Later drilling of winter cereals is now common where the weather permits. It can be a valuable strategy for managing black-grass and other grassweeds, as well as easing autumn workloads. However, delayed drilling is not without its challenges. Crops drilled into colder, wetter soils face a shorter growing season, reduced tillering capacity, and slower establishment. Agronomists and farmers must therefore focus on giving late-drilled cereals the best possible start if yield potential is to be maintained.
“Nichino’s Newton seed treatment stands out as a key innovation. Used alongside modern agronomy practices and complementary products such as Bridgeway and BackRow Max, it offers a reliable way to strengthen establishment, drive nutrient use efficiency, and improve crop resilience under the pressure of late sowing,” says Nichino’s Commercial Technical Manager, Ollie Johnson.
Establishment is everything
When drilling is delayed, seedbeds are often cloddy and difficult to prepare, while cold soils make seed-to-soil contact and germination less reliable. At the same time, weeds remain a significant threat, so robust pre-emergence herbicide programmes are essential. In such conditions, spray adjuvants like BackRow Max play an important role. By improving coverage and retention of residual herbicides on challenging seedbeds and ensuring more of the active ingredient remains where it is needed, BackRow Max helps herbicides deliver consistent weed control. This ensures late-drilled crops begin life in a cleaner environment with less competition, a critical factor when tillering capacity is already limited. Ollie explains that “since the herbicide is held above the crops rooting zone, not only does it improve the activity against weeds such as blackgrass, it also keeps the crop safe from the herbicide itself, preventing bleaching, stunning and crop thinning, which is especially important in the wetter late autumn”.
Building rooting and resilience
Once seedlings emerge, the priority is to build rooting strength and biomass quickly before winter sets in. Crops drilled from November onwards often struggle to put down deep roots and can be left with insufficient tillers going into the spring. Biostimulants such as Bridgeway provide valuable support here. Rich in amino acids and peptides, Bridgeway encourages deeper rooting, improves nutrient uptake, and stimulates tiller formation. It also helps crops recover more quickly from stress factors such as waterlogging, slugs and frost, which are common threats to late-drilled cereals. By supporting plant health and resilience, Bridgeway helps ensure that even a smaller crop can make the most of the shortened growing window.
Nichino’s Newton: making nutrients work harder
The standout product for late-drilled cereals, however, is Nichino’s seed treatment Newton. Used alongside conventional seed treatments, Newton’s biostimulant activity, gives it a unique role in modern cereal agronomy. Its benefits are particularly significant in late-drilled crops, where nutrient uptake and utilisation are often compromised. “In trials it’s been shown to speed up emergence by 4-5 days.” explains Ollie. “This means that you’re still getting the benefits as if you’d drilled 2 weeks earlier without the compromises”.
In cooler, wetter soils, the availability of nitrogen and phosphorus is reduced, and smaller root systems make uptake inefficient. Newton directly improves the crop’s ability to absorb and utilise these nutrients. By enhancing root development and stimulating metabolic activity, it allows plants to make far better use of the fertiliser that is applied. In a year when input costs are high and nutrient efficiency is under scrutiny, this represents a major advantage.
The benefits extend beyond nutrition. Newton has also been shown to improve crop resilience to stress, helping plants to withstand adverse conditions during establishment and early spring growth. In late-drilled cereals, where every week of growth counts, this can be the difference between a weak crop struggling to catch up and a strong crop able to realise its potential.
A combined approach
The greatest value comes when Newton is used as part of an integrated late-drilling strategy. A robust pre-emergence programme supported by BackRow Max provides weed-free conditions. Early applications of Bridgeway help roots and tillers develop ahead of winter. Then, as the crop moves into spring, Newton ensures that nutrients are used with maximum efficiency while also building further resilience. If stress events occur during the spring, a follow-up application of Bridgeway can add further support to keep the crop on track.
This combination tackles the three biggest risks of late drilling: competition from grassweeds, poor rooting and tillering, and inefficient nutrient uptake. With each risk addressed, crops are far better placed to perform strongly through to harvest.
Practical considerations
Seed rate decisions remain an important part of late-drilled cereal management, with higher rates often needed to compensate for the reduced ability to tiller. However, the real gains come from supporting those plants with the right tools. Stronger herbicide performance ensures cleaner conditions, deeper rooting supports better nutrient capture, and enhanced nutrient efficiency maximises the value of fertiliser inputs. By building these elements into their programmes, agronomists can help farmers overcome the constraints of drilling later in the season.
Conclusion
Newton, Bridgeway and BackRow Max are available from national distributors. Contact Ollie Johnson on 07701 220145 or Chris Blashill on 07701 220183 for details on your local suppliers.