The growth and development achieved by a cereal crop during the first 30 days post-planting will determine the final yields that are achieved.
The was the core message delivered by independent agronomist and soil specialist, Neil Fuller, during his presentation to the recent Seedtech Open Day.
“The latest winter barley crops, for example, have the potential to deliver yields of up to 24t of dry matter [DM] per hectare.
“But all of this hinges on plants expressing themselves fully by the time they reach the third-leaf stage, or the 30-day mark.
“Up to that point, the crop may have lost half of its yield potential due to the weather not playing ball. After that, it’s a case of managing the crop in ways that minimise further losses,” he said.
Cereal crop management
Fuller also confirmed that genetic improvement is improving the performance potential of modern cereal varieties at an exponential rate.
This is impacting in two ways. Modern varieties have an inherently better potential to high yields; they also have an inherently high resistance to viral and fungal attack.
But it is the first 30 days of growth that are key in determining final crop performance.
“And this is all about the encouragement of root growth,” Fuller continued.
“Traditional ploughing opens up the soil to oxygen. This, in turn, helps to mineralise the organic fraction of the soil.
“Newly planted crops can then make direct use of the available nitrogen [N] and phosphorous [P] that will be available to them under these circumstances.
“The end result is enhanced root and plant growth.”
Min-till or direct drilling
For farmers looking to transition to min-till and direct drilling establishment systems, there are a number of ‘growth boosting’ opportunities that can now be availed of.
One is to place very small quantities of protected P and N into the seed bed.
“These fertilisers are available,” Fuller commented. “The application rate is in the region of 10kg/ha.
“Coating cereal seed with live bacteria is another option. Once planted the seed and the bacteria develop a symbiotic relationship.
“The growing plant feed the bacteria with what best be described as a form of probiotic. Meanwhile, the bacteria act to fend-off pathogens in the soil while also encouraging root growth.”
Neil Fuller is also mindful of the fact that up to 70,000ha of straw will be chopped and incorporated into soils across Ireland’s entire tillage area over the coming weeks.
“This is a very large amount of organic matter for a soil to incorporate. It will very quickly diminish the levels of plant available nutrients available for the ensuing crop,” he said
“This is particularly so where the following nutrients are concerned – zinc, manganese and phosphorous. One way around this is to treat seed with the nutrients in question, pre-planting.”