Tillage
Late October and early November is an ideal time to walk crops to assess establishment rates and the effectiveness of weed control.
For the most part, winter oilseed rape crops sown out during the month of August, have emerged with tremendous vigour.
The coming weeks will provide a key window to control problem weeds that could otherwise create headaches in autumn-drilled cereal crops.
Grass
One very significant impact of the 2026 drought now becoming apparent is the significant growth of dock populations in all grassland areas.
Dairy
Given the conditions, grass is still growing rapidly with growth rates still up and over 80kg DM)ha, but that means weeds are thriving too.
A debate is fast evolving on how best to secure optimal weed control in forage maize crops grown under Irish conditions.
It has been confirmed that the area of planted maize recorded in Ireland this year has come in at around 55,000ac.
With the weather conditions finally taking a turn for the better, grass growth is up, but unfortunately so is weed growth.
N.Ireland
Members of a CAFRE Business Sustainability Group had the recent opportunity of walking winter wheat and barley crops in Co. Down.
Opinion
The promise of better weather coming our way this week will, no doubt, unleash, a field work frenzy throughout Ireland’s tillage sector.
Preventing winter barley crops from succumbing to the threat of manganese deficiency is now a field work priority.
Tillage farmers urged to get grassland weeds controlled in winter barley as soon as ground conditions permit.
Teagasc tillage specialists point out that an autumn herbicide application is the most reliable way to control annual meadow grass
Teagasc is confirming the importance of securing effective weed control in newly planted autumn-sown cereal crops.
Now is an ideal time to walk crops to assess establishment rates in winter cereals and the effectiveness of weed control measures.
Machinery
A computer operated spot spraying system, specifically designed to target individual weeds in grass swards, is now available
Weed control can often prove a difficult task at this time of the year as when grass growths really begin to get going, weeds can spring...
In the last few weeks, growth rates have improved drastically and with that has been the emergence of docks in grassland swards which....
Usually as grass growth begins to takes off on farms and soil temperatures rise, weed control can become a difficult and sometimes...
Tillage specialist Shay Phelan has confirmed that shoot numbers are the key arbiter of spring barley yields.
Securing effective weed control now in autumn-sown cereals is critically important. But it's a case of selecting the right herbicide mix.
Annual meadow grass and sterile bromes can significantly impact on the yield potential of newly planted winter cereals, if not controlled now
Securing effective autumn weed control in newly established cereal crops is crucially important if optimal yields are to be secured
