I can’t believe it but here we are starting the 2025 to 2026 season, where does the time go and why does it feel like I am having two birthdays each year. Lessons from drought and yield I guess it's time to move on from the last season, where many of us confirmed what we already understood: growth is impossible without water. I recently watched the MET office program about this summer, and it revealed that we only received 40% of our usual rainfall, though, to be honest, that seems like an...

It is one of nature’s finest fungi, in my opinion, and can be found everywhere naturally on Earth. Its name is derived from the word tricho , meaning ‘thread-like hair’ and derma, meaning ‘skin’. Trichoderma spp (Ascomycota, Hypocreales and Hypocreaceae) has been shown in many studies to show good disease control. Trichoderma is also very good at stimulating growth, unlocking phosphorous from the soil, and making it available to the plant. These free-living organisms also play an important...

As it now looks like the crops are moving quickly from growth to ear formation, I thought that I would take a quick look at those nutrients that have a direct influence on what is going on. This, of course, doesn’t mean that any of the other nutrients are less important as a seed will be a bit of everything as normal. This, of course, is important to all farmers regardless of the amount of water that you have had, rather it is just a question of timing. Once a crop has gone into regeneration...