Despite dry weather over the past two weeks, Conall only finished planting spring barley on heavy land on Saturday.

Some barley that was sown and rolled at the end of April failed due to heavy rain in the week after sowing. This was grubbed out last week and resown.

Given the broken weather, Conall has spring barley at various stages, making management difficult. He says all of the spring barley looks stressed at present. The earliest-sown crop (3 April) has already received its first fungicide and growth regulator (Coyote and CeCeCe 750), while most of his barley has received a herbicide application (Calibre Max SX at 110g/ha, Hurler at 0.75l/ha). None of these crops have received an aphicide. Conall has seen some BYDV symptoms and active aphids in his crops, but thinks it won’t rob too much yield. Any later-sown crops yet to receive a herbicide will receive an aphicide in this mix.

Conall’s spring beans are beginning to flower and received their first fungicide. Elatus Era (0.66l/ha) and trace elements were applied. Chocolate spot is beginning to appear in the beans but Conall is not too worried about this and says the crop looks well.

Conall has closed the gate on all of his winter crops. The final spray was applied to the winter oats recently as the oats were heading out. It received a full rate of Elatus Era (1l/ha). Conall says the oats have improved massively in the past month.

The winter barley also received its final fungicide spray. Proline (0.55l/ha), Serpent (1l/ha), and Folpet (1.5l/ha) were applied. Trace elements and foliar potassium were also included in the mix. Conall thinks the potassium will help to prevent lodging and straw breakdown. He is very happy with his winter barley, and can now only wait and hope for a decent yield.

May has been dry in Cork, with only 38mm of rain recorded so far. Coupled with mostly calm weather, it has been great for keeping up to date with spraying and fertiliser spreading. However, John says some rain would now be welcome to wash in recently applied fertiliser.

He finished planting spring barley on 1 May, with riparian buffer zones and wild bird cover still to be planted. This late-sown barley is at the two- to three-leaf stage while the barley sown on 19 April is at mid-tillering. All spring barley looks good, with plant counts of around 300 plants/m2. Very little barley was rolled this year because of high soil moisture levels.

RGT Planet spring barley planted on 1 May.

John’s winter oilseed rape has finished flowering. It’s enjoying the good weather, and John is hoping this will result in a high yield.

Terpal (0.8l/ha) was applied to most of John’s winter barley at GS37. The final spray (Elatus Era and Arizona) was applied later than John desired, with the ears fully emerged. Disease levels are low and there is no sign of Ramularia. Some headlands are poor due to the wet autumn, but overall, the winter barley looks good.

The flag leaf on the winter wheat is between 50% and 100% emerged, depending on sowing dates ranging from October to December. A T2 fungicide will be applied this week, consisting of Questar, Pontoon, and Arizona. The T1 of Revystar XL and Arizona seems to have worked efficiently despite high Septoria pressure. John expects this pressure to ease with the dry weather.

The spring beans are beginning to flower. On crops near the coast, there was a very high level of chocolate spot before flowering. Therefore, John applied the first fungicide (Signum at 0.75kg/ha) earlier than usual. Basfoliar Activ (2l/ha) was also included to control and prevent downy mildew. John hopes the ground does not dry up too much, as it could lead to flower abortion in the beans.

It has been quite dry in Down recently, with a passing shower helping to keep the dust down at the weekend.

Neill has the gates closed on his winter barley. The final spray was applied in the first week of May. Siltra Xpro (0.7l/ha) and Arizona (1l/ha) were applied. The barley looks good at the moment, and Neill hopes that the weather is kind for grain fill so that the crop can reach its potential.

Neill Patterson's spring beans in Co Down.

He applied the last fertiliser to his winter wheat in the first week of May. The crop received a total of 220kg N/ha. This is a reduced rate compared to normal (240kg N/ha) for Neill because of high fertiliser and low grain prices. There is wheat following maize and beans, so it will be interesting to see how they compare at harvest, considering there should be some residual nitrogen remaining from the beans. A growth regulator of Medax Max at 0.43kg/ha was applied at GS37, with a T2 fungicide of Verydor XE and Arizona applied last week.

The spring beans are beginning to flower. There is some downy mildew present in the crop, likely due to the continuous wet weather in March and April. Neill will spray the crop this week with SL567A (0.125l/ha) and Signum (0.75kg/ha). He will also include boron (2l/ha) in the mix. Neill is happy he sowed the beans at the end of February in the dry spell, and says the crop looks very good.

Neill drilled his maize on 25 and 26 April. It is now beginning to come through the film. Neill always sows Pioneer varieties, and this year he has P7034 and P7326. They were sown at 104,000 seeds/ha. The maize received a pre-emergence herbicide of Wing-P (4l/ha) and Most Micro (2.5l/ha). Neill usually applies a post-emergence herbicide too due to issues with weeds such as groundsel. This will be done next week.