Agronomy

Integrated pest management (IPM) was at the centre of the discussion at the British Crop Production Council (BCPC) Congress in Harrogate.

The mild autumn has presented its pros and cons. In the main it has enabled autumn drilling to proceed at pace with most winter cereals now sown in good conditions.

A project investigating brome on UK arable farms has found all brome species have increased in prevalence and some are becoming less sensitive to certain herbicides.

AHDB has used Recommended Lists (RL) data to build a tool to guide variety blend decisions, following growing interest from farmers to use varietal mixtures to increase genetic diversity in the field.

Arable farmers concerned about the tight availability and surge in prices of bagged nitrogen fertiliser could mitigate some of their requirements in certain crops by ensuring other forms of nutrition are not in limited supply

Growers across the UK were working to beat the mid-October rain last week, after a spell of near perfect drilling conditions allowed good progress.

Following the end of the use up period for bromoxynil last month, linseed growers are reminded they still have a means of controlling difficult to control broadleaved weeds thanks to an EAMU.

Bayer’s SpotCheck initiative has opened for the 2021-22 growing season with a new, simplified sample pack request process. Oilseed rape growers and agronomists can request a sample pack direct from Bayer’s website.

After a prolonged dry and settled late summer, some soil moisture will now bring a welcome chance for finer seedbed preparation, as well as a boost to residual herbicide performance.

Last month has seen a sizeable chunk of winter sowing completed, with most roughly 40 per cent through their planned winter cropping.