CROPS MANAGEMENT - FEBRUARY
Spring cereal varieties
The DARD Recommended Cereal Varieties booklet for 2004 will be available from 23 February 2004 at your local DARD Development Centre. The Spring Barley Recommended List for 2004 sees the introduction of two new varieties.
Static is living up to its name and staying at the top of the list, with its large grain and average specific weight. It is short strawed, with average standing power and low straw yields.
Riviera continues to be generally recommended but its yields have been declining over the last few years in relation to other varieties on the List. However with very large grain, high specific weight and high straw yields this variety continues to remain a popular choice with local growers.
Annabell and Cellar remain on the List as special recommendations. Cellar is an early variety with large grain and average specific weight. Annabell's special recommendation is due to concern over its poor resistance to leaf blotch. However despite this, Annabell produced one of the highest treated yields and the highest straw yield on the Recommended List.
Cocktail, promoted onto the List last year, continues to produce very high treated and untreated yields. With good resistance to mildew and leaf blotch, Cocktail should appeal to growers as a low maintenance variety. It produces average sized grain with a high specific weight, while its very short straw produces low straw yields. Kirsty also remains provisionally recommended for a second year. It produces small grain with average specific weight and is intermediate to ripen. Kirsty has good resistance to mildew but quite poor resistance to leaf blotch, while its medium length straw produces moderate straw yields.
Doyen becomes provisionally recommended for the first time and sets a new benchmark for spring barley yield performance. It has excellent resistance to mildew and quite good resistance to leaf blotch, and, despite being short, has average standing power. It produces average sized grain with average specific weight and is late to ripen. Beryllium also becomes provisionally recommended for the first time. It produces large grain with low specific weight, is intermediate to ripen, and has short straw with good standing power. Beryllium has good resistance to mildew and quite good resistance to leaf blotch.
Chalice has become outclassed due to its declining yields in comparison to new varieties.
Seed potato management
Whatever the source, growers should check the quality of their seed potatoes prior to planting, both for disease and sprouting capacity. This will give an indication of whether the seed is fit for planting or if any additional fungicide treatments are required.
Carry out a hot-box test
A hot-box test will reveal rotting and sprouting problems in a seed lot. This technique involves taking a sample of 100 tubers from each seed lot and placing them in warm, (15 to 20oC), humid conditions for 10 to 14 days. These conditions provide the ideal environment for stimulating disease and sprout development. In a good seed sample at least 98% of the tubers should produce strong sprouts with no rots at the end of the test period. Any sample with more than 2% rots should be discounted for use as seed.
Managing seed on the farm
An often-overlooked area of seed management is handling of seed during and after delivery from the seed producer's cold store. The two main dangers are frost and condensation.
Growers should ensure that seed is not at risk from frost during transport to the farm. Seed leaving a cold store will be at 3-4oC and if it is stored in warmer conditions on the ware grower's farm there is a high risk of condensation forming on the seed. To avoid these problems seed should be placed in a cool, frost protected environment as soon as it arrives on the farm and positively ventilated for at least 48 hours to remove surface moisture.
Having ordered seed remember to specify the intended date of delivery to your farm. Where cold storage facilities are available on farm, sprouting can be controlled. However in the absence of cold storage a later delivery date from the supplier's cold store will help control sprout development and tubers can be delivered 6 weeks pre-planting and chitted if desired.
Soil Sampling
Growers are again reminded of the importance of having up-to-date soil analysis to help plan their fertiliser requirements.
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