Winter barley has a lot to offer any farm, rotationally it offers a great entry into oilseed rape as its earlier to harvest than wheat. Its straw is heavily demanded by livestock farmers and its grain can be used for malting or feed. Therefore, it’s important to make the right variety selection to maximise your farms potential.
This season we have seen considerable pressure of septoria tritici, therefore it is worthwhile to recap the biggest yield-robbing disease to winter wheat and what we can help do to fight against it.
Septoria tritici blotch is a fungal disease of wheat that causes significant yield losses. It is caused by the fungus Zymoseptoria tritici, which overwinters on infected crop debris and plant residues. The fungus can infect wheat at any growth stage, but it is most common in the autumn and spring when the weather is cool and wet.
Before making fertiliser purchase decisions, farmers are advised to review an array of factors which will determine a crops need, be it the type or quantity of fertiliser.
Over the last 20 months, we have seen a hike in fertiliser prices due to the war in Ukraine and so it is more important than ever that farmers are making informed decisions around fertiliser applications.
This is a question we get asked frequently, and undoubtedly even more so this autumn with the strong grain price. Here are the important factors of how to choose a second wheat.
Grassland management is often overlooked for new leys, but by prioritising weed control early during establishment, you will achieve cost-effective, long-lasting control, resulting in higher yields of grass.
Beneficial soil microbes play a critical role in the acquisition, ‘renaturing’ and transfer of soil nutrients into plants. Biofertilisers (microbial biostimulants) comprise living micro-organisms which, unlike traditional fertilisers multiply as they enter the ground, act to increase Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE) of plants.
In a world where input costs are rising and soil health is rightly being championed, building soil biology is a very practical way to reduce fertigation and improve soil structure and carbon
capacity.
Modern grass varieties have the potential to deliver superior yields and excellent feed values if managed correctly, with soil nutrition and pH being prioritised and maintained throughout the year.
Gema and Prospect are two of the best-performing maize varieties on the BSPB/NIAB Recommended List and are excellent choices for farmers wanting to maximise milk production from maize and achieve a good return on their crop’s investment.
YieldON is an innovative new biostimulant from Valagro UK Ltd and has been developed using cutting edge genomics technology. Three years of trials in the UK have shown some impressive yield responses from a single application of YieldOn at flag leaf in cereals and mid-flowering in oilseed rape. The company have also recently started trials with forage maize.
With weather patterns becoming increasingly unsettled and guaranteed April showers a thing of the past, abiotic stress is a growing problem for successful maize establishment. When applied early in the growth of plants it increases production of phosphatase and reductase enzymes which in turn leads to increased availability of nutrients and increased root and shoot development.
