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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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SOILS

How nature-friendly practices built farm's climate resilience

Herbal leys, cover crops, contour cropping and 30m buffer areas are at the heart of Rob Atkin’s strategy to improve soil health, manage grassweeds and protect water quality on his…

ARABLE

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. See also: FW Awards: Meet the 2026 Contractor of the Year…

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…

Practical advice

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DISEASE MANAGEMENT

BYDV: Lessons from 2026 on how to reduce risk

Last season proved to be a perfect storm where earlier drilling, higher aphid numbers, milder conditions and increased virus levels all combined in one of the worst seasons for barley…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Growers advised to protect against resistant blight strains

Potato growers are being advised to keep up fungicide programmes to protect against the spread of resistant late blight strains as rain returns. That is the advice from Agrii’s lead technical…

SUGAR BEET

Beet growers advised to focus on pests as rain arrives

Sugar beet growers are being advised to remain vigilant for pests and diseases after the first rainfall for several months, in a year when light land yields are expected to…

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…

Insights

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NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How UK heatwave has turned cereal straw pink

This summer’s hot and dry weather conditions have resulted in the occurrence of pink straw in some cereal crops, a phenomenon last widely observed during the dry summer of 2022.…

BLACKGRASS

Three steps to better blackgrass control

Blackgrass control is moving underground, with a shift in focus towards creating crop root systems that will be highly competitive against those of the weed. Significant progress has been made…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Advice on grassweed control for early wheat drillers

The higher yields and greater resilience targeted by earlier sowing of winter wheat must be balanced with an appropriate approach to grassweed control, growers are advised. While a large, up-front…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Grower trial aims to unlock food-grade millet production

A crop of millet stood like a green oasis in the middle of the parched Kent landscape in mid-August this year at Nonington Farms, seven miles outside Canterbury. Grower Emma…

WEED MANAGEMENT

How new herbicide is helping tackle Italian ryegrass

Italian ryegrass is the key grassweed in parts of Kent and a new herbicide is helping farmers manage high levels and harvest crops which would otherwise be sprayed off. While…

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…

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