Tillage Newsletter - May 2023

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In this month's edition:

• Spring barley
  Spring barley fits into three distinct sowing categories this year: early (February/early March); normal (early April); and, the largest category, late-sown crops (mid to late April). Each category presents distinctly different challenges, and agronomy should be tailored to match the sowing date.
  • Management of BYDV in spring cereals
    BYDV is a major challenge for late-sown cereal crops. Aphid numbers increase with temperature, which means that cereals emerging in May are at high risk of BYDV infection.
  • Weed control
    Late-sown crops present an opportunity to make savings on weed control due to faster development of the crop.
  • Fertiliser
    Any remaining N needs to be applied as soon as conditions are suitable. Where lower yield potential is expected, reduce the total N applied.
  • Disease control
    The average yield response from a two-spray fungicide programme in Teagasc trials is 1.3t/ha, but can range from 0.5-2.75 t/ha, depending on the season. The expected response will be lower on late-sown crops, meaning that the spending on fungicides can be reduced.
• Winter wheat
  Fungicide timing is the key determinant of successful disease control in wheat. A fully emerged leaf one (flag leaf) and leaf three indicate the key timings. Research has shown that plus or minus seven days of a fully emerged leaf one can make a significant difference in high disease pressure situations.
• Winter barley
  The latest stage to safely use a plant growth regulator (PGR) is the awns peeping stage. Terpal 1.2-1.5L/ha or Cerone 0.6-0.7L/ha are options but pay close attention to the latest timing. The final fungicide needs to be timed at the awns emerging stage.
• Winter oats
  The final fungicide timing, as the ear emerges from the boot, in winter oats is targeting rust and mildew and to prolong green leaf area.
• Beans
  Beans were generally sown early this year, which may increase disease pressure. The key to bean disease control is early spraying when disease is first seen or expected.
• Basic Payment Scheme
  The closing date for Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) applications for this year is Monday, May 29, 2023. Application for the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) is also done at this time.