Tuesday 21st February - FARMERS EVENING AT 7PM - DISCUSSING BLACK GRASS WITH LEMKEN AND MASSTOCK
Wed 18/01/2012
We had a good turn out on Tuesday, with about 20 interested farmers sitting comfortably, listening to the black grass discussion with General Manager Mark Ormond from Lemken UK, showing a power point presentation of the Masstock Black grass trial results so far.The evening was very informative and generated many more questions than answers, with the research trial down in Cambridge only being in its second year out of five.
We will be keeping you informed of further results and will be inviting Lemken and Masstock (Agrii) back next year give us the year 3 trial results.
Blackgrass is one of the biggest threats to UK arable farming at present. One hundred heads of blackgrass, per square metre, will reduce wheat yield by one t/ha. Chemical resistance is increasing and no new chemicals are expected in the next few years.
Agronomists suggest that farmers use a mixture of cultural (tillage) and chemical means to control the weed. Lemken and Masstock have teamed up in a five year trial to assess how cultivation types affect Blackgrass numbers.
