CROP CRACK - 18.08.07
By WENDY FEARON
Clarendon Agricare - Spring Barley Ripens

The recent unsettled weather seems to have encouraged spring barley crops to ripen and many crops have been sprayed with a pre harvest glyphosate treatment.

The weather has not been what we would like for harvesting and every available opportunity must be taken. A start has been made to both winter wheat and oilseed rape harvest. It is advisable to leave ground unploughed after rape harvest for as long as possible to allow seeds to germinate which can be sprayed off before sowing a winter cereal crop.

POTATOES

As spraying opportunities have been limited recently, spray intervals have been unavoidably stretched. It is important to include a wetter in the spray tank at present as this will improve the retention of the contact actives to the leaf surface especially protectant fungicides which remain on the leaf surface. Growers should continue to maintain fungicide protection of the haulm until the crop is harvested or the haulm is 100% desiccated. Timely desiccation is an essential part of good seed and ware production.

Diquat is the most widely used farmer applied chemical desiccant .The rate of haulm desiccation is slow and therefore fungicide protection should continue after application.Electis, Shirlan,Invader and Option can be mixed with Reglone.Even after two split applications of Reglone certain varieties of potatoes are difficult to burn off completely and be certain no regrowth will appear. Spotlight Plus is a new desiccant recommended for use after a 7 day interval as a follow up T2 treatment to the T1 application of Reglone and gives complete kill of any stems remaining and stolons below the ground but it is poor on leaves.

PROPIONIC ACID/CEREALS

Propimax is a liquid preservative which prevents deterioration of stored grain caused by moulds and other bacterial activity. For grain to store safely the moisture content must be below 15%.Higher moisture levels will allow fungal activity to occur causing serious spoilage and the subsequent development of mycotoxins posing a serious risk both to stock and the consumer. The addition of Propimax adds to the energy value of the grain. One tonne of Propimax on 100 tonnes of grain gives an additional energy value equivalent to 1.5 tonnes of barley.

With Propimax treatment, harvesting can take place when there is still surface dampness on the grain. Harvesting can start earlier in the morning and continue later in the evening, giving a quicker more flexible harvest.

GRASSLAND RESEEDING

The production of top quality grass requires successful establishment and a clean, weed free start. Treatment with either Roundup Biactive or Roundup Gold will eliminate the old grass sward and provide long term control of perennial weeds such as scutch and docks. It may be applied either before cutting silage (pre cut) or to the regrowth after cutting (post cut).

PRE-CUT Grass crops can be sprayed in August and September before they are either cut for silage or grazed. Ideally the grass to be cut for silage should be between 30-60cm (1-2ft) in height. The grass may be grazed or cut for silage from 5 days after applying Roundup. Neither the acceptability by livestock nor the feed value of treated grass is affected.

POST-CUT After cutting or grazing allow a period of 3-6 weeks before spraying. It is important to realise that although Roundup kills the roots of old docks, seedlings may develop from seed lying dormant in the soil. These can be killed with a selective herbicide in the autumn.

Re-seeds should be treated as soon as possible for annual dicotyledons with Alistell or Redlegor.Both are clover safe and should be applied to clovers after 1 trifoliate leaf and grass after 2 fully expanded leaves.Alistell is most effective on chickweed and also controls a variety of other weeds at the seedling to young plant stage.Redlegor gives no control of chickweed but will control a variety of weeds including buttercup.

GRASSLAND WEED CONTROL

Early autumn is a good time to achieve dock control. In the autumn docks revert back to vegetative growth. This improves translocation of products such as Doxstar and Dockmaster.The result of improved translocation is better root control. An autumn application is especially important where regrowth has occurred following a spring herbicide treatment. This prevents the regrowing segments of the root from re-establishing before next spring.

Ragwort is a poisonous weed not normally eaten by stock but after treatment with hormone weed killers such as 2,4D or MCPA it becomes more palatable. For this reason the best time to spray ragwort is in the autumn as this gives the weed plenty of time to die and allows a check for the efficacy of the treatment before allocating fields for silage or hay. The addition of a wetter with 2,4D improves the chemical uptake giving better control.