Black-grass

New research has revealed possible cause of herbicide-resistant weed

NFU crops board chairman Matt Culley is a fourth-generation farmer from Hampshire working in partnership with his parents and brother.

With black-grass starting to rear its ugly head above crops this season, growers have until around the first week of June to decide what to do with badly affected areas, in order to prevent seed return.

Farmers with tricky grass-weeds to control are invited to take part in a new farmer-led project as part of the second year of trials on harvest weed seed control (HWSC).

Simon Nelson advises farmers on a wide range of arable and forage crops across Cumbria, north Lancashire and into south west Scotland.

Research has highlighted the immediate priority for growers is to target grass-weeds already in the crop now, rather than waiting for more to emerge later in the spring.

An early opportunity to drill spring crops in February has been presented to farmers due to a mild and dry winter with ‘unprecedented’ ground conditions reported across England.

To date I’ve not found any larval damage – there is still plenty of time for it to show its head, but I believe we are keeping on top of it.

The fava bean could make a comeback in farmer’s fields and shopping baskets, as Tesco and its suppliers trial the use of the crop across a host of different product ranges and ingredients.

Farmers who want to adopt more sustainable and environmentally friendly farming methods could face lower short-term margins, but the long-term benefits could outweigh the losses, according to the results of a trial in Scotland.