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Know How / Variety selection

There are many factors to consider when selecting the right crop variety. Find out which varieties are performing well and proving their worth for the intended market, whether wheat for milling or feed, barley for malting or oilseed rape for specialist uses. With disease resistance becoming ever-important with a declining amoury of pesticides, see how new varieties can help.

Case studies

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WEED MANAGEMENT

Bold rapeseed variety choice secures profitable future

Since estate manager Toby Hogsbjerg made the radical decision to completely switch to Clearfield oilseed rape varieties, the estate's rapeseed crops have yielded almost 1t/ha more. A serious charlock problem…

VARIETY SELECTION

Switching barley varieties yields better profits in Norfolk

Spring malting barley is the most profitable cereal crop on one north Norfolk farm and in a bid to improve returns further just one new high-yielding variety is being grown.…

WHEAT

Farmers' verdicts on 2017 wheat disease strategies

Yields and quality have proved to be better than anticipated for the farmers, considering the very dry spring and prolonged harvest, along with the disease threats. While responses to fungicides…

VARIETY SELECTION

Video: World record OSR yield attempt in Lincolnshire

High on the Lincolnshire Wolds, grower Tim Lamyman is trying to break his own world yield record for oilseed rape and the omens look good. There is thick carpet of…

WHEAT

Planning vital for peak farm-saved seed performance

Producing top quality farm-saved seed has helped one father-and-son team from the Scottish Borders cut costs by £20/ha while still achieving good yields from the latest wheat varieties. Cameron and…

WHEAT

New wheat variety leads battle against blackgrass

Winter wheat grower Peter Allen picks varieties for his farm which are high yielding and early to mature to give him time in the autumn to battle blackgrass. This season…

Practical advice

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WHEAT

Why growing a Group 3 wheat may pay off next season

A shortage of Group 3s and a glut of Group 1 wheats has resulted in biscuit wheat premiums rivalling that for full breadmakers, but without the extra growing costs. Paul…

VARIETY SELECTION

High-yielding OSR variety helps growers fight disease

Oilseed rape growers now have a high-yielding option that offers resistance to the turnip yellows virus, which can reduce yields by up to 30%. Architect is the only variety on…

VARIETY SELECTION

Two new OSR varieties offer northern growers higher yields

Oilseed rape growers in Scotland and northern England could be set to benefit from the launch of two new varieties, which should deliver consistently higher yields across more difficult terrain.…

VARIETY SELECTION

How to find the best varieties on revamped OSR list

The AHDB Recommended List for winter oilseed rape has been given a makeover, with all the varieties recommended for growing in different regions of the UK now being displayed in…

WHEAT

3 top varieties to consider as second wheats this autumn

Gravity, Gleam and Dunston are among the top varieties cereal growers should be considering for second wheat drilling this autumn, according to an arable expert. A number of arable growers…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Oilseed rape variety proves its worth against charlock

Michael Maxwell vowed never to grow oilseed rape again on a charlock-infested field until being tempted to try a variety tolerant to a herbicide particularly good at killing this brassica…

Insights

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VARIETY SELECTION

Rapeseed needs a price hike to prompt a bigger area

Rapeseed prices will need to tick higher to encourage a bigger oilseed rape crop to be drilled this summer as growers watch their crops struggling in the current wet weather.…

VARIETY SELECTION

What the 5 new sugar beet varieties offer

Five newly recommended sugar beet varieties offer growers up to 7.6% extra yield, as well as a step up in yield for a specialist variety for fields infested with rhizomania.…

VARIETY SELECTION

Harvest 2017: The 5 top-yielding spring barley varieties

Throughout the harvest season we’ll be updating this handy map with the latest data from this year’s AHDB spring barley recommended list 2017 harvest results. Use the map below to find…

WHEAT

Harvest 2017: The 5 top-yielding winter wheat varieties

Throughout the harvest season we’ll be updating this handy map with the latest data from this year’s AHDB winter wheat recommended list 2017 harvest results. Use the map below to find…

VARIETY SELECTION

Harvest 2017: The 5 top-yielding winter barley varieties

Throughout the harvest season we are updating this handy map with the latest data from 2017’s AHDB winter barley Recommended List harvest results. Use the map below to find the…

VARIETY SELECTION

Harvest 2017: The 5 top-yielding oilseed rape varieties

Throughout the harvest season we will be updating this handy map with the latest data from this year’s AHDB oilseed rape Recommended List 2017 harvest results. Use the map below to…

VARIETY SELECTION

Growers spoilt for choice with new oilseed rape varieties

Conventional oilseed rape varieties may continue to set the pace for gross output, but there is plenty of interest in hybrids and specialist types, especially the Clearfield varieties, according to…

WHEAT

Why biscuit wheats could trump milling varieties this autumn

In stark contrast to the Group 1 sector, there aren’t enough Group 3 wheats being grown in the UK to meet demand and the millers are keen to secure supplies.…

WHEAT

New varieties and sprays to give growers helping hand

Plant breeders and agrochemical groups were eager to show off new improved varieties and pesticides at the Cereals 2017 event in Lincolnshire – with the aim of helping growers face…

WHEAT

New feed wheat variety offers SDHI fungicide savings

A new variety of feed wheat with the highest resistance to septoria could be the safest option for growers looking to pursue a single SDHI fungicide strategy next season. Trial…

VARIETY SELECTION

Too many varieties hold back national OSR yield

Crop record-keeping data shows an alarmingly high number of oilseed rape varieties being grown commercially across the UK – and this could be contributing to a stagnant national average yield.…

VARIETY SELECTION

Learn which specialist crops will earn you a healthy premium

There are a number of winter and spring cropping options offering farmers a profitable break crop next season by earning a healthy premium. However, they must have a market –…