With the harvest of 2023 still not complete in some areas, we are now quickly approaching the start of the autumn planting season.
And the prospect of a few drier days ahead should help this cause.
So, now is a good time for growers to sit down and plan out the necessary cropping schedule.
“One thing that has been obvious from this year’s harvest is that having a range of crops to harvest can certainly reduce the workload and stress at harvest, as well as spreading the risk,” Teagsc tillage specialist, Shay Phelan, commented.
“Research work from Teagasc has shown that, where good rotations are planned with appropriate crops being planted in suitable soils and suitable slots in the rotation, these are more profitable than continuous cereal cropping.
“Growers should plan out their rotation to maximise the number of first cereal crops, reduce exposure to diseases, such as Take-all or BYDV (Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus), while also looking for alternative markets or premium crops.
“Then, and only then, should they put in their seed orders.”
Seeds for the autumn planting season
According to Phelan, cereal growers should place orders for seed as soon as they have identified the varieties they need.
The reality is that there will be a significant demand for winter cereal varieties in 2023.
While there should be sufficient product to meet demand, individual growers may not get the choice of varieties they want, if they leave it late.
“Farmers should avoid sowing all of one variety again to spread the risk,” Phelan said.
“They should also be aware that thousand grain weights are higher for barley than last year – so you may need more seed than previous years.”
The recent wet weather has already delayed the start of drilling, so many farms may not start autumn drilling until next week.
Teagasc has published a list of seed rates, covering the first two weeks of October, for both barley and wheat.
For the first week of October, the target plant number per m² is 280 (barley) and 250 (wheat). This converts to a sowing rate of 350 seeds per m² (barley) and 313 (wheat). These figures are based on a projected establishment rate of 80%.
For the second week of October, the target plant number per m² is 290 (barley) and 260 (wheat). This converts to a sowing rate of 387 seeds per m² (barley) and 347 (wheat). These figures are based on a projected establishment rate of 75%.