Crop Crack

The localised heavy showers last week have taken their toll on all crops. Some winter barley crops have been harvested over the last few days with yields yet to be reported .Premature senescence of winter wheat, oats and spring barley will see harvest earlier than expected in these crops. Potato and veg crops are now growing well.

Potatoes

Where crops have reached the end of rapid haulm growth and canopy growth has begun to stabilize good protection may be achieved with fungicides such as Invader, Infinito, Ranman and Revus. OPTION which is straight cymoxinil may be tank mixed with any of these products to achieve better kickback. Curzate has good curative activity and may be tank mixed if the spray interval is stretched. Where crops are at full canopy growers must pay very close attention to ensure water volumes, spray pressure and nozzle selection are correct to maximize spray penetration of the haulms and reduce spray drift.

Cereals – Pre-Harvest Treatment

Most winter barley crops have now been dessicated . The cold wet winter and spring made effective weed control very difficult to achieve, allowing grasses and broad-leaved weeds to come back into crops. Therefore a lot of green material is present in many crops. Add to this the presence of slower ripening secondary tillers bringing green straw and green pickles, the pre harvest application of glyphosate will continue to be a critical tool to assist the efficiency of harvesting this season.Note however, do not use glyphosate on any crops where the harvested grain may be used in the future as seed. Whilst most of the generic glyphosate products are based on an isopropylamine salt plus ethoxylated tallow amine surfactant (ETA formulations), ROUNDUP ENERGY is a potassium salt formulation of higher concentration with a completely different type of surfactant – ie a completely different product with different rates of use and different characteristics in the field.

And even the ETA formulations are not the same; the level of surfactant is not declared and varies between products from as low as 9% up to 16% inclusion rates, meaning variability in performance here also. Putting less in obviously means less cost to produce, but also less effective in the field.

The potassium salt is taken up significantly faster than the IPA salt; as a result ROUNDUP ENERGY is rainfast within 1 hour of application and cultivation can commence as soon as 2 days after application whereas the ETA glyphosate products need a minimum of 6 hours to be rainfast and 5 days minimum before cultivating.

Timing of application

Application should be made once the grain moisture gets down to 30% or below, ideally 10-14 days (and not less than 7 days) before cutting. An easy and reliable test to estimate this 30% moisture level is to press the thumbnail into a number of grains; if the indentation holds on all the grains the crop is ready for spraying.

Where a pre-harvest treatment is not made, it may prove necessary to spray the stubble later to control scutch. As temperatures drop later in the season and conditions become more marginal, ROUNDUP ENERGY is the only effective means of controlling scutch into the back end. It should not be applied until the scutch has at least 6 inches of new growth – the more green leaf that is present at application then the more glyphosate that will be taken into the roots and therefore the better the kill will be.

Propionic Acid Treatment

As harvest begins the most widely used grain preservative, Propionic acid, will be in demand. Propionic acid when applied to moist grain prevents moulds and bacterial activity. It also prevents deterioration, loss of dry matter, nutrition loss and removes the associated health hazard to grain handlers, livestock and the end user.

One tonne of Propionic acid on 100 tonnes of grain gives an additional energy value equivalent to 1.5 tonnes of barley. Therefore as well as preserving the grain it adds significantly to its energy value. The use of Propionic gives the grower greater flexibility at harvest, especially if the grain has a higher than desirable moisture content. If the weather is inclement at harvest Propionic acid offers a sense of security to the grower through its flexible application rates.Over the last few years the benefits of increased starch in the diet of dairy cows have been shown. The most noticeable is the improvement in milk protein percentage, resulting from the breakdown of starch in the rumen to Propionic acid. In order to take advantage of the benefits of increased cereal feeding and the inherent cost benefits, many farmers are making use of home grown cereals in a number of ways: whole crop wheat, maize silage, crimped cereals, dried grain or rolled moist grain. However one of the main problems arising from this increased storage and use of home grown cereals is the growth of moulds and the subsequent development of mycotoxins. Propimax is pure Propionic acid, a natural organic acid, which also occurs in the animal’s digestive system. It halts all mould growth when applied to moist grain.If a product can be augered it can be treated – barley, wheat, oats, maize, peas – whole or rolled it makes no difference.

Propionic acid has an energy value of 1.5 times that of barley so as well as preserving the grain it also adds to its energy value. With Propionic acid treatment, harvesting can take place when there is still surface dampness on the grain, dew or rain. Harvesting can start earlier in the morning or after rain and continue later at night, giving a quicker more flexible harvest, which leaves extra time for autumn cultivations. By harvesting before grain is fully ‘ripe’ a higher yield is also obtained, reduced shedding losses may save 200kg per hectare.

Natural vitamin E levels in moist grain, whether treated or not, are destroyed during storage. When moist grain forms a major part of the diet a mineral/vitamin supplement high in vitamin E should be used.

Propionic treated grain can be stored simply on a dry floor. It should not be stored with untreated grain.

Propionic Acid application Rates

Timing of application

Application should be made once the grain moisture gets down to 30% or below,  ideally 10-14 days (and not less than 7 days) before cutting.  An easy and reliable test to estimate this 30% moisture level is to press the thumbnail into a number of grains; if the indentation holds on all the grains the crop is ready for spraying.

Where a pre-harvest treatment is not made, it may prove necessary to spray the stubble later to control scutch.  As temperatures drop later in the season and conditions become more marginal, ROUNDUP ENERGY is the only effective means of controlling scutch into the back end.   It should not be applied until the scutch has at least 6 inches of new growth – the more green leaf that is present at application then the more glyphosate that will be taken into the roots and therefore the better the kill will be.

Grain Store Hygiene

Now is the time to make grain stores ready for the coming harvest.  Pest problems in stored grain arise from within the store itself, so a good clean-out is essential to minimise the carry-over of grain beetles, weevils and mites. The store should be empty and thoroughly cleaned before any treatment is carried out,  removing all traces of grain and dust that might harbour insects or mites.

Apply using a knapsack to spray all surfaces including underside of roof and floor, concentrating especially on areas where dust can collect – cracks, light fittings, around equipment etc.

Grassland Weed Control

Weeds are directly competitive with grass and in many cases reduce the nutritional value of the sward.   Annual weeds are most commonly a problem in getting a reseed established but thankfully few persist once the sward has been grazed or cut.   The most common weed that this does not happen with is common chickweed.  Chickweed will reduce dry matter and slows wilting.  Redshank is also present in almost all reseeds and those fields which contain clover yet have a chickweed and redshank infestation may be treated with Triad.  Docks are a perennial weed and have large leaves and substantial tap roots which they can readily regrow if defoliated.  Docks thrive in high nitrogen conditions and along with chickweed need to be treated every year to ensure good control.

Where possible weed infested grass fields should be treated as soon as possible.   Forefront, Doxstar and Pastor will give good control of docks but will not check the growth the grass but are not safe to clover. Use high water volumes to ensure good coverage i.e. 300-400lt/ha.  Gorse should be sprayed now.   Use Grazon 90 and ensure good plant coverage using a knapsack or hand lance on a tractor mounted sprayer.  Bracken should be sprayed late July or August when it is in full frond. (When leaves are expanded).   Use Asulox and again ensure good coverage via a knapsack and where a conventional tractor sprayer is being used to treat large areas, use high water volumes at least 400l/ha.

I think it would be fair to say the warm sunny days over the last couple of weeks make farming a much more pleasant occupation. It has been a long time from I have seen so much good hay made in the country. Some crops are now under drought stress and extreme care must be taken when spraying. Crops have moved rapidly through the growth stages and consideration should now be given to pre-harvest treatments of glyphosate on winter barley. Winter wheat crops have been badly affected with dry conditions with some crops showing take-all in a continuous situation. The continued warm weather has encouraged high populations of aphid in all crops but it is important to note that unless absolutely necessary an insecticide should not be applied as bees are very active at present.

Potatoes

Most areas of NI have received at least two blight warnings this season so far and I must emphasise the need to continue a good tight blight program as there is still a lot of moisture in the ground and heavy dew in the morning.  Due to the considerable amount of new growth being produced at present, it is essential the product being used is fully systemic to properly protect the new leaves being put on between applications.  Later planted crops are higher risk as they produce more new growth between applications than earlier planted crops, at a time when the level of inoculum in the air is progressively increasing.  Of the fully systemic fungicides, only those based on propamocarb appear to effectively control the A2-13 genotype.  INFINITO containing propamocarb and fluopicolide controls all strains of blight, with no resistant genotypes found to date.  Although it is a translaminar product, Syngenta have shown that REVUS also gives very good protection of new growth, and offers an alternative mode of activity to propamocarb.  RESPLEND (also translaminar) and also performed well in early season activity in AFBI trials over the last two years.

As the crop canopy closes across the drills, the crop starts to initiate tubers.  From this point on these daughter tubers are vulnerable to infection, so fungicide selection must also consider introducing tuber blight control, spread by zoospores being washed off any infected leaves or stems. During the main canopy development phase the rate of new growth is extremely rapid.  This places a huge uptake demand on the uptake of all nutrients, and in conditions of such rapid growth any nutrient that is limited in availability will suppress haulm growth, and as tuber initiation begins, tell the plant to form fewer tubers.  Manganese, sulphur and magnesium are three of the potentially most limiting trace elements, and timely application of these nutrients in an immediately available foliar formulation will offset this yield limiting effect.

Make sure nozzle type used is correct to ensure sprayer pressure, droplet size and water volume applied are as per the label; these factors are as important as product choice in terms of achieving good coverage of the foliage. Inspect and calibrate nozzles regularly to maintain performance. Trials have shown that fitting angled nozzles alternating to face forwards & backwards along the boom gives better coverage of the plant and significantly reduces drift.

Pre-Harvest Glyphosate

With the recent sunshine hastening the ripening of winter barley, a continuation of this decent weather will see harvesting begin within the next two or three weeks.

Thoughts will now turn to grain quality, moisture levels, and ease of harvesting. This year in particular grasses and other weeds are a real problem in many fields. Pre-harvest application of glyphosate is an essential tool to improve the efficiency of harvesting, giving a range of benefits:

• all green tissue removed – ripens any green stems, leaves and pickles so allowing cutting to start earlier in the day & continue for longer
• no green pickles reduces overall grain moisture meaning lower drying costs
• less grain lost over straw walkers caused by green material during threshing
• faster straw clearance reduces length of weather window required
• limits sprouting in laid crops
• Scutch & general weed control
• the most effective time to control scutch in tillage ground
• desiccates any other green grass & broad-leaved weeds present, facilitating lower grain moisture, faster harvesting and sooner baling of straw

Note however, do not use glyphosate on any crops where seed may be saved for re-sowing.

Independent trials carried out over a number of years in GB looking at the effect of using Roundup in various replicated treatments consistently show moisture contents being reduced by 2.0-2.5% at harvest compared to plots where no treatment is applied.

With a wide range of glyphosate products available, which offers the best performance in the field, and best value for money? First off, it is not the price per drum that should be compared. With different formulation types having different strengths of active per litre and therefore different rates of use, it is the price per acre treated that should be compared, and what level of performance is being obtained from each. ETA formulations available which include Clinic Ace, Glyfos & Gallup use ethoxylated tallow amine as the surfactant (wetter) and an isopropylamine (IPA) glyphosate salt, whereas ROUNDUP ENERGY uses a much safer transorb surfactant and a potassium salt.

ETA products de-wax the leaf surface and cause cell damage, whereas the ROUNDUP ENERGY wetter does not damage the leaf surface, so the uptake of glyphosate into the leaf is much more effective than with the ETA product, and the level of long-term kill achieved from ENERGY is significantly greater.

The potassium salt is also taken up significantly faster than the IPA salt; as a result ENERGY is rainfast within 1 hour of application and cultivation can commence as soon as 2 days after application whereas the IPA glyphosate products need a minimum of 6 hours to be rainfast and 5 days minimum before cultivating.

Application should be made once the grain moisture gets down to 30% or below, ideally 10-14 days (and not less than 7 days) before cutting. An easy and reliable test to estimate this 30% moisture level is to press the thumbnail into a number of grains; if the indentation holds on all the grains the crop is ready for spraying.

Grassland

There is still be time to spray docks in grazing and second cut silage ground. As much of the grassland acreage went untreated for weeds prior to first cut it is important to inspect fields intended for cutting and grazing in order to allow the spray interval for stock rotation.

Docks are the most damaging weed which infest our grassland farms. Over the last 5 years Forefront has been the outstanding product for controlling docks in Northern Ireland.  In addition to docks it will also control nettles, thistles, buttercups, ragwort and chickweed giving a complete clean-up in your fields.

With many fields showing the effects of the last couple of wet years, rushes have become a major issue on farm. Rushes are relatively easy and inexpensive to control.  Spray rushes when they are green and actively growing, and always add a wetter/sticker(e.g. Activator) to enhance uptake into the plant.  Due to the shape of the rush, there is always potential for spray run-off, which the wetter will help to prevent.  The most popular products for controlling rushes in Northern Ireland include Agritox and Spear.