Most Favourite Recommendation of the Year Award goes to theear-wash on winter wheat, which, hopefully, puts the crop to bedand means the end of the silly season is in sight.

Mine will be a 60-75% triazole dose plus 50% strobilurin. Somewill be late-flag/early-ear combined and some of my later wheatswill have had only two applications of pretty chunky doses offungicides.

It’s interesting to see what effect the early, robustapplications had on mildew without the addition of specificmildewicides; those that didn’t get their first fungicides untillate certainly have considerably higher levels of mildew.

I suppose we have to start thinking about the dreaded orangewheat blossom midge (yawn) soon, but I doubt many of my crops willbe treated.

Winter barleys are now all put to bed and are looking prettygood. One of my crops of Boost has had no herbicides since itsautumn post-em, has only had two fungicide treatments and is asclean as a whistle. What happens from now on is in the lap of thegods.

Crop with the Most Amazing Powers of Recovery Award goes towinter oilseed rape, which has astounded even my dampened optimism.How many acres were ripped up unnecessarily?

Least Favourite Crop of the Season Award goes to red springwheat, which seems to suffer from every problem available and turnsa horrible shade of yellow the minute a herbicide gets anywherenear it. Unless it yields particularly well or is worth a fortune,I shan’t be recommending anybody grows it next year.

Spring beans and linseed look excellent. We’ve just had a dropof rain and the temperatures have risen, so everything feels goodat the moment. Let’s hope it continues that way.