Corn Gromwell

Growing the crop & wildlife conservation

Sowing:
We sow in late spring

Fertiliser:
We apply nitrogen, potassium, phosphate, magnesium and sulphur fertiliser in the spring

Weed control:
There are fewer herbicides approved for corn gromwell than for commoner crops like barley. So, we start our weed control with a sterile seed bed. This involves  preparing a seedbed well before the drilling date. This gives us the opportunity to kill the first flush of weeds before the crop appears

Insect pest & control:
We have had no significant problems with insect pests though aphids can affect the crop

Disease control:
Any plant diseases are controlled using fungicides

Threats to the crop:

• Drought is a major threat on our sandy soils
• Some fields have weeds which are hard to control with the few herbicides that are available for corn gromwell
• Heavy rain or hail at harvest

What helps:

• A warm spring helps get the crop established quickly
• Spring and summer rainfall can increase yield
• Dry weather in August helps with harvest

Wildlife conservation:

• Corn gromwell has been exceptionally good for wintering stock doves. A flock of 790 was recorded on our corn gromwell stubble in November 2015. Good numbers were regularly seen on the field throughout the winter. From 2010-14 the largest flock recorded in the Norfolk Bird Reports was 229
• The stubble also seems to be good for skylark and linnet
• The field had a period in late spring when most of the farm’s breeding lapwing were using the field for feeding. We do not know what the birds were finding