Occasional rain showers have been enough to benefit crop growth and all the plots at Flawbrough are looking good.
The OSR flowering period seemed a long one but it has podded up well with little sign of disease so far! Sticky traps for seed weevil have also been clear so it’s a case of completing final assessments and monitoring through to harvest.
The Winter Barley looks at its best this time of year with the main disease threat at the site coming from brown rust and mildew. A slightly delayed third fungicide will hopefully keep it greener for longer and protect it from Ramularia where we saw it in high levels in untreated plots on a recent visit to Ireland.
The Winter Wheat has quickly moved from flag leaf emergence to boots splitting and ear emergence with T3s planned any time soon to top up foliar disease control and protect against fusarium. Yellow rust is the main disease to look out for and it has developed some large foci in the untreated plots. There are differences also showing in the fungicide trials now as disease builds and loss of green leaf area can be seen between treatments. OBM traps continue to catch the odd one but weather conditions have not favored the pest at the site so far.
Preparation is also underway for our open days in June. There are many different varieties to observe and compare between and we look forward to welcoming you to one of our open days at Flawborough in the next few weeks!
