Spring has arrived and tillage farmers are now entering one of their busiest times of the year, from a field work perspective.

Winter cereals are moving their growth stages at an accelerated rate while, at the same time, spring crops need drilling.

Crops are starting to move again with many cases having already received its first application of fertiliser.

Early drilled crops of Joyau are approaching GS 30 and are due an application of a plant growth regulator (PGR) in the coming days or weeks.

This week, there is quite a bit of frost forecast so avoid frosty nights if applying any PGRs. Options include CCC + Moddus, which can work well at this time of year.

Where trace elements deficiencies occur, now is a good time to apply those as well.

Growers should always be careful where tank mixes include multiple active ingredients at this time of year, as crops can be scorched quite easily, so if in doubt split up applications and leave a few days between passes.

The main split of nitrogen will be applied on those advanced crops at typically GS 30/31. This split should account for approximately 50% of the total nitrogen for the crop.

Tillage farmers

Most crops are now receiving their first application of a compound fertiliser in the coming weeks or so. Where possible, consider using slurries as a source of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).

There are a number of tillage farmers who are now spreading slurry on winter wheat in the spring and subsequently reducing the amount of chemical fertiliser needed to grow the crop.

Where slurry is being used, growers should make sure to get it analysed so that they can accurately calculate how much slurry is required.

Specifically, where nitrogen is concerned, Teagasc recommends the following application splits: one-quarter, one-half and one-quarter. 

So, depending on the nitrogen level in the slurry you can supply that first nitrogen in the form of slurry.

Winter oilseed rape (OSR) crops are recovering well and are approaching green bud stage at the moment. Grazed crops will need an application of nitrogen to try to achieve a Green Area Index (GAI) of 3.5 at the start of flowering.

The amount of nitrogen required will be determined by the current GAI of the crop. Nitrogen application rates that are relevant for this time of the year range from 70kg to 120kg/ha.