Wetter than normal weather for this time of year means that all soil types are saturated across the country, but Teagasc has advised that farmers should still plan ahead.
Michael Hennessy, head of crops knowledge transfer at Teagasc, said:
“The unseasonable weather over the past couple of weeks has resulted in waterlogged soils on most farms.
“Even though there will be very little crops planted over the next few days, there are other areas where all farmers can look to plan ahead and ensure that when the weather does improve all materials needed are in stock on the farm.”
Hennessy has warned that the “slide in grain prices over the past few weeks” dictates that financial margins for farmers are “getting tighter by the day”.
“All crops will need to achieve a high yield and/or a low cost of production to ensure any financial margin in 2023.
“So, there is no room this year to apply inputs which are not proven by independent trials to return a multiple of their costs,” he said.
According to Hennessy, farmers should make sure they know which products are essential and which products may not be as useful.
What this means in practice is that growers should not just apply the crop recommendation from the advisor without questioning every part of the recommendation to ensure there is a good return from money spent.
“This takes some effort and it may seem daunting given the array of products which may be recommended,” he said.
“But asking some pointed questions about each product and the necessity of that product maybe enough to put farmers’ minds at ease that your money is well spent.”
Winter wheat
Teagasc has confirmed that winter crops have greened up in the last 10 days and, despite the weather, are growing at a moderate level.
The earliest planted crops of winter wheat are now at or close to growth stage 30.
However, this varies quite a bit depending on when the crop was sown and also the aspect of the field. The ideal time to apply growth regulator to wheat is between growth stage 30 and growth stage 31.
Products like Moddus at 0.2 L/ha and Chlormequat Chloride (CCC) 75% at 1.0L/ha are a good option, but if there is good growth weather, just CCC 75% 2.0L/ha on its own will suffice.
According to Teasgasc there is no need to apply a fungicide at this timing to control septoria. However there are a number of varieties which you should keep an eye on for yellow rust.
There have been no reports to date of a major yellow rust outbreak but growers should walk their fields carefully and regularly if they are growing a susceptible variety.
Winter barley
Winter barley is at or close to growth stage 30 and is due to receive the balance of nitrogen in the next week to 10 days.
Teagasc also detailed that disease levels are reasonably low. However, crops such as Cassia should be watched carefully for rhynchosporium, as this can reduce the number of tillers on plants, thus reducing yield.
When using a three-spray fungicide programme in winter barley, growers should target the first fungicide application around late tillering to growth stage 30.
Winter oilseed rape
There are many winter oilseed rape crops starting to flower at the moment, which is perhaps a little earlier than normal. However, it will take a little while before any of these crops are in full bloom.
At this stage, all of the main nitrogen (N) should be applied to crops and the final application (50-60kg N/ha) will be applied to crops as late as possible, taking into account the height of the crop to help with pod fill.
Sclerotinia is the next disease to be watching out for. This, however, will not need any action until crop is at the early petal-fall stage.