BYDV-resistant wheat is a relatively new concept in the UK that is creating significant interest among farmers and the seed trade.
Pressure from BYDV is building after the ban in 2019 of seed treatments that controlled the aphid vectors, while resistance to insecticide sprays is increasing and government policy on insecticide use is tightening.
While spring brings a renewed sense of vitality to the soil, it also presents challenges, particularly following the level of rainfall seen in the UK this winter. Wet, compacted soils can impede the growth and development of crops, exerting a cascade of effects that ripple through the soil ecosystem and impact potential yields.
As the daylength increases we are all now waking up from what feels like the mildest ‘winter’ and longest wet spell ever experienced (since the last one anyhow!). It feels like it started raining in July and we haven’t really had a respite since. Soils in most parts of the country have been permanently wet …
As I write this in the third week of March, I can reflect on challenging times both behind and ahead. On the heavy Hanslope-Denchworth series clays of the Allerton Project, we are yet to get so far even as to have terminated our cover crops, let alone apply any spring inputs to those autumn-sown crops which have survived the onslaught of one of the wettest winters on record – though we judge that only some 35% of our winter wheat area is even salvageable. Even were the incessant rains to cease today, we are likely looking at planting our wheat, beans, oats and barley well into the middle of April, significantly compromising potential.
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 …
Dec 2023 To Certify or Not to Certify, that is the Question I was fascinated by Helen Browning’s reply to the leading question in a session at this year’s Groundswell entitled, “Is it time to certify regenerative farming?” Given Helen’s position as Chief Executive of the Soil Association and her role as a board member …
Written by George Hepburn from Aiva Fertilisers With the amount of rain we have had and the poor crop conditions this year, the availability of phosphate is going to be critical to maintaining yield potential. In this article, we will explore the chemistry behind it and how important biology is to release it. Not only …
Dec 2023 I had an interesting experience last week when out crop walking on a glorious sunny afternoon. Was firstly walking through chest high flowering cover crops which were full of white, yellow and purple flowers, then moved into Oilseed rape crops dwarfed and semi hidden from view by a thick stand of berseem clover …
My name is Andrew Sincock and I grew up on my grandparents mixed Dairy, Beef and Arable Farm in Cornwall. My first job on the farm was mucking out an old stable that served as a temporary home for new mothers and their calves. The stable was 3 meters wide, roughly 6 meters long and …
Farming carbon or farming better? – A Nuffield Perspective Read More »
