Some farmers are busy spraying the T2 fungicide on to winter wheat and next week will likely be a busy time for T2s.

The T2 should be applied when the flag leaf is emerged. This is the spray that is going to give you the most return from your investment in terms of yield.

Disease pressure is relatively low this year, so timing is not as critical, but it is still important to apply this spray to the flag leaf and to keep the top leaves of the crop clean.

It is also very easy to get the timing right in the current dry weather conditions.

Teagasc research has shown that applying the T2 fungicide seven days before or after the flag leaf has fully emerged can make a significant difference to yield in high disease pressure situations.

Target

The main disease target is septoria. At this stage, other diseases such as yellow rust should be under control, but keep an eye out for yellow rust and mildew as well to make sure they do not go untreated.

Products

All applications should include Folpet at 1.5l/ha. This will help to protect the chemistry being applied and prevent resistance from building up, as well as offering some disease control.

The main product in the tank will contain a triazole and this should be applied at the full rate, along with an SDHI or Inatreq. You must alternate products at the different timings.

If you used Macfare or Revysol at T1, then you should not apply these products at T2. You will need to apply Inatreq at T2. If you used Inatreq at T1, then you will need to use a different product at T2.

It should be noted that you cannot legally apply Inatreq at both timings and should not do it to protect the chemistry.

Inatreq is available in the original products of Aquino, Peacoq, Questar and Univoq and a new product Jessico One plus Jettano. However, farmers can only use one product containing Inatreq in a season.

Most winter cereal crops are coping quite well in the current weather, as they have a good root structure at this stage, but some may benefit from nutrition or a bio-stimulant.