Crop Watch South – March 2026

Just like my first Crop Watch column of the year, spring has arrived all of a sudden. We were sitting on our hands for so long, with an average of about 11 inches of rain in the area since the start of the year. And then, naturally, everyone wanted to get going as soon as the sun appeared last week.

Backwards wheat crops and second wheats, oilseed rape and winter barley have had their first nitrogen applications. Soil mineral nitrogen levels have been mixed. Some farmers have been surprised that there isn’t as much as they were expecting. We think this is because a lot was taken up in the autumn with the open weather.

We are expecting sulphur levels to be low after all the rain, so applying some Polysulphate has become a priority alongside nitrogen. 

Most oilseed rape crops have very good canopies, with a green area index of 2.5–3. We have been debating whether they can hang on a bit longer for some nitrogen, or if we apply a bit to stimulate some growth. Generally, we have opted for 50kg N/ha, and plan to follow up a few weeks later to keep things moving.

If they haven’t already had it, then we will plan to apply a PGR to oilseed rape to help encourage rooting and canopy branching. The main choice for this will be Architect because it gives good growth regulation and contains a fungicide for Phoma and light leaf spot control.

There is plenty of visible disease on all crops. Winter beans have been particularly badly affected by chocolate spot thanks to the rain, and we have had to apply azoxystrobin in many cases to keep on top of it. 

Fortunately, we haven’t seen much yellow rust in our area. But talking to colleagues in Agrii, Hertfordshire and Essex seem to have quite a bit, and there is lots in Scotland. Crusoe is doing its usual thing and has brown rust visible. Septoria is present everywhere, especially on early-drilled crops.

T0s will mostly be a holding job, and they might be earlier than the usual calendar date because crops are so well forward. Where we do one, most will contain tebuconazole, which gives a good, quick knockdown on yellow rust, but adding bromuconazole or prothioconazole helps with its longevity. These will also help with stem-based disease, which is a concern given the prolonged wet soils.

An early PGR will be necessary in most cases. Trinexapac-ethyl will help with rooting, providing the plant with a strong anchor. Manganese and zinc will be applied with this to help with nutrition where soil levels are low after the rain. It also helps the plant fight off things like mildew. 

One thing that is less of a worry this spring is weed control in cereals. Given that many crops were drilled earlier than usual, control from autumn residuals has been excellent. There will be some top ups go on for brome and wild oats, and some broad-leaved weeds, but not as much as we had feared.