Well, my early morning rain dances have finally paid off, however the god of rain must have been less than impressed with my performance with a mere 15mm overnight rather than the predicted months’ worth of rain in several hours. If you base it on the previous 2 months rain however it has exceeded its expectations…but so would 1mm have. Again, another positive is at least we didn’t have a thunderstorm deluge as I fear for some of the gargantuan barleys may decide to hug the ground as they head towards senescence. Any rain has been welcome and with a potential further 15mm on Wednesday here in North Yorkshire it may just be the shot of life some of these spring sown crops desired and a boost to some of the wheat crops hanging on by a thread.
Winter barleys are approaching the final furlong and with warm weather predicted for the rest of the week, harvest is just around the corner. I think the first combines could have a steady rise up from hibernation within the first week of July around the Vale of York, this calling will soon be heard in Ryedale and other threshing machines will follow suit. I feel the winter barleys won’t have suffered as badly from the recent drought and as a result have high hopes for yields as crops look reasonably well, one thing’s for sure there will be plenty of straw to keep the stockmen happy!
Winter wheats are holding on with most crops now displaying full ears, T3 applications have started to go on this last week based around tebuconazole with the inclusion of prothioconazole for my milling growers. I have had many conversations around the need of T3 applications this year on farm due to the dry conditions however I have gone with my gut and decided to go ahead. Harvest is still hopefully a long way off and with disease pressures this year being high and challenging I feel that the justification is there for a T3.
Oilseed rape crops are now at final pod sizes and as a result some fields will be getting a pod sealant treatment to help ease the risk of seed shedding. The long and varied flowering period will inevitably bring mixed ripening periods and a pod sealant will help mitigate some of the risk.
Maize crops once germinated have revelled in the warm bright conditions and are motoring through the growth stages, the recent rain will only hasten their progress. Following on from the pendimethalin pre-emergence spray all my crops will get a post emergence spray around the 3-4 leaf stage based around formasulfuron + iodosulfuron to tidy up any grass and broadleaved weeds lurking within the rows.
Fodder and sugar beets as with above have started to grow away nicely once they had got over the trouble of emergence and threats posed by mangle fly. Herbicide programmes have worked extremely well, and focus shifts on to blackgrass and ryegrass control.
Spring linseed has had a torrid time here in getting itself established and due to its vulnerable state are yet to receive any further herbicide follow treatments, hopefully the rain will help strengthen crops so that SU mixes can be applied with minimal risk to crops. If not, we could see fields of poppies on light sandy land, oh what a joy!
As the crop walking season draws to an end, even though I love my job I can’t quite say that’s it’s been a walk in the park. The shifts in weather we are experiencing year on year certainly throw plenty of curve balls throughout the season however as your drive around the countryside and blank out the well cultured blackgrass crops, potential looks strong and a couple of well-timed light showers will help keep them on target.
