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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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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…

POTATOES

Estate grows low input potato crop with no yield loss

Holkham Estate in north Norfolk successfully grew a 10ha field of salad potatoes with zero synthetic fungicide, fertiliser or insecticide applications, without any loss in marketable yield. Harry Barnett, potato…

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…

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…

PEST MANAGEMENT

How to spot stem weevil in oilseed rape and manage it

Oilseed rape growers are urged to watch out for signs of rape winter stem weevil, following reports of the pest appearing in crops in eastern counties. Despite having potential to…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Agronomist tips for managing late-drilled wheat

Be prepared to be flexible in your approach to managing later-drilled winter wheat crops after the planting delays caused by the wet start to autumn, a leading agronomist is urging.…

ARABLE

How SFI grassy corners and blocks can work most effectively

Grassy corners and blocks are perhaps potentially one of simplest of all the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options to implement, but, as ever, to deliver the maximum benefit for the…

WEED MANAGEMENT

5 tips for achieving successful residual herbicides sprays

Following a high grassweed pressure season, growers will need to pay extra attention to achieve effective weed control, particularly if drilling early. Farmers Weekly looks at five top tips for…

Insights

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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…

ARABLE

Wheat growers urged to remain vigilant for yellow and brown rust

No major breakdowns in varietal resistance to yellow or brown rust occurred last year, but the dynamic nature of pathogen populations means that growers and agronomists must remain vigilant and…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Why ergot contamination of grain is higher than expected

Grower guidelines for managing ergot are to be updated by the AHDB, following a steep rise in the incidence of the pathogen over the past three years and confirmation that…

ARABLE

How Fera is tackling the wireworm and flea beetle problems

Wireworm in potatoes and cabbage stem flea beetle in oilseed rape are two of the arable industry’s biggest pest challenges. They can result in catastrophic yields for farmers and disrupt…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

High-tech system measures crop nitrogen from space

An innovative system that uses cutting-edge satellite imaging to precisely measure crop nitrogen could be a game changer for fertiliser planning on farms after promising results in 2024 trials. The…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

What the latest in-field pest and disease tech can offer

The development of “smart” spore-trapping systems that combine on-site analysis and real-time reporting to track the spread of diseases mean that the same-day detection of more than one pathogen will…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How low-input spring cereals SFI action may fit this spring

Low-input harvested spring cereal crops supported by the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) action AHW10 could be a good option for growers in 2025, given the payment rate of £354/ha. Use…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

AHDB fungicide data reveal how new products performed

The AHDB’s fungicide performance trials confirm that the new SHDI fungicide from Syngenta is a valuable addition for septoria control. Approved in April 2024, Miravis Plus also offers a step…

CROP MANAGEMENT

3 adoption steps for AI to transform arable farming

Technologies using artificial intelligence (AI) are primed to progressively change the way we farm, ultimately leading to a fundamental shift in the way farmers grow crops. That’s the prediction of…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How pesticide labels will be made fit for the future

Increasing uptake of digital technology on farms means plant protection product (PPP) approval criteria and product labels could soon better reflect how they are used in the real world and…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Pesticide rules: NI arable farmers losing out under Brexit

Politicians from all sides are being urged to fix the mess surrounding plant protection products (PPPs) and seed trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland to prevent irreparable harm to…

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…

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