Agronomy Update - March 2021

Jonny Oosthuizen - Bartholomews Agronomist

The weather at the end of last month allowed many to get back on the land and prepare for the spring ahead. March will see fertiliser applications continue and crop protection programmes initiated. Spring crops may require some residual herbicides especially in the case of spring barley where there is very few post-em grass weed options.

Drilling will commence across many areas if it hasn’t already done so with prime conditions helping to achieve the desired seedbeds. Weather conditions in previous years have seen dry spells during the spring. As a result, the focus should be to drill spring crops as soon as ground conditions allow and to conserve moisture by ensuring adequate rolling procedures take place. This is especially key for those with lighter soils.

Some winter wheat crops are storming ahead and will be ready for their T0 fungicide within 14 days whilst others will adhere to the more usual end-of-March timing. The addition of a multisite with fungicide applications is of upmost importance both for the prevention of disease but also to safeguard other single site actives from resistance build-up.

As temperatures warm up, there will be a requirement to consider post-emergent contact grassweed applications in some crops. It is essential to time these applications correctly taking into account weed size, weather conditions and other important application variables.

Remember – tank washing, adjuvant use, water volumes, nozzle choice, forward speed, boom height (and many others) are all within the operator’s control.  Attention to detail and taking a ‘perfectionist’ approach can really pay dividends when trying to get the best value out of your crop protection applications this coming season.