Sawfly
Photo Bayer CropScience.

South East: Good seedbeds have meant that establishment has been good. Most advanced crops now at the two leaf stage.

Slugs: very little activity seen so far.

Turnip Sawfly: adults seen in crops last week but no sign of larvae yet.

Blackgrass: high levels emerging with the crop along with volunteer cereals.

South West: Ideal with moisture and well structured seed beds with good tilth. A few crops drilled in August capped severely in heavy rain storms and growth was checked. Crops range from yet to emerge through to three leaf stage.

Slugs: very low levels. Only sporadic damage seen.

Blackgrass: high levels of emergence.

Eastern Counties: Range of drilling dates from August 15th to September 5th. Early drilled has slumped in some places following very heavy rain soon after drilling, this has slowed and lowered percentage establishment. Rape generally emerging well and rapidly in warm, moist seedbeds. Generally seedbeds are good and establishment looks high. Most advanced rape now at 3 leaves. Range of establishment techniques, ploughing used on light soils and in some places where it was considered too wet to min till. Otherwise minimium tillage and drilled or seeded on subsoilsoiler.

Flea beetle: a lot of shot holing on cotyledons of early drilled crops. Newly emerging true leaves are free from damage.

Blackgrass: emerging with rape in large numbers in places.

Other weeds: rapid emergence of volunteer barley on some non inversion tillage fields. Rapid action required to prevent competition and barley taking moisture in particular. Poppies just beginning to emerge only 0.5 cm across cotyledon stage on light soils, following low dose pre-emergence herbicide.

East Midlands: Most crops just sown - some at cotyledon with odd one at 1 leaf, heavy showers are slowing drilling down. Cooler nights forecast next week will slow growth down.

Slugs: No activity seen.

Blackgrass: good flush in wheat stubbles burnt off with glyphosate. Flush of blackgrass being sprayed as early post emergence herbicides goes on. Blackgrass dormancy moderate - I think not, with one of the fastest flushes I have seen for a few years.

West Midlands: Crops range from chitting to four true leaf stage. Rolling has been difficult and approximately only half of the crops have been rolled but in the main good seedbeds. Pre post emergence agchem splits out into roughly the same ratio, approximately 60% sprayed to date.

Slugs: not a major issue at the moment.

North East: Most crops were drilled late August and early September into good seedbeds and have emerged very evenly. Forward crops at three leaves, and later sown have expanded cotyledons.

Slugs: all non-inversion seedbeds are very high risk , but most crops drilled at low seed numbers so only a few slugs needed to do serious damage.

Good seedbeds being prepared
Photo Farming Online.

South East: Sowing has only just started and no crops have emerged yet.

South West: Ideal drilling conditions with adequate moisture and excellent seedbeds being prepared by a number of techniques. It is an ideal year for stale seed beds and some have managed to have two goes at successive grass weed flushes. Most advanced crops at two leaf stage.

Slugs: none seen.

Eastern Counties: Sowing has only just started and no crops have emerged yet.

East Midlands: Drilling yet to start.

West Midlands: Fantastic seed beds from minimum tillage after oilseed rape, moisture available to get crops going, some minimum tillage seedbeds a bit too wet in places and we could do with a dry month. 50:50 on rolling so far. 50% crops sprayed. Earliest crops at two leaf stage but drilling has only just started on most farms.

Slugs: very little activity so far.

North East: A few early crops been drilled 7 days now, and just emerging. Field conditions are very good, but no more rain for a while would be useful as most farmers will be starting wheat drilling program during this week.

Slugs: low numbers been seen active in rape stubbles so far, but conditions are getting more conducive to slug activity with every shower. Seed treatment used on many first wheats, but will monitor and apply a persistent but low active ingredient pellet as crops emerging on high risk sites.

Blackgrass: the pre-ems gave very variable results last autumn in the very dry conditions, and more herbicide resistance became evident during the season. Stale seedbeds have greened up well, and the pre-drilling glyphosate should be a good investment this year.

: Drilling yet to start.