Words by Nicola Pace, Ruralco Senior Agronomist
March was a typically busy month on farm and with A & P shows in full swing keeping many growers on the go along side day to day operations. Weather conditions have largely played ball, with a run of settled days allowing good progress. While soil moisture is on the drier side, there has been enough moisture to make paddocks a bit sticky for drilling and spraying.
Harvest has progressed well, with most farms reasonably up to date on what can be taken off, and attention now turning to getting the next crops back in. Establishment conditions have been favourable, with good soil temperatures, workable seedbeds and soil moisture for pre emergent sprays setting up crops for a strong start.
Overall, it’s been a productive month, balancing a busy rural calendar.
As with any agronomy, for further in-depth discussions or plans, please contact your Ruralco Representative.
Paddock Preparation
Paddock preparation is setting the foundation for how a crop performs right through the season, so getting the basics right early pays dividends. Aim for a fine, even seedbed with good soil to seed contact, while still maintaining enough structure to avoid crusting or compaction. Soil moisture is equally important – adequate moisture at and after application is key for pre-emergent herbicides to activate and do their job effectively.
Take the time to identify key weeds present in each paddock and match them with the chemistry for your weed spectrum and crop to maximise control and avoid unnecessary follow up costs.
Slug pressure shouldn’t be overlooked, particularly in heavier residues or moist conditions. Use the right bait for the situation and ensure there is adequate baits per m2- coverage is key.
Wheat
FAR have published their harvest snippets which despite losing a fair chunk of wheat trials shows some promising varieties. Skybolt and Kinetic have been the two standouts for the season and are both equally impressive. Skybolt is a shy tillerer so sowing rates should be increased up to 25%.
Working out your own sowing rate for your own paddocks allows us to fine tune rather than a one size fits all. This involves talking to your merchant company and finding out the TSW and germ and then a simple calculation of Plants/m2 x TSW x 100 / germination % x plant establishment = sowing rate. The target plants per m2 and plant establishment can be found on the FAR website in their cereal guides.
We had high levels of YDV at harvest this year, so discussing with your agronomist around a diligent insecticide plan for the season will be key.
Barley
Harvest snippets show Baxter and Transformer barleys are being the most consistent across all areas, with comments from farmers with both varieties that Baxter had a lot less late secondary growth coming into harvest than Transformer.
We have fewer options for pre-emergent control in barley, with our best bang for buck being a flufenacet mixed with diflufenican. This gives adequate control and residual of grass and broadleaf control, which with later sowings is key in case the weather doesn’t allow for a timely spray. Autumn sown barley seed treatments of Systiva have given proven yield increases as well as keeping the lower leaves clean which with barley, all leaves contribute to overall yield.
Small Seed Crops
The key to small seed crops, is sowing them early and getting a good establishment prewinter. When we have to resow, this becomes costly.
This year will be vital for being proactive with slugs to get small seed crops up and running, they are so vulnerable and paddocks can be wiped out overnight without careful monitoring. With many slug baits on the market being metaldehyde based, baits per metre square is key, and your best kill is done within the first 48 hours. Slugs will hatch from eggs every 14 days, or when it rains, so you should plan for 2 applications minimum to help break the cycle as well as careful monitoring.
Fodder beet
Insect pressure is low and any weeds now we will live with for the season. Weed control has been incredibly difficult this year, with multiple strikes from depth making it a challenge.
Brassicas
Caterpillars for diamond back moth and white butterfly, aphids and leaf miner are all present, however spraying now depends on when you plan to graze. When spraying with our IPM products, they work by stopping feeding within an hour of application, but it can take up to 4 days for aphids to die and 9 days for caterpillars so don’t be alarmed if they are still present. With both products, water rate is important with most labels claiming a minimum of 200L application and a non ionic adjuvant which allows the products to be spread, then held on the leaf which gives them time to translocate for systemic death of insects.
Pasture Management
As above- keep an eye out for slugs and grass grub, if grass grub is present in established pastures, then other than mechanical intervention such as heavy rolling or hoof n tooth, then liquid diazinon needs to be applied with 10ml of rain to be washed into the soil profile.
Maize
Maize crops have begun to be chopped, and it is important now to consider an inoculant in your stack. Pioneer research shows the use of their inoculant can reduce the dry matter lost to microbial fermentation by 3.6% compared to not using an inoculant. It also reduces the heating of the stack and reduces the days to feeding once ensiled. Therefore, showing using an inoculant makes this process far more efficient.
Soil Testing
Our full agronomy package allows us to have access to Ballance Agri nutrient specialist for soil testing, crop requirement plans and helping to get the best bang for your buck with your soil applications. Ballance have 7 self-service nitrogen silos placed around mid-canterbury which is ideal when the wind drops on a Saturday but before a rain to pop in and grab your prepaid nitrogen. For more information, please see https://ballance.co.nz/selfservicesilo or contact your Ruralco Representative.
Seed Ordering
A reminder that Ruralco have access to all major company proprietary small seed and cereal seed at very competitive prices, we can put together seed mixes, deliver seed or an agronomy package to help reduce the cost of production on farm.
With all the above scenarios talk to your Ruralco Representative for the best options for you and your situation.