Allelopathy.

[SilliamWhale]

What an interesting thread. We will be drilling into grazed covers for the first time this year (last year they were ploughed after grazing). I really should have left a bit without a cover crop to see if there was a difference. I'm inspired to try cutting a bit of wheat stubble very high this year and see what difference it makes - and if the drill can deal with it.

I'd say cut as I high as you can any day of the week

 

[kiwi]

Getting back to the original article sent by Doornob, I would like to know what crops cleanse the ground of pythium? It seems that a lot of crops are susceptible to pythium especially if grown close together in rotation . From there experiments they found that the straw and chaff didn't cause the pythium ,only that they helped feed it to a small degree, from my understanding of the article. So instead of worrying about the straw and chaff issue would we not be better concentrating on the ways to reduce pythium through other means than getting rid of the valuable mulch?
We have been direct drilling for some years and have never had trouble with allopathy when not hair pinning ,only, the other issues of slugs and handling large quantities of straw. Having said that we do have trouble growing second year wheats and after reading the article from Doornob I believe it is mostly pythium causing the problem not take all.
We always seem to get on fine drilling spring barley into first year wheat stubble but sometimes have issues with second year barleys as well, but not as bad as second year wheats.

 

[York]

Getting back to the original article sent by Doornob, I would like to know what crops cleanse the ground of pythium? It seems that a lot of crops are susceptible to pythium especially if grown close together in rotation . From there experiments they found that the straw and chaff didn't cause the pythium ,only that they helped feed it to a small degree, from my understanding of the article. So instead of worrying about the straw and chaff issue would we not be better concentrating on the ways to reduce pythium through other means than getting rid of the valuable mulch?
We have been direct drilling for some years and have never had trouble with allopathy when not hair pinning ,only, the other issues of slugs and handling large quantities of straw. Having said that we do have trouble growing second year wheats and after reading the article from Doornob I believe it is mostly pythium causing the problem not take all.
We always seem to get on fine drilling spring barley into first year wheat stubble but sometimes have issues with second year barleys as well, but not as bad as second year wheats.
when you do direkt drilling of the crps where you have this problems. What is happening to the field after the combine of the previous crop? Also do you use N at planting? If so which one?
York-Th.

 

[kiwi]

York we have spread all the straw and chaff and then wait until a weed or volunteer strike before roundup and then 2 weeks later drill second year wheats very late autumn. Sometimes no N used and other times small amount of DAP used depending on yield of previous crop. The problem seems to arise when the crop gets to mid tillering ring in the spring and then after looking very good starts to drop tillers and the roots don't develop like they should yet hard to find signs of take all. The other issue for second year wheats is grass weeds so it is never a great practise to do in notill anyway but just sometimes market and paddock history determine otherwise.