Managing weeds without herbicides: practical lessons from Strategic Farm West, the UK and Europe, Strategic Farm Week – Winter 2020

The dominance of autumn-sown arable crops and herbicide resistance means that black-grass remains a major headache for Rob Fox. In his role as Strategic Farm West host, Rob is investigating whether a combination of non-chemical management approaches can still deliver good levels of control, in scenarios combined with and without chemistry.

Hosted by Richard Meredith and joined by Sarah Cook (ADAS Senior Research Consultant for Weed Biology), Poul Henning Petersen (SEGES Senior Crop Specialist, Denmark) and Rob Fox (Strategic Farm West Host).

If you are looking at improving weed management on-farm then this interactive seminar will aim to discuss key practical considerations and lessons from the UK and in Europe.

Programme

• 2:00pm Welcome & introductions (Richard Meredith, AHDB)
• 2:05pm Strategic Farm West: planning a black-grass strategy for the future (Rob Fox, AHDB Strategic Farm West)
• 2:20pm Weed management from outside the chemical tool box (Sarah Cook, ADAS)
  • Introduction of the Strategic Farm West black-grass trials
  • From what we know already, what outcome would we expect in this trial?
  • Is it possible to create an effective stale seedbed without glyphosate?
  • Which crop to follow which? Is there an ideal rotation to allow wider windows between crops
  • Key developments in UK weed management work
  • Post-harvest options available for mechanically creating a stale seed bed
• 2:35pm The impact of mechanical weed management: more machinery, more fuel, more hours, more soil damage? (Rob Fox, AHDB Strategic Farm West)
• 2:40pm Weed management without glyphosate: lessons from agriculture in Denmark (Poul Henning Petersen, SEGES, Denmark)
• 2:50pm Questions and discussion
• 3:00pm Close