Prioritise work as land starts to dry

With the first dry few days of the season now upon us, it can be difficult to figure which is most urgent - drilling of spring crops or looking after the winter crops. Shay Phelan, Crops Specialist, shares a list of jobs in order of importance that will need to be completed in the coming week.

1). Apply compound fertiliser to winter wheat and oat crops

Apply compound fertiliser to winter wheat and oat crops, many crops are starting to show signs that they are getting hungry.

2). Drill, beans, spring wheat or spring oats

While ground is only starting to dry out, this is where ploughing will have a benefit as the ploughed ground will dry out quicker than min-till or direct drill. Ideally all three crops should be sown before the end of the month, conditions are more important especially with the reduced cultivation systems.

3). Top up nitrogen on oilseed rape

Many crops will start to flower in the coming days and weeks so get the main split of nitrogen onto the crops if not already done. Where you don’t have access to high clearance spreaders or access to liquid nitrogen, this will probably be the last application of fertiliser to the crop.

4). Apply the main split of nitrogen onto winter barley

Apply the main split of nitrogen onto winter barley, crops are moving into stem extension phase now and the big demand for nitrogen is only a few weeks away.

5). Tidy up weeds and growth regulators on winter barley crops

Some of the early developing varieties e.g. Joyau are now at growth stage (GS) 30 and so will benefit from a PGR application. Crops will also need a wild oat herbicide and possibly also a tidy up of broadleaf weeds plus or minus a trace element, depending on the field.

Try to split the applications in two so as not to stress the crop too much with the wild oat application going in the first application. There it can be partnered with either the broadleaf weeds or PGR, but remember to leave at least 7 days from the Axial Pro application to the following application. Also avoid frosty nights!

6). Spread organic manures

This can often be a slow job as contractors are under significant pressure at the moment, so make sure to contact the contractor in time to give them a chance to catch up on their work.

7). Drill spring barley

Ground has only just started to soak out and warm up. Spring barley likes to hit the ground running so conditions at drilling time are more important than the date.

8). Weed tidy up on wheat and oats

Many crops received nothing since they were sown so try to get weeds under control before they get too big – especially where grass weeds are a problem in wheat. It’s also a good time to apply the first application of a PGR but again watch tank mixes. Keep an eye out for yellow rust on wheat as the weather dries out for varieties like Champion, Graham etc. that are susceptible, a T0 will have to be applied.