Recent rainfall might have allayed fears of the drought effect, but skyrocketing costs, particularly fertiliser, mean it’s set to be a challenging autumn for wheat and barley establishment.

Balancing the need to get crops in the ground with long-term term weed problems means there are difficult decisions ahead, according to experts from Bayer UK, who have mapped out an action plan for cereal establishment success:

Late drilling or not?

Drilling wheat from mid-October typically reduces black-grass and Italian ryegrass numbers, and provides better conditions for residual herbicides to protect crops. The downsides are, all things being equal, lower yield plus the risk of a repeat of 2019 where crops simply couldn’t be drilled.

“This season, we expect financial drivers will push people to get drilled up earlier than when market conditions were more stable and farmers could focus on cleaning up weed problems,” said Bayer’s Tom Chillcott. “Without knowing what the weather will be in mid-October, there is no right answer, it’s just about balancing the risks.”

“Prioritise fields so those with major weed problems get drilled last and can be switched to a spring crop if the weather turns. Whatever date crops are drilled, apply any pre-em herbicides at the true pre-em timing for the most reliable control of weeds.”

Sow winter barley?

Barley is an alternative to wheat for farmers looking to drill early but who are wary of weeds. It is generally more competitive and the lower nutrient requirements could be helpful this season.

“Establishment is vital in winter barley to get the benefit of crop competition. Make sure there is enough moisture in the seedbed for consistent germination at the typical drilling date in late September,” said Mr Chillcott.

This season, farmers have the option of using Proclus (aclonifen) with Liberator (flufenacet + diflufenican) in winter barley. The last two autumns has shown that it is an effective combination against grass-weeds in wheat. Aclonifen also retains efficacy in drier conditions which may be a factor if dry weather returns.

Use glyphosate at pre-em?

Lack of moisture delayed plans for cultivation and subsequent germination of weeds, so, autumn workloads may be quite tight.

One option to simplify workloads is to apply glyphosate in the pre-em tank-mix rather, than as a separate spray pre-drilling. “There are two scenarios where this might help,” added Mr Chillcott. “Firstly, if there’s limited germination and farmers are keen to start drilling.

"The other situation is where there is a gap of a week or so between spray off and drilling. There can be lots of germination in this gap, particularly in early October, when we start to see the main flush of black-grass and ryegrass.”

Mr Chillcott stressed that any tank mix with glyphosate must go on at the true pre-em timing, within 48 hours of drilling, for obvious reasons. But provided all necessary precautions are taken, it might solve some workload difficulties this autumn.