Wednesday, 17 June 2015

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...

Tuesday, 16 June 2015

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.

Monster ears

Wheat varieties and location differences. Cereals 2015 in Lincolnshire averaged 16 spiklets.  Revelation in Somerset averaging 22. Very large ears. But crop starting to show stress defence symptoms. .. We need the water or access to stored up WSC's for grain fill.

Tuesday, 26 May 2015

Cover crop in fodder beet.

Spring barley cover crop to protect seedlings and soil from wind blow and soil movement. To be removed once plants established. But adding to soil biomass and exudate feeding soil biology.

Wednesday, 8 April 2015

Worms after flooded ground

Amazing how the world survive waterlogged ground.
Bring aeration and life back to a bad soil.

Wednesday, 25 March 2015

Successful black grass control

The best time to really get on top of black grass is in the Oilseed rape crop rotation. Followed by good soil & seedbed management of the next crop.
CO2 reduction by min till following an osr crop where control has been poor, is fatal.
Good soil CO2 release creates good germination of all seeds allowing us to get control. Reducing C02 reduces germination of black grass seeds and crop.
Soil management is key.