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CROP CRACK 12-0-08
By WENDY FEARON
Clarendon Agricare -Showers Continue
As the showery weather continues we can’t help wonder, is it a re-run of last year. There was much talk early on in the season about abundance of straw and that now looks very unlikely. Ear wash treatments are almost complete on winter wheat. Despite recent weather conditions crops are still reasonably clean as a result of low disease pressure early in the season and timely fungicide applications.
Potato crops have grown dramatically over the last few weeks with many crops now meeting in the drills.
Consideration must now be given to a pre-harvest treatment of glyphosate onto winter barley.
Pre-harvest glyphosate treatment
Glyphosate applications provide a good opportunity to control perennial and grass weeds in cereal crops pre-harvest. The treatment will also help to accelerate senescence of the crop making the harvest earlier, combining easier, and reducing drying costs.
Crops should be treated as soon as the grain has less than 30% moisture content -hard dough, 1-3 weeks prior to harvesting with at least 7 days between spraying and harvest.Glyphosate can also be used as a harvest aid where a lot of ‘greens’ are present. Crops intended for seed should not be treated. Roundup Energy is the most effective and consistent product for this treatment. It is a complete product that does not require additional wetter to be effective, even at low rates.
Potatoes
Blight pressure has been low to date but with more consistent day and night temperatures over the last week this will definitely have changed. Be sure to use a product with curative activity if the spray interval has been stretched slightly or there is active blight around. It is important to ensure susceptible varieties to tuber blight are treated with products such as Invader, Ranman, Infinito, Shirlan or Electis in the program. As potato growth stabilizes products such as Invader or Curzate M may be applied offering both curative and protectant properties. The recent weather conditions have meant almost all growers using products to maximize curative activity.Curzate M and Invader have a “kick-back” activity, which controls infection at an early stage within the plant.
The weather has meant that slugs are now coming up onto the surface to feed, and pellets should be applied just before the crop canopies meet across the rows.
Grain Store Hygiene
As harvest is approaching it is time to clean out and treat stores to avoid any losses from pests during storage over winter. The main pests are weevils, beetles and mites, which are to be found in all grain stores. They all multiply quickly and can cause enormous damage to grain a very short time.
When the grain store is empty before harvest, clean out the old grain, dust and any other debris, which harbor insects. Use of an industrial vacuum cleaner makes the cleaning easier and much more effective. After cleaning, spray all surfaces of buildings, silos and equipment with Actellic 50 EC taking care to treat all crevices and joints.
The next crop crack will appear Saturday 2nd August.
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