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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

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…

WEED MANAGEMENT

New advice to maximise brome control in cereals

Cereal growers can simplify brome weed management post-harvest by responding to environmental conditions, regardless of the brome species present, says John Cussans, principle weed science consultant with Adas. Instead of…

WEED MANAGEMENT

How cultivation can control resistant Italian ryegrass

After Italian ryegrass with resistance to high rates of glyphosate was discovered on a Kent farm earlier this year, it was zero-till systems researchers pinpointed as particularly at risk. They…

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Case studies

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…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How fulvic acid can cut glyphosate rates and help foliar N

Fulvic and humic acid could be beneficial additions to spray tank mixes, enabling growers to increase efficacy and successfully cut back glyphosate and fertiliser rates by one-third. Both fulvic and…

ARABLE

Grower moves to direct-drilled OSR and companion crops

Dorset grower Andrew Fry is growing oilseed rape for the first time and is hoping for a good yield from his new break crop. There is also £100/ha of government…

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…

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Insights

WEED MANAGEMENT

How to maximise the benefits of stale seed-beds

Effective weed control between harvest and drilling is crucial to control yield-sapping grassweeds such as blackgrass, ryegrass and bromes. Stale seed-beds are one of the main techniques used ahead of…

BLACKGRASS

Grassweed control - sequencing and timing key

Grassweed control programmes for this autumn need to take account of warmer winters, changing blackgrass behaviour and the increasing threat from brome, say experts. Where wheat drilling is planned for…

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News

WEED MANAGEMENT

More suspected cases of glyphosate resistance in UK

The Weed Resistance Action Group has flagged a fresh wave of concern for UK farmers, announcing that several more Italian ryegrass populations may be developing resistance to glyphosate. Glyphosate is…

WEED MANAGEMENT

New AHDB project to support natural weed cutting strategies

A project led by the AHDB is set to investigate crop physiology traits in winter wheat that enhance weed competitiveness in low-input and organic farming systems. The initiative will support…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Winter wheat and barley growers to benefit from new herbicide

A brand new pre-and peri-emergence herbicide has been approved in time for this autumn's barley and wheat drilling season, offering growers a new mode of action option for tackling costly…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Electric weeding system makes debut at Groundswell

Controlling weeds in arable crops using electricity is a step closer with the first commercial tractor-mounted units destined for specialist crop growers in the UK. Better known for its precision-guided…

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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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