CROP MANAGEMENT NOTES JANUARY
Cereals
Winter cereal crops have generally emerged well. Growers should continue to monitor crops over the winter period for signs of slug or leather jacket damage and treat if necessary. The threat of aphids has now reduced but crops not sprayed or those sprayed very early in the season should be inspected on sunny days for signs of aphid activity. If aphids are present they should be sprayed to prevent the spread of Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus. Where autumn herbicides have not been applied every effort should be made to apply them as soon as possible after crop emergence before the weeds get too large.
Soil nutrient sampling
January is an ideal month to carry out soil sampling before any slurry or farmyard manure is applied to the fields. Soil sampling is an essential starting point when planning the fertiliser requirements of any crop. Soil samples should be taken every 4-5 years to maintain an up to date nutrient status for the field. Conacre ground should be sampled as soon as possible as there will be less historic information available and the result could be used to determine the value of the land. For example, for main crop potatoes a field with P and K indices of 2 and 0 respectively will require approximately £56/ha (£23/ac) more fertiliser than a field with P and K indices of 3 and 2 respectively to supply the same crop requirement. Also the pH level of the field will have a big effect on the success of a spring cereal crop and it is best to ensure this is correct before drilling the crop.
Machinery maintenance
Agrochemicals and fertilisers are major variable inputs in growing crops and the way they are applied has a great influence on their efficiency. It is therefore essential that the equipment used to apply them is well maintained and accurately calibrated.
Sprayers should be calibrated regularly. One of the most important areas of sprayers are the nozzles. Nozzle output should be measured to check that it is the same as the value in the calibration chart for that type of nozzle. Nozzles with a variation of more than 5% should be renewed. Having the sprayer checked through the Voluntary Initiative sprayer testing scheme would be a good way of checking it is working properly. Money spent maintaining the sprayer is money well spent as a properly calibrated sprayer will reduce wastage of agrochemicals and will improve their performance.
Fertilisers account for up to 37% of the variable cost of winter cereal production. As an indication of the efficiency of your spreader it is worth noting crop striping. This only becomes evident at application rates 20% above or below the target. Therefore fertiliser spreaders should be checked for their distribution accuracy and improvements made where necessary.
Fertiliser type and quality can affect spread patterns so it is important that good quality products are used and machines are calibrated for different products.
|
