Crop Health

Clubroot is a major issue in rape in our arable rotations with over 50% of fields used for rape carrying the disease – and in areas like Aberdeenshire, the incidence…

Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) has been seen in many winter and spring cereals this season.  Aphids had built up numbers in crops and volunteers, however, the heavy downpours of…

Slug trapping can be used now to assess the risk from slugs in a particular field. To get the best from slug trapping the bait placed under the trap needs to grab the slugs’ interest and to keep them there.

Combine peas Due to the indeterminate nature of combining peas, most combining pea crops in Scotland benefit from desiccation, unless it is an exceptionally dry harvest. Diquat (e.g. Reglone): The…

Swathing can have a place in exposed sites so long as it is not a wet field.  The optimal timing for swathing is when the colour of seed is green…

Using more resilient varieties is one of the most effective ways of reducing disease risk There is increasing interest in looking at untreated yields of varieties in trials and looking…

Ensuring stores are clean and free of pests is essential to prevent any problems after all the hard work of growing and harvesting the crop. Bear in mind that no…