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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

WEED MANAGEMENT

Advice on sugar beet weed control for summer 2026

Good crop ground cover will be key to managing herbicide costs in sugar beet this year, after dry conditions affected weed control programmes in 2025. Sugar beet growers should have…

ARABLE

Advice on managing grassweeds after low pressure season

Successful weed control was a highlight of last year’s growing season, with some of the lowest blackgrass pressures recorded in the UK over the past decade. However, experts are warning…

WEED MANAGEMENT

How to avoid weed burdens after land comes out of SFI

Land coming out of some Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options must be managed carefully to avoid unintended weed burdens in following cash crops. For options such as winter bird cover,…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Expert tips for chemical-free thistle and dock control

Mechanical topping just before flowering is one of the best non-chemical methods of controlling major troublesome perennial weeds such as creeping thistles and broad-leaved docks. This pre-flowering period is when…

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Case studies

WEED MANAGEMENT

How a farmer is planning weed control without flufenacet

Oxfordshire wheat grower Ollie Stobo has been using new autumn herbicide Fundatis to control his “medium” levels of blackgrass and some troublesome broad-leaved weeds. He has trialled FMC’s product across…

WEED MANAGEMENT

How two farmers integrate strategic glyphosate in rotations

Use of glyphosate – the most widely applied herbicide in the UK – has surged over the past three decades. In recent years that increase has been driven by the…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How growers returned environmental schemes back to cropping

Land in environmental stewardship schemes returning to the arable rotation must be managed carefully to avoid unintended weed burdens. We talk to two growers about how they have managed the…

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…

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Insights

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How to unlock phosphate and improve herbicide efficacy

Up to 80% of applied phosphate can become locked up within days of application, significantly reducing the effectiveness of the fertiliser. “Research shows less than 10% of applied phosphate may…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Novel electric weeder works without chemicals or moving soil

A non-chemical systemic approach to weed control is now commercially available to UK farmers, following the launch of Garford’s electric weeder. The novel system is the result of a collaboration…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Biostimulant and bioherbicide tech targets yield gains

A biostimulant that can boost yields by up to 20% and a bioherbicide with insulin-like properties that fools plants into shutting down are two high-tech solutions being developed for arable…

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News

WEED MANAGEMENT

Tri-allate offers new hope in herbicide resistance battle

New research suggests that tri-allate could have a valuable role in managing herbicide resistance in grassweeds, due to its multisite mode of action. This discovery by researchers means the chemical…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Bayer secures landmark Roundup US court victory

A landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court has handed Bayer a major legal victory in the long-running litigation over its glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide. It is a decision that could…

ARABLE

Australia clears paraquat and diquat for continued use

Australian farmers will retain access to paraquat and diquat after the country’s pesticide regulator stopped short of a ban, instead imposing new restrictions on how the herbicides can be used.…

ARABLE

Australia weighs fate of paraquat ahead of key ruling

Australia’s pesticide regulator is expected to rule later this summer on the future of paraquat, as pressure mounts from health campaigners calling for the herbicide to be banned. The Australian…

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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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