- Location
- Lincolnshire
Devil's advocate....
The thing is, it's all very well delaying drilling for BG, but it's a bit pointless really when there's no moisture to get the BG growing in the pre-drill seedbed!!
My point is that I triple harrowed a 2016 harvest rape stubble (once behind combine, again two weeks later, and then early Sept) to get the BG (that I know was in the rape crop) to chit. It still hasn't chitted, but I know it's there, and I know it will chit when we have a decent dollop of rain. But, by then, it'll suddenly get too wet to drill.
I didn't drill that field with wheat as I know it'll be a lawn by Christmas, but who knows when it'll start to grow.
I am slightly worried that all the confidence that this season's later drilling will mean cleaner crops is unfounded. What I fear might have happened is that the BG sat there in the soil, waiting, at the same time we have all been waiting, and as soon as we get some decent rain volumes and these mild temperatures fall away, the Pre-em will had run out of steam and it'll be back to where we were last year.
The volumes of chitted BG is a minuscule fraction of the amount of seedheads blowing around in crops last June.
I know nothing ever works ideally with the weather, but the best thing could have been a few inches of rain at the end of Sept before this dry spell. I can't help feel that the delayed drilling would then have been worth doing.
If it is the right type of soil and you haven't ploughed for 2 years i would now go and plough followed by a combi drill.