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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

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…

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…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Plans to revitalise wheat after wet winter on Somerset farm

Crops are off to a soggy start at the Doble family farm in Somerset, after yet another wet winter which saw annual rainfall exceed the farm’s 10-year average. Last year,…

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Case studies

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…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Arable Insights Farmers' strategies to optimise nitrogen use

From organic manures to use of technology and various monitoring approaches, all the growers on the Farmers Weekly Arable Insights Farmer panel have an eye on optimising nutrient use, and…

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Insights

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Farmers reveal results of biological inputs trial

Two arable farmers were tasked with replacing 25% of their synthetic crop inputs with biological alternatives as part of a sustainable cropping project. We catch up with them to find…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Benefits of adding manganese to seed-beds after dry summer

Farmers are advised to apply manganese in the seed-bed this autumn, as the dry summer may have left soils depleted of the micronutrient. Origin Soil Nutrition agronomist Toby Ward warns…

ARABLE

Can arable farms operate without fossil fuels?

While completing his Nuffield Scholarship, Stuart Oates founded the Fossil Free Farm project, born of his belief that removing fossil fuels from farming is essential for future sustainability. Based at…

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News

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…

SOILS

Plan ahead to benefit from soil sampling, growers advised

Soil sampling is an essential tool in understanding the nutrient availability of soils, but unless the results are interpreted correctly, it could be a waste of money. That is according…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Cereals 2024: Corteva’s N raises yields in 80% of crops

A biological product used in the 2023 season helped to fix nitrogen from the air and led to yield increases in 80% of crops of maize, sugar beet and potatoes.…

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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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