Heavy rain on Sunday (November 17) and Monday (November 18) of this week has brought field work to a halt on tillage farms across the country.
Teagasc tillage specialist, Shay Phelan, has confirmed that it will take at least two to three days to allow the lying water that has accumulated in fields to percolate down through soil profiles.
“The colder conditions will remain a feature of the weather for the next few days.
“A number of growers will want to get a herbicide onto late sown winter wheat crops. Farmers with oilseed rape planted out will also want to spray crops with a broad spectrum herbicide.
“The good news here, is that products like Astrokerb work more effectively under cooler conditions. The result, is better control of both grass and broadleaf weeds,” he said.
Field work
According to the Teagasc representative, the arrival of the first winter frosts will deliver a number of benefits for cereals growers.
“First off, it will slow down the movement of aphids, many of which can transmit barley yellow dwarf virus.
“We know that aphid numbers have risen over recent weeks – this was a direct consequence of the very mild weather conditions up to this point.
“The greater the number of aphids, the higher will be the barley yellow dwarf virus pressure on newly planted cereal crops,” Phelan explained.
Winter crops are “looking well are looking well for the most part”, according to Phelan, with both “mildew and net blotch having been identified in early-sown crops of winter barley. This is particularly the case in sheltered sites”.
“However, the colder weather should act to kill-off these disease threats,” he added.
Meanwhile, Teagasc is estimating a 60,000ha winter wheat planting area for the 2024/2025 season.
Where other cereal options are concerned, the projected figures are as follows: Winter barley, 50,000ha; winter oats, 12,000ha; winter oilseed rape, 10,000ha and winter rye, 2,000ha.
Seed availability is not an issue over recent weeks. There were significant stocks of seed already on farm, left over from 2023/2024. New season seed has also available is significant quantities.
The dry weather of recent weeks has ensured winter cereal planting levels that are on a par with 2022, and there is a growing prospect of this threshold being exceeded.
Official planting winter cereal planting figures for the 2024/2025 season will be published over the coming days.