Words supplied by Bill Cabout, Assistant Retail Manager
For the next 3 months, we will look at the following: Autumn sown arable crops, barley grass control in pasture and weed control in lucerne.
Autumn Sown Arable Crops:
Most autumn sown crops have already been planted by now. Seed treatment only persists for a certain amount of time after planting until the start of tillering (GS21), these crops drilled before mid-April will now not be protected from aphids. Aphids can carry the disease, barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV), which if your crop gets at this early stage will severely damage the yield. It is a good idea to apply an approved insecticide even if numbers of aphids are low, this often proves to be good insurance. Depending on what the aphid numbers are will determine whether it is necessary to follow up 3 weeks later with another spray, factors affecting aphid numbers are weather, low temperatures and wetness. A good way to check up on aphid numbers is to check the Lincoln Suction Trap data on the FAR website once they start putting them in.
Using diazinon granules at drilling provides up to 5 weeks protection from grass grub, keep in mind this protection will also be wearing off. Check your crops and if grass grubs are found near the soil surface then you may need to spray your crop to control these with Dew 600. This is ideally put on during rain, so it washes into the soil where the grubs are found. If you have drilled with Suscon green you should be covered for the life of the crop.
Slugs have been an ongoing issue in some crops throughout the autumn. Monitor your crops closely and if need be apply more slug bait.
If you have some early weed strike not controlled by your pre-emergent spray, it is ideal to clean this up while the weeds are small. Choose your product based on what weeds are present. Talk to your Ruralco representative for the best options.
For the control of brome grass, we can use Rexade. It has the same active ingredient as Simplicity (Pyroxsulam) plus the addition of Arylex. This combination controls wild oats, rye grasses and brome grass as well as many significant broadleaf weeds such as fumitory, chickweed, cleavers, field pansy, speedwell, shepherds purse, white clover and volunteer linseed. It can be applied from GS13 to GS31. If applying to control brome, it can be applied twice otherwise once only. The rate used is 100g/ha plus 250ml non-ionic surfactant /100lt water and is available in a 2kg pack. Please check the withholding periods for planting. This product is for wheat and triticale only.
If you are planting wheat and barley during the winter month’s you can use Firebird or Invado pre-emergent up to the 30th July. After this date, it doesn’t work as effectively as the weeds are growing too fast.
White Clover Seed Crops
Kerb 500F or Fiera can be applied to white clover seed crops through the winter months from June to August for the control of grass weeds and some broadleaf weeds. Weeds not controlled by Kerb can be controlled by various products depending on weed spectrum during July and August. Contact your Ruralco representative for the best options.
Ryegrass Seed Crops
Most ryegrass seed crops were in the ground early this year, therefore, an early post emergence spray is worth looking at to control any weeds that have appeared in the paddocks. What you can use depends on your weed spectrum. In early spring you will need to apply a herbicide to control wild oats, contact your Rualco representative for suitable options.
Barley Grass Control
For control of barley grass in your pastures, apply Nortron/Claw at 4lts per ha. Timing is important when applying these products. The timing of the herbicide application should be after the main germination has occurred following autumn rains. Expect residual activity from about 8-10 weeks, therefore timing is essential to ensure that the residual activity is effective during the period of spring germination of the weed. Ideally apply during the last week in June or first week in July,
Weed Control in Lucerne
The ideal time to control weeds in lucerne is during the winter dormancy period before the onset of spring growth so there is no crop damage or suppression. Paraquat is the ideal broad-spectrum weed control for lucerne as it provides excellent control of annual and many perennial broadleaf weeds, plus most grass weeds. Paraquat can be mixed with a residual herbicide, such as Atrazine, to provide season long weed control. Atrazine should not be applied to stands less than 12 months old. Terbuthylanzine (Asset) can also be used but can only be used on stands older than 24 months. Stands 6- 12 month’ sold can be sprayed with paraquat only. Any weeds not controlled by this can be looked at again in the spring.
Monitoring Stored Grain
Monitoring grain during storage is a valuable technique in maintaining quality. This becomes more important the longer the grain remains in storage because deterioration in seed quality early in storage is slower and insects are sparse and not easily noticed. Temperature and seed moisture content are important indicators of grain quality that influence insect and mould activity. Once grain is in storage, monitoring for insects and mould once a month will give early notice of any problems occurring and action can then be taken to control these problems.
For further information on all the above please contact your local Ruralco representative.