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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

FW Awards: Meet the 2026 Arable Farmer of the Year finalists

All three finalists have changed their arable businesses to cope with the increasingly extreme weather seen in recent seasons. The finalists James Chapman, Hill farm, Norfolk Colin Chappell, Gander Farm,…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How careful growth built a 1,200ha mixed enterprise

Walter Dandie & Sons was one of the first farming businesses in Scotland to embrace contract farming, transforming a traditional 48ha mixed farm into a modern 1,200ha enterprise, finishing 500…

HARVEST AND CROP STORAGE

A day in the life: Managing 100,000t of grain at PX Farms

Not many farms have a 100,000t grain storage facility on site, but for managing director James Peck of PX Farms, grain storage and processing is a key part of the…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Regen premium helps West Midlands family battle blackgrass

Regen premiums have given father and son James and Sam Daw the confidence to dedicate one-third of their cropping area to spring crops and tackle a growing grassweed problem. “It…

PULSES

Winter beans beat wheat gross margin for northern grower

Winter beans are producing a greater gross margin than most 10t/ha wheat crops at Will Dakin’s arable farm in Northumberland.  Deeper, earlier sowing with a modified one-pass drill saw beans…

VARIETY SELECTION

Grower reveals top wheat and OSR contenders for autumn 2026

Bedfordshire-based farms director Andrew Robinson of Heathcote Farms is a dedicated milling wheat grower so finds himself in a good position on variety choice, given the recent Group1 additions. He…

Practical advice

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HARVEST

Did drought or heat have greater effect on crops?

This summer’s prolonged period of low rainfall and repeated heatwaves have seen cereal yields struck down as stressed crops senesced rapidly. Drought is often viewed as the primary limitation to…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

5 top tips on getting the most from slurry on stubble

The post-harvest period is a crucial time for arable farmers putting nutrients back into soil before incorporating and drilling the next crop. However, applying slurry in hot conditions can reduce…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Take-all in wheat: Advice for growers as weather shifts risk

Take-all is the most economically damaging root disease of consecutive wheats in UK arable systems, with yield losses in the range 10-20% common. Its impact can be much worse in…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Dry harvest and long storage raise potato disease risk

Low market movement of potatoes has left ware crops in store longer than usual, making store hygiene a key priority this summer. The dry harvest conditions of 2025 increased tuber…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

7 tips to make fertiliser go further this spring

While many farmers have already purchased fertiliser for this season, there will be some who haven’t been able to do that, whether it’s because of storage restrictions, cashflow or other…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Advice on effective late blight control in potatoes

Alternating fungicides to protect chemistry is key to maintaining effective late blight control in potatoes. Resistance management is a central component of any potato blight programme as aggressive and resistant…

Insights

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PEST MANAGEMENT

How research project is set to help slash slug pellet use

A precision slug risk model developed through a £2.6m research project has successfully passed its first on-farm test, despite being deployed during one of the lowest slug pressure seasons in…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

How wheat growers can stay ahead of yellow rust

Winter wheat growers are being urged to select the right variety, monitor their crops closely and spray if necessary next season to stay on top of yellow rust after two…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Early harvest creates ample time for yield data analysis

An earlier-than-usual harvest has given farmers a valuable opportunity to make the most of their combine yield data, before autumn drilling gets under way. Industry advisers are encouraging growers to…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Trial shows value of living mulch in building resilience

A clover understorey is proving its worth in a long-term project by Syngenta at Elveden Estate on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, where its inclusion in a regenerative farming system is improving…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Later-drilled winter OSR will need tailored agronomy

Winter oilseed rape growers delaying planting until late August and into September need to adjust their agronomy to compensate for the shortened growing window before winter, says an expert. OSR…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Why grassweed control is vital in oilseed rape crops

Oilseed rape used to be looked upon as a good cleaning crop for grassweeds, but in recent years it has become the weak link in many rotations. A combination of…

PEST MANAGEMENT

Why OSR growers shouldn't discount slugs ahead of drilling

Oilseed rape growers should not be lulled into a false sense of security when it comes to managing slug risk in the coming months, warns one agronomist. Dry conditions through…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Benefits of using an inhibitor when applying digestate

Farmers applying ammonium-rich fertilisers such as digestate should consider using a denitrification inhibitor to make the most of the nitrogen applied. Digestate is increasingly seen as a valuable nitrogen fertiliser…

POTATOES

Growers warned of herbicide drift damage in seed potatoes

Specialists warn that avoidable herbicide damage caused by pre-harvest glyphosate applications continue to ruin seed potato crops every year. Just a small amount of herbicide can have severe consequences, with…

SOILS

Growers share insights on using Johnson-Su compost extracts

Two farmers shared their experience of feeding soils with Johnson-Su compost extracts at the recent Groundswell event, as interest in the technique for giving soil biology a helping hand continues…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Drought conditions drive farming change in central Europe

Growing crops in drought conditions in central Europe is increasingly relying on techniques that preserve soil moisture and improve soil organic matter levels, according to experience from Hungary and Poland.…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Beet trial shows benefit of elicitor on foliar disease control

Adding a plant health elicitor to sugar beet fungicide programmes can improve the plant’s own defences to significantly reduce foliar disease levels and improve green leaf area, according to Agrii…

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