Prepare for increased expenditure to manage the added risks of earlydrilled cereals, says ProCam South West agronomist, Guy Peters. These include grassweed risks, pests and diseases, he notes.

“If you drilled early, I can’t stress enough the importance of controlling the green bridge. And be prepared for increased aphids and barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) risk,” says Guy.

“Some of the worst crops last season were where autumn aphicides couldn’t be applied. For resistance management and optimum control, use different aphicide modes of action through the spray programme. Even crops drilled in October, and potentially November if mild, remain vulnerable to BYDV. So use T sums to assess risks.

“Earlier drilling also effectively reduces the Septoria resistance rating of varieties. And it’s already our main South West disease.”

Delayed maize

Conversely, there is a considerable amount of cropping to go in after maize this season, says Guy, and the late harvest of heat-starved maize crops will push wheat drilling in these fields further back.

“This will increase workload pressures, for example herbicide applications. Later-drilled cereals are also more susceptible to slug damage. And where maize crops were weedy this year – due to pre-emergence herbicides not going on – slug risks after these crops will be increased.

“There’s also a lot of soil damage. Later-drilled cereals need good seedbeds for the best start, so this will need alleviating. There’s a drive to reduce deeper cultivations. But as well as reducing compaction, ploughing after maize reduces Fusarium and mycotoxin risks in the following wheat.

“After earlier-harvested maize, I’d choose Typhoon or Champion for their Septoria resistance, although Graham has also performed very well this year, but would need a full fungicide programme. If drilling later, seed rates need increasing and choose a variety like Extase.

“If you can’t plant a winter cereal after maize, you still have to establish something for environmental reasons, so look at cover crops such as a brassica or ryegrass.