Volunteer oat surge in autumn crops
We have had numerous inquiries about controlling volunteer oats in autumn cereals this year.
As we know, many growers had to opt for spring crops last year due to the weather in the previous autumn and part of this acreage was put down to oats. This coupled with a difficult harvest has meant there are a high amount of oat volunteers in crops this autumn.
Volunteer oats are extremely competitive in winter cereals and should be controlled early. Evidence suggests that just five plants per square metre can cause a five per cent yield decline, making it vital to control the weed to maximise crop output.
Even if you only have a few plants in your crops at the moment, don’t leave control until the spring, because by the time it comes to it, you’ll have already incurred a yield penalty.
One of the main problems with volunteer oats is they are more difficult to manage than wild oats and there’s a limited armoury of products available that effectively control them.
In response to queries from growers and agronomists, we’ve been recommending the use of Foxtrot. Experience with Foxtrot has demonstrated more consistent and improved control of volunteer oats than other available products.
Simon Francis is commercial technical manager at FMC
