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Know How / Crop management

Managing your crops through the growing season means careful nutrition and fertiliser use for maximum crop yields and keeping a watchful eye on pest, weeds and disease control.

Read expert advice, case studies, and tips on how to achieve the best yields and growth through best-practice crop management techniques, on all crops including wheat, barley, oilseed rape, potatoes, sugar beet and more niche crops.

Case studies

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CROP MANAGEMENT

How couple are developing organic, no-till cropping business

Starting five years ago with an optimistic vision and a blank slate, first-generation organic farmer and emergency doctor Alex Fraser had a plan to produce healthy food for local people.…

BARLEY

Greater yield and margin for winter barley grower

Scottish grower Neil Ramsay is pushing the boundaries of winter barley production, striving for both yield and margin. He achieved a top yield of 13.5t/ha last harvest and has an…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How fulvic acid can cut glyphosate rates and help foliar N

Fulvic and humic acid could be beneficial additions to spray tank mixes, enabling growers to increase efficacy and successfully cut back glyphosate and fertiliser rates by one-third. Both fulvic and…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Will Arable Insights Farmers cut fungicide spend this season?

Should growers consider reducing fungicide spend given the state of this year’s wheat crops? Farmers Weekly asks our Arable Insights Farmer panel about their disease control plans. Scotland: David Fuller-Shapcott…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How two farmers are cutting back on fungicides this spring

Two arable farmers are planning to dramatically cut back their fungicide spend this spring, helping to overcome rising chemical costs. Wiltshire grower George Hosier aims to spend the absolute minimum,…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Extra wheat yield prompts fungicide shift on Notts farm

Richard Cross trialled a new SDHI fungicide on his winter wheat last year and gained an extra 0.4t/ha in yield over his farm standard, prompting him to make this latest…

Practical advice

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DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Expert tips for T1 fungicide strategies in rain-battered wheat

Weeks of rain and higher-than-normal spring temperatures are creating challenges for T1 fungicide plans, with growers advised to be guided by drilling date and variety. In such a testing season,…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Advice on getting the most from Dawsum winter wheat

One of a strong line-up of hard feed wheats available to growers, Dawsum accounts for almost 20% of all the winter wheat being grown in the UK this year. Joining…

PEST MANAGEMENT

6 steps for granular potato nematicide best practice

Potato growers are being reminded to follow the best-practice protocol for granular nematicides this spring to ensure products are used safely and are protected for the future. Mark Taylor, chairman…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Why leaf layer emergence is key to accurate fungicide use

Growers will require “laser focus” to accurately monitor leaf layer emergence and hit critical fungicide timings in what has been an extremely variable cropping season so far. What’s more, cereal…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How to tackle hefty spring arable workloads after wet winter

Spring workloads are mounting on most arable farms, so sorting fieldwork priorities to ensure optimum return on investment where crops are variable and harvest profitability remains uncertain is a tricky…

BARLEY

How to get spring barley off to a good start

Whether it’s an option to replace missed or failed winter drillings, or a profitable mainstay in the rotations of committed malting growers, spring barley is expected to increase its area…

Insights

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PULSES

Soil conditioner trial lifts vining pea yields by nearly 40%

Applying a phosphate enhancer to vining pea seed-beds led to an average yield increase of nearly 40% in Agrii trials carried out in conjunction with a Yorkshire vining pea co-op.…

POTATOES

Why industry-wide effort is needed to beat potato viruses

Across Europe, a recent rise in seed potato crops being downgraded due to virus diseases sends a very strong message that action must be taken now to arrest the upward…

POTATOES

Potato blight: What UK farmers can learn from Europe

A combination of wet weather, new double fungicide-resistant strains of blight and repeated block applications of fungicides resulted in 2023 being one of the worst late blight seasons in the…

SUGAR BEET

Sugar beet rubbery taproot disease: What farmers need to know

A disease that prevents sugar beet from being processed caused €43m worth of losses in Serbia last season. More worryingly for British sugar beet growers, it is spreading west into…

SOILS

How FYM can increase soil oxygen and nitrogen use efficiency

Increasing soil organic matter levels through applications of farmyard manure can significantly increase soil oxygen levels, which in turn improves nitrogen use efficiency. The flow of organic carbon through soil…

ARABLE

How to succeed with the AHL2 winter bird food option in SFI

Filling the hungry gap for smaller farmland birds from late autumn through to late winter by providing a supply of small seeds on arable and horticultural land is the relatively…

ROTATIONS

SFI 2023: Tips on making it work on your farm

One in eight eligible farmers have now submitted a Sustainable Farming Incentive application, with more than 11,000 applications to the scheme and more than 100 farmers applying every day, according…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How climate change may increase pest and disease threats

The changing climate is already bringing new challenges, and 2022 served as a prime example, with sugar beet crops hit by a moth while oilseed rape crops in the east…

ARABLE

How arable farms can support farmland bird populations

A good, varied arable rotation, along with winter bird food stewardship options and a variety of hedges, will provide most of what farmland birds need to survive and thrive. Adding…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Best options for septoria disease control in wheat

The most effective fungicide for controlling septoria in wheat has been found to be Univoq, which is slightly ahead of SDHI-azole combinations, according to independent trials carried out by crop consultant Niab.…

ARABLE

Cover crop study shows yield benefits of destruction methods

Research funded by water companies has revealed significant differences between cover crop destruction methods for nitrogen availability in the following crop and weed control. A further project has highlighted the…

CROP MANAGEMENT

What changes are being made to the Wildfarmed standards

A change to the Wildfarmed standards now allows crops destined for the company to be grown on a rotational basis. Previously, growers had to dedicate blocks of land to the…

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