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 …
What is a Monitor Farm? With economic pressures mounting, including the end of the Basic Payment Scheme this year, finding new ways to improve performance and profitability is more important than ever for farmers. One way to do this is to pool knowledge with other, similar farming enterprises. AHDB’s Monitor Farm programme brings together groups …
AHDB needs new monitor farmers in England and Wales – could you be one? Read More »
Established nearly 60 years ago, the UK Cereal Pathogen Virulence Survey (UKCPVS) is a constant force in the volatile foliar-disease landscape. Jason Pole, who manages technical communications at AHDB, explains how the project is exploring ways to get disease data out quicker. Strategic value of UKCPVS UKCPVS is a long-term strategic project. Set up in …
