Yorkshire-based Trainee Technical Manager and Agronomist, Chris Dickinson, provides support to customers and colleagues country wide taking a particular interest in cereal fungicides.
24/04/2020
Here in his first blog, he discusses some of the challenges from his first season with Agrovista.
“What a season this is turning out to be. After what appeared to be a normal September from memory, little did we know we’d have to endure Noah’s Ark conditions for nearly six months; resulting in a winter drilling campaign almost equal in length.
We now find ourselves in what can surely be called a drought, at least as far as crops are concerned, which was an unthinkable situation mid-voyage on the ‘Ark’ back in November. As a result, winter crops are beginning to struggle due to poor rooting, with most applied fertiliser yet to become available, as it’s still sat where it was placed. Therefore, visual signs of nitrogen deficiency are commonplace as you drive around the county.
This is causing a whole host of issues on farm, including increased pressure from disease and pests alike. Yellow rust has exploded nationwide, with varieties that have high RL ratings succumbing to the disease, to name just two - Zyatt and Firefly.
In what is my first season with the company, I’m learning through the help of colleagues and past trials experience how valuable the addition of an early triazole at T0 is going to be this year. Septoria pressure is on the low side and at least from a trial point of view, we would expect to see reduced response curves in any data. That said, we have a long way to go until the combines roll and it would be naïve to think the main thorn in our wheat plants won’t be an issue.
Weed control has been a tenuous task; doing a winter’s work in a much shorter window, whilst avoiding crop stress and minimising the size of tank mixes where possible. Dry weather coupled with some cold nights and colder winds hasn’t helped an already struggling oilseed rape crop. Slow growing conditions leading to a prolonged start to flowering have meant hot spots of pollen beetle have needed treatment.
On a brighter note, it seems that those winter crops that received early fertiliser and micronutrition are coping much better, with noticeably less disease pressure, so looking healthier. This correlates with those areas that have retained adequate moisture, whether that be due to soil type or establishment method.
Many spring cereals seem to have been drilled into some moisture, and generally, at least in Yorkshire, seem to be emerging ok. Although, as they head into stem elongation, they too will run into the same trouble as their winter counterparts if the heavens don’t open soon.
Moving onto trials, they’ve had to ride the weather wave too. After a difficult autumn/winter preventing establishment of some, spring work remains ongoing. Early this week we’re applying the first of our T1’s at our Draughton site, with the rest expected to follow.
All that said as I write this, we are forecast rain in approximately two hours, the first time since we disembarked the ‘Ark’, with a further three days on the cards later in the week. You won’t need me or anyone else to tell you if the said rain arrives or not. Let’s hope it does.”