Arable

With some growers beginning to get black-grass under control using cultural methods and new chemistry on the way, things are looking brighter for black-grass control.

In conjunction with Bayer we will be keeping track of winter wheat development over two cultivation strategies, and using Rapid Disease Detection results to monitor disease progress through the season.

A new independent trial carried out by the National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) has shown that larger seed sizes of typical UK varieties of winter wheat and spring barley resulted in higher emergence rates.

Practical glyphosate application guidelines, published by the Weed Resistance Action Group (WRAG), aims to help arable growers reduce the increasing risk of glyphosate resistance developing in grass-weeds.

The result of the temptation to drill earlierlastautumn to ensure crops were safely in the ground is evident insome fields as highnumbers of black-grass headsemerge above the crop.

Farmers are being asked to assist in a new study looking at the spread of rat’s tail fescue, a grass-weed that is already posing problems in France, Switzerland, Spain and Denmark - and is now starting to take hold in England

Through a series of live events, discussion and debate, Arable Weed Week will showcase the latest thinking and best practice on weed management in the context of the changing political and environmental agenda.

The UK’s first ever certified soil carbon credits scheme designed specifically for farmers has officially been launched.

The options to add value to cereals are limited but the Milne family have found a way to turn a commodity into a premium product.

What a rollercoaster ride this season is turning out to be; cold, dry, hot and wet, spring has had a bit of summer, autumn and winter in its making.