Blackgrass trial shows need for radical rethink

摘要

Growers need to get radical to curb blackgrass. This was the initial observation from a heavy land trial investigating the level of grass-weed control achieved with various cultivation, spring cereal and cover crop combinations.Herbicide-resistant blackgrass dominates Chris Richardson's 400ha family farm on the Lincolnshire Fens, and a drop-off in wheat yields has now forced a major shake-up to revive prospects.Last autumn, Mr Richardson's son, Farmacy agronomist Alex, began a trial on a 12ha field where the blackgrass seed population is estimated to be more than 1,000 seeds/sq m.