Ear's a winner...

摘要

Trap the potential from an extended growing season with an ear emergence fungicide. It's not going to be an early wheat harvest. Full stop. But the forced extension of the growing season, aided by plentiful moisture, should actually give most crops ayield advantage, believes Dick Neale, technical manager of Hutchinsons. "Many growers could have a pleasant surprise come harvest if grain carries on filling beyond the middle of August. Moisture shouldn't be the limiting factor it often is because thesunbaked surface is keeping in the high moisture reserves of the early spring, and rising temperatures will allow a late growth surge. But it will increase the need for an ear emergence spray." Historically the ear wash has been used to enhance grain quality in milling wheats. In dry summers, growers have been able to save money by relying on a robust flag-leaf emergence fungicide to see the crop through to harvest. That's not a good policy this season, warns Mr Neale.