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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

Rule reminder: Key pesticide stewardship guidelines

Plant protection product stewardship campaigns are now at the heart of industry efforts to prevent further losses of under-threat active ingredients. Here, we give a reminder of the key actives…

OILSEED RAPE

Drought and pests give rapeseed growers a tough start

Establishing vigorously growing plants and using companion crops could help oilseed rape growers cope in the future with the drought and pest problems seen in the summer of 2018. Lack…

CROP SELECTION

How to grow profitable spring crops and beat blackgrass

Spring cropping has a key role in tackling blackgrass, but which are the best crops for tackling the weed and maximising returns? Four years of trials data have come up…

BLACKGRASS

How to get residual herbicides right to fight blackgrass

Stale seed-beds and other cultural approaches can go a long way in managing blackgrass, but a robust residual herbicide programme is vital in getting the level of control needed for…

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Case studies

COVER CROPS

Long-term benefits of cover crops examined on Suffolk farm

Early destruction of cover crops is essential to allow a following spring crop to be successfully drilled and established, especially as these over-winter crops are tipped to become more important…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Fuel and seed costs cut in Sussex machinery loan deal

Britain’s biggest organic farm is cutting its fuel costs and making savings on expensive cereal seed in a machinery loan scheme with one of the world’s biggest tractor makers. The…

BLACKGRASS

Grass and maize help to banish blackgrass

Grass and maize are helping to win the blackgrass battle on one mixed Dorset farm, and so are cutting the cost of expensive autumn cereal herbicides. Two-year grass leys have…

BLACKGRASS

Fens blackgrass trial back to winter cropping after three years

A fens grower forced into spring cropping by an untenable blackgrass population is set to return to winter cropping this season after tackling his weed problem. Lincolnshire farmer Chris Richardson’s…

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Insights

CROP MANAGEMENT

How farmers can help prevent 'mass extinction' of pollinators

Arable farming needs to change in order to halt declines in biodiversity and prevent one of the worst mass extinction events in history, a leading US entomologist has warned. Bold…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Key pesticide approval changes for barley and sugar beet

Pesticide approvals are constantly changing and the latest raft are set to affect farmers growing sugar beet and cereals for brewing and distilling. Highlights include more options for weed control…

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News

WEED MANAGEMENT

France bans Monsanto weedkiller Roundup over safety fears

The licence for one of Monsanto’s glyphosate-based weedkillers has been cancelled in France over safety concerns – less than two years after its approval was renewed. An immediate ban has…

CROP WATCH

Crop Watch: Concerns grow over propyzamide timing in OSR

This autumn is proving to be one that requires nerves of steel. A lot of patience was needed with delayed drilling to get a good blackgrass kill and now it’s…

CROP WATCH

Crop Watch: Rising OSR disease and aphid risk

Recent rain has come as a welcome relief for many arable farmers, with crops drilled into relatively dry seed-beds. However, it means there is likely to be a blackgrass flush…

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…

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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: 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…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Video: 7 pre-season checks every sprayer should have

Spring is just around the corner and farmers up and down the land are drawing up battle plans about how best to tackle the impending mountain of work. With many…

ARABLE

Video: Cotswold farmer highlights the benefits of glyphosate

Failure to relicense the world’s most widely used non-selective herbicide glyphosate will have an adverse effect on wildlife and soil health, believes one Cotswold farmer. Jake Freestone, who farms more…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Video: Farmers explain why glyphosate is vital

Farmers are being urged to make the case for glyphosate by lobbying their MPs and MEPs to explain the agrochemical’s importance on farms. The NFU wants the European Commission to…

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