Teagasc has amended both winter barley and winter wheat recommended seed rates for 2024/2025 in line with projected plant numbers.
This is in line with the altered thousand grain weights (TGWs) recorded for the current planting season.
The beginning of October marks the start of a major push to get winter barley and wheat crops drilled.
Recommended seed rates
Teagasc’s latest recommendation also takes account of the reducing germination rates that can be expected as the month progresses.
For the first week of October, growers should target 280 barley plants/m2 at a sowing rate of 350 seeds/m2. The equivalent figures for winter wheat are 250 and 313.
An 85% establishment rate can be expected during this period.
On the basis of TGWs ranging from 50 to 56kg, this works out at a seed rate of 65 to 186kg/ha for barley and 146 to 165kg/ha for wheat.
The second week of October will see establishment rates fall to 80%. Target plant counts and sowing rates should be increased accordingly.
This works out at a seed rate for barley in the range 180 to 203kg/ha. The equivalent figures for wheat are: 162 to 182kg/ha.
Pre-emergence herbicides have been shown to be more effective at controlling weeds rather than post-emergence options.
Options include Firebird; Flight; Defy + DFF; Tower; or Firebird Met. There are also generic versions of the products mentioned that may help to reduce costs.
Avoid reducing rates, as this will also reduce the residual effect of the herbicide, so the length of control will be significantly shorter.
Growers should choose herbicides that will control the majority of weeds in their fields, and this may change on a field by field basis.
Over the last few months, cases of herbicide resistance with annual meadow grass to ALS herbicides such as Pacifica Plus have been confirmed. Using pre-emergence herbicides is one way of trying to prevent this from occurring.
Oilseed rape
Where winter oilseed rape crops are concerned, volunteer cereals and some grass weeds seem to be growing well at the moment, and are competing with some crops.
If these issues haven’t already been treated, any of the approved graminicides can be applied now at three-quarter to full rate – depending on the weed issue: Falcon, Fusilade Max etc.
Slugs are reported to be a problem in some rape crops, but not all. So, growers should walk all fields before applying any pellets.
Bait traps should be put out. If there are any slugs found in the traps, then treatment should be considered.
Many of the early-sown crops are at lower risk, as they are quite advanced: later-sown crops are more at risk.