With 60 per cent of winter wheat yield set during the establishment phase of the crop, growers can’t afford to take their eyes off the ball this autumn if they are to maximise returns from next year’s crop. Careful planning now, and achieving good crop establishment in the autumn, will justify subsequent inputs and set the crop up for the season, says an adviser.

Mr Moore says that following two years of poor weather at critical times in the season, the drying out and cracking of land in the hot conditions this year has repaired much of the damage done to the soil. “Some land is cracking down as deep as one metre, and breaking up the compaction pans that have been created,” he says.

“It also looks like it could be an early harvest so growers should use these factors to their advantage to get some decent cultivations going early on, in order to get the subsoil structure right,” he adds.

Seedbed preparation is where it starts, but time of drilling, variety selection, seed rates and seed treatments are all part of the key decision-making process for good crop establishment, he says.

Mr Moore stresses that while the plough versus min-till debate will rumble on, it doesn’t matter what tillage system is employed as long as growers focus on gaining adequate seed-to-soil contact during drilling.

He advocates a drilling depth of 2-3cm for rapid establishment, while even drilling depths also ensure efficacy of seed treatments.

“A good, friable seedbed will facilitate strong root development too, and subsequently produce more even crop establishment. This will also aid control of black-grass and other problem weeds with vigorous ground cover, assisting in growers’ overall autumn weed control strategies,” he points out.

Selecting the right winter wheat variety for a particular drilling slot is vital, he continues, with slower developing varieties such as Exsept, Orator and Claire likely choices for the earlier drilling slots, as these are less inclined to have advanced growth stages come the spring.

“Good disease resistance is also important in early first wheat variety selection and varieties with a good multi-gene resistance to rusts is the best starting point,” he comments.

Conversely, he says that in later drilled first wheats, or second wheat situations, growers should be looking for faster developing varieties such as Istabraq, Einstein or Hyperion, which can all perform as second wheats and carry good disease profiles, especially with eyespot in mind.

“Appropriate seed rates are always key and it’s important for growers to recognise the difference between high or low tillering varieties and to set the rates accordingly,” he adds. Planting a prolific tillering variety such as Claire early, and at a high seed rate, will bring no benefit to the grower and will result in more foliar disease and lodging problems, advises Mr Moore.

This, he says, will significantly increase the agronomic input, cost and risk of growing the crop compared with sowing it at the appropriate seed rate.

Mr Moore believes that correct selection of seed treatments is vital in getting the crop off to a good start and, with some products, protection is possible right through to early spring.

“Insecticide seed treatments such as Redigo Deter (clothianidin + prothioconazole) will give good control of BYDV (Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus) in heavy land situations, in addition to some protection against grain hollowing by slugs, particularly following oilseed rape.

“Tripod Plus (fuberidazole + imidacloprid + triadimenol) will give some coverage of BYDV and slug grain hollowing as well as some early season rust and Septoria control.

“Broad-spectrum fungicide seed treatments Tripod (fuberidazole + triadimenol) and Jockey or Epona (fluquinconazole + prochloraz) will give both autumn and early spring disease protection.”

He adds that Latitude (silthiofam) would be the suitable seed treatment for crops on susceptible soils where take-all is of high risk.

“The higher the germination and vigour of the seed this autumn the better,” sums up Mr Moore. “A more even establishment early season will result in more even growth stages later in the season, and this will enable growers to target PGRs and nitrogen more accurately in the spring in terms of timing, therefore maximising the return on inputs.

“However, get a three week variation in plant growth this autumn through poor establishment and it could result in a reduction in yield potential by 8-10 per cent if spring input application timings are out.

“Get it right in the autumn and it can set up the crop for the remainder of the season,” he concludes.