Key factors affecting Maize agronomy this spring

Seedbeds – key points – soil temps – texture of seedbed etc

Key weeds in Maize

Herbicide timings

Key benefits of the major actives available.

Advantages or disadvantages of Pre ems – what do we use?

Nutrition – key elements and what do they do – how important are they in the current season

With the sudden move from 6 months of rain to a month of dry, preparation for maize drilling and indeed drilling itself has commenced in most places. With the very recent rains offering an opportunity to drill maize into fine, firm and moist seedbeds, the conditions are supreme - both for crop establishment and efficacy of any residual herbicides such as PDM or PDM mixtures such as Wing P.

Please make sure that the soil temperatures in your area is consistently above 8°C and there are no frosts in the forecast before drilling!

A pre-em application of pendimethalin will reduce pressure on any post-emergent application and targets many broadleaved weeds alongside annual meadow grass. If the opportunity arises and conditions are right, this is good insurance.

There are also post-emergent options to control further BLW and grassweed ingress – these can be tailored to fit depending on any previous pre-ems. Its important to understand the weeds you’re targeting in order to optimize the product choice, rate and efficiency.

Maize tap roots have the potential to grow as far downwards as maize grows upwards, but they need to be able to move easily so be sure to alleviate any compaction!

In order to help achieve optimum nutrient and water uptake consider an application of a zinc containing, root promoting product in a mix with the post-emergent herbicide. Maize can be very susceptible to phosphate deficiencies, again this can be added to any post emergent herbicide applications. In continuous cropping situations be aware of Eyespot infections later in the season, not to be confused with cereal Eyespot.