Menu

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

See all

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Arable Insights Farmers' strategies to optimise nitrogen use

From organic manures to use of technology and various monitoring approaches, all the growers on the Farmers Weekly Arable Insights Farmer panel have an eye on optimising nutrient use, and…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How a farm cut nitrogen by 60kg N/ha with no yield detriment

An Oxfordshire farm has successfully slashed nitrogen rates by 60kg N/ha with no yield detriment thanks to the addition of a carbon rich crop spray and urease inhibitor to each…

ARABLE

How growers can build resilience on arable farms

Growers must be prepared to adjust their farming operations and management to make businesses more resilient in the event of adverse weather and volatile market conditions. That’s the message for…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Unpredictable weather hampers Transition Farmers' aims

Heavy rainfall and more extreme weather have seen Transition Farmers adjust their cropping plans. We catch up with Transition Farmers Alan Steven in Fife and Matthew Williams in Shropshire to…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Why one Essex arable farm faces difficult decisions in 2025

Essex farmer Tom Streeter admits that he and his brother Will have some difficult decisions to make about the future of the family farming business, having looked at the details…

OTHER CROPS

Why East Yorks grower added flax to the rotation

Jonathan Hodgson isn’t averse to growing niche crops at Great Newsome Farm in East Yorkshire, and for the past three years his cropping mix has included a fibre crop that…

Practical advice

See all

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Fungicide tips for variable wheat this spring

With winter wheat at a wide range of growth stages coming out of winter, extra care will be needed to manage crop development and disease pressure this spring. Such variability…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Why avoiding glyphosate on stressed weeds is advisable

Farmers preparing to tidy up stubbles with glyphosate this spring are reminded to avoid applications to stressed weeds, which can otherwise reduce glyphosate efficacy. Applications to stressed weeds – particularly…

WHEAT

How to manage Cheer wheat to maximise yields and quality

Farmers growing Cheer milling wheat for the first time this season are being advised to tailor their disease and growth regulation strategies according to drilling date. This approach will enable…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Expert tips on managing very variable crops this spring

There is huge variation in winter cereals, ranging from lush winter barleys with 6-7 tillers to poor-rooted wheats that have just emerged after being mauled in mid-December. While the UK…

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…

PULSES

Getting the most from intercropping: Your questions answered

Intercropping is becoming a popular option for arable farmers looking to reduce chemical inputs and enhance yields. Particularly as the Sustainable Farming Incentive pays £55/ha for companion cropping. Despite its…

Insights

See all

PULSES

Why N-fixing seed treatment may benefit pulses

A novel nitrogen-fixing bacterial seed treatment could prove especially beneficial this spring in pulse crops with lower levels of soil nitrogen (N). Syngenta technical manager Simon Jackson says the wet…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How the market-leading farm management system is changing

New-look, cloud-based digital farm management software incorporating the best elements of the well-known market-leading Gatekeeper and Muddy Boots crop recording programs is set to be rolled out throughout 2025 by…

OILSEED RAPE

Analysis: Signs of cautious optimism for oilseed rape?

After another challenging growing season and a further 17% fall in area, the UK’s winter oilseed rape crop for harvest 2025 is the smallest since 1983. Higher risk, lower reward…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How microbial seed dressing helps cut nitrogen fertiliser

An increasing number of farmers are looking to cut their reliance on bagged nitrogen fertiliser, and trials suggest a microbial seed treatment could help them achieve this without affecting cereal…

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

University regenerative ag trial aims to plug research gap

A trial at the University of Leeds is measuring the impact of regenerative agriculture principles to plug the research gap and support evidence-based practise for farmers. An array of metrics…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

New cereal fungicide gives strong performance in AHDB trials

Independent trials for the recently authorised cereal fungicide Plaxium reveal that the three-way mix gave strong broad-spectrum disease control across winter wheat and winter barley. In autumn 2023, Bayer launched the SDHI…

SUGAR BEET

Weather helps reduce beet virus yellows risk

Virus yellows risk in sugar beet is reducing following cold weather in January and early February, according to the British Beet Research Organisation’s (BBRO) Prof Mark Stevens. With the government…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Low-carbon premiums could soon benefit arable farmers

As supply chains come under increasing pressure to meet environmental goals, arable farmers with a track record of reducing on-farm carbon emissions could soon benefit from verified low-carbon premiums. Independent…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How crop nutrition and structure can boost yield potential

Yield enhancement is possible almost anywhere in the UK, according to more than a decade’s worth of UK data collected by the Yield Enhancement Network. Simple strategies to address the…

POTATOES

How to stop rhizoctonia denting potato yields this spring

Researchers agree that work needs to be done to understand the impact of changing growing systems on a key soil-borne pathogen of potato crops. Until then, the advice on managing…

SUGAR BEET

How soil testing can tackle sugar beet cyst nematode

Beet cyst nematode is an increasing threat to British sugar beet crops and growers are urged to ramp up soil testing efforts to identify problems and steer management around crop…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Advice on managing glyphosate resistance this spring

A rapid testing service will be available this spring to help farmers and agronomists quickly investigate suspected cases of glyphosate resistance and act to contain any new populations. Early intervention…

Advertiser content

See all