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Onions in my Cereal
Something I do not see very often in a cereal crop is Wild garlic (Allium vineale) and wild onion (Allium canadense) these are the...

Philip
Apr 30, 20211 min read


Linseed v Weeds
The linseed plant is especially sensitive to weed competition, which limits its potential yield. Trials work has looked at growing...

Philip
Apr 26, 20211 min read


Spring Peas and their seedbeds
Planting of peas began a short while ago. Things must have gone well since this week they began popping their heads up in to the...

Philip
Apr 23, 20211 min read


Grass weeds
Much is talked about barley growing and the problems of grass weeds. It’s true, we have few options for selective herbicide use within...

Philip
Apr 20, 20211 min read


“Linseed Law”
A book published in 1985 by John Turner highlight’s some of the pest problems suffered by this crop. Other work carried out between 1987...

Philip
Apr 17, 20211 min read


Benefits of Snow Cover
Snow can be a nuisance for our daily activities, it can however benefit winter wheat crop. Snow has two distinct benefits for winter...

Philip
Apr 14, 20211 min read


Successful Ryegrass
Successfully establishing a CROP of ryegrass is one of the most challenging tasks facing any farmer. If we think of a crop of wheat we...

Philip
Apr 12, 20211 min read


Barley yellow dwarf virus
One virus, very much in the news and another we talk about mainly in the autumn is now also “headlining” March 2021. Barley yellow dwarf...

Philip
Apr 6, 20211 min read


Insect pests of OSR – The Pollen Beetle
As the name suggests this beetle loves to eat pollen and so is intimately associated with pollen-rich species of flowers such as Oil Seed...

Philip
Apr 3, 20212 min read


Impressive
As we come out of a long wet winter crops don’t always look at their best. The work load increases for everyone and my working day begins...

Philip
Mar 29, 20211 min read


Over wintered stubbles
Over wintered stubbles come in many shapes and sizes. Many of these are now destined for a variety of spring sown crops. I encountered a...

Philip
Mar 17, 20212 min read


Glyphosate. A valued commodity even at twice the price!
Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide, meaning an application will kill most plants. It does this by preventing the plants from making...

Philip
Mar 15, 20212 min read


Chlormequat. Brilliant Growth Regulator
Chlormequat originally came to the market in the 1970’s; it is an organic compound that is used as a plant growth regulator. It is...

Philip
Mar 12, 20211 min read


Blends
Blends are nothing new, wheat or barley. Oil Seed rape is another matter altogether. To make a blend work you need to decide......

Philip
Mar 7, 20211 min read


Yellow Rust
Next week there is an AHDB meeting which I believe details findings from the 2020 season regarding Yellow Rust in winter wheat.

Philip
Mar 5, 20212 min read


WATER MOVEMENT
Water runs down hill, it always has done and I believe it always will. But sometimes it can “push up” through the soil profile. Why is that?

Philip
Feb 26, 20212 min read


STRUCTURAL STABILITY OF SOILS. PART 2 OF 2
For practical purposes soil texture can be assessed by hand using the method outlined in the Appendix of RB209. This method relies on...

Philip
Feb 24, 20211 min read


STRUCTURAL STABILITY OF SOILS. PART 1 OF 2
Currently I am soil sampling. A week ago frozen ground made getting the gouge auger in the ground difficult.

Philip
Feb 20, 20212 min read


Vernalise Me!
“I didn’t finish drilling all my winter wheat so why don’t I drill the seed this spring?”

Philip
Feb 17, 20211 min read


The Four “R’s”
Timing...
Question...
When should I apply the first dressing of nitrogen to my crop?

Philip
Feb 15, 20211 min read
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