With sowing all complete, Douglas just has some rolling to do before the spring rush is over. Here is the latest update from Moss-side of Esslie as of 6th April 2021.
Rolling, rolling, rolling
The strong winds have dried out Douglas’ soils remarkably quickly, and to try and combat this Douglas has rolled his spring sown crops twice at different angles to try and increase the soil contact in the hard and dry soils. Despite such strong winds, there was little dust blowing about at Moss-side of Esslie, showing that the lack of ultra-fine seedbeds can have a positive effect on soil erosion. Temperatures remain low, and as such no spring crops have emerged yet.
Douglas rolling some spring barley to increase seed to soil contact.
Wheat establishment
Douglas has also trialled a Weaving drill and compared it against his own tried and tested Claydon. Within the same field Douglas also top soiled the wheat crop at a 30-degree angle, across sections from both drills to compare if this additional pass improves crop establishment. Below are some photos of this trial.
Winter wheat which has been top soiled at a 30-degree angle to the right of the photo, and not top soiled to the left.
Wheat sown with a Claydon (left) and a Weaving drill (right).
