How’s your OSR looking now

[texelburger]

I think it’s something about chickens that beetles don’t like.

I often spread Fibrophos, incinerated poultry manure, on standing crops and farmers often comment they’ve had no beetle trouble.

After all, when did you last find a flea beetle in your egg sandwich? Eh?

Ours had Fibrophos and plenty of flea beetle too,unfortunately.

 

[LH10]

Thick rape looks pretty and easy to maintain over winter as pigeons don’t want anything to do with it except the headlands but on our land thinner crops yield a lot higher even if we do have to battle pigeons and hour every morning!

 

[Cab-over Pete]

Ours had Fibrophos and plenty of flea beetle too,unfortunately.

On the standing crop, covering the leaf?

 

[Clive]

Clive are you saying calcifert has had a positive effect regerding CSFB??

we did some trials this autumn placing different rates at drilling 25kgs,50kgs, 76kgs,100kgs and 125kgs 36m tramlines of each

aim was to look if it helped with the acidic breakdown of straw aka “the 2 simons effect”

but what I did see unexpectedly was what seems to be a difference in CSFB attack in relation to the Ca use

All anecdotal with no replication etc but I think worthy of further investigation! I’ve written a bit about it for the next Direct Driller Magazine

 

[Brisel]

Hmm. Flea beetle do very well on high pH soils. White patches of pure chalk get the most attacked but this may be because the crop is slowest growing here. As you’d expect, plant tissue tests show plenty of calcium in the leaves. I think there is something else that is is keeping flea beetle away. Every day is a school day.

 

[PSQ]

we did some trials this autumn placing different rates at drilling 25kgs,50kgs, 76kgs,100kgs and 125kgs 36m tramlines of each

aim was to look if it helped with the acidic breakdown of straw aka “the 2 simons effect”

but what I did see unexpectedly was what seems to be a difference in CSFB attack in relation to the Ca use

All anecdotal with no replication etc but I think worthy of further investigation! I’ve written a bit about it for the next Direct Driller Magazine

It's heavy stuff fibrophos. Maybe your hitting the flea beetles on the head when your spreading... ?





?

 

[Cab-over Pete]

I don’t think it’s the calcium. As I said, we’ve been spreading lime and FP on standing crops of osr for years. I also don’t think it’s having a good pH that keeps them at bay.

I think, more likely, it’s maybe an “aroma” the beetles don’t like. If the leaves of the osr have had a dusting, especially on a dew when it sticks, I just have an idea they don’t like it.

A bit like folks who use sewage sludge reckon slugs don’t like it.

 

[KennyO]

Couple of our fields

 

[wellingtonfarmer]

They were about , but with layer manure it managed to grow away from them.

What rate do you spread the chicken muck at?

 

[Renaultman]

Pigeons are at mine now. ?

 

[Clive]

I don’t think it’s the calcium. As I said, we’ve been spreading lime and FP on standing crops of osr for years. I also don’t think it’s having a good pH that keeps them at bay.

I think, more likely, it’s maybe an “aroma” the beetles don’t like. If the leaves of the osr have had a dusting, especially on a dew when it sticks, I just have an idea they don’t like it.

A bit like folks who use sewage sludge reckon slugs don’t like it.

sewage sludge is the sulphur - you can achieve similar slug protection effect from AS or elemental sulphur

 

[R J]

What rate do you spread the chicken muck at?

Layer manure @ 3 tons per acre

 

[texelburger]

On the standing crop, covering the leaf?

No,pre drilling

 

[yellow belly]

The problem I see with proving a deterrent works is that if the fleabeetle have a choice they avoid the lime calciphos ect but when you treat the whole area they have no alternative so get over the deterrent
fleabeetle do not like charlock when there is rape in the field but in beans the charlock gets attacked is an example

 

[wellingtonfarmer]

Layer manure @ 3 tons per acre

It’s all out of a chicken...

 

[wellingtonfarmer]

I don’t think chicken muck is a deterrent! We apply muck to all osr ground, it all gets nailed- but 90% has grown through it

 

[Gedd]

It's looking pretty crap to be honest only grow 40 acres which at the minute is down to 15 and not looking very well far too wet on our heavy ground

 

[Cab-over Pete]

I don’t think chicken muck is a deterrent! We apply muck to all osr ground, it all gets nailed- but 90% has grown through it

Ah, ok. Sort of buggers my little theory!!!

 

[Brisel]

Flea beetle are allegedly attracted to the glucosinolates' cabbagey "smell," so anything that masks that smell is supposed to be helpful. Here, I had no less beetle damage where sewage cake was applied nor where I've used Fibrophos pre drilling in the past.

 

[Cab-over Pete]

What about if you’ve put fibrophos on a damp leaf standing crop?

I don’t want to bang on about it, not trying to create sales, I’m just interested after several farmers have told me they think it MAY have helped.