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Know How / Nutrition and fertiliser

Advice, case studies and insights on good nutrient management and fertiliser application for the best crop yields and quality. Get tips on when and how to apply nitrogen fertiliser to keep costs down, how to avoid nutrition deficiencies, problems such as lodging and how to achieve good sulphur levels for healthy soils.

Advice and tips

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Advice on gaining a clear picture of soil nitrogen levels

With some uncertainty about how much residual nitrogen is in soils, growers are being urged to consider getting fields tested ahead of early fertiliser applications.  Hutchinsons fertiliser and crop nutrition specialist Rob Jewers says there are two…

PEST MANAGEMENT

OSR growers advised to tackle CSFB with early nutrition

Oilseed rape growers are being advised to apply a nitrogen-sulphur combination, once conditions allow, to boost spring growth and strengthen defences against pests like cabbage stem flea beetle. Will Oliver,…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How to make the most of phosphate fertilisers this autumn

As margins squeeze tighter, many growers are looking at inputs and considering where to make cuts, and phosphate may be one area of focus. Tim Kerr, head of nutrition at…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

3 key factors to help hit milling wheat protein specs

Optimising nitrogen use to meet milling wheat protein specifications without overstepping economic thresholds is a key factor to balance this season, particularly as grain prices remain feeble. Winter wheat crops…

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Case studies

ARABLE

How 6 farmers are managing fertiliser use in tight season

With margins tighter than ever, how is the Arable Insights farmer panel approaching fertiliser use in wheat crops this spring? Farmers Weekly asks six farmers across the regions for an…

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…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Signature seed dressing helps grow fungicide-free crops

Irish farmer Tom Tierney has been no-till farming for a decade and is using a specialist seed dressing to kick-start crops into action and grow them without fungicides. The signature…

COVER CROPS

How a lucerne living mulch is working in Denmark

A living mulch based on the perennial crop lucerne is allowing Danish farmer and agronomist Frederik Larsen to harvest more sunlight and produce two crops each year, while reducing costs…

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Insights

COVER CROPS

The role of cover crops in nitrogen management for potatoes

A review into how cover crops affect nitrogen uptake in following potato crops has confirmed one thing – it is complicated. Despite these complexities, the review also concluded that cover…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

4 new nitrogen management technologies and how they work

Several firms across Europe are developing and launching new technologies for measuring the nitrogen requirements of arable crops. Improving nitrogen use efficiency has both environmental and economic advantages for farmers;…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Foliar urea fails to deliver in AHDB trials

A foliar-applied urea nitrogen application failed to provide either a wheat yield response or grain protein increase across two different years in trials at AHDB Strategic Farm East at Morley…

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News

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

New tech claims to raise crop yields with less fertiliser

A new approach to crop nutrition could deliver higher yields with less fertiliser, by using bespoke compound products formulated using soil or tissue test results. Most fertiliser is applied as…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

New crop nutrition product combines amino acid and phosphate

A new crop nutrition product that combines arginine - nature’s most nitrogen-rich amino acid - with phosphate, aims to create stronger root systems and more consistent yields. Global agtech company…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Farmers may lose silicon product benefits in SFI confusion

A company has highlighted confusion over the use of silicon biostimulants in the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme, which could result in farmers missing out on the benefits of using…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Paul-Tech device monitors soil nitrogen in real time

An innovative soil nutrient monitoring device has introduced a groundbreaking update, enabling the accurate measurement of nitrogen availability in real time. Precision agriculture company Paul-Tech updated its innovative soil station…

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Test and reviews

CEREAL DRILLS

New drill options for seed-bed fertiliser

New options for growers wanting to apply dry fertiliser when sowing spring cereal crops take different approaches to delivering the material, either down the same spout as the seed or…

MACHINERY

Spirit fertiliser and seed into place

Growers in Scotland who like to put down some fertiliser with their cereal seed will welcome the  the Spirit Next System Disc Combo (SDC). Using standard components throughout, the SDC…

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Video

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Why seaweed is key to biological crop market growth

The global market for biological crop protection products is expanding at a rate four-and-a-half times faster than conventional chemistry.  Valued at $8bn (£5.9bn) in 2020, this figure is expected to…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

New slurry treatment fixes N from air to create enriched fert

A novel slurry treatment unit that boosts the nitrogen content of liquid manures, using only air and electricity, aims to help farmers reduce reliance on artificial fertiliser, improve crop performance…

ARABLE

Video: Grower undersows with clover to cut fertiliser costs

A regenerative farmer is experimenting with white clover understories to reduce his nitrogen fertiliser bills and provide additional grazing for the ewe flock. The price of natural gas, a key…

POTATOES

Video: Potato planting races ahead in the Suffolk sunshine

Potato planting kicked off this week on one large Suffolk Breckland estate, with high hopes for the early-maturing crop after it went into the ground in ideal conditions. The light…

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Webinar

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…

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