March 2009 Diary
Since the first instalment of my seed grower's diary, the 10 hectare seed crop of DK Cabernet that we are growing on behalf of United Oilseeds has been filling out well and is looking much healthier than during the cold winter months.
The crop of DK Cabernet received 300kgs per hectare of DoubleTop fertiliser in the third week of February, to provide 80kg/ha of nitrogen and 90kg/ha of sulphur. This followed a series of soil tests across the farm which indicated that this year's soil nitrogen reserve is down slightly on previous years.
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Richard Monk: “The crop of DK Cabernet is filling out well and there is plenty of green growth in evidence.” |
As the crop begins to flourish over the next few weeks, we will assess the Green Area Index (GAI) to provide an accurate assessment of how much more nitrogen is needed to take the crop through to maturity. My current prediction is that we will probably need to add an additional 120kg/ha, taking the total amount of applied nitrogen to 200kg/ha.
The crop was also sprayed towards the end of February using the following treatments:
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Treatment |
Application Rate |
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Contrast fungicide - to control phoma |
0.4 l/ha |
|
Nutriphyte - root promoter |
0.4 l/ha |
|
Kantor - adjuvant |
0.15 l/ha |
|
Shogun herbicide - to control cereals, volunteers and grass weed. |
0.35 l/ha |
As a result of these treatments, the crop is now beginning to pick up nicely and has begun to fill out. There is plenty of green growth and we are more confident that the crop will make a full recovery following a poor start in the autumn.
Our latest estimates have shown that the crop is growing at an average of 40-50 plants per square metre, with many of the patchy areas now beginning to fill in.
The crop has also been rogued for Charlock which can be a big problem, particularly on chalky soils. As a seed grower, we have to be particularly vigilant in removing as many of these weeds as possible in order to safeguard crop purity. So we have been out in the field removing weeds by hand.
The biggest problem we are currently facing is from pigeon damage, with one or two bare patches struggling to cope. The pigeon population seems to have increased this year, but a combined strategy of shooting and scaring means that overall we are managing to hold tight. Having said that, pigeon control remains an ongoing issue.