Teagasc has confirmed that 2024/2025 winter cereal plantings are back up to levels last recorded back in the autumn of 2022.

This is a direct consequence of the dry weather that characterised all of September and the first week of October.

According to Teagasc tillage specialist, Shay Phelan: “Growers are not holding back this year, not after the fact that they got caught out so badly last autumn.

“The planting of rye crops is now completed. This week should see the drilling winter barley crops finished up.

“After that, it will be full-steam-ahead with winter wheat. Both winter barley and winter wheat crops will be drilled at Teagasc Oak Park this week.”

Seed availability is not an issue at the present time. Where winter barley is concerned, there is strong evidence confirming growers’ preference of barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) tolerant varieties.

Meanwhile, Teagasc has confirmed the benefits of cereal growers developing a comprehensive cropping plan for the 2024/25 planting season.

This approach enables the grower to strategically place the appropriate crop in the optimal location.

Factors such as crop rotation, soil type, and aspect, as well as available machinery and labour, are all crucial elements of any effective cropping strategy. Keeping a good rotation on farm is central to profitability.

Research work from Teagasc Oak Park showed that wheat grown after a break crop yielded between 11% and 19% more than wheat after another cereal.

The margin from any break crop should not be considered in isolation but rather across the entire rotation.

Wheat

Sowing wheat after break crops reduces the risk of take-all and provides the best opportunity for high yields. However, while take-all risk is reduced, early sowing still leaves it vulnerable to BYDV and grass weeds.

A field of barley

Additionally, a growing concern with the current wheat varieties is their poor resistance to septoria, a problem that is exacerbated by early sowing.

Barley

Over one-third of the seed available this autumn is likely to be a BYDV-tolerant variety.

Results from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) variety trials indicate that in the presence of BYDV, there is a benefit to using a BYDV-tolerant variety.

However, the risk from take-all remains, so delay sowing in a take-all risky slot. Seed dressings for take-all were of limited benefit in Teagasc winter barley trials.

FAO food price index /new gene research project involving wheat Rothamsted

Given the increasing risk of septoria in wheat, some growers may opt to plant winter barley after a break crop and use a BYDV-tolerant variety to increase the sowing window.