Yummy soils

Straw incorporated seedbed has a wonderful odour. an organic soap full if biological activity. Osr plants just chitting but slugs will have to snuff them out amidst other soil smells.
Biologically inert soils are a slug magnet to seed germination.

Soil temps.

Very good seedbed conditions for osr drilling this week.
15.3 degrees soil and 17 air temp.

Slugs doing well under OSR

Moist seebed under rape canopy is a slug breeding ground. .

OSR strong hybrid plants

Very strong large diameter stems for hybrid variety. V conventional

Good ears but poor drilling

Yield us ear number per m2 X grains per ear X wt per grain.
In this field we have good spiklet number o'er ear but not enough ears per m2.
Due to poor establishment at drilling.
Very hard to redress...

Critical time for grain fill

If we've got it here in good shape we just need sun - water to see us through.. If we lose the water the plant will need to use its water soluble carbohydrate stores. This is why we build them up at flag leaf with a quality bio-stimulant. Cuts down on ear aphid attacks as well due to sugar concentrations. (High Brix).

Crop stressing

Signs of crop defence to stress.. lack of water and hot temps.