Air compressors will be powered up at farms across the country in the coming days as the T1 fungicide application timing arrives.

The latest CropMonitor update from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs notes that the “most forward crops” at its live monitoring locations “will reach the T1 fungicide spray timing very shortly”.

This gives farmers a chance to tackle some of the main diseases that can attack their crops, using powerful air compressors to distribute fungicidal sprays over their foliage.

In the north, mildew is still a problem on some crops, leading the CropMonitor update to suggest incorporating an appropriate mildew treatment into the T1 round of spraying.

Meanwhile, farmers may want to equip their air compressors with a supply of triazole suitable for action against rusts.

Brown rust has been detected at three live monitoring locations so far, and is causing concern for Defra as many crops are susceptible to the disease.

Yellow rust has been seen at seven of the 13 sites covered by live monitoring, but north-west farmers may find they have little to fear from the blight, as it has only appeared east of the M1 so far.