Crop Farming & Harvest

Read our top tips on how to get the most from your root seed and best methods for root seed utilisation.

Widely grown in northern Europe, hybrid rye is proving to be an increasingly popular choice for improving the performance of AD (Anaerobic Digestion) plants and now as a high yielding wholecrop for livestock production. 

With its huge yield potential, flexible drilling dates, vigorous growth habit and very early maturity, it provides growers with the opportunity for increased flexibility, in terms of the position of energy crops in their rotation.

The 2021/22 AHDB Recommended List sees several high yielding varieties introduced in the wheat and barley groups. For maximum potential yield to be achieved, crops need to be provided with the correct balance of essential nutrients throughout the growing season.

When growing high yielding varieties, often other agronomic features such as disease resistance are sometimes overlooked. The fungicides at our disposal today are capable of producing extremely good results, but it is important to apply as much thought to the fungicide programme and timings as to the choice of product, to achieve optimum yield potential.

Over recent years, the emphasis has moved away from reactive fungicide applications to treat visible disease in the crop, and more towards a strategy where prevention is better than cure. To achieve this, the fungicides must be applied at the correct time and early in the development of the disease, or even before infection occurs, with timing infl uenced by growth stage, weather and the variety’s disease resistance.

Improving Nitrogen fertiliser Use Efficiency (NfUE) will be one of the most important ways in which UK growers can improve their business productivity in the future. 

The single most important decision you can make to maximise your NfUE lies in the type of fertiliser you choose in the first place, says CF Fertilisers’ head agronomy Dr. Sajjad Awan. Whilst good management can help finetune the effectiveness of your applications, start with the wrong Nitrogen source and you’ll be locked into lower levels of NfUE with little you can do to lift it, he says.

“NfUE is essentially a measure of how much of the Nitrogen applied ends up in the crop. “In simple terms, if you apply 100kg N/ha and only 50kg N/ha is taken up by your crop, you will have an NfUE of 50% and half of the N you have paid for has gone somewhere other than into your crops as intended “Improving NfUE benefits your crop, your pocket and the wider environment.

Whether you are looking at it from the perspective of clean air, reducing your carbon footprint or increasing production efficiency, loss of N from the cropping system is a major problem.”

Dry matter – Is grass providing enough dry matter intake to support the energy requirement for milk production and getting cows back in calf?

Protein – Grass is high in rapidly degradable protein; this needs to be utilised by the rumen microbes in order for them to produce microbial protein. Poorly utilised protein can have a negative impact on fertility and limit milk yield.

Rapidly fermentable carbohydrates – Early season grass is high in sugar (and digestible fibre), this can be an issue for rumen health. A consequence of this can be milk fat depression and a reduction in milk value. It is important to understand the nutrient content of grass. Fresh grass analysis throughout the grazing period will provide useful information about the points above.

Overseeding is a simple but effective way to rejuvenate old or damaged grass leys, without the cost implications associated with a complete reseed. Overseeding can also be more efficient and reduces the amount of time that home-grown grass forage is out of production.

Timing is imperative with overseeding, and the main aim is to minimise competition from the existing sward. The best time to overseed is March, April, July or September as the grasses are not growing as vigorously as they are in May and June.

Clearfield® is a unique system for oilseed rape that combines hybrid seed varieties and high-quality BASF herbicides for the most effective way to approach weed control in OSR.

It is difficult to manage the nitrogen use of oilseed rape as it is dependent on the conditions of the soil. After many years of research and development, the team at Limagrain have developed a number of varieties. These newly developed varieties harness Nitrogen during the key stages of growth. They also reduce the risk of yield losses in less desirable conditions.

In this short article we look at what is Turnip Yellows Virus or TuYV, how can you spot it and what are the effects of the virus.