Arable News

Following on from last month’s article in Farmers Guide on growing beet without neonicotinoid seed treatments, Dominic Kilburn attended the BBRO #BeetTech19 conference, Newmarket in Suffolk, where the potential threat of virus yellows was made very clear.

For UK potato growers, the news that diquat has had its approval withdrawn by the EU Commission, will have come as a major blow that could see herbicide and mechanical defoliation costs soar.

Resistance and unpredictable weather strengthens case for early herbicide applications, growers are advised.

As well as offering winter wheat varieties that combine good yield and marketability, plant breeder KWS reckons that the new generation of varieties must also deliver ‘agronomic value’ if growers are to face up to the challenges and uncertainties of the future.

According to the latest BBRO Advisory Bulletin, the virus yellows forecast is high and reflects the potential impact of the mild winter on aphid populations.

Most maize growers are missing out on yield potential by leaving weed control too late.

Much of the early nitrogen applied to cereal and oilseed rape crops across the country during the mild late-February spell could go to waste unless steps are taken to keep it in the rooting zone long enough for crops to make use of it.

Growers aware of growing resistance among a range of broad leaved weeds to ALS herbicides should consider phenoxies this season.

New results from trials suggest barley growers looking to boost control of the growing problem of Ramularia spotting could do so by shifting a key fungicide used against the disease to an earlier timing in the spray programme.

This March, farmers across the Midlands can anonymously dispose of unwanted pesticides and farm chemicals via Severn Trent’s Pesticide Amnesty scheme.

Elevated levels of erucic acid in double-low oilseed rape (OSR) crops are most likely to be the result of crop contamination by high- or elevated-erucic acid volunteer crops.

The granule formulation of tri-allate Avadex Excel 15G has an EAMU for winter or spring linseed.