A New BYDV Tool Arrives This Summer
New AHDB BYDV management tool
bydv
Farmer Focus – Andy Howard
Spring Hope Sitting here writing this on April Fool’s Day, a full nine months since my last article, I’m wondering if I am the fool for believing farming was improving! The farm seems to have fared well through the winter in general. A nice, easy autumn, so we should be happy. Well, I was until …
Farmer Focus – Andy Howard
Looking back with a Crystal Ball I am sitting here at the end of June, the weekend before Groundswell. I have just read through my last article I wrote for the Direct Driller magazine, which is from September last year and wondering what I would tell myself if I could go back in time to …
Two RAGT wheats gain full UK approval on AHDB’s 2025/26 Recommended List
Breadmaking wheat RGT Goldfinch and soft wheat RGT Hexton made the list after a very strong performance in trials and on farm. RGT Goldfinch RGT Goldfinch, the first high quality breadmaking wheat that is resistant to barley yellow dwarf virus and orange wheat blossom midge, has gained full UK approval on AHDB’s 2025/26 Recommended List. …
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BYDV-resistant wheats prove their worth in a difficult season
Written by Robert Harris for RAGT Perceived as niche when introduced five years ago, RAGT’s BYDV-resistant wheats are now catching the attention of a significant number of farmers. Marketed under the Genserus (Genetic Security Virus) brand, these wheats offer season-long control of BYDV, removing the management headaches of autumn aphid control, eliminating the risk of resistance …
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Adapting to the Unpredictable: The Importance of Soil Resilience
Written by Louise Penn from Ceres Rural As much as I’d like to avoid discussing the weather after this challenging season, it continues to demand our attention. I am writing this after nearly 230mm of rain has fallen in 48 hours in my local area! Houses are flooded and roads impassable where I have never …
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BYDV threat under the spotlight at TWB Farms open day
The increasing threat of barley yellow dwarf virus in winter wheat and the potential of resistant varieties to overcome it was the focus of a recent open day at TWB Farms, near Lichfield. Host farmer Clive Bailye set up an observation trial last autumn, comparing 15ha of BYDV-resistant RGT Grouse with a similar area of …
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BYDV-Resistant Wheat
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.
Agronomist in Focus – Todd Jex
GENERATIONAL POINTERS Agrii agronomist Todd Jex gets a steer from his grandfather on how he’s putting newtech into practice. I really enjoy talking to the older farming generation about farming systems and the challenges they faced during their careers. My 92-year-old grandfather is often particularly keen to point out that many of the ‘fashionable’ and …
Farmer Focus – Andy Howard – July 23
As I sit here on the last day of May writing this article it is blowing a gale outside and has been for quite a long time now. Our soils have gone from drenched at the beginning of May to having the life sucked out of them at the end of the month. It really …