14 November 2014

Still no sight of winter and the mild temperatures continues to encourage growth in all crops. Soil temperatures are beginning to drop and short days mean they will have little time to recover so growth will start to slow now. Phoma is becoming more apparent in crops yet to be treated. So far there have been no reports of light leaf spot. Manganese deficiency particularly in winter barley is more common this autumn.

• Slugs still active in warm and wet.
• Brown rust in South.
• Frit fly damage in winter wheat following oats.
• Phoma more common.
• Net-blotch and mildew in winter barley.

Winter Wheat

South. A return to wetter conditions again over the last week has seen only a few more odd fields ploughed and drilled on lighter land. Fields are wet now and will require several weeks of dry weather to enable any field activity, which judging by the weather charts looks very unlikely in the next few weeks here in the South. Earliest sown (10th-15th Sept) wheats now at GS22+, with many fields now typically around GS13-21.
Slugs: ongoing wet and mild weather has maintained surface feeding activity.
Brown rust: trace levels in Claire.
Blackgrass: emerging quite widely now, with most advanced plants being around GS13-21. For most part however, residuals appear to be providing reasonable levels of control to date, with best results being from those applied at peri-emergence once soils had been wetted rather than applied to dry seedbeds pre-emergence.

Eastern Counties. Crops range from recently sown through to early/mid tillering. Crops continue to look well.
Slugs: continue to be a problem in some fields and need monitoring in this mild wet weather.
Aphids: mild temperatures keeps this pest in the limelight.
Yellow rust: trace levels on susceptible varieties.
Weed control: pre-emerence herbicides working reasonable well on blackgrass. Now need a dry spell to catch up on post-emergence sprays.

East Midlands. Cooler and wetter soils have slowed development with little change over the last week. Some 40mm rain in last week has effectively stopped all work.
Aphids: numbers remain low but cypermethrin going on as Deter treated crops will soon run out of steam.
Slugs: continue to cause problems with some crops that looked safe now being attacked by juveniles after fresh hatch. Ensuring pellets with high baiting points being used aiming for 60-80 points per square metre.
Weed control: continues to emerge but in many case at 1-2 leaves or 1 leaf emerging. Herbicides destined to go on as soon as weather permits. Later drilled fields after pre-ems where crops at GS 11 generally clear so far. Odd field getting Atlantis + pre em where weather delayed pre-ems but very few of these.

West Midlands. crops just keep growing with early sown now with three to four tillers on them. Later sown crops are all at three leaf stage. Wet now with water standing in some fields.
Mildew: trace levels on early sown Grafton and Leeds.
Aphids: easy to find on non Deter dressed crops.
Frit fly: damage common in crops following winter oats particularly in south of region.
Slugs: some grazing still occuring . Nowhere damaging yet.
Weed control: good flush of broad leaf weeds where no pre-ems applied.

North East. Cooling down from a warm spell. Average temperature for the week was 11.2 degrees. Crops range from just emerging through to two tillers.
Aphids: none seen yet.
Slugs: still active in a few places.
Weed control: post emergent herbicide for the control of blackgrass is the focus now. Pre –emergence working well on resistant black grass.  Good seed beds have helped the efficacy.

Winter Oilseed Rape 

South. Crops range from 5-6 true leaf up to 7-8+ leaves. Crops continue to grow relatively unchecked in response to continuing warm days and nights.
Phoma: has increased in any crops yet to receive a fungicide. Having thought that many crops would escape with a single fungicide this autumn, the recent change to very unsettled and wet conditions will now require a 2-spray approach to combat both Phoma and Light leaf spot on all varieties with poorer disease ratings.
Light Leaf Spot: none seen to date.
Aphids: Myzus persicae nymphs were being found in most crops around 2 weeks ago – all susceptible varieties (ie. NOT Amelie) have now been sprayed in conjunction with Phoma sprays.
Slugs: crops have grown away from further damage.
Weed control: significant flush of blackgrass in many fields where there is a history of the weed. Too wet to travel.

Eastern Counties. Good ground cover by sturdy plants with thick stems. Many crops now loosing lower leaves and ‘opening up’. Plants at 8 to 10 leaf stage.
Phoma: has developed rapidly in crops where spraying had been delayed.
Light Leaf Spot: none seen so far.
Aphids: all crops now sprayed with either Plenum or Biscaya for aphid and hence TuYV control
Weed control: no propyzamide applied yet but all recommendations in place and planned. Expect to start mid- Nov.

East Midlands. Crops still have a large ground cover with good weed suppression.
Phoma: levels have increase slightly but slowly and no crops have reached 10% yet but sprays destined to go as when weather lets up.
Aphids: levels remain very low with just the odd one.
Slugs: some damage to smaller backward plants and causing plant loss and grazing on leaves of bigger plants but not a problem with these.
Weed control: propyzamide to go on with phoma spray as soon as able or when crops opens up where very thick.

West Midlands. Crops continue to grow in these mild temperatures and many have complete ground cover.
Phoma: levels increasing in current wet conditions.
Aphids: more common on farms with potatoes in the rotation. More evident further east. Parasitised aphids are quite common.
Weed control: cleavers emerging. Still too warm to start applying Kerb.

North East. Crops establishing well across all fields. Growth ranges from 4 to 8 leaves.
Phoma: starting to be seen more easily now.
Slugs: low levels of activity only.
Pigeons: beginning to flock.
Weed control: post emergent working  well with good percentage kills on blackgrass.

Winter Barley.

South: Crops range from GS 11 to 22 now. Disease levels remain low.
Eastern: Most crops are in and a lot emerging. Most forward crops at GS 22.
West Midlands. Most forward crops at 2 tiller stage. Net-blotch and mildews just starting to appear in some crops. Manganese deficiency showing in a lot of crops.
East Midlands. Crops look well but manganese is showing and await weather to settle down for manganese applications. Crops remain free of disease.
North East. Most crops at GS 13 forward crops GS22. Crops remain free of disease.