This will be especially important where a fungicide has not yet been applied, or where this was applied more than four weeks ago, or where low rates were used. Most winter wheat crops are now flowering. Septoria remains the main disease problem with infection of the flag leaf on some crops of susceptible varieties. Where this has yet to be applied, growers should check crop growth stages, and product labels carefully to ensure that the crop is not too far advanced for application. With the warm weather, aphids are evident in a number of crops.
Aphids cause the most damage when ears become infested before or at flowering.
Once 2-3 sprays of a systemic have been applied, rapid expansion of the crop canopy should have finished. Application intervals should reflect the blight risk. If blight is found in a crop as a small patch, it is best to sacrifice this area to limit disease spread by desiccation. The remainder of the crop should then be sprayed with a tin based fungicide, for example, Farmatin 560 or Brestan 60. Slugs Slugs have the potential to cause serious damage, especially in susceptible varieties such as Maris Piper, Kerrs Pink, Dunbar Standard, Rooster and high risk situations for example wet conditions and heavy soils.