Companion crops in direct drilled oilseed rape could help reduce damage by cabbage stem flea beetle, say scientists. Results from a Rothamsted Research study suggest relatively simple changes in crop management could help control a ubiquitous pest which has seen many farmers abandoning oilseed rape altogether. Field trials, conducted... Read more
Focus on crop nutrition to build root mass
Arable 05/03/2024
A focus on key nutrients could help to pull lethargic crops out of the cold, wet winter. Without a strong root system to scavenge for nutrients and reach water as summer droughts take hold, no amount of fertilisers or other inputs will deliver vital growth and yield potential, says... Read more
Maize could be a good choice for many growers this spring – stacking up well against more conventional crops with additional benefits from the Sustainable Farming Incentive. “Significant reductions in nitrogen use, low-input agronomy and soil improvement opportunities are just some of the appeal and managed properly maize can... Read more
Large amounts of land are being taken out of food production and put into the government’s flagship agri-environment scheme, the Sustainable Farming Incentive, say agronomists. Contractors and farmers could struggle to survive where large areas of arable land are being put into the scheme, which is being seen by... Read more
Farmers can find out how to generate income from carbon credits thanks to a new online toolkit launched by the Green Finance Institute (GFI). The Defra-supported free toolkit sets out to help farmers understand nature markets – including biodiversity net gain and nutrient neutrality as well as carbon credits... Read more
A high-yielding early maize variety could help growers overcome the risk of late drilling and delayed harvests caused by wet spring and autumn weather. Bred by MAS Seeds and marketed by Elsoms Seeds, Mojito could tick all the boxes for farmers wanting to avoid a repeat of the weather-related... Read more
Gene-editing techniques have uncovered a temperature tolerance trait that could protect wheat from the increasingly unpredictable challenges of climate change. Researchers say UK growers could benefit from the discovery – made at the Norwich-based John Innes Centre during experiments examining wheat fertility in plants exposed to high and low... Read more
Nutritional benefits from over-winter cover crops are heavily influenced by destruction method, suggests new research. The advantages of over-winter covers are well-accepted – and include soil health, structure, fertility, weed suppression and reductions in nutrient losses. Other benefits include biodiversity – and some financial return if grazed by livestock.... Read more
Wet autumn weather means more growers are likely to include spring barley in their cropping plans this season. A good range of varieties means there are lots to choose from – offering attractive yields, lower growing costs than those typically associated with winter-sown crops, and premium potential where malting... Read more
Farmers looking for a profitable crop on flood-prone soils could do worse than considering miscanthus, say researchers. The energy crop thrives where other crops would be unprofitable or high risk – and it stabilises soil too, suggests a study undertaken by the Institute of Biological Environmental and Rural Sciences... Read more