Menu

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

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.…

BARLEY

How to get spring barley off to a good start

Whether it’s an option to replace missed or failed winter drillings, or a profitable mainstay in the rotations of committed malting growers, spring barley is expected to increase its area…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Advice on backwards and poorly established crops this spring

An early dose of nitrogen to nurse backwards cereal crops into action will be key to optimising yield after crops battled intense rainfall this winter. Soils could be carrying 40-60kg/ha…

See all

Case studies

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…

BLACKGRASS

Borage and herbage seed helps Essex farm fight blackgrass

Borage and herbage seed break crops have helped one heavy land Essex arable farm get on top of blackgrass, with double spring-sown breaks and low soil disturbance seen as the…

See all

Insights

WEED MANAGEMENT

How new herbicide will benefit growers in autumn 2025

A new co-formulated pre-emergence herbicide based on two new active ingredients is expected to be available in time for autumn 2025 cereal drillings, reports manufacturer FMC. With one of the…

BLACKGRASS

Why low disturbance subsoiling raised yields in trial

Cracking soil with a low-disturbance subsoiler has been the springboard to help raise yields in the direct drilling plots of Agrii’s Stow Longa long-term blackgrass trial. The silt-rich soils at…

BLACKGRASS

Why traffic light approach is vital for blackgrass this autumn

Growers are advised to use a traffic light approach in each field to avoid drilling loss-making winter wheat crops, as the pressure to drill earlier rises this autumn in the…

BLACKGRASS

Blackgrass control as later-germinating populations emerge

Blackgrass emergence patterns are shifting towards later-germinating populations, which are prompting growers and agronomists to adapt control strategies to keep on top of the weed. Evidence is also suggesting that…

See all

News

WEED MANAGEMENT

UK wheat growers gain new herbicide option for 2025

UK wheat growers will have a new post-emergence herbicide at their disposal next spring to tackle a wide range of problem grassweeds and broad-leaved weeds, including meadowgrass. Broadway Ultra from…

BLACKGRASS

Best practice reminder - applying Avadex granules with drill

Growers are being reminded of best practice when applying Avadex (tri-allate) granules with a drill this autumn, to get the best grassweed kill. The benefit of applying tri-allate with a…

BLACKGRASS

New blackgrass biological control product in testing phase

A biological approach to blackgrass control, which effectively infects them with disease, is being tested on UK farms.  Rather than killing the weed, the product uses fungi to stunt its…

WEED MANAGEMENT

New mode of action blackgrass killer step closer to farms

The battle against blackgrass may soon get a little easier, as a new grassweed herbicide is a step closer to being used on British farms. Agrochemicals group FMC has received…

See all

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…

See all

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…

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…

See all