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Know How / Pulses

In a tough pulses market, our page aims to help grow a more profitable crop in the face of rising inputs and volatile markets.

This is your starting point for addressing challenges such as disease and weed control, integrating different cultivation techniques, exploring precision farming and protecting the environment.

Key areas of focus:

  • Getting establishment right
  • Planning fungicide strategy
  • Keeping on top of weeds
  • Choosing the right varieties for the right market
  • Meeting market specifications

Must reads

Case studies

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ROTATIONS

No-till, rotation and resilience drive Kenya’s farming shift

Think of Kenyan agriculture and it's likely tea, coffee and cut flowers spring to mind, perhaps with various vegetable crops, such as green beans, which are imported into UK supermarkets.…

HARVEST AND CROP STORAGE

Why Cambs grower invested in bicropping separator

The installation of a specialist crop separator at the family farm's bicropping enterprise is enabling farmer Hannah Darby to sell peas, beans and oats into premium markets. The bicropping system…

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…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Irish farmer ditches fungicides on marginal crop land

Irish arable farmer Samuel Deane is successfully growing fungicide-free crops on what is considered the very limit of viable arable land in the rain-drenched landscape of County Cork. Sam is…

PULSES

Why Scottish regen farming business added beans to rotation

A contract farming business bringing regenerative agriculture techniques to farms in Scotland has introduced beans into its rotations to improve soil health. Chris Leslie and his business partner James Hopkinson founded…

PULSES

9 farmer trials that aim to promote UK pulse production

Nine “pulse pioneers” are being paid to take part in the Nitrogen Efficient Plants for Climate Smart Cropping Systems (NCS) project, which aims to increase the UK pulse area from…

Practical advice

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CROP MANAGEMENT

Why spring beans benefit from earlier drilling

Lower growing costs, the opportunity to exploit the break crop effect, and better variety choice are all good reasons to grow spring beans this year. However, timely drilling is advised…

COVER CROPS

How to tackle large cover crops before spring drilling

Some of the biggest overwinter cover crops seen in the past 15-20 years will need careful management ahead of spring drilling to maximise yields of the following crop. Oxfordshire-based Agrii…

PULSES

Why spring bean seed test can avoid disease risks

Growers using home-saved spring beans are advised to test seed ahead of planting, to avoid poor germination and crop health issues. The cost of testing is modest compared with the…

HARVEST AND CROP STORAGE

Sheds or silos? What to consider when upgrading grain storage

Farmers looking to upgrade their grain handling facilities have two main options: invest in a new shed or opt for silos. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Silos offer…

PULSES

Getting the most from intercropping: Your questions answered

Intercropping is becoming a popular option for arable farmers looking to reduce chemical inputs and enhance yields. Particularly as the Sustainable Farming Incentive pays £55/ha for companion cropping. Despite its…

ARABLE

How arable farmers can turn things around this spring

It may feel like doom and gloom at present, as any rare dry days are predictably followed by another spell of rain – a cycle that has limited field work…

Insights

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PULSES

Beans can deliver high yields in Scotland, trial shows

A trial has shown that growing beans in Scotland can successfully deliver high yields, but careful site selection, variety selection and drilling date are key to success. Scottish break crops…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Arable Insights farmers doubtful about Profitability Review

Farmers on this year’s Farmers Weekly Arable Insights panel are sceptical that Baroness Minette Batters’ Farming Profitability Review for Defra will significantly affect their future profits. A formal response from…

PULSES

Home-grown pulse incentive required to replace soya imports

The environmental gains of replacing imported soya in livestock diets with UK-grown beans could be substantial, but without financial encouragement for increased pulse production, targets may not be met. About…

CROP SELECTION

Intercropping trials show boosted protein levels with low N

Intercropping wheat with a pulse can improve grain protein levels in a low nitrogen input system, but only in certain seasons, according to new trial findings. For milling wheat growers,…

COVER CROPS

Trials reveal best ways to maximise cover crop benefits

Opting for a chemical method cover crop destruction and at a later timing are key to getting the most out of cover crops, according to a series of three trials.…

PLOUGHING AND CULTIVATION

Trial shows best break crops and cultivation for wheat profit

Discussion around which cultivation approach is best has been a central theme of many a pub debate or magazine article in recent years. But 20 years of the long-term Sustainability…

ROTATIONS

Why beans may have a place in Scottish rotations

With many growers looking for alternative break crops to extend rotations, nitrogen-fixing beans could be the answer for some this season. Through careful variety choice, establishment methods and inputs, Scottish…

PULSES

How Birds Eye hopes to grow peas for another 60 years

Frozen food company Birds Eye, whose vining pea operations are based in Yorkshire, is going to great lengths to secure the long-term future of local pea growing by developing and…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Why propyzamide use in OSR and beans remains in the balance

Delivering best practice for successful weed control with propyzamide while preventing it from entering water courses and reservoirs remains a difficult balance. What’s good for weed control frequently increases the…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Why parasitic weeds are a rising arable threat

Farmers are advised to be aware of the presence of parasitic weeds, especially if more diverse rotations are in place and legumes have been included in stewardship mixes or as…

PULSES

5 key factors for maximising pea yields

A multi-noded, tall-stemmed plant with deep roots is the key to farmers raising pea yields, according to a new pea growth guide. Researchers estimate that peas could yield 7-8t/ha on…

PULSES

Why N-fixing seed treatment may benefit pulses

A novel nitrogen-fixing bacterial seed treatment could prove especially beneficial this spring in pulse crops with lower levels of soil nitrogen (N). Syngenta technical manager Simon Jackson says the wet…

Video

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COVER CROPS

Video: No-till wins over grower to direct-drilling

New to no-till grower Richard Boldan is driving forward his plans to convert to a reduced cultivation system for a more sustainable future, with ambitions to grow more spring crops and establish…

ARABLE

Video: Grower cuts fuel costs as new drill hits blackgrass

The need to slash soaring fuel costs while tackling blackgrass at the same time has led to a wholesale change in establishment system on one Leicestershire estate. Farming 1,130ha of…

External resources

PGRO Pulse Descriptive Lists 2022

PGRO Pulse Descriptive Lists for combining peas, winter beans and spring beans 2023
Download lists

PGRO Agronomy Guide

Advice on agronomy and varieties of combining peas, winter and spring field beans, and other pulse crops
View guide