Wheat growers need to keep a close eye on grass weeds that have taken advantage of warmer spells and are now established in wheat crops.
A mixture of cold and mild days has meant that many grass weeds never completely shut down over the winter. Seeds are chitting and growing whenever there is a warmer period of weather so farmers need to monitor crops closely before applying post-emergence herbicides.
“Generally farms in this part of the country have achieved really good levels of control with their pre-emergence programs.” says Ben Coombs, Bayer Commercial Technical Manager in southeast England.
“There was plenty of moisture in seedbeds from early October onwards and so right into November many fields were looking very clean. However, when I walk those same fields now you can now see some weeds starting to appear, including black-grass.”
“Rye-grass is also a problem in this area – lots of farms have quite stubborn populations and pre-em treatments need backing up with a good post-em. Atlantis WG (mesosulfuron+ iodosulfuron) is generally the best option especially if you’re dealing with a mix of grass weeds.”
The pattern of successful pre-emergence programmes is the same across much of the country, and the advice is the same too: Inspect the crops to see what weeds have emerged over the winter and plan action accordingly. “You should know what your target is, identify it and apply the right product,” says Bayer’s Gareth Bubb. “Here in the west there’s a real mix of weeds: black-grass, annual meadowgrass, brome, wild-oats and rye-grass all cause problems so you need to identify your target.”
Annual meadow-grass can be a real nuisance in the west, particularly if it missed a preem spray after maize or root crops. The plant tillers quickly, so being ready to tackle it early in spring is essential. “Othello (mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron + diflufenican) has pretty much become the ‘go to’
product for meadow-grass, thanks to its efficacy and flexibility in timing,” he says.
