31 May 2013. The occasional outbreak of spring last weekend helped improve the look and growth of many crops but the low temperatures during the week has hindered continued development. Not a brilliant week for field work and heavy rain at the beginning of the week has left some fields too wet to travel. All in all not perfect conditions for the all important T2 fungicide applications. Although disease levels in crops are reported as low conditions over the past week have favoured the development of Septoria, fusarium and Sclerotinia. Spring cereals in general are approaching or ar at GS 30 and disease levels are low. However, rain and nitrogen have led to a mass of weeds in some fields.

• Keep checking for seed weevil as weather warms up.
• Risk of Sclerotinia increases.
• Earliest winter wheat now booting.
• Ears emerging in forward winter barley.
• Late flush of weeds in winter cereals.
• Hail damage to Sugar Beet.

Winter Wheat Leaf Emergence Data.

The graph below shows data from a Farming Online study on leaf emergence carried out in 2006. It is interesting to note that the dates for full leaf emergence for final leaf 3, 23 April for early September sowings and 9th May for late September sowings are pretty much the same dates for similar wheat crops this year. The same is true for the dates for flag leaf emergence. The earliest that we have recorded leaf 3 emergence in a September sowing is 11 April for a crop of Glasgow sown on 29 April 2004 at Andover trial site, the flag was fully emerged by 11 May. Data for mid to late October sown crops from the same studies show leaf 3 typically fully emerged by end of April and Flag leaf fully out by now. It is these later sown crops this year which are particularly late.

image expired

Winter Wheat

South. A combination of some warmer “growy” days and showery conditions have encouraged some accelerated growth, with  many autumn sown wheat crops now catching up with flag-leaves typically fully emerged and even some ears beginning to break the boot. In particular, September and early October sown Gallant, Cordiale and Solstice have are now around GS 39-45+ on main shoots. Other varieties and crops sown before the end of October now range between GS33-39 with flag leaves typically 2/3-Fully  emerged on main shoots. Otherwise, later autumn sown crops are  around GS32-33 with the tip of flag-leaf starting to emerge. Crops sown in January/February are around GS31-32 with leaf 3 fully-emerged on main shoots. With flag leaves emerging/emerged on more advanced crops, T2 applications are now underway – these are based primarily around Adexar or Aviator on better crops or Epoxiconazole + Bravo + Strobilurin on poorer and more backward crops.
Mildew: traces in some crops.
Yellow rust: none seen
Brown rust: none seen
Septoria tritici: September sown Cordiale and Scout are showing high levels of infection on leaf 5 and below, with some infection now visible on the tip of Leaf 4, otherwise most wheats are still only showing very low levels of infection on the lower leaves.
Eyespot: none seen.
Weed control:blackgrass control showing mixed results.

Eastern Counties. Majority of wheat crops now at early to full flag leaf emergence with some signs of booting. The late drilled and more backward crops are still at GS 33.
Mildew: trace levels.
Septoria tritici: trace levels on lower leaves.
Yellow rust: none seen.
Brown rust: none seen.
Eyespot: can find some eyespot.
Weed control: there is a lot of bindweed, knotgrass, fat hen and charlock coming through late.

East Midlands. Most crops have flag emerging with a few later crops at leaf 2 – the past week of almost wintry temperatures at times has slowed development down. After a week of on –off heavy rain soils now very wet and will need a few days to dry out with some localised ponding.
Mildew: very low levels mainly at stem base.
Septoria: top 5 leaves continue to remain fairly clean  with the top 4 leaves very clean.
Yellow rust: reports of yellow rust in Warks and in Solstice in Leics.
Brown rust: none seen.
Eyespot: levels are low with many stems clean.
Weed control: knotgrass and fat hen continue to dominate thin and bare areas. Wild oats now becoming more prominent.

West Midlands. Early wheat now has flag half out to fully emerged but no booting seen as yet, October wheat in the main has flag leaf emerging to half out but not moving quickly enough. Crops have picked up despite the cold and it is beginning to look like spring at last just a pity we only have three weeks to the longest day. T2 applications predominantly based around Aviator and Proline.
Mildew: has appeared in the bottom of quite a few crops over the last fortnight.
Septoria tritici:confined to the bottom of the crop. However, plenty of crops with leaf 5 and older going yellow.
Yellow Rust: no fresh sightings.
Brown rust: none seen.
Fusarium/Eyespot: only at low levels.
Weed control: herbicides applied three to four weeks ago now showing good control of broad leaved and grass weeds. Late sown crops now have a flush of weeds emerging.

North East.  Most Winter wheat  GS 31 -33.  Odd Forward crops at GS 37 with Flag leaf just visible. Some fields have unusually large gap in growth stages within field owing to a rough start caused by wet and cold conditions. Canopy development is slow, so weeds have had more chance to germinate with wet and warmer weather. Generally crops are looking short for this time of year and are probably 2 – 3 weeks behind from bench mark.
Mildew: none seen
Septoria tritici: active on lower leaves of some varieties but not moving up the crop.
Yellow rust: none seen.
Brown rust: none seen.
Wheat bulb fly: low levels in some crops.
Weed control: warmer weather bringing out early spring weeds.

Winter Oilseed Rape 

South. Finally all crops are in flower! Around 50% of crops are now at mid to late flower, with remaining crops between early flowering and mid-flowering.
Sclerotinia:with crops flowering, and soil temperatures ranging between 7-10’C in warmer spells and with plenty of soil moisture, conditions are ideal for apothecia emergence and spore release.
Pollen beetle: panic over now that most crops are flowering.
Seed Weevil: adults can be still be readily found on any warmer afternoons in upper flowers.

Eastern Counties. The earliest fields are rapidly losing flowers and pod set looks good. The pigeon damaged fields are now coming into full flower and producing more flowering sites than expected on some very short rape plants. Rain on Tuesday and Wednesday. Plenty of petal stick opportunities.
Sclerotinia: second flowering sprays planned for later this week on more forward / good crops which received first sclerotinia spray 3 weeks ago.
Seed Weevil: very little seed weevil activity seen over the last week.
Weed control: thin poorly competitive crops are going to allow some weed problems to show through later. On light land some poppies will come through in thin crops.

East Midlands. All crops still in full flower and at this rate it is hard to see any rape harvest before mid August unless a summer heat wave. Some later patches still just starting to flower.
Pollen beetle: numbers remain low but have treated a few backward crops.
Seed weevil: no reports of major weevil numbers but then weather not conducive to weevil activity or looking for them
Sclerotinia: crops treated.
Weed control: reports of cleavers starting to recover after herbicides in thin areas where no crop competition, same with mayweed.

West Midlands. Pretty much all crops now flowering with light land or early varieties (eg Troy/Cubic) along with early sown crops just starting to turn this week
Pollen beetle: still hard to find.
Seed Weevil: too cold and wet over the last week for them.
Sclerotinia: petal fall starting and petals sticking to crop.


North East. Crops still range from yellow bud to mid-flowering. Crops are shorter this year especially in backward plantings.
Pigeons: becoming less of a problem.
Pollen beetle: odd beetle seen in crops at green bud, but levels much lower than previous years.
Seed Weevil: none seen.

Winter Barley

South: most barley crops are now either at awns emerging or ears emerged, but still around 2 weeks behind normal. All crops remain short, even Volume, consequently very few have had late PGR’s applied. Disease levels remain very low.
East: most crops are fully out in ear now but some of the  poorer crops are still at flag leaf to awns emerging.
East Midlands: awns emerging and T2 on so now gates shut. Crops remain clear of all diseases and look generally well but a bit short.
West Midlands: awns emerging on most crops and ears fully emerged on earlier crops. Disease levels remain low.
North East: crops at GS 33 - 49. Most crops in Booting. Odd forward crops have first spikelet of ear visible. Many crops looking shorter than usual.

Sugar beet

Crops have put a spurt of growth on over the warm weekend but we still seem way behind the normal canopy size for this time of year! Recent herbicide applications have produced good results and most of the spraying left for weed control is targeted at wild oats, thistles and volunteer potatoes. However, there is a fresh flush of rape emerging on some fields which we will need to take out and cleavers still need a bit more Debut to achieve control.

There has been some hail damage showing as torn and pitted leaves but the sugar beet soon get over this. Also a little underground slug and leatherjacket activity has been noted.

It is time to get the tractor hoes out for effective weed beet control but it is too wet at the moment.