Below is a summary of the weather in 2022 season so far, shown as anomaly maps (compared to 1990-2020 average) from the Met Office website:
We had a generally bright, dry, warm winter - the YENs have shown this to be positive for yields, aiding establishment and encouraging deep rooting.
Spring was also dry, especially April, potentially delaying uptake of nitrogen fertiliser. There was rain in May, but some areas in East Anglia remained drier than normal, and the rain was locally sporadic, with 50mm falling in some areas but other areas only 10 miles away largely missing rain altogether. Crops on lighter soils have been showing signs of drought stress.
The season has been generally bright, though May was dull which may have affected floret development and potential number of grains per ear.
Temperatures have been warm, except for April, hastening development with growth stages generally being reached a few days earlier than normal. High temperatures over 30C were experienced in mid June, hastening senescence in some crops. Harvest of some barley crops in England began before the end of June.
So there have been positives and negatives this season - positives are good and early plant establishment, dry mild winter, bright early spring, enough rain in May to see many crops through, low early disease, little lodging.
Negatives are warmer than average, dry spring restricting N uptake and tillering, lower N rates for some crops, quite widespread black grass.
What do you think this means for yield prospects over all? Comment below.
See a good twitter thread on yield prospects here - https://twitter.com/cutlerstom/status/1544019843648835584
AHDB Reports on crop condition - see https://ahdb.org.uk/cereals-oilseeds/crop-development-report
