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Know How / Barley / Crop management

With ramularia now more difficult to control and other diseases showing signs of fungicide resistance, there is plenty to consider before deciding on how to manage your barley crop. Get the latest advice and thinking on cost-effective barley agronomy, from pest and weed control, to nutrient planning and fungicide/growth regulator use.

Case studies

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DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Dorset grower hopes for lift from septoria-hitting SDHI

Bob Rowe is turning to a new hard-hitting septoria fungicide across all his 700ha of winter wheat at the crucial T2 flag leaf timing later this month to gain from…

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 treated urea is helping farms to improve NUE

New rules mean farmers can only use standard urea up to 31 March, but Velcourt is going a step further by only using urea fertiliser treated with an urease inhibitor.…

ARABLE

Grower improves fungicide use and compaction with helicopter

A helicopter is not the standard piece of farm kit to be stored in a machinery shed, but Canadian grain producer Wade McAllister plans to combine his passion for farming…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How Wold Top Brewery barley grower lowered carbon footprint

The Yorkshire farming family behind the successful Wold Top Brewery and Yorkshire’s first single-malt whisky distillery is using the latest precision mapping technology in its drive towards a low-carbon, sustainable…

BARLEY

New winter barley impresses on disease resistance and yields

Essex grower Andrew Fairley says his crop of the new winter barley Caravelle is the healthiest looking of the five varieties he growing this season, and it is set the…

Practical advice

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ARABLE

Expert sets out six steps to better spring barley yields

Spring barley was a get-out-of-jail card for some growers last season after wet weather prevented autumn drilling, yet many crops went on to deliver above-average yields. Why they performed so…

ARABLE

How to plan crop and soil management after a washout season

Soils, rotations and cashflows were all impacted by the 2023-24 growing season washout, meaning there are important decisions to be made ahead of the new cropping year. The smallest wheat…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Tips for spring barley growers as lodging risk rises

Spring barley and oat growers are being advised to use plant growth regulator this spring to avoid yield losses in what could be a higher risk year. Growth regulators can…

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…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How foliar nutrition can kick-start crops and cut chemical costs

Foliar fertilisers could be a valuable addition to crop production programmes this season as a means of replenishing leached nutrients and overcoming stunted root systems left over from winter waterlogging.…

Insights

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DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Improved BYDV tool to give cereal growers better control

Winter cereal growers are set to see a more accurate warning system next season for a key aphid-spread disease. The AHDB’s new Acrobat tool will give a more precise forecast…

WEED MANAGEMENT

How new herbicide will benefit growers in autumn 2025

A new co-formulated pre-emergence herbicide based on two new active ingredients is expected to be available in time for autumn 2025 cereal drillings, reports manufacturer FMC. With one of the…

ESTABLISHMENT

Cereal seed treatments for farmers to consider this autumn

Seed treatments have many roles, which include fungicide dressings, nutritional enhancers, and in more recent years, the arrival of biological treatments have been added to some agronomy plans. So as…

BLACKGRASS

Blackgrass control as later-germinating populations emerge

Blackgrass emergence patterns are shifting towards later-germinating populations, which are prompting growers and agronomists to adapt control strategies to keep on top of the weed. Evidence is also suggesting that…

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…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Why urea fertiliser use is changing this spring

Farmers are being reminded that a new, non-regulatory approach to urea fertiliser use will be implemented this season, as part of the government’s efforts to tackle air pollution and improve…

WEED MANAGEMENT

4 reasons Italian ryegrass is a growing threat to growers

While blackgrass remains by far the most common grassweed issue on arable farms across the country, Italian ryegrass is increasingly seen as the most challenging to control. A survey in…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Why increasing diversity in arable fields is key to IPM

Introducing greater diversity in arable fields is an important part of integrated strategies for disease and pest control, buying crucial time for slower acting biological solutions. Canadian soil specialist Joel…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How biologicals are changing pesticide use

Biologicals will make up 25% of the overall crop protection market by 2035, growing by more than three times to a value of $30bn (£24bn), predicts Dr John Wiles, global…

BARLEY

Malting barley growers to take up fossil-free green fert

About 20 growers in the north of England and Scotland will be growing spring malting barley and wheat for the distilling market using Yara’s fossil-free green fertilisers next spring, under…

SOILS

How natural fungi can be encouraged to aid crop production

Mycorrhizal fungi play a valuable role in maximising crop performance, and a team of researchers is on a mission to delve deeper into the world of mycorrhizas to explore how…

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