Cereals & Oilseeds - IPM Outlook

5 November 2021

AHDB’s newly improved light leaf spot forecast now reacts to rainfall during the winter, helping to focus crop monitoring, particularly in regions with higher predicted disease risk.

5 October 2021

AHDB’s autumn survey of wheat bulb fly indicates the general risk trends for this potentially serious cereal pest. Sue Cowgill, who manages pest research at AHDB, explores the latest results and how a lower-risk year can mask higher-risk pest pockets.

29 September 2021

AHDB’s newly improved phoma leaf spot forecast suggests the oilseed rape disease will develop relatively late this autumn. The 2021 forecast has been refined, partly in response to industry concerns that the service had become disconnected from field realities, with the new model focusing on damp, rather than wet, conditions.

23 September 2021

AHDB has issued the Recommended Lists (RL) 2022/23 septoria tritici ratings early, following high levels of the disease in the 2020/21 growing season and concerns about the breaking of resistance.

12 August 2021

The £1.8 m BBSRC Industrial Partnership Award (IPA) will help John Innes Centre and Rothamsted Research scientists and industrial partners (including AHDB) work on desperately needed solutions to tackle cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB).

4 August 2021

A glance along the rhynchosporium disease resistance rating lines in the Recommended Lists (RL) reveals plenty of room for improvement. Robert Saville, who manages disease research at AHDB, looks at a PhD project that has provided genetic leads in the quest to deliver more durable resistance to this major barley disease.

20 July 2021

Many farmers have used IPM as an integral part of IFM for years, even decades. Lucy Bates, Technical Manager, LEAF, explains how AHDB research and resources support LEAF farmers in the implementation of best practice across the wide range of farm sizes and sectors that they represent.

19 July 2021

Recent AHDB research cited companion crops as one of several options for cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) management in oilseed rape (OSR). However, with the evidence to support the approach largely anecdotal, Diss Monitor Farmer, Richard Ling, hopes his on-farm trial will help tease out the benefits.

12 July 2021

With pesticide options for aphid control waning, an AHDB PhD studentship aims to turn the tables on these damaging pests. Sue Cowgill, who manages pest research at AHDB, investigates how the work exploits the power of natural chemicals released by old wheat varieties.

2 July 2021

Some winter wheat varieties in our Recommended Lists (RL) trials appear to show higher levels of septoria than would be expected from the disease ratings published in the current RL (2021/22 edition). With disease assessments currently being undertaken by RL trial inspectors, Paul Gosling, who leads the RL at AHDB, takes a look at the emerging picture.

24 June 2021

The 2021 risk period was relatively cool. This delayed flowering and extended the flowering period. It also resulted in a relatively low number of weather-based infection risk alerts and, generally, low spore levels, AHDB crop protection scientist Robert Saville reports.

23 June 2021

With new research results showing how septoria disease resistance shifts in response to drilling date, Robert Saville, AHDB Crop Protection Scientist (disease), looks at what it might mean for control in 2021–22.

21 June 2021

Now the risk from cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) has passed for this year’s oilseed rape (OSR) crop, it is time to take stock and plan ahead. In particular, it is essential to consider the drilling window and how this affects pest pressure – of both CSFB adults and larvae.

19 March 2021

The UK Cereal Pathogen Virulence Survey (UKCPVS) continues to detect new and interesting wheat yellow rust isolates associated with unique crop disease patterns. AHDB crop scientist Robert Saville reports on the latest developments and what it means for management.

4 March 2021

Some decisions are so simple that we don’t even know we are making them. Others, such as deciding the appropriate course of action to prevent, detect and control pests, weeds and diseases, are time-consuming and complex. That’s why AHDB is collaborating in a pan-European project to put robust decision support systems (DSS) at your fingertips. Emily Pope, Senior Knowledge Transfer Manager, explains.

2 March 2021

Due to their prolific reproduction (during asexual reproduction, females are born ‘pregnant’), aphids can build up on crops rapidly. They are also notorious for developing resistance to commonly used insecticides and, consequently, can be a headache to manage. As we enter spring, Charlotte Rowley, who manages pest research at AHDB, reflects on the recent autumn/winter, including the effects on aphid pressures and the spread of Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) in cereals.

25 February 2021

Recently, spring cereal and oilseed crops have become more common in the arable rotation. AHDB’s head of the Recommended Lists (RL), Paul Gosling, investigates some of the key considerations when thinking about the switch from winter to spring options.

9 February 2021

When a big issue arises, everyone wants a solution. An all-too-human response is for everyone to react in their own ways. Although better than nothing, it is not often an efficient route to an industry-wide answer. AHDB pest scientist Charlotte Rowley reveals how the UK has found itself at the heart of a coordinated attack on CSFB.

1 February 2021

Production costs, along with efficacy and environmental concerns, have increased the appetite for more and better quality information on the potential of non-chemical control of cereal diseases. Fiona Geary explores the latest research, including how it has inspired activity in our Farm Excellence network.

13 January 2021

AHDB has issued a yellow rust watch list to help flag winter wheat varieties most likely to perform out of line with the disease ratings published in the AHDB Recommended Lists (RL).