Content previously published in the Farmers Guardian
It’s getting wet underfoot in Cumbria following 53mm of rain in the first 10 days of June. By Cumbrian standards that’s not a huge amount, but it’s meant a stop-start time on farm, with about one spraying opportunity a week in the last three weeks.
We’re seeing the impact of where growers haven’t been able to spray fungicides on wheat in a timely fashion with yellow rust visible in crops. Flag leaf sprays were organised, but it was either blowing a gale or wet and many growers have been delayed by at least a week, and suddenly perfectly clean crops had a yellow tinge.
Yellow rust is a disease we’re not really used to seeing in our region, but it is quite prevalent with a long list of varieties infected, including Bamford, Beowulf, Champion, Solitaire and Typhoon.
In a livestock area, where the priority is getting a big heap of good quality forage harvested whole crop, what appears top of the Recommended List on yield should not necessarily by the priority when choosing a variety. Yet most growers seem to be led by the RL, even though there are varieties with good disease resistance, like Arnie, Extase and one of Agrovista’s varieties, Mindful, which have hardly any septoria or yellow rust.
I expect growers in my region to change away from the yellow rust susceptible varieties next season – not least because it looks likely that a T3 will be required even where crops will be whole cropped, which is not normal.
The majority of spring barley crops – our most important arable crop – are looking quite good, although some have the telltale signs of barley yellow dwarf virus affecting tillers, which is probably a knock on from infected winter cereal crops. As usual, there is no pattern to infection where infection can be one field with another next door unaffected.
I haven’t been treating with insecticide. Pyrethroids only give about three days persistence, even without the possibility of resistance, while killing beneficials. With lots of ladybirds and other beneficial insects around, I’ve been reluctant to recommend spraying.
Second cuts of silage are being taken, with growers that took early heavy first cuts still getting a reasonable amount of grass. Early drilled maize under film is already knee-high, which is a good omen, while later May drilled crops are already popping the film now. Crops not grown under plastic are more variable – some good, others stressed and struggling as a result of low temperatures and cold easterly winds.
Simon Nelson advises farmers on a wide range of arable and forage crops across Cumbria and into south-west Scotland.