June 24, 2011

 

UK corn doing well despite drought conditions

 

 

Most UK corn crops around the country have emerged from the prolonged period of drought in reasonable condition, and most growers are expecting a reasonable harvest.

 

However, the uptake of pre-emergence herbicides has been badly affected, leading many producers to follow up with an overspray. Foliar nutrient products have also featured strongly in management programmes this season.

 

Around 90% of the corn in central and southern England is looking promising, with only crops on chalky soils having suffered badly from the drought, says David Bright of David Bright Seeds.

 

Weather patterns this year have meant crops have particularly benefited from an application of foliar growth stimulant, at a cost of around EUR17 (US$24.27) per hectare. Many were applied at the four-to-six-leaf stage.

 

"In dry weather, corn plant roots cannot reach down far enough to access the nutrients they need and phosphate especially is important for healthy growth. A foliar spray makes the nutrients easily accessible to the crop, operating in a similar way to an intravenous injection," Bright said.

 

Agrovista's Chris Glover said crops in north England fared badly in the strong winds, which have been a feature of the growing season this year, with shredded leaves the most obvious sign of stress. Like most other regions, the effects of a pre-emergence herbicide have been diminished by the lack of rain, but he says progress so far indicates the condition of the crop is only fractionally below average.

 

Glover said that "welly boot high by the start of July" can usually be applied to corn crops in most seasons. He is optimistic about yields and quality for 2011.

 

"Corn is a plant which produces a significant growth spurt from the end of June. As long as crops have reached this height, they can be expected to perform well at harvest," he says.

 

corn under plastic has lived up to expectations, according to independent adviser Frans de Boer's, comment on 10 trial plots sown in South East England on March 30.

 

The traditional advantages of gaining an early harvest date in preparation for wheat, coupled with the ability to spread the workload, continue to be the main benefits. It costs around EUR247 (US$352.79) per ha more than a conventional crop, with a similar amount attached to the financial benefit, due to higher yields.

 

Despite being well ahead of crops drilled in the open, weeds have also been a problem in crops under plastic, as lack of moisture reduced the efficacy of a pendimethalin spray.

 

A second attempt using an overspray with bromoxynil, to control broad-leaved weeds like fat hen and bindweed in the young crop, proved more successful.