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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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NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Farmer uses own field trial to find optimum nitrogen rate

Thomas Todd is using his own field trials on his farm to give him the optimum nitrogen fertiliser rate for his malting spring barley and the best septoria disease control…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How wheat growers can cut their fungicide costs this spring

Winter wheat growers could cut their fungicide spend this spring if they are growing varieties with good disease resistance that were drilled in late autumn. The dry winter has held…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Dorset farmer's plans to strike early septoria in wheat crop

Wheat’s most damaging disease, septoria, is appearing in the wetter West this season, prompting one Dorset cereal grower to prepare to strike early to keep the infection under control. Mild…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Sussex grower switches wheat variety to trim fungicide spend

Sussex grower Will Hecks is planning to trim his early fungicide spend on his winter wheat this season after switching to more disease-resistant varieties. Picking varieties such as Zyatt and…

BARLEY

How Norfolk farm grows malting barley for well-known brewer

Growing malting barley for a nearby brewery can make sense as it secures a fixed market and premium price rather than having to rely on the uncertainties of the open…

BARLEY

Barley growers find secure market with grain for distilling

An expanding band of barley growers in southern England is producing low-nitrogen grain destined for the spirits market and earning themselves a useful price premium. Having a secure domestic market…

Practical advice

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DISEASE MANAGEMENT

How to save up to £50/ha on your wheat fungicide programme

Wheat growers could be saving up to £50/ha on fungicide costs by using the latest more disease-resistant varieties coupled with late drilling in the autumn. Choosing varieties such as Graham,…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Why wheat variety data is vital for right fungicide strategy

Knowing a wheat variety’s weakness is essential when considering fungicide strategy, especially as some popular varieties are proving to be noticeably weaker against rusts than their AHDB Recommended List ratings…

PULSES

Why prospects are looking up for peas and beans in 2019

Pulse growers are set to benefit from four useful additions to the Recommended List – two of which are spring beans that increase the performance of pigs and poultry when…

DRILLING

Which wheat varieties to consider for late drilling

Cereal growers looking for wheat varieties most suited to later drilling dates should opt for those that are more vigorous, with good tillering ability and a rapid speed of development.…

VARIETY SELECTION

Three potato varieties show more tolerance to nematodes

Newer potato varieties such as Royal, Lanorma and Iodea are showing useful levels of resistance to the spud industry’s biggest pest problem, potato cyst nematode (PCN). Graham Tomalin, agronomist at…

VARIETY SELECTION

What the 2018 winter wheat varieties offer growers

Most of the newly recommended winter wheat varieties for this coming autumn have more yield to offer, but that’s considered unlikely to be enough to tempt growers to make sweeping…

Insights

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PEST MANAGEMENT

How resistant varieties can tackle potato cyst nematode

Potato growers battling potato cyst nematode (PCN) problems are set to benefit from significant breeding efforts into producing fresh varieties resistant to the key nematode species Globodera pallida. Some promising varieties…

VARIETY SELECTION

Two big winners in wheat varieties battle this autumn

Two winter wheat varieties – Zyatt and Graham – are set to be the big winners this autumn, as growers have turned to these two for high yields alongside good…

VARIETY SELECTION

Cereal varieties: Winners and losers at harvest 2018

During the 2018 cereal harvest, wheat varieties were more likely to perform slightly below their long-term averages than to exceed yield expectations.  That’s why most of the 2018 results shouldn’t…

VARIETY SELECTION

Three potato varieties show more tolerance to nematodes

Newer potato varieties such as Royal, Lanorma and Iodea are showing useful levels of resistance to the spud industry’s biggest pest problem, potato cyst nematode (PCN). Graham Tomalin, agronomist at…

HARVEST

Harvest 2018: The 5 top-yielding winter barley varieties

Throughout the harvest season we are updating our handy map with the latest data from 2018’s AHDB winter barley Recommended List harvest results. Use the map below to find the…

OILSEED RAPE

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.…

ARABLE

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.…

HARVEST

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…

HARVEST

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…

HARVEST

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…