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Know How / Nutrition and fertiliser

Advice, case studies and insights on good nutrient management and fertiliser application for the best crop yields and quality. Get tips on when and how to apply nitrogen fertiliser to keep costs down, how to avoid nutrition deficiencies, problems such as lodging and how to achieve good sulphur levels for healthy soils.

Advice and tips

BARLEY

Why spring barley can help growers cut their carbon footprint

Spring barley can help growers drive down their carbon footprint by using better varietal genetics and using the benefits of cover crops. Spring crops, in general, are seen as better…

SUGAR BEET

What is the optimum N rate for sugar beet this season?

Modest nitrogen fertiliser cutbacks of 20-30kg N/ha are being advised for sugar beet growers as the 2023 drilling campaign nears. Despite the increased beet value of £40/t, current nitrogen prices…

BARLEY

6 steps to growing better spring barley for 2023 season

As the spring barley drilling season gets under way in some early areas, we look at six key points to consider when growing the crop. We speak to arable technical…

OILSEED RAPE

How to get oilseed rape crop inputs right this spring

Striking the right balance between high input costs and fluctuating market prospects is the challenge for most oilseed rape growers this spring. Crops should be assessed for their canopy size…

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Case studies

ARABLE

Grower improves fungicide use and compaction with helicopter

A helicopter is not the standard piece of farm kit to be stored in a machinery shed, but Canadian grain producer Wade McAllister plans to combine his passion for farming…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Northants grower cuts nitrogen fertiliser using drone

Will Green is using a drone on his Northamptonshire farm to cut his nitrogen fertiliser use by nearly a third on his winter wheat destined to make breakfast cereal at…

SOILS

How intercropping trial aims to eliminate chemical inputs

After winning a net-zero food and farming competition, Oxfordshire farmer Ben Adams is conducting a field-scale intercropping trial to assess which crop combinations perform best in terms of yield, quality…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Notts estate cuts fertiliser rates with organic manure

Greater use of various organic amendments is part of Welbeck Estate’s strategy for reducing reliance of synthetic fertiliser inputs, alongside the use of cover cropping. Like most large estates and…

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Insights

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Cereals 2023: Two agchem firms launch N-fixing products

Both Corteva and Syngenta are offering growers biological products aimed at fixing nitrogen from the air for crops to use. While both can help farmers raise yields or trim their…

WHEAT

Tips on growing profitable second wheats

Farmers on decent wheat-growing land should consider adding second wheats to the rotation, as few other crops are as profitable. Although margins are tighter due to higher input costs –…

SOILS

The benefits of applying worm casts to soils for farmers

A group of worm farmers have formed an alliance to offer growers a nutrient-rich soil conditioner derived from high-quality worm casts to promote crop and soil health. Earthworms play a…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How technology lets crops turn pollution into fertiliser

A new technology that captures air pollution and uses sunlight to convert it into nitrate on the leaf surface of a crop has been developed by Lincoln-based Crop Intellect. Called…

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News

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Fertiliser reduction targets demanded from government

The link between inorganic fertiliser use in farming and greenhouse gas emissions is being highlighted in a new campaign by the Soil Association, designed to change government policy and influence…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Plasma-treated slurry reveals promising results in trials

Independent trial data assessing the impact of plasma-treated slurry as a replacement of artificial fertiliser has revealed promising results when tested on crops of winter wheat and grass. The novel…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Higher crop yields defy significant drop in fertiliser use

A sharp fall in artificial fertiliser use on British farms in 2022 had little impact on crop yields, suggesting farmers could benefit from a permanent reduction in ammonium nitrate (AN)…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Norfolk grower tests chocolate waste fertiliser in wheat

Fertiliser made from cocoa shell waste produced by the Nestlé confectionery factory in York is being trialled by the AHDB’s Diss Monitor Farm host Richard Ling in winter wheat. Use…

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Podcast

OILSEED RAPE

FW Podcast Special: Prospects for OSR growers this spring

Farmers are returning to oilseed rape, having previously abandoned the crop due to pressure from cabbage stem flea beetle following the ban on neonicotinoid seed treatments. UK growers are gradually…

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Test and reviews

CEREAL DRILLS

New drill options for seed-bed fertiliser

New options for growers wanting to apply dry fertiliser when sowing spring cereal crops take different approaches to delivering the material, either down the same spout as the seed or…

MACHINERY

Spirit fertiliser and seed into place

Growers in Scotland who like to put down some fertiliser with their cereal seed will welcome the  the Spirit Next System Disc Combo (SDC). Using standard components throughout, the SDC…

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Video

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

New slurry treatment fixes N from air to create enriched fert

A novel slurry treatment unit that boosts the nitrogen content of liquid manures, using only air and electricity, aims to help farmers reduce reliance on artificial fertiliser, improve crop performance…

ARABLE

Video: Grower undersows with clover to cut fertiliser costs

A regenerative farmer is experimenting with white clover understories to reduce his nitrogen fertiliser bills and provide additional grazing for the ewe flock. The price of natural gas, a key…

POTATOES

Video: Potato planting races ahead in the Suffolk sunshine

Potato planting kicked off this week on one large Suffolk Breckland estate, with high hopes for the early-maturing crop after it went into the ground in ideal conditions. The light…

ARABLE

Video: Farm uses drone to even up rapeseed yields

Reducing variation in the thickness of oilseed rape canopies in a bid to pump up yields is the focus at one family farm in Northumberland, using a drone to provide…

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Webinar

ARABLE

Webinar: Combating fungicide resistance

Farmers need to find ways to combat problems in crop protection that are caused by development of resistance to fungicides. Pathogen resistance to fungicides is widespread. This is especially true…

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