June is always a busy month. Spring crops are growing well and racing through growth stages, winter crops are coming to the end of their growing period. Also, at this time of year are “Open Days” which come in all shapes and sizes. Some are more a day out, others a marketing opportunity for suppliers but always there is something new to learn.
This year with the relaxation of COVID rules it has been possible to visit many more sites than in 2020. One key attraction are winter wheat variety plots, another fungicide trials.
I have listened to young men and women along with more seasoned players read from the “Bible” on wheat variety choice. However, few want to be drawn on what is commercially the “right variety” for your farm.
Overlay this with the poor disease control achieved in wheat plots and fields alike whilst using the latest and most expensive of chemistry and you quickly see why now is the time to think even more carefully about your variety choice for the 21/22 season.
Photographs
1) Why is my wheat blue?
2) Blue paint, applied before the sprayer goes into the field. It is easy to see how much of the leaf the sprayer actually covered with fungicide
3) One of MANY new winter wheat’s on the market
4) Wheat varieties and different fungicide strategies
5) How good are some of the new fungicides at controlling disease?
6) Perhaps not quite as good as “old” fungicides applied at the correct time and rate.