Pa Shine

Ardfinnan, Co Tipperary

The crops are motoring along nicely in Tipperary in the sunshine. Pa’s two-row winter barley was hit hard by the first growth regulator as temperatures were fluctuating at the time, but it is growing out of it now.

The Belfry hybrid barley escaped this stress as the growth regulator was applied very early in better conditions, and it looks all the better for it. The CeCeCe 750 did a great job in evening up the crop, and Terpal has now been applied. The T2 fungicide is being applied this week at the paintbrush stage.

The winter wheat looks very nice now, despite being backwards a few weeks ago. It received the last of the nitrogen last week, bringing the crop to 180units/ac after oilseed rape and oats. The leaf 3 fungicide of Mirror (1.5l/ha), Questar (2l/ha), Proteb (1l/ha), and Optimal (0.2l/ha) was applied last week.

A growth regulator of Medax Max (0.3kg/ha) had already been applied, and Pa will examine the crop this week to see if it will need Terpal, as the variety is Champion and it has a relatively poor standing ability.

The winter oats received its second spray of Decoy, Comet, Talius, CeCeCe 750, and Sonis on 24 April. The last spray is not too far away, and Pa says he will include some liquid K in this application.

The spring oats received their weed spray and first growth regulator last week. The crop was sown early and Pa says the oats look excellent.

The earlier-sown spring barley looks much better than the fields sown later. Pa also says that crops that were rolled after sowing look good but crops that were rolled post-emergence are not quite as strong. An aphicide and trace elements were applied to the later-sown barley recently, while the more advanced crops have got their wild oat and weed spray.

Barty O’Connor

Clohamon, Co Wexford

There was 105mm of rain in Wexford between 14 and 16 April, and Barty says that while some crops needed the rain, some farmers are having to replant spring barley.

Barty’s crops are more advanced than usual and he predicts an early harvest. The quickly growing crops have meant Barty has been busy spraying in the past few weeks.

The winter barley received a T1 spray of Helix (0.6l/ha), Silvron (0.6l/ha), Lamast (1.2l/ha), and Medax Max (0.3kg/ha) on 11 April. The crop is now too advanced for Terpal, so Barty applied Medax Max again at 0.4kg/ha last week. The T2 fungicide is being applied this week, including Helix (0.6l/ha), Imtrex (1l/ha), and Colorado (1.25l/ha). The crop is very clean and looks thick and healthy.

The spring oats are flying it. Barty applied Cameo Max (50g/ha), Hurler (0.5l/ha), CeCeCe 750 (1l/ha), Moddus (0.12l/ha), and Mantrac Pro (1l/ha) recently. The T1 application is not far away and it will consist of CeCeCe 750 (1l/ha), Moddus (0.15l/ha), Helix (0.4l/ha), and Mantrac Pro (1l/ha).

The spring barley also looks quite good, except for one field which Barty says is a bit off colour. He is not sure of the cause, but he has applied Magphos K (2.5l/ha) to see if it can help the field to improve.

The barley was sprayed with Sparviero (50ml/ha), Oleum (0.5l/ha), Mantrac Pro (1l/ha), and Axial Pro (0.4l/ha). Barty went back in 10 days later with Universe (0.8l/ha), Nautius (70g/ha), and EPSO Combitop (3kg/ha) to control weeds.

The barley is coming up to GS30 this week, so the T1 fungicide is being applied. This consists of Trinity (0.5l/ha), Comet (0.6l/ha), Moddus (0.125l/ha), and EPSO Combitop (5kg/ha).

With crops very advanced and so much of the spraying done, the topic of a rare May holiday has come up in the O’Connor household.

While Barty suggests that “The Hill Field has a lovely view”, he doesn’t think this will suffice and plans will have to be made further afield.

Shaun Diver

Tullamore Farm, Co Offaly

The ground is getting dry in Tullamore in the warm weather despite the deluges of rain a couple of weeks ago. The spring barley that was sown last month has germinated very well, with a full crop from hedge to hedge.

The spring barley currently has two leaves, and Shaun says it would be ideal to apply the remainder of the fertiliser now, but with no rain in the forecast, he won’t apply it just yet, or he may decide to just apply a bag/ac of CAN for now and the morning dew may melt the granules a bit. The crop is clean of weeds at present and Shaun is happy with the crop so far.

The combi-crop was planted on Tullamore Farm last Thursday. The paddock was first ploughed, and as the soil was in pretty good condition, the furrows were only rolled before the crop was planted. The combi-crop consists of 50% peas, 25% barley, and 25% oats and it came pre-mixed on to the farm.

Fertiliser has not been applied to the crop yet and Shaun will now wait until some rain is forecast to ensure it is washed in quickly.

While normal amounts of phosphorus and potassium will be applied, Shaun will only apply a small amount of nitrogen to get the crop off to a good start as the peas should fix their own nitrogen once they are established. Shaun also does not want the oats to lodge. He has not fully decided yet, but this may consist of

three bags/ac of 0-7-30 and one bag/ac of CAN.

The dry weather may also delay germination of the combi-crop. This could cause some issues if germination is uneven, or if the crows or pigeons settle in the field and get a taste for the sown seeds.