Farmer Focus: Poor season sets blackgrass control back
Keith Challen © Tim Scrivener The oilseed rape has been desiccated, all 5ha of it. I say OSR, it’s actually about 25% brome as well.
I know I’m repeating myself, but the farm really does look untidy, and grassweed seed carry over will, I think, put us back 10 years in terms of control efficiency.
We’ll have to increase spring cropping again and possibly have some small areas of fallow on the worst affected areas.
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A recent visit to Agrii’s heavy land trial site at Stow Longa in Cambridgeshire was very interesting.
The cleanest plots in terms of blackgrass control were the ploughed ones.
That’s not reassuring, having bought a direct drill and about to commit to the Sustainable Farming Incentive no-till farming option.
Talking of direct drilling, I’m thrilled on the whole with this spring’s establishment from the Horsch Avatar.
I have to say, conditions were challenging and although we didn’t get stuck, there were a couple of close calls. As long as we don’t drive too fast, it does a brilliant job of closing the slots in vey stiff clay.
About 10% of the farm didn’t get drilled at all this spring. By the time it was dry enough, it was too late.
This has given the perfect opportunity and conditions to get some mole ploughing done as well as try out our home-made low disturbance subsoiler. It looks like this year its going to get a lot of use.
There is no doubt that this harvest is going to be a great test for our Redekop seed control unit on the back of the combine.
So far, I’m very pleased with it, and the first job will be controlling late-germinating blackgrass in winter barley, which will still be carrying seeds at harvest. This should be a massive help.
We are also facing the worst brome numbers we have ever seen. Again, the seed control unit will be invaluable, and I can’t wait to see the results.
