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Know How / Wheat / Crop management

Every season throws up its challenges when it comes to managing wheat crops for optimum performance, from seasonal factors influencing diseases, such as septoria, and pest pressures to weed control and the ever-present challenge of blackgrass. Stay up-to-date with the latest thinking on wheat crop agronomy and how new technologies are being applied to solve complex issues.

Case studies

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CROP MANAGEMENT

How integrating livestock in rotations cuts crop inputs

As sustainable farming practices become increasingly important, some agronomists and farmers are exploring how integrating livestock into arable systems can bring both environmental and economic benefits. By combining rotational grazing…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Signature seed dressing helps grow fungicide-free crops

Irish farmer Tom Tierney has been no-till farming for a decade and is using a specialist seed dressing to kick-start crops into action and grow them without fungicides. The signature…

COVER CROPS

How a lucerne living mulch is working in Denmark

A living mulch based on the perennial crop lucerne is allowing Danish farmer and agronomist Frederik Larsen to harvest more sunlight and produce two crops each year, while reducing costs…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

How sheep, varieties and nutrition can help manage disease

Fungicides remain a central pillar in controlling disease on our Arable Insights farmer panel’s farms, despite most wishing to reduce chemical inputs as much as possible. However, managing nitrogen and…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Septoria-specific spray is key for Dorset wheat grower

Bob Rowe is very pleased with the performance of a new SDHI fungicide he used across all his 700ha of winter wheat in 2024, as it largely kept septoria out…

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…

Practical advice

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DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Why growers need flexible T2 plans as dry spell continues

As the T2 spray timing approaches, keeping enough flexibility in spray programmes as the dry spell continues is occupying the minds of growers and agronomists alike. With T1 sprays completed…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Plans to revitalise wheat after wet winter on Somerset farm

Crops are off to a soggy start at the Doble family farm in Somerset, after yet another wet winter which saw annual rainfall exceed the farm’s 10-year average. Last year,…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Fungicide tips for variable wheat this spring

With winter wheat at a wide range of growth stages coming out of winter, extra care will be needed to manage crop development and disease pressure this spring. Such variability…

WHEAT

How to manage Cheer wheat to maximise yields and quality

Farmers growing Cheer milling wheat for the first time this season are being advised to tailor their disease and growth regulation strategies according to drilling date. This approach will enable…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Agronomist tips for managing late-drilled wheat

Be prepared to be flexible in your approach to managing later-drilled winter wheat crops after the planting delays caused by the wet start to autumn, a leading agronomist is urging.…

WEED MANAGEMENT

5 tips for achieving successful residual herbicides sprays

Following a high grassweed pressure season, growers will need to pay extra attention to achieve effective weed control, particularly if drilling early. Farmers Weekly looks at five top tips for…

Insights

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DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Wheat rusts an added threat at Crop Doctor site for T2 spray

Yellow and brown rust control is set to become more important for winter wheat growers at the key flag leaf fungicide spray timing later this month as septoria is largely…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

April showers could change wheat disease outlook

Winter wheat growers are being urged to be wary of septoria and yellow rust if the weather turns wet leading up to key T1 fungicide spray timings at the end…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Can biologicals help milling wheat growers hit protein specs?

Over the past couple of seasons, milling wheat growers have struggled to achieve 13% proteins, with AHDB figures showing Group 1s averaged the lowest levels in a decade at 12.5%…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How tech trial is helping Lincs estate improve wheat inputs

Lessons learned from a technology trial are being rolled out across the rest of the cropping area on one Lincolnshire Estate, as part of an ongoing drive to improve nitrogen…

ARABLE

What the latest fungicides bring to wheat disease strategies

Arriving at different stages of the season and in various guises and quantities, both Bayer’s Iblon and Syngenta’s Adepidyn were available for the first time in 2024. This brough two…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Colder winter reduces brown rust threat for 2025

A mild winter, stressed crops and delayed spray applications all played their part in the brown rust situation that developed in the 2024 growing season, with the disease uncharacteristically being…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How microbial seed dressing helps cut nitrogen fertiliser

An increasing number of farmers are looking to cut their reliance on bagged nitrogen fertiliser, and trials suggest a microbial seed treatment could help them achieve this without affecting cereal…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

New cereal fungicide gives strong performance in AHDB trials

Independent trials for the recently authorised cereal fungicide Plaxium reveal that the three-way mix gave strong broad-spectrum disease control across winter wheat and winter barley. In autumn 2023, Bayer launched the SDHI…

ARABLE

Wheat growers urged to remain vigilant for yellow and brown rust

No major breakdowns in varietal resistance to yellow or brown rust occurred last year, but the dynamic nature of pathogen populations means that growers and agronomists must remain vigilant and…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Why ergot contamination of grain is higher than expected

Grower guidelines for managing ergot are to be updated by the AHDB, following a steep rise in the incidence of the pathogen over the past three years and confirmation that…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How low-input spring cereals SFI action may fit this spring

Low-input harvested spring cereal crops supported by the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) action AHW10 could be a good option for growers in 2025, given the payment rate of £354/ha. Use…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

AHDB fungicide data reveal how new products performed

The AHDB’s fungicide performance trials confirm that the new SHDI fungicide from Syngenta is a valuable addition for septoria control. Approved in April 2024, Miravis Plus also offers a step…

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