Crops and Soils

In ideal conditions where the soil is warm and moist, seed well covered by soil and a low risk of crop failure, then pre-emergence weed control is the most cost-effective…

The key pests to consider in winter oilseed rape this autumn are flea beetle, cabbage stem flea beetle, peach-potato aphid (and turnip yellows virus – TuYV) and later in the…

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.