The winter barley harvest has almost come and gone without any notice. The majority of crops are cut, but there are still some to be harvested.
There were no record-breaking yields this season - crops were good, but not too exciting.
Some winter barley crops disappointed farmers and probably had some underlying issues. In some cases, these crops fell below 2t/ac in yield.
Take-all looks to have been a big issue this season, according to reports from agronomists.
In some crops, the disease was very evident all year. There were large patches which failed to grow properly, were stunted and the crop died well ahead of harvest.
However, in some crops, the disease was less pronounced. Take-all can also be seen in some winter wheat crops at present, again less pronounced than a severe hit of the disease, but still causing yield reductions in the crop.
What is take-all?
Take-all is a fungal disease that builds up in the soil where cereal cropping in predominant.
The form of the disease generally seen in Ireland does not affect oats. The fungus can last for two years in the soil.
Affected plants will not tiller well, be stunted, leaves can turn yellow and the disease can often appear in patches. The crop’s roots become dark and brittle and later on in the year turn black. Affected plants often turn white ahead of harvest.
To check for take-all, you should soak roots in a bucket of water, allow the soil to fall off and examine the root colour.
In the UK, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) says that the disease is only moderately important in winter barley, but the disease affects half of UK wheat crops, with average yield losses of 5% to 20%. More than half of the crop can be lost when the disease is severe.
This season in Ireland, it seems to have affected winter barley badly. The disease will thrive in early-sown winter crops, particularly if the soil is wet over the winter.
Many winter barley crops were sown early in autumn 2024, as farmers feared the bad weather of the previous two seasons would return prevent sowing.
Where does it occur?
Take-all occurs most commonly in crops out of grass - two to seven years or so - and fields in their second to fourth year after a break crop. The second, third and fourth crops after grass or a break crop are at high risk.
The disease likes wet and warm conditions in the winter and spring or early summer. A dry summer can make symptoms worse.
Poor nutrition can also increase the disease risk, as healthy crops will fight disease better.
Once fields go into continuous cereals, the risk of take-all can decline.
Break crops
While the disease can happen after break crops, these can help to reduce disease risk, as they will not host the pathogen.
However, if a field has suffered from take-all, the cereal volunteers and grass weeds can also carry the disease and so should be controlled.
Seed dressing
Research by Richie Hackett in Teagasc Oak Park has shown that yield of winter barley in a take-all situation was highest where sowing was delayed into October (around 9 or 10 October).
The seed dressing Latitude can avoid some yield loss from take-all in early-sown crops. However, he noted that the economics of using Latitude on barley can be marginal.
Control
Control is best achieved with cultural control measures such as break crops and delayed sowing in the winter.
Latitude seed dressing claims some control of take-all in early-sown crops, but the cost can be too high in a barley crop.
Ensuring crops have adequate nutrition of major and micro-nutrients throughout the season is important.
Take-all can thrive in light soils, but will also thrive in wet conditions, so planting in a field that is not holding water over the winter is a help.
Next steps
You can still examine barley stubbles or dig up some winter wheat roots where you think take-all has been an issue this year. If the roots are black or the stubbles are black and the crop did not tiller or looked stunted in these areas during the year, then it is probably take-all.Next season, you would ideally plant a break crop, a spring crop or delay winter sowing dramatically. Seed dressing may be best applied to winter wheat.Ensure your soil pH is right this season and apply enough P and K to crops, as well as feeding them throughout the season and testing for nutrient deficiencies.
The winter barley harvest has almost come and gone without any notice. The majority of crops are cut, but there are still some to be harvested.
There were no record-breaking yields this season - crops were good, but not too exciting.
Some winter barley crops disappointed farmers and probably had some underlying issues. In some cases, these crops fell below 2t/ac in yield.
Take-all looks to have been a big issue this season, according to reports from agronomists.
In some crops, the disease was very evident all year. There were large patches which failed to grow properly, were stunted and the crop died well ahead of harvest.
However, in some crops, the disease was less pronounced. Take-all can also be seen in some winter wheat crops at present, again less pronounced than a severe hit of the disease, but still causing yield reductions in the crop.
What is take-all?
Take-all is a fungal disease that builds up in the soil where cereal cropping in predominant.
The form of the disease generally seen in Ireland does not affect oats. The fungus can last for two years in the soil.
Affected plants will not tiller well, be stunted, leaves can turn yellow and the disease can often appear in patches. The crop’s roots become dark and brittle and later on in the year turn black. Affected plants often turn white ahead of harvest.
To check for take-all, you should soak roots in a bucket of water, allow the soil to fall off and examine the root colour.
In the UK, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) says that the disease is only moderately important in winter barley, but the disease affects half of UK wheat crops, with average yield losses of 5% to 20%. More than half of the crop can be lost when the disease is severe.
This season in Ireland, it seems to have affected winter barley badly. The disease will thrive in early-sown winter crops, particularly if the soil is wet over the winter.
Many winter barley crops were sown early in autumn 2024, as farmers feared the bad weather of the previous two seasons would return prevent sowing.
Where does it occur?
Take-all occurs most commonly in crops out of grass - two to seven years or so - and fields in their second to fourth year after a break crop. The second, third and fourth crops after grass or a break crop are at high risk.
The disease likes wet and warm conditions in the winter and spring or early summer. A dry summer can make symptoms worse.
Poor nutrition can also increase the disease risk, as healthy crops will fight disease better.
Once fields go into continuous cereals, the risk of take-all can decline.
Break crops
While the disease can happen after break crops, these can help to reduce disease risk, as they will not host the pathogen.
However, if a field has suffered from take-all, the cereal volunteers and grass weeds can also carry the disease and so should be controlled.
Seed dressing
Research by Richie Hackett in Teagasc Oak Park has shown that yield of winter barley in a take-all situation was highest where sowing was delayed into October (around 9 or 10 October).
The seed dressing Latitude can avoid some yield loss from take-all in early-sown crops. However, he noted that the economics of using Latitude on barley can be marginal.
Control
Control is best achieved with cultural control measures such as break crops and delayed sowing in the winter.
Latitude seed dressing claims some control of take-all in early-sown crops, but the cost can be too high in a barley crop.
Ensuring crops have adequate nutrition of major and micro-nutrients throughout the season is important.
Take-all can thrive in light soils, but will also thrive in wet conditions, so planting in a field that is not holding water over the winter is a help.
Next steps
You can still examine barley stubbles or dig up some winter wheat roots where you think take-all has been an issue this year. If the roots are black or the stubbles are black and the crop did not tiller or looked stunted in these areas during the year, then it is probably take-all.Next season, you would ideally plant a break crop, a spring crop or delay winter sowing dramatically. Seed dressing may be best applied to winter wheat.Ensure your soil pH is right this season and apply enough P and K to crops, as well as feeding them throughout the season and testing for nutrient deficiencies. 
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: