2. What should I do about slugs?
The best control for slugs is a firm fine consolidated seed bed with the seed drilled at below 15mm. Pellet if this is not possible as attack is likely. Drier conditions favour Metaldehyde pellets in the dry form as these are cheaper. Be aware that the half life of the product is approximately 7 days in warm conditions. This means that a second application is likely to be necessary.

3. What should I be doing about losing IPU and Trifluralin?
The first thing to be concerned about is drilling and establishing the crop. It is likely that some IPU will be about and that suitable alternatives are available, all be it at a price premium for this autumn’s crops.

4. At what seed rates should I be drilling my winter crops?
Always check Thousand Grain Weight and calculate taking into account seed weight, seed bed and likely germination. In crude terms winter barley is not very responsive to seed rate and values around 160-170 kg/ha are sufficient. Winter wheat guidelines are shown below.

5. Do I need to be putting on P and K?
Check the soil indices first. Levels above 2 are likely to yield without additional P and K BUT this is not a policy to pursue annually as within 2-3 years crops will become deficient.

*These figures and information are for guidelines only*