Arable News

Continue to hold off drilling winter wheat fields where blackgrass is a worry until early October where possible, or mid-October in the worst fields, says agronomy firm ProCam.

Growers are being urged to take care when handling over-yeared seed bags, following some reports of bags ripping during movement.

With many new crops of oilseed rape already in the ground and the remainder of a predicted winter crop of just 300,000 ha following close behind, the current focus is on maximising establishment rates and safeguarding the ongoing viability of crops by reducing the competitive pressure of volunteer weeds. ADAMA’s Bill Lankford shares his thoughts on the latest herbicide advice and active ingredient recommendations.

Growers taking advantage of warm soils and good growing conditions to plant extra oilseed rape area, or with later emerging plants, should be aware of increasing cabbage stem flea beetle activity.

Getting OSR growing and away as soon as possible is vital. The emergence phase is the most vulnerable time for an OSR crop, as this is when it will face the most challenges from pests.

Bayer’s SpotCheck initiative, which helps oilseed rape growers identify light leaf spot (LLS) and other diseases in the crop, will re-open to receive leaf samples from October. The previous season saw epidemic-levels of disease so growers are advised to be alert to early signs of LLS and apply fungicides early.

Spring 2020 saw the largest area of spring cereals for many years. Although not as large an increase as in spring barley, oats saw a significant increase this year with the English crop seeing a 26% growth in plantings, according to the AHDB, with most of those appearing in spring.

With last autumn’s wet weather significantly impacting winter cereal crop establishment, many growers will be contemplating bringing this year’s drilling dates forward into late September or early October. ADAMA’s Bill Lankford therefore examines why this strategy goes against all best practice advice for controlling black-grass populations and explains why – alongside weed mapping, rotation planning, cultivation technique and herbicide programmes – delaying drilling is still one of the key tactics for beating black-grass.

With the loss of neonicotinoids forcing growers to change the way they tackle pest control in cereals and oilseed rape, pyrethroid insecticides now form the backbone of many aphid and flea beetle control programmes.

The CropTec Show 2020 is the latest show to switch to a digital format due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Farming minister Victoria Prentis has announced that the outdoor use of metaldehyde will be banned in Great Britain from the end of March 2022.

New research from the Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO) has shown that sowing spring beans this autumn could help solve the problem of short seed stocks.