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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

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Why growers need flexible T2 plans as dry spell continues

As the T2 spray timing approaches, keeping enough flexibility in spray programmes as the dry spell continues is occupying the minds of growers and agronomists alike. With T1 sprays completed…

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…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Fungicide tips for variable wheat this spring

With winter wheat at a wide range of growth stages coming out of winter, extra care will be needed to manage crop development and disease pressure this spring. Such variability…

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…

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Case studies

CROP MANAGEMENT

Wilts OSR grower reveals lessons from sheep grazing trials

If the timing is right, grazing oilseed rape with sheep in the autumn can improve crop evenness and deliver yield benefits, according to one Wiltshire farmer. At East Farm near…

PULSES

Drone applies pod sealant to beans in pioneering UK trial

In the first-ever UK trial, pod sealant has been successfully applied to a winter bean crop using a drone ahead of harvest. Pod sealants are typically applied to crops prior…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Irish farmer ditches fungicides on marginal crop land

Irish arable farmer Samuel Deane is successfully growing fungicide-free crops on what is considered the very limit of viable arable land in the rain-drenched landscape of County Cork. Sam is…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How integrating livestock in rotations cuts crop inputs

As sustainable farming practices become increasingly important, some agronomists and farmers are exploring how integrating livestock into arable systems can bring both environmental and economic benefits. By combining rotational grazing…

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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…

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Insights

POTATOES

Fungicide and nectar mix results revealed at potato event

UK premier field-based potato event Potatoes in Practice once again showcased cutting-edge research, trade exhibits, and demonstrations for growers to make informed decisions about their crop. Agrochemical giant BASF was…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Wheat growers warned of new 'high input' group of varieties

Latest Agrii trials have shown marked drops in yellow rust resistance scores for some of the UK’s most popular winter wheats, rendering some popular varieties as high input wheats. The…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Growers advised to plan integrated yellow rust approach

Wheat growers are being advised to plan integrated yellow rust management strategies following the significant reductions in resistance ratings for some popular varieties. These reductions mean extra focus should be…

ARABLE

Dramatic falls in yellow rust ratings for popular wheats

Several popular winter wheat varieties have seen their yellow rust scores fall by up to five points, in updated disease ratings published by the AHDB. Of the 38 varieties on…

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News

OILSEED RAPE

OSR peak phoma spray predicted as mid-October

The AHDB phoma leaf spot forecast suggests many oilseed rape crops could reach the spray threshold for the disease in the next few weeks. The online forecast uses rainfall and…

CROP MANAGEMENT

AHDB trials to give farmers independent biofungicide data

Independent data on biofungicide performance will be available to farmers, thanks to a series of AHDB-funded pilot trials. The replicated field trials will test the effectiveness of biofungicides against Septoria…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

BYDV risk warning after early harvest follows mild autumn

Cereal growers are being warned about the increased risk of a key disease, as they prepare to drill winter crops after one of the earliest harvests on record. While early…

PEST MANAGEMENT

Carbon nanodot technology hopes to improve biopesticide use

Carbon nanodot technology, originally developed for the healthcare industry, could make biopesticides more stable and effective, believes a UK tech start-up. Carbon nanodots are ultra-small, biodegradable particles that enable precise,…

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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…

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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…

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…

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