July Cropnotes 2009.
I have recorded 40mm (1.6”) of rain in June, less than any of you who managed to catch some of the hefty storms that passed over last month.
Take-all is showing up early in some of the second wheats and it will be worth checking soil pH and nutrient status in the affected areas to see if there are inherent problems.
Aphid have been only a sporadic problem to date and with crops approaching cheesy ripe thresholds will start to rise to an average of 15per ear.
Oilseed Rape: Crops are maturing rapidly as these notes are written. Many crops are variable this year and this will make desiccation timing pretty tricky.
Glyphosate: It is probably better to be a bit late on the better and more forward parts of the field rather than way too early on the backwards parts. Do not use on seed crops
Reglone: Faster acting than Glyphosate. Later spray timing may well mean forward parts of field shed seed when sprayer passes through. OK for seed crops. Not effective on perennial weeds.
Swathing: Some crops are short and are branched very low to the ground and are consequently unsuitable for swathing which may have otherwise been the chosen pre-harvest technique.
Beans: Black bean and pea aphid colonies have been sprayed in many spring bean crops. If the crops are still showing flower and pod development is continuing, there may still be a benefit in applying an aphicide where the infestation threshold exceeds one colonised plant in ten, especially if the crop is to be treated with a fungicide. Once the upper pods are pencil thick, there is unlikely to be a response to aphid control.
Sugar Beet: Weed beet and bolter control is going to be a major task this month, as the problem seems to get worse every year. Where there are too many weedy beet to rogue then weed wiping or cutting are the only options. Modern wipers are less risky to use than the old wick types, but still care is needed not to damage crops. Do not try and use them less than 10cm above the crop. Wiping operations should start now before the bolted stems get lignified, but try and avoid periods when crops are wilting. Cutting should not start until later this month until after flowering.
Cereal Varieties: Below are a few comments on the new and established wheat and barley varieties in trial this year.
Group 1 & 2 Wheat:
Gallant, newly recommended, is a group 1 variety with yields some 5% higher than Solstice. Good standing with moderate disease resistance. Its yields challenge most of the group 2 varieties, so it should in time displace both Solstice and Cordiale. Like Cordiale it is early maturing.
Panorama, also newly recommended is a group 2 variety with quality at the lower end of the group. It yields some 3% higher than Einstein with similar grain qualities. Good standing and reasonable disease resistance.
Ketchum only has moderate straw strength and not enough yield or quality to attract.
Qplus looks a little short on yield, but is the only group 2 to have blossom midge resistance.
Scout is a newly recommended group 3 wheat with yields at the Robigus level. It has stiff straw and good disease resistance and grain quality similar to Claire, but it is not suitable for distilling. Like Claire it is slow developing and may be suitable for early drilling. It is ok as a second wheat.
Feed wheats:
Oakley sits at the top of the HGCA treated yields at 107%. It is susceptible to the new race of yellow rust, but since it has always required a robust fungicide programme this should not be too much of an obstacle to the variety. It is blossom midge resistant, but only has moderate specific weight. It is a hard feed variety that performs as both first and second wheat.
JB Diego yields just below Oakley. It is tall, but has stiff straw. Disease resistance is mixed and it yields well as a second wheat.
Duxford is a hard milling feed. It has yielded particularly well as a second wheat. It has stiff straw and moderate disease resistance. Do not sow early.
Grafton yields 3% behind Oakley. Mixed disease resistance and its short stiff straw with slow development mean that this variety is promoted for early drilling. Yields well as second wheat.
Humber has had a couple of tough seasons and will need to do well this season to hold on to its market share. It is susceptible to the new race of yellow rust.
Winter Barley:
Wintmalt is no longer approved by the malsters. This leaves only the established Flagon, Pearl and Cassata as potential winter malting varieties. Contracts for Maris Otter appear to be as common as hens’ teeth at the moment.
Flagon and Cassata both yield at the 99% level with Cassata having the stiffer straw and BYMV resistance. Flagon tends to higher specific weight and lower screenings and lower nitrogen than Cassata.
Pearl yields at 96% and is a known quantity to the malsters.
Oilseed Rape:
With some 60 varieties in the HGCA recommended list trials the list below is a highly selective pick.
Hybrids
PR46W21 top yielding recommended variety at 108%. Good standing but, disease sus.
Dimension 107% yield. Good standing.
Flash 106%. Moderate straw strength, sus to stem canker.
Compass, candidate variety 109% yield. Stiff straw, sus to stem canker.
Conventional varieties
Vision 105%, top recommended conventional variety.
Catana candidate 105% Weak straw and sus to stem canker.
Castille 103%. Established variety with good standing and short straw. Its stem canker resistance has declined to a 6.
Lioness 103% .Good lodging resistance, but has given variable trial yields.
ES Astrid 101%. Looking a little short on yield now.
DK Cabernet, candidate 111%. Definitely one to watch. Tall, but good standing.
Krypton, candidate 109%. Late flowering tall variety with good standing.
Mike Thompson
01760 755663
07831 468442