A drier start to March is being welcomed by growers and agronomists as early nitrogen fertiliser applications are being made to hungry crops in depleted soils.

Spring barley and bean drilling has kicked off on light land areas in the South and East. However, in Scotland, the colder temperatures mean there is no rush to drill yet.

See also: Plans to revitalise wheat after wet winter on Somerset farm

North

Mary Munro, Munro Agricultural Consultancy (East Lothian)

Another spring, another season begins, and the first nitrogen applications are on the winter crops.

Most crops in my locality have wintered well, and there is a tinge of green from fresh growth in rape and wheat. Winter barley will green up once the nitrogen is assimilated.

Temperatures are still on the chilly side, especially on windy days, so there has been no huge rush to drill. Some soils are still a bit wet, but on the whole we have, fortunately, been quite dry through the winter.

Lower leaves are dying off, which is not a concern as they have done their job.

I would have liked more frost to kill off pests and diseases, as wheat crops are carrying mildew and septoria that look all too ready to reactivate with a little warmth.

I like a simple and inexpensive T0 to start with, to keep septoria in check and deal with any yellow rust lurking in the young plants, and can then split the chlormequat between T0 and T1.

It would be lovely to implement the first-choice plans, unlike last season when they kept changing due to the lack of suitable conditions to spray.

Oilseed rape

Amazingly, the pigeons have not been too bad in my oilseed rape crops this winter, and we have a bit more than the usual skeletal survivors to work with.

So far the crop protection plans have only been dealing with destruction of cover crops and options for spring bean weed control.

I have identified a few fields for spring barley that will need a pre-emergence herbicide for annual meadow grass.

This weed seems to have been steadily increasing as a problem in the Lothians, despite the normal ploughing preparation for spring crops and lack of grass in the rotation.

There was a flurry of carbon audits and soil sampling before the turn of the year, to secure the grant for these items. This has been extended for another year.

There is a new round of the Agri-environment and Climate Scheme, so some growers are discussing the pros and cons of applying this year, and the Scottish government has offered the funding of irrigation lagoons as a stand-alone item, which is a welcome move.

West

Dominic Edmond, Matford Arable (Devon/Cornwall)

As we find ourselves in March (how did that happen so quickly?) we can at least say we haven’t had quite as much rain this winter as the previous three winters.

However, the drilling period was a challenge last autumn and walking crops during the past month has illustrated that challenge.

The first drilling period we had at the beginning of October was fleeting and resulted in some crops going into less-than-ideal seed-beds, and they then experienced significant rainfall for the remainder of the month.

As a consequence of that, there are many fields with poorly established headlands and missing random patches in the field.

The next drilling window was in November – and what a relief when it came.

This window allowed nearly all winter crops to be planted and, thankfully, into fair conditions and establishing reasonably well.

December was relatively kind, which meant that while establishment was slow, it at least generally established better than the October-drilled crops.

Barley

Many of the winter barley crops drilled in the autumn did get a pre-emergence herbicide application, while aphicide applications for barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) were hit and miss, depending on weather and ground conditions.

This was a worry for the October-drilled crops as aphid numbers in the South West, as indicated by the Rothamsted aphid report, were high running into October.

November crops managed to receive an application later into the month and into December, by which time aphid pressure was easing.

For those wheat crops that didn’t get a herbicide application in the autumn, there is a bit of catch-up going on now.

This has also presented an opportunity to apply a foliar phosphite to trigger root development, as any number of crops have backward root development.

Fertiliser applications have been made on some of the more backward crops, while many of the winter barley crops are now receiving their first nitrogen and sulphur.

Crop walking for T0 applications on winter barley starts in earnest with the hope that March is a calm month on the weather front, and we can get on and manage the crops appropriately.

East

Ryan Baker, Frontier (Suffolk/Norfolk)

Now that nutrient plans and winter training meetings are complete, it has been pleasant to be field walking again.

February has brought some showers, but it has not been a wet winter yet, and the forecast for the first half of this month looks promising.

On the lightest land, some spring barley was drilled in February and is now emerging.

Elsewhere, barley and beans are starting to be drilled now. Spring crops have a short growing season and develop rapidly, so it is important that adequate nutrition is where the crop can access it quickly.

With Defra’s decision not to approve the emergency authorisation for the use of Cruiser (thiamethoxam) on sugar beet seed for 2025, attention immediately turned to the weather.

Lower temperatures in January have helped with aphid numbers. However, on-farm hygiene will be crucial to minimise potential sources of virus – spoil heaps and cover crops, especially.

Virus yellows

The official beet virus yellows forecast will be available at the beginning of March, but the interim forecast predicts an 8.56% infection in the absence of control measures (83% last year).

It is predicted that the first aphid flight will be 20 May, much later than the 10 April forecast in 2024 (actual first flight was in the third week of March).

Pigeon damage has been much worse this spring than in previous years. Nonetheless, many growers applied an early dose of nitrogen to oilseed rape in mid-February.

Where the crop has responded well, thoughts turn to growth regulation as the crop reaches welly boot height.

For vigorous varieties, especially high erucic acid rape crops, careful consideration should be applied to canopy manipulation. Metconazole and mepiquat chloride are key actives at this stage.

First doses of nitrogen have also been applied to winter cereals.

Residual herbicides have done a fantastic job this season due to adequate moisture in the autumn.

As the temperature now warms and the crop springs into life again, a spring weed flush could easily develop and need attention.

On certain fields, groundsel is already germinating.

This year, where broad-leaved weeds, oats and brome are prevalent in wheat, we have a new product containing florasulam, pyroxsulam and halauxifen-methyl, effectively combining the strengths of Palio and Zypar in one pass.

Manganese deficiency is now showing in lush crops of barley, and this should be rectified before any further applications.

South

Justin Smith, Procam (East Sussex)

Total rainfall for January and February has been relatively normal in the far South East. Many fields are starting to show promise that they could be fit to travel again and will soon stop resembling duck ponds.

Some of the lighter land has even received some early nitrogen – mainly crops of pigeon-ravaged winter oilseed rape, second wheat and backwards cereals.

However, after another wet winter many crops are now starting to show signs that soil mineral N levels are low.

To maintain tillers and encourage roots, these crops will need to be provided with the relevant early nutrition as soon as feasible.

In most initial instances for winter wheat and winter barley this will be around 50kg/ha of total N and 25kg/ha of sulphur.

My current plans for winter oats and winter oilseed rape are to simply provide around 40kg/ha of total N now, with the S addressed once more leaf and ground cover is present.

Early root growth

Some crops could also benefit from the addition of bio-stimulants or phosphite to help promote plant health and encourage early roots.

This can be addressed at either the T0 timing or possibly before this. if a weather window allows.

Always ensure ground conditions are conducive for growth and soils are not anaerobic or waterlogged at the time of application.

The pre-emergence cereal herbicides applied in late autumn have generally worked well, although some patches have unsurprisingly succumbed to the odd crop effect and thinning after the prolonged rainfall following applications.

In places where nothing has been applied to date, a considered tank mix containing both contact and residual chemistry needs careful planning to avoid stressing the crop further.

Spring barley has started to be drilled on the South Downs chalk soils, and I look forward to the first phone calls saying, “we could do with some rain”.