Do you do a shallow cultivation after W.Barley,before OSR even if you are into Direct Drilling??

Pilatus

Member
Do you do the above to try and get a chit of the shed winter barley grain so as to TRY and prevent so many BARLEY volunteers coming up in the W Wheat the year after the OSR. DO YOU DO THE ABOVE EVEN THOUGH YOU USE DIRECT DRILLING / ZERO TILLING, FOR ALL YOUR OTHER COMBINABLE CROPS.
 

redsloe

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cornwall
First year direct drilling osr I cultivated a field and one I didn't. I had to redrill the uncultivated field due to slugs although both were affected.
Recently started to lightly cultivate WW stubbles in front of WB for volunteer issues. Sometimes put a cc and S B in in-between.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
No. We wait till November at latest and soray out the barley volunteers. Kerb will clean up any later germinators. Rain is enough to chit all the barley eventually.
So that will have expended all barley seed and there should be none going forward into the following wheat.
Ploughing down shed barley seed can be more problematic. It’s liable to emerge in following years.
It’s all a bit academic now as OSR is done for by flea beetle and we are now into continuous wheat and continuous barley, ploughed. Volunteers aren’t a problem. Take all and BG could be but take all hasnt been yet.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Just to add, even with a light cultivation post combining the barley, we never chitted enough soon enough to make much difference particularly in a dry time. They still emerged in the OSR.
Edit to add if drilling with a subsoiler, which is the best way, I wouldn’t do anything to loosen the surface beforehand and possibly cause issues with loose stubble and trash balling up in front of the subsoiler legs. Leave the stubble attached to the ground. Also conserves moisture. Don’t dry out the top inch or so or you’ll have a slow and patchy establishment.
Leave it alone after the combine then go straight in with subsoiler sprinkler as soon as you can. Roll straight after.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
The best thing about the subsoiler is the leg creates a clean band of soil behind it for the seed so you don’t get such a bad allopathy problem from the chopped straw. That’s where it wins over and above my direct drill which puts the seed in a toxic mat of chopped straw and soil. The straw often looks like it’s been rowed up between the seed rows when they’ve finished here. Just thinking though, perhaps best to round up the standing barley if there are any perennial grass weed issues as a better kill is likely. I’m highly tempted to give this method a go this year, straight after the combine if my relative still has his subsoiler sower rig. If it fails, at least the field has been loosened and I can drill something elselater.
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
Do you do the above to try and get a chit of the shed winter barley grain so as to TRY and prevent so many BARLEY volunteers coming up in the W Wheat the year after the OSR. DO YOU DO THE ABOVE EVEN THOUGH YOU USE DIRECT DRILLING / ZERO TILLING, FOR ALL YOUR OTHER COMBINABLE CROPS.
I use Kerb in the osr, so cereal volunteers have never been a problem in the following crop.

I've shallow cultivated winter barley stubbles in the hope of getting a chit that I can spray off pre osr drilling but if dry, it's a waste of time & fuel. I don't think I'll do it this year as I'd like to subsoil in the osr early, and I'd rather have as much stubble standing upright as possible to assist with flea beetle camouflage. Barley volunteers aren't expensive to spray out with Falcon if done early enough. The blackgrass pressure means it will need October applied Centurion Max anyway.
 

Adeptandy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
PE15
Tbh, if you’re new to DD this year it will be a disaster not to move the top few inches of soil after harvest. The rain here has washed the top down solid, tried to establish autumn 2020 after the wet 2019/20 winter without moving the top and the crops really suffered.
 

Adeptandy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
PE15
DD is a broad church, encompassing fewer passes than plough or deep cultivation based systems. No till is just that. I wouldn't get too hung up on what means different things to different people.
I’m finding those that refuse to accept DD as an option are the most zealous on what can and can’t be done 😂
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
I’m finding those that refuse to accept DD as an option are the most zealous on what can and can’t be done 😂
I'm not about to get too bothered about tags. I remember one of the early Groundswell presentations (when it was in a wooden barn in @martian 's yard) where Jeff Claydon was extolling the virtues of his Terrastar, straw rake and Hybrid drills. The first comment by Tony Reynolds who followed him was "that's not no till, Jeff." Jeff's reply was "I never claimed it was!"

I make no claims about one system or the other. I do what is needed in those conditions to deal with whatever issues have arisen.

The OP did say that even though you use DD/no till in your other combinable crops.... People should really read the previous posts...
 

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