In Europe, 74 samples were collected from blackgrass, Italian ryegrass and loose silky bent survivors from predominantly cereal fields in Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Benelux countries, said Dr Alexander Zeller, European herbicide portfolio manager for UPL.  

Across those samples, Centurion Max provided an average of 98.7% control of the grassweeds grown by the specialist German company Agris42 from the seed samples collected, compared with just 66% control from mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron and 79% with pyroxsulam + pinoxaden.  

The expert said: “I think it proves that using clethodim in oilseed rape or sugar beet can be a resistance-breaking opportunity within a predominantly cereals rotation.” 

It does not mean, however, that resistance is not present in grassweed populations, stresses Tom Wheelhouse, UPL technical specialist in the UK.  

Dosage and right conditions are of key importance

Survey work conducted by expert Dr Stephen Moss when he worked at Rothamsted Research from 2011 to 2014 found two gene mutations that allowed grassweeds to potentially overcome the inhibition of the enzyme acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) by ‘fop’ and ‘dim’ herbicides, including clethodim. Inhibiting that enzyme disrupts lipid biosynthesis, leading to plant death.  

One of the mutations, I-1781-L, was found to be present in 85% of the blackgrass populations at the time, with the second mutation, A-2078-G, present in only 8%, adds Tom. In Italian ryegrass, the situation was reversed, with 57% of the population carrying the 2078 mutation, compared with 31% for the 1781 mutation.  

Mr Wheelhouse said: “Clethodim is much more affected by the presence of 2078, and less so by 1781, whereas the other ACCase products, such as cycloxydim, are heavily affected by 1781.” 

No further widescale testing of grassweed populations in the UK has been conducted since that time to determine if the relative accumulation of mutations has shifted, although Mr Wheelhouse said that the expectation was that the data would still be representative of the current population in 2024.  

Sampling in the UK last season took a different approach to that in mainland Europe, with samples targeted from fields with a known problem with clethodim control. Not surprisingly, resistance tests using these seeds showed more issues with control, although not for all samples.

One blackgrass sample from the seven collected clearly showed the population was susceptible to clethodim, he added. “That points to the clethodim issue being either poor timing or application technique rather than resistance.” 

Two populations showed similar levels of control to a known population carrying the 1781 mutation. “Using the equivalent dose in the lab test as a field rate of 1 L/ha of clethodim gives around 80% control, which suggests that application or timing and not resistance are driving the issue in the field,” Mr Wheelhouse noted. 

The other four populations were likely to carry the 2078 mutation and be the cause of the poor performance in the field, he suggests. The difference highlights the importance of testing populations, particularly after poor performance in the field.   

Practically, the results emphasise the need to adhere to good stewardship and practices when using clethodim. “In particular, making applications in the right conditions, paying attention to application technique, such as operating at the correct boom height and not going too fast, always include a water conditioner and use a minimum water volume of 150 L/ha. 

“Don’t fit application rate to the field size to avoid having product left over – use the correct dose, and make sure the target weed is at the correct growth stage and is actively growing,” Mr Wheelhouse said. 

‘Don’t push the boundaries.’

In oilseed rape, clethodim should not be applied after 15th October or to crops with more than six true leaves (TL). “If you push the boundaries, that’s when there is potential to cause injury to the crop, in particular if the plant has progressed into the reproductive phases of growth and is beginning to shut down for winter; it doesn’t metabolise the chemical quickly enough, and that’s why you eventually see fused flowers or abortion.” 

That can cause a challenge with timing with the current practice of drilling the crop either very early in August or before or into September. Early drilling could reach that 6 TL stage quickly and potentially before the weed reaches the ideal growth stage of two leaves to one tiller, or when conditions are such that the weed isn’t actively growing, the expert explained.  

Later-drilled crops might not have grassweeds at the target growth stage before the 15 October cut-off, especially where growers have taken advantage of the extra time to create a stale seedbed and spray off emerged grassweeds with glyphosate before drilling.  

Mr Wheelhouse continued: “Understandably, most growers are not balancing decisions about drilling oilseed rape relative to when grassweeds will emerge. But it is something to consider.” 

Centurion Max should only be used as part of a programme, which starts with cultural control, with follow-up applications of propyzamide at least 10-14 days after clethodim applications, he concluded.

Read more arable news. 

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Michael Shuldham of breeders NPZ UK said that a review of the oilseed rape trial plots at the site in Cambridge shows the pressure on some varieties following a tough, dry season.

He added: “We have a lot of Verticillium pressure in our oilseed rape trial, and where we see a combination of Phoma and Verticillium, the results can be devastating.

“Take this widely grown variety as an example. It has Rlm7 and pod shatter, but the stems and whole plant are dead, as the plant has senesced far too early, no longer able to take up nutrients or to support itself.”

Protecting OSR crops

Mr Shuldham explained that Rlm7 is a cotelydon resistance. It acts to stop a phoma lesion forming on the leaf, but when it is overcome, it has no effect against stem canker.

“We have seen a big breakdown of Rlm7 in recent years, and it is clear that on its own it is no longer enough to protect our rape crops.

“It underlines that RlmS, Rlm12 and Verticillium tolerance are the real keys to holding onto yield all the way to harvest.

“RlmS and Rlm12 work to stop the infection travelling down the petiole into the stem, stopping stem canker from forming,” the expert continued.

Mr Shuldham added that growers need to focus very strongly on RlmS or Rlm12-backed hybrid varieties for their oilseed rape this autumn.

“It’s the best way to keep their crops as clean as possible and reduce their risk of losing out before harvest even arrives.

“In our trials, Maverick with RlmS plus Rlm7 and our other oilseed rape varieties, such as our candidate Karat with RlmS plusRlm12, are showing the benefits of strong stem health from these genetics,” he concluded.

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Cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) was not much in evidence in the two MagicTraps deployed at Overbury Enterprises last autumn. Trap counts were low in what was generally a low-pressure season for the oilseed rape pest in most regions, Bayer Crop Science explained. 

Farms manager Jake Freestone was using Bayer’s digital yellow water traps for the first time, installing one in low-lying vale land at around 100ft above sea level and a second on higher hill land at 850ft. 

He said that the aim was to monitor how the traps, which were part of the United Oilseeds MagicTrap network, performed at different topographies, on different soil types and in different areas of the farm, which sits on the Herefordshire/Worcestershire border. 

CSFB has been a sporadic problem at Overbury since the ban on use of neonicotinoid seed treatments in oilseed rape in 2013. Yet, despite the CSFB challenge, oilseed rape has retained its place in the rotation on the farm, although the area has dropped in recent seasons. 

Mr Freestone said: “We’re combining about 900 hectares [of arable crops] here and another couple of hundred hectares next door, and probably 200 hectares would traditionally have been rapeseed. 

“I have persevered with it, although for one reason and another the area had slipped back a little this year, but that was mainly down to rotation, and we’re due to go back up again this year.”

‘Cultural methods’ in use

With agronomy based on an IPM/ICM approach, a key aim is to avoid using synthetic insecticides where possible. 

“We haven’t used insecticides on the farm since 2018. We use a lot of cultural methods to try and avoid using them,” Mr Freestone added. 

Land going into oilseed rape receives an application of poultry litter after the crop has been direct drilled into chopped straw and a decent stubble.  

The farms manager added: “We also put companion crops in with the rape; we’re trying to do everything we can without reaching for an insecticide. 

“We did once send some flea beetle off to be tested, and they came back at 77% resistant to pyrethroid insecticides, so there’s probably no point in spraying anyway.” 

Other measures include growing hybrid OSR varieties – typically from the Bayer DEKALB portfolio – to take advantage of their spring vigour and potential ability to grow away from CSFB stem larvae. 

Last season’s newcomer DK Excentric is in the variety line-up, alongside Dolphin, for harvest 2025 and is looking well on the higher land, Mr Freestone added. 

A shift in OSR drilling date has also been introduced as part of the farm’s approach to managing flea beetle. 

“We have started drilling very early, in the first week of August, to try and get the OSR up and a leaf established before the main flea beetle migration at the end of August. 

“We had pretty good establishment last autumn, and flea beetle weren’t really an issue. We did have some winter stem larval damage, but the crops seemed to grow through that,” he continued. 

MagicTraps

Mr Freestone initially placed the MagicTraps in fields with rape stubble and a cover crop, before moving them into new season crops three weeks after drilling. 

“My aim was firstly to get used to the technology and secondly, to have a look at what was emerging from previous oilseed rape fields to try and get a gauge on cabbage stem flea pressure, but there wasn’t really very much pressure at all,” he said. 

Setting up and using the two MagicTraps was straightforward, although one consideration was dealing with a patchy mobile phone signal. 

“I was trying to find a place in the field where I thought the beetle was likely to land, so in the field margins, but also somewhere we could get a signal.  

“I found I’d get a signal one day, and then the next day the signal had disappeared. That’s not a particular issue with MagicTrap, it’s a rural issue across the board.” 

With no insecticides applied on the farm he is not using MagicTrap to inform spraying decisions; instead, the benefit comes in the form of saving time on crop walking. 

“It also gives me a nice record of what is happening with flea beetle. The fact that MagicTrap is recording a digital footprint means that over time we will hopefully be able to build up a picture of what sort of populations we have, in what fields and in what kind of weather kind of conditions,” the expert continued.

Generating robust data  

Following the successful rollout of the United Oilseeds MagicTrap network last year, the aim is to continue to build on the current 48-trap network, said Peter Collier, UOM area manager for the East Anglia region.  

“Last year we learnt a lot around what works best in terms of MagicTrap field positioning, timing and best practice. Now we’ve got many more traps in our network and being shared with us, there is a lot more coverage, and we can be increasingly scientific in our approach. 

“In order to get a metric of cabbage stem flea beetle, pollen beetles and weevil numbers, we want consistent placing of traps within a field. We’ve been standardising our approach across the MagicTrap network to achieve that.   

“A single trap on its own provides good information for that farm, but with a consistent way of doing things, then on aggregate, the data is more meaningful for a national picture, and good data in enables good data out,” he concluded. 

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Desiccating with glyphosate is generally the preferred approach for many crops, although mechanical swathing still has a place, particularly in very thick and/ or leaning crops, says Hutchinsons northern technical manager, Cam Murray.

Whichever option is used, accurate timing is vital, he says. “It’s really important not to go too early, as this can damage the seed filling process, reducing yield and increasing the chance of red seeds due to uneven ripening – anything more than 5% and you will face rejection issues.”

Determining optimum desiccation timing

Crop appearance and seed colour are the best guide to determining the optimum desiccation spray timing, and a good rule of thumb is to wait until the canopy is roughly the colour of a hare, Mr Murray advises.

When inspecting seed colour, he says to always take samples from the main raceme (flower cluster on the main stem), as this will ripen first.

“If, out of 20 sample pods, two-thirds have changed from green to brown, then this is the early desiccation timing, and from this stage, I’d suggest applying glyphosate in the next four to seven days.”

Various brands of glyphosate are available, and growers should speak to their agronomist about which is most suitable, and whether an adjuvant is required to improve efficacy, he advises.

READ MORE: AHDB’s latest planting and variety survey: ‘Growers had to fight the weather again’
READ MORE: Secure future of OSR: Advice issued on cabbage stem flea beetle management

It is also important to follow pre-harvest glyphosate best practice, and maintain robust rates of active ingredient, applying in the morning to ensure better uptake through the plant’s stomata. Growers should then allow up to 21 days to harvest, depending on conditions, he says.

Pod sealants can be a useful addition to reduce the risks of pod shatter in the event of harvest being delayed due to the weather, or where growers have to wait to combine crops due to variable maturity, especially on more exposed sites, Mr Murray adds.

“The optimum timing is before glyphosate is applied, although more generally, pod sealants are applied as part of a tank mix.”

Alternative approaches

Although mechanical swathing is not the most popular option, Mr Murray says it can still be very effective for leaning crops and those with thick stems. It may also be an option on seed crops, where pre-harvest glyphosate cannot be used.

AHDB guidance says crops can be swathed around six weeks after the end of flowering, when seeds in the top third are green and green/brown, those in the middle third are green/brown, and those in the bottom third are dark brown/black.

When swathing, he reminds growers of the need to leave a good stubble height (20–30cm) to keep the swathed crop off the ground and aid air flow.

In some situations, growers may choose to allow crops to ripen naturally and combine directly, without desiccating or swathing, reducing costs, and avoiding any risk of wheeling damage.

“This can be an option for weed-free and very uniform crops, and is useful if you have large areas and are trying to spread the harvest window. Although remember, the crop will take longer to ripen, and it’s not generally an option further north, due to lower temperatures and higher moisture content.”

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Wheat plantings have risen 6% year-on-year to 1,623 thousand hectares (Kha), slightly surpassing expectations set by AHDB’s Early Bird Survey last November. However, the total wheat area remains below the five-year average, reflecting the lingering impact of a wet start to the 2024/25 planting season in some regions.

Millie Askew, AHDB lead analyst (cereals & oilseeds) said: “Growers had to fight the weather again last autumn to try to get back to their desired rotations after being forced to change the previous year, but this survey indicates it’s not been possible for everyone.

“The larger wheat area will help to mitigate the impact on 2025 production from the very dry spring we had this year. But there’s a lot of uncertainty over the prospects for all crops, including wheat, after such a dry spring.”

Switch to spring cropping

Wet weather last autumn contributed to a 7% drop in winter barley area, with crop economics and rotation needs also influencing growers’ decisions. Combined with a 6% year-on-year decline in spring barley, the total GB barley area is down 6% year-on-year to 1,101 Kha, AHDB reported.

In contrast, dry spring conditions supported planting, helping to limit the decline in spring barley and boosting oats. The UK oat area is estimated to rise 13% year-on-year to 207 Kha, the highest since 2020.

The closure of Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) applications in England may have prompted some growers to switch to spring cropping. AHDB said that data on grower participation in agri-environment schemes will follow in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the GB oilseed rape area dropped a further 19% to 236 Kha – the lowest level in over 40 years – due to pest pressure, poor weather, and low returns, alongside alternative options under the SFI scheme.

Key findings

Key findings of the Planting & Variety survey 2025 include:

• For the UK, the total wheat area is estimated at 1,623 Kha, a 6% increase from last year’s four-year low. However, this remains slightly below the five-year (2020–2024) average of 1,648 Kha.

• For the UK, the oats area is estimated at 207 Kha, up 13% year-on-year, and the highest level since 2020.

• For GB, the total area of barley is down 6% compared to last year, at 1,101 Kha. This is 6% below the five-year average of 1,176 Kha. Both spring and winter barley areas have declined year-on-year, albeit there is a larger fall in winter barley and a smaller drop in spring barley than initially projected in the AHDB Early Bird Survey.

• For GB, the oilseed rape (OSR) area has dropped sharply, down 19% to 236 Kha. It is the smallest area since 1983 and is 32% below the five-year average of 346 Kha.

• For GB, the total cereals area edged up by 1% from 2024 to 2,918 Kha in 2025, despite mixed changes for individual crops. It is still below the 2023 level of 2,991 Kha.

• For GB, the total cereals and oilseeds area remains virtually unchanged, down just 0.5% to 3,154 Kha. This is still below the ten-year average of 3,498 Kha, largely due to the sharp decline in OSR planting.

The full 2025 AHDB Planting and Variety Survey results are available on the AHDB website.

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The strategies, compiled by a large consortium of stakeholders passionate about oilseed rape’s future in the UK, are set to reduce the risks associated with growing this important break crop, especially when combined. 

Sacha White, AHDB lead crop protection scientist, said: “The amount of oilseed rape grown in the UK in recent years has fallen sharply, partly due to CSFB pressures. However, the demand for oilseeds remains strong, and the crop provides good market and rotational opportunities. 

“These evidence-based management strategies will reduce the risks associated with the pest and stack the odds in favour of farmers. Most of the strategies focus on decreasing damage during the crop’s critical early growth stages, which requires careful planning ahead of drilling.” 

Top ten CSFB management strategies 

1. Ditch the date: do not stick to traditional calendar dates – sow early or late to avoid the peak migration period (which usually occurs from late-August to mid-September). 
2. Chase perfection at establishment: always wait for adequate moisture (present or forecast) before sowing, use the best seed, promote good seed-to-soil contact, ensure adequate nutrition and select varieties with appropriate vigour for the sow date. 
3. Keep your distance: any distance (space and time) between previous and current crops will improve the chance of success. 
4. Improve larval tolerance: fewer, bigger plants will stand up better to larval attack. 
5. Make use of muck: apply organic materials, which can reduce beetle damage and support crop growth. 
6. Park the pyrethroids: resistance is real, and they can harm beneficial insects. 
7. Create companions: companion cropping (e.g., with oats, buckwheat and berseem clover) and intercropping (e.g., with faba beans) can help shield crops from CSFB. 
8. Build brassica buddies: use sacrificial strips of brassica (e.g., turnip rape) or OSR volunteer trap crops to lure beetles away. 
9. Stir it up post-harvest: lightly cultivate OSR stubble soon after harvest to hit emerging CSFB. 
10. Unlock hidden gems: discover the many other tactics to layer in an integrated approach to suppress the pest. 

The management strategies were identified as part of the OSR Reboot initiative. Led by United Oilseeds, the initiative established a consortium/advocacy group to provide a collaborative path to help UK farmers grow stable and profitable oilseed rape crops.  

To prepare the strategies, the group evaluated the latest evidence, including data generated by AHDB-funded research. 

AHDB confirmed it has also strengthened information on CSFB in its popular encyclopaedia of pests and natural enemies, which covers pest identification, risk factors, life cycle, monitoring, control thresholds, non-chemical control and insecticide-resistance status. 

Read more about the strategies, including details about their implementation, are available on the AHDB website.

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Incomes for cereal farms in England are set to fall by nearly a third in 2024/25 due to a combination of challenging weather conditions and lower output prices, according to the latest Farm Business Income forecast.

Average farm business income (FBI) is predicted to fall to £27,000, with wheat hit particularly hard.

Wet autumn drilling conditions and a cool, wet harvest impacted both yields and planted areas. 

For wheat, output is forecast to be around 25% lower than in 2023/24 – smaller crop areas and yields were compounded by lower prices due to plentiful global supplies. 

Output from OSR also fell despite prices remaining firm, due to reduced yield and area. 

Offset by other crops

For general cropping farms, however, lower output from cereals enterprises is expected to be partially offset by increases from other crops, such as sugar beet and potatoes.

Despite weather challenges, firm prices and slightly increased planted areas for both these crops are expected to result in higher output.

This, together with lower input costs, will result in a 13% rise in FBI to £108,000, the report predicts.

Several other sectors, however, are set for growth. 

READ MORE: Farmers ‘betrayed again’ as Defra stops SFI applications

READ MORE: What farming grants will be available in 2025?

Dairy: Milk price to boost incomes

Average FBI on dairy farms is expected to more than double compared to 2023/24, to £176,000. This is primarily down to the recovery in the farmgate milk price.

At UK level, the average farmgate milk price rose by around 12% from March 2024 to January 2025, compared to the previous year, Defra statistics show.

However, there is wide variation, with some farmers receiving considerably more or less than the average.

Output from other cattle enterprises is also expected to be higher.

Grazing livestock farms

Meanwhile, for grazing livestock farms – both lowland and in Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) – higher output from sheep enterprises and reduced feed costs are among the drivers increasing FBI to £28,000. 

For lowland farms, higher incomes from agri-environment activities are another key factor, according to the report.

Additionally, lamb prices, both fat and store, are consistently up on the year, including some record highs.

However, these higher prices will be tempered to some extent by a smaller lamb crop in 2024, due to challenging weather conditions at lambing and a contraction of the breeding flock. 

Output from beef cattle enterprises is expected to rise by 1%. 

For LFA grazing livestock farms, FBI is forecast to be 18% higher, due to record lamb prices, and higher average prices for breeding ewes and hoggs. This offsets a 4% fall in output from cattle enterprises. 

Pig farms benefit from lower feed prices

Specialist pig farms are also predicted to see an increase in FBI, to £155,000, due to lower costs, particularly feed, which is expected to drop 5% (reflecting the lower value of feed wheat and barley).

Higher output from pig enterprises (4%) will reflect reasonably steady prices for finished pigs, stores and weaners. Both throughput and average carcase weights are also forecast to be slightly higher.

Mixed farms

Finally for mixed farms, FBI is expected to be just over a third higher than 2023/24 at £30,000.

No income forecasts have been made for specialist poultry or horticulture farms – as these would be subject to considerable uncertainty due to the structure of the sector and the relatively small sample of these farms in the survey. 

The 2024 delinked Basic Payment will fall by a quarter at the all farm level, while the all farm level income from agri-environment payments is expected to rise by over three quarters to £23,000 – though this varies widely between sectors.

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Mr Reich added that beyond the seven new varieties, what is most pleasing is the wide choice of competitive varieties on offer for UK farmers across all the major crop types.  

“In winter barley we have three new varieties available for 2025/26 including SU Arion, an exciting variety offering novel genetics and a robust disease package including a 6.3 for Rhyncosporium, a 7 for net blotch and an 8 for mildew.  

“With a regional recommendation for both the North and the East supported by impressive yields of 107% in the North and 105% in the East plus a nice balance of positive traits including a big, bold grain, we’re confident of its future success.  

“Also recommended for the North, winter barley Rosemary is well suited to early drilling and, with a treated yield of 106%, it looks a step ahead of its competitors. Six-row winter barley.

“Sixy completes the Elsoms line-up, and, with solid all-around agronomics, tolerance to Barley Yellows Dwarf Virus (BYDV) and a full UK recommendation it will be a strong addition in what looks to be a competitive new winter barley line-up” Mr Reich explained. 

READ MORE: Recommended Lists launch delivering over 40 new varieties

Varieties with potential 

On spring wheat, Elsoms look to have found another new variety with great potential in Ophelia.  

Mr Reich said: “Early maturing and offering good early vigour with very stiff straw, Ophelia responds well to high seed rates and a split fertiliser application strategy. It has excellent grain quality and offers a high specific weight of 80.3kg/hl”. 

On oilseed rape, Elsoms secured another RL regional recommendation with Powerhouse, the highest-yielding conventional variety for use in the North.  

Elsoms OSR breeder Mark Nightingale said: “Powerhouse is a big variety that offers conventional growers the lowest relative risk for the North, very strong disease resistance and high seed yields. It’s solid set of disease scores also includes a 7 for resistance to light-leaf spot”. 

With Caledon, Elsoms now also offer growers the highest yielding spring oats variety on the new RL.  

Mr Reich added: “With a treated yield of 105%, 4% ahead of the next best variety, plus the highest untreated yield at 98%, Caledon offers outstanding disease resistance and a positive balance of agronomic features. Add in early ripening plus an impressive kernel content that make it highly suitable for milling and it looks a variety to follow.  

“On the new AHDB Descriptive List for hybrid rye, SU Thor was the highest yielding new variety with a treated yield of 108%. Its dual-purpose, grain and bio-gas, and looks the ‘go-to’ hybrid rye for those growers going for out and out yield.” 

Read more arable news.        

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Winter and spring barley, as well as oilseed rape (OSR) areas, are seen to be falling. A 17% decline in the oilseed rape planted area is forecast for next year. This could be its lowest area in the UK for 42 years.  

The final area could be even lower depending on damage from pests, particularly cabbage stem flea beetles, and weather conditions between now and harvest, AHDB’s survey predicts. 

The area of oats is projected to rise by a modest 3.5%. At 189 Kha, the 2025 projected area would be slightly above the 2019 to 2023 average but below 2021’s 200 Kha.  

The winter barley area is estimated to have fallen by just under 1%, potentially limited by the wet conditions in England in September. Spring barley looks like it will fall by 13%, after rising sharply in 2024.  

The spring barley projection at 704 Kha would still be above 2022 and 2023 levels, but with the winter barley area edging lower again, the falls in spring barley would mean the smallest UK barley area since 2014 at 1,084 Kha. 

If this area is confirmed and without above-average yields in 2025, the UK barley production could fall below 2024’s provisional 7.2 Mt crop. 

A mixed picture

Helen Plant, AHDB’s senior analyst, cereals & oilseeds, said: “The first insight into 2025 cropping patterns shows a mixed picture.  

“While winter cropping has historically usually strongly rebounded the year after a wet autumn, for example, in 2021, that doesn’t seem to be the case for harvest 2025. 

“The challenging weather in some areas, plus the fallout from the 2024 harvest on profitability, seems to have limited the rebounds. This places extra focus on yield potential. Industry will need to monitor crop conditions closely through the growing season.” 

The survey also points to a further rise of 51% in uncropped arable land from 2024’s already high level.  

However, it is unclear if this reflects decisions still to be made or land intended for agri-environmental schemes in England, particularly with the largest rises reported for Northern England.  

Data from Defra shows that between July and October only a further 20 Kha were entered into Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options that take land out of production across all farm types.  

Read more arable news. 

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Over the last 70 years, there have been huge incremental increases in yields of crops like winter wheat due to changes in farming practices, such as the adoption of nitrogen fertilisers and advancements in plant breeding and genetics.  

But over the past two decades, yield appears to have plateaued, apart from a few high-yielding years in 2015 and 2019. Limiting factors like poor weather conditions and disease play a part, and so does nutrition.  

It is well known that even if growers are getting everything else right, a deficiency in even one essential nutrient can reduce the potential yield they’ll get from that crop.  

Chris Harrold, Yara’s head of crop nutrition agronomy for the UK and Ireland, has shared some pointers on autumn nutrition for OSR and winter cereals, including what to consider and the testing that growers should be doing to improve yields and get the most from their inputs. 

The importance of analysis  

Mr Harrold said: “It’s really important that growers have a good understanding of the base they’re working with so they can make the most of their inputs.  

“I would always encourage them to do more than the basics with soil sampling, so as well as testing phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and pH, they should expand the analysis to include organic matter, and micronutrient content, and assess the physical and biological status of their soil.” 

Alongside soil analysis, carrying out leaf tissue analysis throughout the growing season gives growers the opportunity to monitor crop health and correct any deficiencies that testing flags up.  

This is important, as deficiency is not always visible in the field. Agronomists refer to this as the ‘hidden hunger gap,’ the period of time where crops aren’t getting enough nutrients, but they don’t show any signs of deficiency, the expert explained. 

Grain analysis for specific weight and protein content is nothing new, though there is an increasing demand for grain analysis for phosphate and potash.  

Recent research has found that there are critical levels for these elements within the grain, and understanding how much the crop has taken up can help growers plan their nutrient inputs for the coming season.  

“When you look at winter wheat uptake of macro and secondary nutrients, we’re talking about tens if not hundreds of kilogrammes of nutrients, so if growers know what the crop has actually utilised in that season, they need to make sure they rebalance that uptake through the rest of the growing season,” Mr Harrold added. 

OSR autumn nutrition 

Oil seed rape has had its fair share of challenges in recent years, and this is reflected in the decline in the number of growers who are choosing to grow the crop.  

Estimates say that the national acreage of OSR over the coming year is expected to be around 200-250,000 hectares, a third of its 2012 peak.  

Since the removal of seed treatments, flea beetle has been a real challenge for growers, and weather conditions have affected crop establishment.  

Yara’s head of crop nutrition agronomy said that for OSR growers who want a healthy, resilient crop, the aim of autumn crop nutrition is ensuring crops have enough essential nutrients to aid establishment through the winter months prior to leaf and floral initiation.  

Magnesium, boron, molybdenum, and phosphorus are all crucial. While many growers will have used some form of seed bed nutrition, for growers who haven’t been able to apply any due to later establishment, an application of a foliar phosphate product is recommended to encourage rooting.  

Yara recommends applying YaraVita MAGPHOS K at 3 to 5 litres/ha at growth stage 14, perhaps along with a volunteer cereal herbicide.  

Tissue analysis will help growers understand whether the crop would benefit from some foliar nutrition in the autumn to ensure it has a sufficient supply of key nutrients throughout the growing period.  

Mr Harrold continued: “There are two key reasons to consider using some autumn foliar nutrition this year. Firstly, it provides those nutrients straight into the plant to maintain crop growth and improves winter hardiness, and secondly, you’re loading the crop up with nutrients ready for spring growth.” 

A little later, at the four to eight true leaf stage, it’s advised that growers apply YaraVita BRASSITREL PRO at 3 litres/ha to maintain nutrient balance and optimise yield. This can be done at the same time as fungicide and propyzamide applications, however, there’s a caveat. BRASSITREL PRO, while widely tank mixable, has a very different pH level to MAGPHOS K, so these products should be applied at separate times.  

Autumn nutrition for winter cereals 

With winter cereals, the approach to autumn nutrition is similar to OSR. Growers should start by thinking about what is needed in those key growth stages.  

The focus should be on the foundation stage, getting the crop established through good rooting and tillering, and achieving optimum nutrient use efficiency to maximise yield, the expert added.

During the pre-winter period, it is essential to get key nutrients like manganese and zinc into the crop. Both play a crucial role in crop health.  

They are important for the production of chlorophyll and therefore photosynthesis, and manganese also encourages root health, increasing the resistance to root-infecting pathogens. Manganese deficiency is something growers should remedy as soon as possible.  

“If growers have issues with manganese, I’d recommend that they don’t delay treating it. We know that certain soil types and certain areas within fields tend to have manganese deficiency, and this can cause the loss of biomass. Once this happens, growers won’t be able to get it back,” Mr Harrold advises.  

Yara recommends growers apply YaraVita Mantrac Pro, a suspension concentrate of manganese that provides a long-lasting feeding effect to correct deficiency. Previous trial work has shown that applications of MANTRAC Pro in the autumn and spring as opposed to just the spring resulted in a higher yield.  

Create a nutrition plan 

As zinc is also crucial for winter cereal crop development as well as improving tolerance to winter weather, growers could also consider extra applications in the autumn. YaraVita AMAZINC provides a high concentration of both manganese and zinc, and it’s widely tank mixable.  

Growers looking to boost rooting and early tillering and overcome any issues with pH or soil temperature-related phosphate availability in the soil, should consider an application of YaraVita CROP BOOST, a highly concentrated foliar phosphate fertiliser.  

Again, growers should take care not to mix MANTRAC PRO or AMAZINC with CROP BOOST due to the difference in the pH in their formulations.  

For growers looking ahead to putting their nutrient management plans together for the spring, Yara has a free digital tool, AtFarm, that can help. The app has been designed to be a simple ‘one stop shop’ where growers can do everything from monitoring crop growth using satellite imagery, to planning crop nutrition, and managing nitrogen applications.  

“Growers can create a nutrition plan, based on the field and crop parameters they enter. While this involves a little bit of work, what they get in return is an exact nutrient amount calculated for the crop through the whole crop cycle. It even breaks it down to specific advice for each growth stage, which will allow them to optimise fertiliser use. Growers are also able to track soil fertility over time, which allows them to fine tune their nutrition plan throughout the growing season,” Mr Harrold concluded. 

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