AFTER the recent hot dry spell, winter barley is turning quickly and wheat on lighter soils is showing drought symptoms. Suddenly a July start to harvest here doesn't seem so improbable, with advisers predicting a mid-July start in southern parts of England.

The majority of winter barley crops are now between milky and dough ripe (GS 75-83). Thankfully, the majority are standing, and relatively free from disease, despite the early threat from rhyncosporium. Most wheat is at the early to late flowering stages and the use of late foliar urea is becoming a decision for those aiming for milling premiums. The change to cooler and slightly damper weather will help to reduce scorch. Spring barley crops still have a wide range of growth stages, from awns emerging (GS 49) to watery ripe.

In wheat, mildew is now being more widely seen but it is now too late to be worth treating and is not very damaging to yield despite being very obvious. Take-all patches are now beginning to appear in crops under moisture stress. Aphid infestations are also starting to increase although, in most fields, aphid numbers are still below threshold. Winter wheat crops and the bulk of the spring wheat crops are now at growth stages that are particularly susceptible to direct-feeding damage. Some infestations of aphids have also been seen in some crops of winter oats and spring barley.

Check for aphids and spray if 50pc of ears are infested; use a selective aphicide such as Pirimicarb. Pyrethroids can be used, but these require a six-meter buffer zone to be left around the edge of the crop.

Bread wheat premiums over feed for the coming autumn are at present around £15-20 per tonne. With likely shortfalls in the total domestic tonnage, home-grown grain may well be competing with imports from within the EU. After the wettest winter on record, grain protein concentration this year may have a better chance of being increased by applying a foliar spray of urea at the watery to milky ripe stage. An application of 40-60 kg/ha N can lift grain protein concentrations by about 1-1.5pc. Avoid application on very hot sunny days, which can lead to scorching of the flag leaf.

With less than half-a-million hectares of winter barley sown, there will be a significant bounce-back in area sown this autumn. After many years, Halcyon is considered to be outclassed and has been removed from the Approved List. For malting varieties, the high-yield potential of Pearl and Regina keep them top of the heap in terms of reliability.

It remains to be seen how well the new feed varieties Sumo, Haka and Avenue, on the Recommended List last year, cope with this year unusual growing conditions. It has certainly been a testing season for Sumo, with continual pressure from rhynchosporium. Haka and Avenue are also both rated as having poorer resistance to rhynchosporium than Regina which, due to its popularity and widespread use, had significant infection in some regions. Varieties with lower levels of resistance will be difficult to keep clean if grown over wide areas.

Of the new varieties in trial Chamomile (CPB-Twyfords) and Diamond (Nickerson) are malters that could challenge Regina and Pearl, but on yield it seems unlikely and this season is unlikely to provide record-breaking yields. Carat is a feed variety that could get the top spot for yield, and with BYMV resistance could prove an attractive choice for feed grain growers.

Winter bean crops are at the late flowering stage, whilst spring crops are mostly near mid-flower, although some later-sown crops have just started flowering and seem likely to ripen quite late. With the current high temperatures and unsettled conditions, rust activity is expected. Chocolate spot remains at low levels. Pea aphids can be found at low levels but are expected to multiply rapidly in the warm weather.

Aphid numbers in ware potato crops are low but should be monitored. Seed potato crops should be treated with pirimicarb every 10-14 days.

Suddenly harvest is just around the corner - are you ready?

This column is supplied by Derek Knight (01430) 861988 a consultant for ADAS in East and North Yorkshire.

Updated: 08:57 Thursday, July 05, 2001