March 11, 2021 10:17 am College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprises (CAFRE) crops advisors are highlighting the impact that a wet autumn, in which winter cereals were sown over an extended period, has resulted in crops which now range from strong and well-developed to thin and backward. High winter rainfall has left soil nitrogen (N) levels low – therefore, early N is a priority to kick-start them back into life. Winter barley requires at least one third of its total N during late tillering, before mid-March and winter wheat the same proportion before the end of March. For thin and struggling crops, sow N earlier to encourage tillering.