none seen.

Eastern Counties. Sowing has only just started and no crops have emerged yet.

East Midlands. Drilling yet to start.

West Midlands. Fantastic seed beds from minimum tillage after oilseed rape, moisture available to get crops going, some minimum tillage seedbeds a bit too wet in places and we could do with a dry month. 50:50 on rolling so far. 50% crops sprayed. Earliest crops at two leaf stage but drilling has only just started on most farms.
Slugs: very little activity so far .

North east. A few early crops been drilled 7 days now, and just emerging. Field condition are very good, but no more rain for a while would be useful as most farmers will be starting wheat drilling program during this week.
Slugs: low numbers been seen active in rape stubbles so far, but conditions are getting more conducive to slug activity with every shower. Deter used on many first wheats, but will monitor and apply a persistent but low active ingredient pellet such as Allure as crops emerging on high risk sites.
Blackgrass: the pre-ems gave very variable results last Autumn in the very dry conditions, and more Atlantis resistance became evident during the season. Stale seedbeds have greened up well, and the pre-drilling Glyphosate should be a good investment this year.

Winter Oilseed Rape

South East. Good seedbeds have mean that establishment has been good. Most advanced crops now at the two leaf stage.
Slugs: very little activity seen so far.
Turnip Sawfly : adults seen in crops last week but no sign of larvae yet. More details.
Blackgrass: high levels emerging with crop along with volunteer cereals.

South West. Ideal with moisture and well structured seed beds with good tilth.  A few crops drilled in August capped severely in heavy rain storms and growth was checked. Crops range from yet to emerge through to three leaf stage.
Slugs: very low levels.  Only sporadic damage seen.
Blackgrass: high levels of emergence being targeted with Aramo plus water conditioner.

Eastern Counties. Range of drilling dates from August 15th to September 5th. Early drilled has slumped in some places following very heavy rain soon after drilling, this has slowed and lowered percentage establishment. Rape generally emerging well and rapidly in warm, moist seedbeds. Generally seedbeds are good and establishment looks high. Most advanced rape now at 3 leaves. Range of establishment techniques, ploughing used on light soils and in some places where it was considered too wet to min till. Otherwise minimium tillage and drilled or seeded on subsoilsoiler. Currently applying N to targeted crops (most except for very early drilled, or where manure or biosolids have been applied or some ploughed land where rape has established vigorously). Where there is a lot of straw in the surface layers small seedlings are struggling in places and N should help.
Flea Beetle: a lot of shot holing on cotyledons of early drilled but all Modesto or Cruiser dressed. Newly emerging true leaves are free from damage.
Blackgrass: emerging with rape in large numbers in places. At 2 – 3 leaf stage apply Aramo or Laser.
Other weeds: rapid emergence of volunteer barley on some non inversion tillage fields. Rapid action required to prevent competition and barley taking moisture in particular. Poppies just beginning to emerge only 0.5 cm across  cotyledon stage on light soils, following low dose Novall pre-em, will continue to inspect fields, if poppies still present next week will top-up with more Novall post-emergence.

East Midlands. Most crops just sown – some at cotyledon with odd one at 1 leaf, heavy showers are slowing drilling down. All rape destined to have some N with crops being small and backward – cooler nights forecast next week will slow growth down.
Slugs: no activity seen.
Blackgrass: good flush in wheat stubbles burnt off with glyphosate. Flush of blackgrass being sprayed with Falcon or similar as early post emergence herbicides goes on. Blackgrass dormancy moderate – I think not, with one of the fastest flushes I have seen for a few years.

West Midlands. Crops range from chitting to four true leaf stage. Rolling has been difficult and approximately only half of the crops have been rolled but in the main good seedbeds. Pre post emergence agchem splits out into roughly the same ratio, approximately 60% sprayed to date. 30kg/ha N applied to light land crops, and crops put in over the last week.
Slugs: not a major issue at the moment.

North east. Most crops were drilled late August and early September into good seedbeds and have emerged very evenly. Forward crops at three leaves, and later sown have expanded cotyledons.
Slugs: all non-inversion seedbeds are very high risk , but most crops drilled at low seed numbers so only a few slugs needed to do serious damage.

Winter Barley.

North East. None yet drilled.

Eastern counties. None yet drilled. 

West Midlands. None yet drilled. 

East Midlands. None drilled yet.

South West. None yet drilled.  Will start next week.

South East. None yet drilled.