24 January 2014. Mild wet conditions in January has meant that crops continue to grow. A cold snap in February would be welcome to control developing diseases in winter cereals and hardened up crops. Yellow and brown rust are still evident in wheat crops and it is shaping up for general purpose T0 year.

• Phoma new infections rare
• Slugs still active
• Blackgrass - outstanding herbicides need applying
• Yellow rust at low levels in most regions
• Brown rust in South

Winter Oilseed Rape 

South. With no major cold weather, crops remain very leafy.
Phoma: there has been no resurgence of Phoma spotting despite wet and mild conditions.
Light leaf spot: none seen in the field or found from leaf incubation to date.
Weed control: main priority is to complete Kerb applications which for a number of farms have been outstanding now since early December – given 24-48 hours of dry weather, most lighter fields are traveling fine, problem is lower lying and wetter fields, and these may have to be switched into Crawler now. Also still some outstanding Fox applications needed for Charlock and/or runch control.

Eastern Counties. Crops are going through the winter well. Look green following the mild weather and we are having very few problems with pigeons. Crops on some of our very light sandy soils have lost a fair bit of outer leaf and will be candidates for early nitrogen. Continues wet and it would be very difficult to carry out field work at present.
Light leaf spot: none seen.
Phoma: very little signs of fresh disease.
Weed control: Most have applied Kerb for blackgrass control - some outstanding but field conditions are very wet and there is only a week left before the cut off date. We are very pleased with the results from Centurion Max on black-grass treated fields have been followed with Kerb.

East Midlands. Crops at 4-6 true leaves and well waxed up.
Light leaf spot: none seen despite what was said in the press.
Phoma: some secondary infection is occurring with the mild temperatures.
Weed control: Astrokerb has worked well on high poppy populations. Kerb has worked well on blackgrass. Centurion Max with Kerb has killed even the hardest blackgrass – this is quite the combination – one wonders for how long though! Charlock is a concern as frost have not killed the weed off despite some crops receiving 0.5 fox to soften them up. When fields will travel if high charlock pressure will receive fox 1lt + oil.

West Midlands. All crops look well (perhaps too well) with most probably having too high a plant population. We need a really cold February to thin them out a bit.
Phoma: no new infections seen.
Weed control: Charlock and runch are the main issue as with the absence of any decent frost they are thriving, I can see no point in applying Fox until we get some decent frosts to help with the activity on these weeds, after last years experience happy to apply Fox during frosty/cold conditions.


North East. Crops continue to put on new growth and most are now at 6 leaf to 9 leaf. Average temperature for week 3.8 degrees. 13.6 mm of rain. Two frosts.
Phoma: still only at low levels.
Weed control: Charlock needs controlling.

Winter Wheat

South. With mild conditions of last month, crops continue to grow and in many cases have produced both new leaf and tillers. Most fields are too wet to travel.
Brown rust : pustules can be found in many September drilled wheats (especially Solstice, Grafton, Cordiale and Scout).
Yellow rust : evident in non-Galmano dressed crops of Solstice and Gallant.
Weed control: Weed control from residuals and/or Atlantis follow-ups is generally looking very good (high 90%) apart from the odd field with very challenging blackgrass.

Eastern Counties. Majority of crops are at the mid-tillering stage. Later sown wheats have germinated and are starting to push through thanks to the mild conditions.
Yellow rust: trace levels in Oakley.
Slugs: present after oilseed rape so keep checking backward fields for levels of potential damage.
Weed control: residual herbicides have worked well, in most cases.

East Midlands. The majority of crops are at GS 24-26 with some forward crops nearing GS 29 and there are some wheats after sugar beet or maize only at the 3-4 leaf stage. Fields are wet at present but water is draining away with the good soil conditions after the dry autumn.
Yellow rust: low levels, seen in many varieties not just the low rated ones.
Septoria: very low levels on older leaves.
Mildew: low levels.
Weed control: generally good control from pre ems as moisture at application had increased their effectiveness. Autumn Unite and Atlantis application are on for the early drilled wheat. Good effects have been seen especially when mixed with Auxillary or a PDM products.

West Midlands. Crops range from one extreme to the other with most forward crops with 6-7 tillers and far too thick to crops just emerging or at 1 -2 true leaf. The vast majority has at least 2-3 tillers.
Yellow rust: trace levels only.
Septoria: plenty in the bottom of early sown thick crops.
Mildew: frosts, those that we have had, seem to be keeping the mildew levels at acceptable levels
Weed control: Generally finding that pre/peri emergence sprays have done a very good job on broad leaved weeds with many fields clean at the moment. Min-till fields not difficult to find brome, wild oats are visible and spotted some spring germinators poking through the ground the other day. Foxtrot has annihilated all of my volunteer spring oats thank goodness (we can now tell that we do have a crop of wheat ), interestingly one block sprayed with Othello is taking much longer. Some manganese deficiency just starting to appear on light land early sown.

North East. Crops continue to grow and majority now at GS 23. Field conditions are very wet.
Yellow rust: small amount yellow rust seen in Duxford.
Mildew: at low level in some forward crops.
Septoria: first infections seen in a few crops.
Weed control: Good control weeds so far this year.

Winter Barley.

South.  Mild conditions have encouraged barley crops to produce new growth and most fields now look a healthy green rather than the sickly yellow of early December. Main disease evident is net-blotch along with some brown rust (especially Volume).
West Midlands. All looking quite well , as with the wheat the early sown crops are too forward and pretty dirty with mildew still kicking around and net blotch/ryncho visible ( very few managed to get kayak on due to the wet ), majority of the remaining crops have 2-3 tillers and are looking about right. As wheat pre ems have done a good job with just low levels of cleavers, groundsel, mayweed (mainly on headlands) and volunteer oilseed rape, all of which are small. Wild oats visible where you would expect them.
East Midlands. Crops look well and have recovered a bit from wet feet earlier on.
North East. Earliest sown now at six tiller stage. Low levels of net-blotch.