Addressing shortcomings in current agronomic practice is one of the first steps needed to tackle the UK’s yield plateau in winter wheat and oilseed rape, according to an HGCA study published today.
The Yield Plateau report was commissioned by HGCA and Defra in 2011 to look at the factors limiting increased yields in the UK and to address gaps in current industry research.
If waiting to drill check the latest safe sowing dates for winter wheat varieties before switching to spring cropping advises NIAB TAG.
Many commonly grown winter wheat varieties can be sown until the end of January with some suitable for mid and late February drillings says NIAB TAG’s head of technical services Ben Freer.
The NIAB TAG Drilled Onion Variety Demo, funded by HDC, took place at our Cambridge Farm today (1 November) with Bruce Napier providing variety commentary and a summary of the variable growing season. Each box representing a variety trial plot from sites around England.
Our first look at the winter wheat and winter oilseed rape variety demo plots on the NIAB TAG stand at the 2013 Cereals Event site in Lincolnshire.
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East of England MEP Richard Howitt visited the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) in Cambridge, on Friday 26 October, to see how EU funding is helping move innovation forward into the marketplace within the region.
NIAB TAG trials teams across the country report that they need five consecutive dry days to catch-up. It is currently fine at Cambridge (Friday 26 Oct), but it has rained again at our Sutton Scotney site this morning….
The South-West Regional NFU Board visited NIAB in Cambridge today (Wednesday 24 October). As well as a tour of the NIAB facilities, including the state-of-the-art glasshouses at the MacLeod Complex and the crop transformation laboratories, the visit also included an introduction to NIAB Innovation Farm and a discussion on NIAB TAG's ongoing work on the causes of wheat yield stagnation and the steps needed to drive yield improvement going forward, including genetics and pre-breeding research.
If not brush up on your identification skills with places still available on NIAB TAG's 'Grass and Grassland Weed ID' training course on 30 October at Duchy College and on 14 November at NIAB in Cambridge.
We're also running a 'Grass Pests and Disease ID' training course on the morning of 15 November at Cambridge.
For more information click here
Advanced Training Partnership celebrates successful Get Smart with Grass workshop
The Advanced Training Partnership (ATP Pasture) for Sustainable and Efficient Food Production recently launched their training programme at the Livestock 2012 event. The partnership consisting of the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), The National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) and Bangor University is also celebrating the success of its inaugural CPD workshop Get Smart with Grass, which took place at the end of September.
