Menu

Know How / Disease management

Get advice on managing disease in wheat, barley, oilseed rape, potatoes, and sugar beet. Find the best ways to combine cultural and chemical controls and how to deal with fungicide resistance. See tips, insights and farmer case studies focusing on major disease threats such as septoria, yellow rust, ramularia, phoma leaf spot and blight and how to combat them.

Advice and tips

CROP MANAGEMENT

Advice for growers dealing with ergot this harvest

The fungal pathogen ergot is reported to be widespread across UK cereals this harvest, with some growers identifying the disease for the first time in decades. The greater incidence is…

SUGAR BEET

Tips to tackle foliar sugar beet disease in high risk season

Virus yellows is not expected to be the major issue feared in the spring – when aphid migration started earlier than usual – sugar beet growers have been reassured by…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Wheat growers advised not to scrimp on T3 sprays

Wheat growers are being warned not to economise on T3 sprays and risk exposing emerging wheat ears in such a wet high disease pressure year. See also: World’s first verified…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Expert tips for T1 fungicide strategies in rain-battered wheat

Weeks of rain and higher-than-normal spring temperatures are creating challenges for T1 fungicide plans, with growers advised to be guided by drilling date and variety. In such a testing season,…

See all

Case studies

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…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Eliminating chemicals helps future-proof pig and arable farm

Nick Dymond’s journey to chemical-free crop production began 10 years ago when he decided to escape the chemical conveyor belt and focus on soil health at the family pig and…

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…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Will Arable Insights Farmers cut fungicide spend this season?

Should growers consider reducing fungicide spend given the state of this year’s wheat crops? Farmers Weekly asks our Arable Insights Farmer panel about their disease control plans. Scotland: David Fuller-Shapcott…

See all

Community

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Twitter round-up: Spring drilling and wheat T0 race is on

The recent spell of warm, dry weather has allowed many growers to get into full the swing of spring drilling and take on the first fungicide application timing in winter…

See all

Insights

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…

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…

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…

See all

News

ARABLE

Scotland’s first drone crop-spraying service set to launch

Sky-Pin Drones, a Scottish business led by entrepreneur James Braid, will become the first in Scotland to offer advanced crop spraying services using a drone. This new service, set to…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Adama launches three new fungicide co-formulations

Ahead of the critical spring spraying season, Adama has launched three new fungicide co-formulations in the UK, all of which contain the active prothioconazole partnered with either an azole, an…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Wet harvest prompts potato seed disease warning

Seed suppliers are being urged to protect their high-quality product from storage diseases at first grading following the wet 2024 harvest and reports of symptoms developing in some stores. Tuber…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Cereal growers gain new azole fungicide mix this spring

Wheat and barley growers have an extra option for their fungicide programmes this spring, with the approval of a two-azole mix. RevyPro contains the newest azole (mefentrifluconazole) partnered with prothioconazole,…

See all

Video

WEED MANAGEMENT

Video: Phone app is cheaper way to monitor crops with a drone

A new smartphone app offers farmers a cheaper and easier way to monitor their crops, simply with a mobile phone and a cheap drone. Developed by Northumbria-based Drone Ag, the…

POTATOES

Video: Early potato harvest start is worst for 40 years

Brothers Peter and Philip Le Maistre are sixth-generation Jersey farmers and for them this potato season has been the worst since covering spuds with plastic started to be used on…

POTATOES

Video: Jersey early potato yields dip 20% after frosty February

Jersey’s early potato harvest is almost a month late this spring, with yields expected to be down one-fifth after the Beast from the East frosted off young plants barely out…

ARABLE

Video: Crop Doctor sees septoria rising to worrying levels

Disease levels are rising in the nation’s wheat crops with the wet weather likely to encourage septoria to spread and put growers on alert to make sure their fungicide programmes…

See all

Webinar

OILSEED RAPE

How to balance high inputs and market prospects for OSR

Although the price of oilseed rape has risen sharply largely due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, so too have input costs such as fertiliser, fuel and energy costs. Therefore, oilseed rape growers…

ARABLE

Webinar: Combating fungicide resistance

Farmers need to find ways to combat problems in crop protection that are caused by development of resistance to fungicides. Pathogen resistance to fungicides is widespread. This is especially true…

ARABLE

Expert advice on maximising OSR yields in a difficult season

After such a wet autumn and winter, the big question over oilseed rape this spring is: "What can farmers do to maximise yields in a very difficult season for oilseed…

See all