The strongest set of cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) management strategies to date has been released to help reverse the fortunes of oilseed rape (OSR). Jason Pole, AHDB Technical Content Manager, explains. We have seen large year-on-year reductions in the OSR area over the last decade. For harvest 2025, the AHDB Planting and Variety Survey …
AHDB is demystifying the Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds (RL) by bringing the processes that underpin them to life. Jason Pole, AHDB Technical Content Manager, explains. With a focus on the RL protocols, our winter wheat on trial initiative is revealing how we decide which varieties to sow and recommend – and everything in …
A network of cover crop champions is providing a practical view on the impact of cover crop approaches. Technical Content Manager Jason Pole provides an update on the AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds’ initiative. During summer 2024, we asked farmers growing cover crops ahead of various cash crops for harvest 2025 if they would be willing …
AHDB will monitor cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) at several winter oilseed rape sites across England to track migration this autumn. Work to track the cabbage stem flea beetle is part of a long-term effort to determine the factors affecting adult migration, with the ultimate ambition to provide a way to predict the start, duration …
OSR monitoring network strengthened to help predict CSFB migration Read More »
Senior Knowledge Transfer Manager Henny Lowth introduces the nitrogen trials at AHDB Strategic Cereal Farms, ahead of the release of this year’s results in November. How nitrogen behaves in farming systems is often variable and hard to pin down. With nitrogen prices stuck above pre-Ukraine-war and pre-energy-crisis levels, there is an emphasis on the nutrient …
The reviewers found that nine of the 11 product categories were associated with a statistically significant increase in yield in at least one experiment. For the most common product categories – seaweed extracts, humic substances, phosphite and plant-growth-promoting bacteria – statistically significant yield responses were observed for 3/7, 3/4, 4/17 and 13/15 cereal experiments, respectively. Data for oilseed rape was found to be lacking for all products, and no firm conclusions could be made.
The RL has entered its eightieth year. Jason Pole, technical content manager at AHDB, explores the history and direction of the long-lived lists. A brief history? The RL has delivered trusted, independent variety information since 1944. Over the intervening 80 years, it has evolved and adapted through many changes to farming and wider society. Although …
Cover crops can suppress weeds and volunteers by competing for light, water and nutrients. Some species also release chemicals that inhibit weed development.
AHDB Technical Content Manager Jason Pole explains the role of the fungicide performance information in choosing the best technology to protect crops. For 30 years, there’s been a trusted team that’s tested the efficacy of chemistry used to battle major crop diseases in the fungicide performance project. The wheat trial series is the oldest, going …
Levy-funded trials help fine-tune fungicide choice Read More »
A full picture of soil health can be captured by a new ‘scorecard’. AHDB technical content manager Jason Pole investigates. Not everything that matters can be measured. Not everything that can be measured matters. Wise words. Nobody would dispute that soil health matters. Now it can be measured. The soil health scorecard is the product …
