Crops and Soils
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Raspberry – pest monitoring March 2020
Raspberry growers will need to get batteries for their torches and begin checking plantations at night for double-dart moth caterpillars and clay-coloured weevils. Double-dart moth caterpillars are 2-2.5 cm in…
Read More >Winter oilseed rape – March 2020
Diseases Fungicide sprays to manage light leaf spot are best applied as preventatively as possible – usually at early stem extension (‘welly-boot height’). The warm weather has given many crops…
Read More >Winter oats – March 2020
Weeds Where autumn residuals were applied, in many cases they have worked well. If weeds have escaped the autumn residual, or nothing has been applied yet, only broad-leaved weeds can be…
Read More >Pests in Winter wheat – March 2020
Wheat bulb fly egg hatch is underway, but the waterlogged soils will drown most before they have a chance to get into the stems of most crops. With the loss…
Read More >Winter barley – March 2020
Diseases Disease levels are generally very low at the moment and crops are looking well although a few are starting to turn a little hungry-looking. Where disease does establish early…
Read More >Slugs – February 2020
Whilst slugs like moist conditions, Storm Dennis has probably been a bit much for them, and the wet winter has probably not done them any favours. Despite this, growers should…
Read More >Pests in winter cereals and grassland – Dec 2019
Growers should check for damaging leatherjacket activity in autumn-sown grass reseeds and winter cereals. Determine the cause of any poor cereal emergence or patches of poor grass establishment. A DIY…
Read More >Winning the battle against rushes – post event summary
Fighting rushes on upland farms can feel like a thankless task. This meeting was a 3 year revisit to the Darvel farm we first visited in October 2017 (you can…
Read More >Alternative bedding podcast: Compost by-products
In this episode of our podcast, Beef Consultant Sarah Balfour discusses the merits of various alternative bedding products. In this episode she visits Keenan Recycling in Aberdeenshire to discuss the…
Read More >Ayrshire Soil & Nutrient Network: Final meeting – event summary
This was the final meeting of the Ayrshire Soil & Nutrient Network and we returned back to where we started – at our host farm Dormieston. The focus for the…
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