2023-05-31, sow +54 days, 424 degree-days_base3, 28.8 mm rainfall. DEVELOPMENT We’ve still not had much rain. There was a very handy 6 mm last Tuesday. Modal development stage is probably BBCH20, if that exists. Unfortunately an accurate canopy cover figure is not possible as the drone mission attempted on 24 May had to be aborted…
Read more
2023-05-16. sow +39 days, 160 degree-days_base3, 19.4mm rainfall. NO RAIN The last rain we had was three weeks ago. There is some forecast for tonight, but it feels pretty uncertain given it will come from storm activity i.e very hit and miss: we got 5 mm in about 15 minutes in Malmö yesterday with a…
Read more
2023-05-02. sow +25 days, 141 degree-days_base3, 19.4mm rainfall. DEVELOPMENT The modal stage of development is probably BBCH11 – first pair of leaves visible but not unfolded. The cold has slowed things down. My plant count came in at 226, 4.52 per meter, 94 167 plants/ ha. BUT… …now that it is very easy to see…
Read more
2023-04-24. sow +17 days, 101 degree-days_base3, 19.0mm rainfall. WEEDS We have weeds. We also have moist soil and a little rain in the forecast. This means the products that require moisture (Centium, Tanaris, Goltix) will be proper effective. Also in the forecast is a fair bit of cloud and cooler weather. This means the products…
Read more
2023-04-18. sow +11 days, 56 degree-days_base3, 15mm rainfall. EMERGENCE It is difficult to put a number on it, but it is definitely >0%. The majority of the field is still bare soil, but there are also many areas with rows of visible cotyledons (BBCH09). A few digs found plants in various stages of development. All…
Read more
EARLY CHECK (2023-04-14, sow +7 days, 30 degree-days_base3, 15mm rain) Some signs of life. Unfortunately, some of that life is mice. The further “up the hill” (i.e to the west/ towards the trial site) I went, the more life there was. I would guess that the median growth stage was BBCH02-03 (pellet swollen, on the…
Read more
SUMMARY: SOIL PREPARATION: The field was ploughed in Autumn 2022, and harrowed twice prior to sowing (5 and 6 April). No autumn 2022 harrowing was done as by the time I realised that this was something that I should ask for, it was way too wet. FERTILISATION: ProBeta (15-3.6-8-+), broadcast 5 April 2023. The actual…
Read more
The Pavitt taxonomy of invention in industry places agriculture is the bucket of “supplier dominated”. That is, most of the technological improvements in the sector come from the suppliers of the inputs (seed firms, fert firms, machinery firms, etc). This seems reasonable, given R&D is an expensive and risky game. Most farmers can neither afford…
Read more
The major highlight is, as always, the ability to meet with ones peers. Even if the cost of travel to Mons skyrocketed as a result of the issues in the airline industry, just having the chance to meet the people who share your passion is worth its weight in gold alone. Of the more innovative…
Read more
The 78th IIRB Congress was held 21 to 23 June 2022, in Mons, Belgium, at the the Wallonia Conference Center. This is a summary of the contributions NBR made to the Congress. First and foremost, the Chair of the entire IIRB organisation in 2022 was none other than the NBR Managing Director, Desirée Börjesdotter. That…
Read more