With spring sowing upon us, a new sowing guide from plant breeders, Nickerson, aims to get growers seeking a spring break crop to look again at pulses.

The guide called, ‘Sowing Guide to Spring Break Crops’, highlights the benefits of growing pulses and helps growers choose the right variety for the right market. It also gives information on the agronomics of growing pulses successfully, including seed rates and the inputs required throughout the growing season.

According to Joss Vincent, Nickerson’s oilseed and protein crops product manager, human consumption beans offer excellent returns in comparison to other spring combineable cropping options.

Pulses also offer growers many other benefits including, the ability to fix nitrogen (contributing up to £18/ha), utilise alternative herbicide chemistry to tackle grass weeds, improve soil structure and relieve pressure on rotations.

In addition, pulse growers that drill after 15 February could qualify for the ‘Over-wintered Stubble’ option of the Entry Level System (ELS), contributing a valuable 120 points.

Copies of the guide are available from the Marketing department at: direct@nickerson.co.uk