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Know How / Weed management

Find out about the main pest threats and how to control them in wheat, barley, oilseed rape, sugar beet and potato crops. Get advice on dealing with pests including flea beetle, TuYV, potato cyst nematode and slugs, how and when to apply insecticides and what a permanent neonicotinoid ban would mean.

Advice and tips

CROP MANAGEMENT

6 steps to achieve correct sprayer setup this spring

A well-maintained sprayer is essential for accurate applications. We offer six handy tips to help achieve this. The busy spring spraying season is just around the corner, which means sprayers…

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…

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…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Learning lessons from 2024 on pre-drilling glyphosate use

Eliminating weeds with glyphosate pre-drilling prepares the way for residual herbicides to control the next wave of weed germination in crops, but there were reports of poor control last spring.…

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Case studies

WEED MANAGEMENT

Grower phases out herbicides in favour of mechanical weeding

As herbicide efficacy dwindles and fears of resistance build, East Yorkshire farmer Jonathan Hodgson turned to mechanical weeding as an additional weed control method. Recent dry spring conditions have provided…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How fulvic acid can cut glyphosate rates and help foliar N

Fulvic and humic acid could be beneficial additions to spray tank mixes, enabling growers to increase efficacy and successfully cut back glyphosate and fertiliser rates by one-third. Both fulvic and…

ARABLE

Grower moves to direct-drilled OSR and companion crops

Dorset grower Andrew Fry is growing oilseed rape for the first time and is hoping for a good yield from his new break crop. There is also £100/ha of government…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Video: Leicester farm trials weed seed unit on Fendt combine

Europe’s first Redekop seed control unit (SCU) fitted to a Fendt Ideal 10T combine, aimed at controlling weed seeds, is being put to the test this harvest in Leicestershire at…

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Insights

WEED MANAGEMENT

How a new test helps tackle herbicide-resistant weeds

Growers will soon be able to make more informed broad-leaved weed herbicide choices with a new rapid-resistance testing method nearing commercial launch. Much emphasis has been placed on improving knowledge…

SUGAR BEET

Tips on reducing herbicide resistance risk in sugar beet

Sugar beet growers are advised to take a proactive weed management approach to help manage the growing threat from acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitor herbicide resistant weeds when growing herbicide-tolerant varieties.…

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News

WEED MANAGEMENT

Cereal growers urged to look out for willowherb this spring

Growers have been urged to watch out for willowherb and take steps to tackle the weed in cereal crops this spring. Mathew Hutchings, senior commercial technical manager at FMC, says…

ARABLE

Glyphosate licence extended in GB until December 2026

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has announced an extension of glyphosate’s authorisation in Great Britain until 15 December 2026, providing a temporary reprieve for the widely used herbicide as…

ARABLE

Bayer warns litigation costs threaten glyphosate

German agrochemicals giant Bayer has issued a stark warning to farmers about the future of glyphosate, its widely used herbicide. The company said ongoing legal battles in the US were…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Government unveils first pesticide action plan in a decade

The UK government has unveiled its first National Action Plan (NAP) on pesticides in more than a decade, aiming to reduce environmental harm and enhance sustainable farming practices. The plan…

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Test and reviews

New Defy 3D nozzle: Sprayer operators give their verdict

Agrochemical giant Syngenta has launched its new Defy 3D spray nozzle, which will provide growers with improved grassweed control and reduced spray drift. The new nozzle is an evolution of…

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Video

WEED MANAGEMENT

Video: Leicester farm trials weed seed unit on Fendt combine

Europe’s first Redekop seed control unit (SCU) fitted to a Fendt Ideal 10T combine, aimed at controlling weed seeds, is being put to the test this harvest in Leicestershire at…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Video: Mechanical hoes offer solution to herbicide resistance

As herbicides are withdrawn from the market, resistance builds and growers seek more sustainable weed management strategies, an increasing number of growers are turning to mechanical weed control. Andy Baggott,…

SUGAR BEET

Video: Robotti successfully drills and weeds 150ha of sugar beet

Autonomous Agri Solutions and Sentry farming have teamed up to use a fully autonomous robot to successfully drill and weed a 150ha area of sugar beet across Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire.…

CEREALS

Cereals 2022: Watch the solar-powered FarmDroid in action

A fully autonomous, solar-powered robot capable of precision drilling and weeding was on display at Cereals this year. Using ultra-accurate GPS to record exactly where each seed is placed, the…

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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…

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