It has been confirmed that the area of planted maize recorded in Ireland this year has come in at around 55,000ac.

“This is about 10% up on 2025,” added Maizetech’s John Foley.

“The planting season normally ends around the beginning of June. We ran out of seed on a number of occasions this spring, such was the strength in demand.

“And I know that other suppliers had the same experience.

According to the Maizetech representative, earlier sown crops are now at the five to six-leaf stage and well through the plastic mulch that was applied at time of drilling.

With forage maize now fast developing, growers can now look at a number of crop management options.

Foley said: “Crops grown on the same land repeatedly can be disposed to Redshank infestations.

"However, this issue can be quickly and effectively addressed with an appropriate herbicide."

The Seedtech representative noted that this issue seems to be more prevalent when maize is grown in clay soils.

“Volunteer oilseed rape plants can also be an issue when the brassica is followed by a spring sown forage maize crop," he commented.

"But, again, the issue can be easily dealt with by using an appropriate herbicide."

Nutrients

As maize plants reach the 11-12-leaf stage, bespoke foliar nitrogen sources can be sprayed on to crops either for direct foliar uptake or as long acting side dressings, placed on the soil

According to Foley, the longer acting nitrogen sources can deliver 90% uptake values.

“If CAN had been applied, the uptake figure would be in the region of 70%,” he said.

Zinc and manganese formulations can also be sprayed directly onto growing maize crops in order to correct any trace element deficiencies that can arise.  These are not costly products to apply.

“An hour’s sunlight per day can provide the perfect conditions under the plastic for newly planted maize seeds to germinate and grow on," Foley said.

“But it is not possible for the plants to overheat. This is because of the micro pores contained within the plastic mulch.

“Modern films are both fully biodegradable while also encouraging enhanced growth rates, relative to what would have been the case in the past.”